Commentary: Helping entrepreneurs on the other side of the world

Many people think we live in scary times. The fact is, Americans have lived in scary times as long as we can remember.

They were scary times 20 years ago, in September 1983. The United States and the Soviet Union were facing each other down when an 11- year old girl named Samantha Smith traveled to Moscow to bring a message of concern to Soviet president Yuri Andropov. She had written him a letter, saying God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.

Andropov wrote back and invited her to visit him. Americans breathed a collective sigh of relief - and then, in September of that year, Soviet MiGs stalked and shot down a Korean 747 airliner with many Americans on board. These were scary times.

A few days after the downing of KAL Flight 007, a small group of Americans flew to Moscow. After they had checked into their hotel, they went out on the streets and began handing out small gray cards which read in Russian:

We are Americans traveling in your country. We are deeply concerned about the relationship between our two nations. Do you know anyone who can interpret, so we can talk with you?

Sharon Tennison, one of the leaders of that group, recalls that Soviet citizens would quickly scribble telephone numbers on the backs of the cards. When the Americans found a phone booth, they would call the number.

Sometimes the person on the other end of the line would answer something like, Yes, I speak English. Meet me behind the Lenin Statue in the square at 7 p.m. I'll wear a brown coat and red scarf. After we make eye contact, follow ten meters behind me. Don't speak in the hallways of the building.

Nobody who went on that trip will ever forget the close friendships that they built in what had been termed the Evil Empire. The people they met were warm and caring and were as interested in their American visitors as the Americans were in them.

U.S.-Russian relations

As a result of that trip, Tennison, formed a small nonprofit organization, The Center for Citizen Initiatives. This little organization has had a dramatic impact on U.S.-Russian relations, and the programs that Tennison and her staff have created, have touched untold thousands of lives, both in Russia and here in the United States.

During the past 20 years, the people at CCI have initiated a string of initiatives, which include:

* The first citizen diplomacy travel company to take thousands of Americans to the USSR to meet with their counterparts, Soviet citizens;

* The first ever Alcoholics Anonymous meeting on Soviet territory, and the later establishment of AA across the USSR;

* The first non-officially sanctioned Soviet citizens traveling to the United States to be hosted in American homes (Soviets Meet Middle America - SMMA);

* First organization to support Russia's fledgling environmental movement;

* The first business management training program for Soviet entrepreneurs;

* The first airlift of seeds (over 300 tons) to small private farms in Russia;

* The first U.S. agricultural extension service model developed on Russian soil;

* The first micro-business incubator for Russia's private clothing manufacturers;

* The first U.S.-based business internships for Russia's non- English speaking entrepreneurs in regions covering Russia's eleven time zones.

One of the most far-reaching programs developed by CCI is the Productivity Enhancement Program, which was started in 1995 and modeled after the Marshall Plan Productivity Tours.

Since the first delegation of a dozen or so entrepreneurs flew to the United States in 1995 for an intensive business-training program, PEP has trained almost 4,000 Russian entrepreneurs from more than 450 cities throughout Russia.

Although PEP is handled by CCI, Tennison emphatically will tell you that it's the volunteers across the United States who have made the program possible. In fact, the U.S. government provides only 44 percent of PEP's funding.

In-kind contributions from American volunteers include over 7,500 U.S. companies in 45 states that have each given their time to train their Russian guests.

In fact, PEP is the first program of its kind where the Russians foot part of the bill. Each Russian delegate pays between $1,600 and $2,000 to participate in the program. They apply for the program through one of CCI's Russian Partner offices in Ekaterinburg, Rostov- on-Don, Vladovostak, Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), Dubna, Voronezh, and Saint Petersburg.

Delegations are usually limited to eleven entrepreneurs, all in the same field, an interpreter, and a Russian facilitator who travels with them.

Almost all delegations are sponsored by a civic club, such as Rotary International, Kiwanis, Lions, etc. Rotary Clubs host almost 80 percent of the sponsoring organizations.

Over the past few years, Maryland has hosted a number of PEP delegations: auditors, insurance executives, road builders, public officials, food wholesalers, and media company owners. This month, Maryland will host a delegation of private school directors.

In 2000, CCI put together the CCI Leaders Institute, made up of top CCI Fellows for special leadership training and an opportunity to travel to Washington to discuss America's Russia policy with U.S. policy makers.

In March of 2001, almost 100 CCI Leaders flew to Washington where they held more than 60 meetings with members of Congress, U.S. Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and State, and numerous policy institutions. The end of the week was highlighted with a special meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell.

What else does CCI plan? Tennison, her staff and advisors are bringing to fruition a number of initiatives, including setting up study groups to help Russian entrepreneurs learn how other countries reduce corruption, a program to help teenage Russian orphans (Angels for Angels), a business-to-business program, and a Russian charitable initiative - which all goes to prove, you don't have to be high up in government or a titan of industry to initiate meaningful change on a global scale.

You just need a passion to get things done.

Neil R. G. Young, CLU, ChFC, is president of Young & Company, a financial planning firm in Lutherville. If you have any comments or questions, you can send him an e-mail at neil@yco.com or call at 410- 494-7766. The Web site is http://www.yco.com.

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