Volunteer of the Month: Ben Lockett

Ben Lockett, our PEP Volunteer of the Month, was a Secret Service agent for every President and Vice President of the US from Lyndon Johnson until 1996. He was with President Carter when their plane was forced down over Soviet air space, protected Yasser Arafat when he visited the US, and accompanied Hillary and Chelsea Clinton to South America, China, Turkey and Greece. He says he always enjoyed the Russians, "even if they were KGB agents." Now Ben volunteers for PEP and occasionally introduces a PEP delegation to President and Mrs. Carter. For the story on Ben and PEP, check out the article below.

Ben Lockett is involved with CCI and PEP for a simple reason - he loves the Russian people, and understands how much they need the kind of training that PEP provides. Ben first went to Russia in the late 70s, and has made numerous additional trips since then. Despite the enmity and distrust between the U.S. and Soviet governments, Ben found the Russians warm and welcoming.

Ben first became involved with CCI and PEP when his Kiwanis Club in Dougherty County, GA hosted a Crop Farming Delegation in 1999. He saw in PEP a wonderful opportunity to help Russians. He has worked with each of the five crop farming groups that have been hosted in the area during the past seven years, serving as the local coordinator in 2002, and is active in bringing the sixth group this Fall. Ben has helped to organize intensive training programs that have helped the Russian farmers to be more successful and competitive, Oleg Srodnykh, who came on a delegation in 2003, remarked:

"I not only learned a lot of new theories and ideas, but I got practical experience as well. This was very valuable, because it is the lack of practical experience that often prevents business development in Russia."

Ben also organizes a rich social program; In addition to trips to Providence Canyon State Park and the Florida Coast, he has arranged for several of the delegations to attend former President Jimmy Carter's Sunday School lesson at Marantha Baptist Church. What a privilege and honor for the delegate's to meet the Carters!!

Besides being a vital learning experience for the Russian farmers, Ben sees PEP as an exiting opportunity for the American business hosts as well. "It's a phenomenal chance to network and interact with Russian farmers, and to be on the inside track as their economy and businesses develop," Ben explains.

Besides his involvement with PEP, Ben is past president of the Dougherty County Kiwanis Club, and the President of the Albany Chapter of "Rebuilding Together", a volunteer organization that provides free home repair and renovation programs for the low-income, elderly and disabled. Retired from the Secret Service, he now sells real estate and works as a private investigator. He won the National Bench Pressing Championship in 2006, setting the national record, and can often be found riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle across the country! Ben's firm recently provided security in Mississippi and New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Ben remarked that the devastation was worse than what he observed in the developing world during his tenure with the Secret Service.

Ben brings his humor, experience, and infectious enthusiasm to PEP, and is an invaluable champion for both CCI and the Russian people. He exemplifies CCI's mission of citizen diplomacy, and for that we are proud to name him Volunteer of the Month.