On behalf of all of us at CCI, we are proud to honor Randy Coplen from Tukwila, Washington, as a PEP Distinguished Volunteer.
Randy first visited Russia in 1988, when he participated in a media delegation representing the printing industry. On that trip he met Nikolai Rozanokov from Zelenograd, who was at the time just starting out as an entrepreneur. Randy and Nikolai began a joint venture registered in the Soviet Union as “Prindi”. Randy found business for the firm and supplied them with equipment. He never took money out of the firm, but rather saw it as an opportunity to help an entrepreneur succeed in the Soviet Union. Between 1989 and 1992, Prindi produced business cards, letterhead, and brochures for many Western companies in Moscow.
Randy and Nikolai also used the success of their working relationship as a way to improve relations between citizens of their two countries. In 1990 they arranged an exchange between twelve students from Zelenograd and twelve students from Bellevue, Washington. At the time, Zelenograd was a closed city, so this was the first time that the Soviet students had ever had contact with Westerners. Randy also helped with the coordination of the first Goodwill Games held in Seattle in 1990. Prindi was a contractor for the Games, and Randy and fellow Rotarians arranged housing, visas, food, and transportation for 4,000 Soviet visitors to the event. Unfortunately, soon after this great event, Nikolai was forced to dissolve Prindi due to the amount of corruption he faced as an entrepreneur during Russia’s turbulent change to capitalism.
Randy first became aware of PEP in 2006. As Vocational Chair of the South Center Rotary Club of Tukwila, Randy saw PEP as an opportunity to re-connect with a culture he had enjoyed in the past. He agreed to serve as Business Training Coordinator for a Retail/Wholesale Goods delegation that traveled to the Tukwila area in March of 2007. He ended up taking over the overall coordination of the project, as well as acting as driver, transportation coordinator, and home host for three of the delegates. Delegation Facilitator Zina Generalova had the following comments about his work with the group: “Randy is industrious, enthusiastic, extremely knowledgeable about business issues, great at dealing with people, and an exemplary Rotarian.”
Randy did an amazing job in finding business hosts that reflected the diverse interests of the delegates, so that all of the delegates were able to see stores like their own. He was also very responsive to the delegates’ interests, and responded by arranging several additional visits. He accompanied the group on almost all of their visits, and was able to guide the business hosts’ presentations to best serve the needs and interests of the group. All of the delegates agreed that Randy was the reason why the delegation was so successful.
“Randy is very considerate, intelligent and has a good sense of humor. After work, he still had the time and energy to plan our cultural program. I would like to thank him for his fantastic hospitality!”
- Valery Malinin, Nizhniy Novgorod
“All of the Americans we met were outstanding, especially Randy Coplen. We were astonished and grateful at their hospitality.”
- Tatyana Botenkeva, Novosibirsk
Randy’s understanding and commitment to PEP’s mission are truly inspiring. In fact, just weeks after his delegation left, a group hosted by the nearby Lynnwood Rotary Club was looking for help in lining up a few business hosts in the construction industry to round out their schedule. CCI contacted Randy to see if anyone in the Tukwila club might be able to help, and Randy jumped at the opportunity, arranging two full days of training. For Randy, it was really this mission that drove his participation in PEP: “I see the exposure to American business ethics, social responsibility, and social involvement as a leading mission of PEP and volunteers involved with the program,” he explained. “I wish I had heard of PEP years earlier,” he commented. “I believe I missed a number of great experiences.”
When asked about the highlight of his PEP experience, Randy replied:
“I was fascinated with how many of the business hosts really pulled out all of the stops to present everything they could to help the Russian delegates. It was also interesting to see how far private business has advanced in Russia. I learned that today’s Russian business experience is getting very close to the way Americans do business. The evenings spent in conversation with the delegates I hosted were always interesting and full of surprises. Looking back, it felt like visiting with some of my closest business friends.”
For your tireless commitment to PEP, and for being such an inspiration to both our delegates and everyone here at CCI, thank you Randy!