February  9 - 15, 2002

Thank you, Ripon, for hosting Russian delegates studying casual dining.  Thanks to generous restaurant owners and managers, they saw different  facilities and heard lectures and ate delicious meals. They were surprised  at the resources in even small communities in our country. In Russia, resources are concentrated in large cities and people find jobs near their homes. Personnel questions top their list of concerns. They come from a socialist history where "the state pretends to pay us and we pretend to work." Thanks to P.J. Schultz, the topic was tackled by Sodexho's human resource director. It was also part of Rob Webster's day-long presentation at Royal Ridges and of course, everybody liked Rob. Dianne Mayer brought in the founder of Culver's franchises. Cheryl Coburn from C.J.'s at the Wayside talked about inventory and supplier relations. Rick Dana from Michael's agreed to talk about building a business. Our restaurant owners and managers clearly put planning and effort into this training. They did a great job. It's now up to the Russian delegates to take this information and build a market economy in Russia. They also need to convince people to eat out more. "No one goes out to eat for breakfast in Russia," according to Nicolai after breakfast at Kristina's. Thank you to my committee. Helga Rikkers found nine or more of us to open our homes. Some of us had misgivings about cooking for people in the restaurant industry until we realized they were good at management, not food preparation. Thanks to the families Boesch, Kasuboski, Lyke, Piernot, Royce, Sina, Busker, Wittler and Zieth. We gave them a glimpse of American culture. Jane Schueler introduced the group to Ripon history and American government by arranging a visit to the Little White School House. Nita Krenz coordinated drivers during the training week. She oversaw packing luggage and delegates to start them on their way back to Russia. Do sveedanya. Good bye. The delegates came from 10 cities and had not met each other before this trip. Fearless facilitator, Svetlana, effectively herded them about. One independent Russian did disappear when they arrived in New York. Considering there have been 3,000 people in this Center for Citizen Initiatives and Productivity Enhancements Program, it's not surprising to lose one. We hosted the third week of their stay in the United States. They seemed tired, restless and eager to return to their families. While they were here we were able to speak with those who spoke English or were translated. Russians claim to be direct. They give no polite compliments, but mean what they say. I find those who speak English easy to understand. Russians have no heavy accent as do some English second language speakers. After church service Sunday, Slava, who is from a Russian Orthodox background, said, "Applying the Bible to every day life is a good idea!" In the evenings at Kasuboskis' and Ginders', we enjoyed their singing. At our Rotary meeting, they answered our questions of global proportions until Max reminded us, "We are not politicians; we just feed people." We have some addresses and e-mails. We hope to hear they are doing well. Schastlivo. Good luck.

- Jean Busker, Rotary International Services