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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2011)
PAID SUPPLEMENT GEORGE JEFFCOTT JOYCE LEADER India, 1966 - 1969 Associate Director, Zaire, 1976 - 1979 Desk Officer for Southern Africa, 1979 - 1981 George worked in a small village agricultural program for two years, then joined Peace Corps staff in Bombay (now Mumbai). What did he accomplish? “Fortunately, I was assigned to a village that eagerly took up the new hybrid crops and cultivation methods I was sent to introduce. Some farmers increased their yield by about 200%. What I really accomplished was learning how to live in a world free of electricity, plumbing, and motorized vehicles. It taught me that what we own does not defi ne who we are and that consumption is not the road to happiness. This lesson guides me today.” Joyce began work for Peace Corps in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1976. She was responsible for 140 education volunteers and later moved to Washington D.C. to serve as Desk Offi cer for Southern Africa. Afterwards, she spent more than 20 years with the Department of State as a Foreign Service Offi cer specializing in Africa and refugee affairs. Among her diplomatic positions were U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea, Consul General in Marseille, France, and Director of the Offi ce of Refugee Assistance to Asia and the Near East. She says: “My most challenging post was Deputy Chief of Mission in Rwanda during the three years leading up to the 1994 genocide. ABC’s Frontline has an interview with me on its website for its ‘Ghosts of Rwanda’ show that recounts some of my experiences with that tragedy. George returned to the U.S. just days before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. He set up title insurance companies around Oregon, but says job satisfaction was more important than money, so pursued teaching. George retired in 2004 after 27 years at Monroe and Spencer Butte middle schools, North Eugene High School, and the University of Oregon. He serves on the board of the North Eugene Retirement Association, is Vice President of Lane County Master Gardeners, and works with the City of Eugene’s Huckleberry Patrol, a volunteer-driven graffi ti abatement effort. “It is interesting that the motives Volunteers give for joining Peace Corps have not changed much over the years. Volunteers still want to get to know other cultures and do something worthwhile for others. They continue to say they get more out of their service than they are able to give. Many continue to work overseas or enter humanitarian professions in the U.S.” In the Foreign Service, Joyce also served as Deputy Director of the Offi ce of Refugee and Migration Affairs at the U.S. Mission in Geneva, Deputy Director of the Offi ce of West African Affairs, and held positions at the U.S. embassies in Nigeria and Burkina Faso. Joyce lives in Eugene and retains her interest in African affairs, having returned recently from a consulting assignment in Southern Sudan. PEACE CORPS 50 IN EUGENE www.westcascadepca.org Join us in remembering Sargent Shriver and Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps! T U E S D AY M A R C H 1 , 2 0 1 1 NOON RALLY EVENING PARTY BROADWAY PLAZA WILLAMETTE & BROADWAY NOON - 1 P.M. COZMIC PIZZA 8th & CHARNELTON 7 P.M. - 11 P.M. • $10 ENTRY FEE Dance to Samba Ja • Win Prizes • Eat Cake Brazilian music by Macaco Velho Latin American music by Casera Sponsored by the West Cascade Peace Corps Assn. • Eugene, OR JFK’S DREAM LIVES ON! • WWW.WESTCASCADEPCA.ORG Many thanks to our sponsors! A RT & A NITA J OHNSON Special recognition to Tom Kelly and James Cloutier for artwork and logo design! This supplement is produced by the West Cascade Peace Corps Association, a Lane County- based nonprofit organization founded in 1980 by returned Peace Corps Volunteers as a means of staying connected and carrying out the Peace Corps’ third goal: to promote world peace by strengthening Americans’ understanding of the world and its peoples. WCPCA funds charitable and educational projects that support the goals and ideals of the Peace Corps. EDITOR Maggie Keenan PEACE CORPS 50 IN EUGENE Co-Chairs: Maggie Keenan & Wayne Thompson Planning Committee: Andy Behl, James Cloutier, Shannon Micheel, Dorothy Soper BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dorothy Soper, President Maggie Keenan, Vice President Dale Morse, Treasurer Wendy Nelson, Secretary Felicia Kenney, Communications Coordinator Justin Overdevest, Peace Corps recruiter, UO Miriam Aiken Keith Beyer Nick Bosustow James Cloutier John Hofer Jack Meacham Wayne Thompson Bob Watada For more information, contact: info@westcascadepca.org
