October 15, 1997

Community Connections Program

at the Middlebury College Geonomics Institute: Russian Entrepreneurs

to Learn New Business Strategies from Vermont Companies

Ten Russian entrepreneurs

from the Omsk region in south-western Siberia will learn valuable

management skills from successful Vermont businesses this fall.

From October 21 to November 20, the Russian delegates will be

participating in the Community Connections program, sponsored

by the Geonomics Institute at Middlebury College, The Snelling

Center for Government, Champlain College, the Vermont/Karelia

Rule of Law Project, the Addison County Economic Development Corporation,

and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.

Through intensive training

at Middlebury College followed by community-based internships,

the program will assist the new Russian entrepreneurs in developing

and operating profitable businesses. Community Connections facilitates

personal connections between Vermonters and Russians through homestays

with Vermont families and opportunities to engage in local cultural

and community activities. The project will also provide Vermont

companies with a low-cost, low-risk mechanism for exploring potential

commercial and trade opportunities in Russia and specifically

the Omsk region. This area may prove especially attractive to

Vermont enterprises as it boasts the most advanced agro-industrial

sector in Siberia.

Regional businesses generously

providing internships during the fall program include Barnes &

Noble Bookstore in South Burlington; Black River Produce in Proctorsville;

Dartmouth Bookstore in Hanover; Engelberth Construction in Colchester;

Gallagher, Flynn & Company in Burlington; Hannaford Career

Center in Middlebury; Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee; Kirby

Mountain Kennel in East Burke; St. Michaelís School of

International Studies in Colchester; Sound Vision in Burlington;

Vermont Center for Independent Living in Montpelier; Vermont Magazine

in Middlebury; Vermont State Department of Health in Burlington;

and Vermont State Fish Hatchery in Salisbury.

Community Connections is a

nationwide program sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and

Cultural Affairs of the United States Information Agency under

the authority of the Fulbright- Hayes Act of 1961. Additional

funding for the Vermont program is provided by the Geonomics Institute,

The Snelling Center for Government, Champlain College, Vermont

businesses, private and government organizations, and individuals.

For more information on the

Community Connections program, please contact Chris Beattie, program

coordinator, at the Geonomics Institute at 802-443-2300.