January 18, 2004 - Wild Bird Center: George Petrides Sr was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer high school teacher in Nigeria and Botswana; and a Peace Corps official in Kenya and Washington, D.C.

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Nigeria: Peace Corps Nigeria : The Peace Corps in Nigeria: January 18, 2004 - Wild Bird Center: George Petrides Sr was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer high school teacher in Nigeria and Botswana; and a Peace Corps official in Kenya and Washington, D.C.

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-35-236.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.35.236) on Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 8:23 am: Edit Post

George Petrides Sr was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer high school teacher in Nigeria and Botswana; and a Peace Corps official in Kenya and Washington, D.C.



George Petrides Sr was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer high school teacher in Nigeria and Botswana; and a Peace Corps official in Kenya and Washington, D.C.

George Petrides Sr. was raised in central Michigan on an 80-acre farm. During his teen years, George's father took his family to Kenya and Uganda for several years, where Dr. Petrides conducted some of the initial wildlife management and ecological studies that formed the basis for many policies now in use by national park systems in East Africa. Two of these trips were by ship that circumnavigated Africa. George earned a Master's Degree in Education from Michigan State University, then become a high school teacher; a real estate agent and property manager; a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer high school teacher in Nigeria and Botswana; and a Peace Corps official in Kenya and Washington, D.C. These combined experiences in East, West and Southern Africa led to a working knowledge of several languages including Igbo, KiSwahili and Setswana as well as a deep appreciation of those cultures.

George has been married for 39 years to the beautiful and talented Bette Petrides, a college professor and author (Tuesday Nights with Rosa Aurora , Kenya Past and Present , Oceans Magazine ). George and Bette have one son, George Jr., married to Victoria, and both are completely nuts about their two young (grand)daughters, Kaelyn and Laurel.

George and Bette own two Labrador retrievers, Brandy & Sherry, who keep them busy and healthy by taking long walks and chasing endless numbers of tennis balls.

George's business interests were first inspired by his father, Dr. George A. Petrides, a friend and associate of the late Roger Tory Peterson and the author of six field guides to trees and shrubs in the famous Peterson Field Guide series ( Eastern Trees, Western Trees, Trees and Shrubs)as well as of several in his own Backpacker Guide series (Trees of the California Sierra Nevada, Trees of the Rocky Mountains, Trees of the American Southwest, Trees of the Pacific Northwest). George's sister, Olivia, is a talented artist and scientific illustrator who painted the color plates for many of those guides. His mother is a life-long gardener, a past-President of the Federated Garden Clubs of Michigan and author of a gardening study course currently taught in the Spanish language in several Latin American countries.

George holds two patents, including the famous UpSideDown Nyjer goldfinch feeder distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada and the Convertible Bird Box, a private label product manufactured for and sold exclusively by Wild Bird Center owners.

He serves on the Board of our industry trade group, the Wild Bird Feeding Industry, and is Chairman of the Retailer Committee.

George and Bette have owned and operated their own Wild Bird Center store in suburban Maryland continuously since 1985.

George's hobbies include bird watching, old cars (1951 MG-TD and 1931 Model 5-window Coupe) and amateur radio. He holds an Extra-Class Radio License issued by the Federal Communications Commission and his official call sign is W8WHG (ARRL Web Site). Amateur radio is an opportunity for George to speak with other radio operators around the globe (even from his car) and fuels his life-long interest in other cultures and foreign places.

George decided to open his own business so he could pursue his personal priorities, find ways to express his (assumed) talents to their fullest and create an outlet for his keen interest in community development efforts and environmental issues. He subsequently integrated his Peace Corps and other professional and educational experiences into his Wild Bird Centers' franchise program that emphasizes business success accompanied by a high level of owner satisfaction and personal achievement.




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Story Source: Wild Bird Center

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Uganda; COS - Nigeria; COS - Botswana

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