1964: Bill R. Hepburn served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in India in Kolhapur beginning in 1964



Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Bill R. Hepburn can be contacted at Imhep13agmaildcom

Country of Service: India

Training Group: VI

Cities you served in: Kolhapur

Arrival Year: 1964

Departure Year: 1966

Work Description:

Dairy, Poultry and community development. Established a demonstration farm on 3.5 acres owned by my cook, Shankar. Used missionary tractor to till, mixed fertilizer using coffee can to get the right blend i.e. 6-12-12. Hired local women to help plant and fertilize each seed by hand. Pesticide from local BDO program. Crop yield was phenomenal. The results even amazed me.

Other Countries you served in, Training Group Name Arrival Year, Departure Year, Work Description:

None

Bring us up to date on your life after the peace corps:

Traveled through the far east for 3 months after service and then went to work for Sarge Shriver again at the OEO. Spent 8 years working on poverty programs in Washington, D.C. Moved to California in 1974 to direct the new CETA job training revenue sharing program for the city of Anaheim. Abandoned government service for the private sector in 1983. Ran a publishing business until 1995. Joined a beltway bandit (BDM) in 1996, which was aquired by TRW in 1997, which was aquired by Northrop Grumman 1998. Primary assignment involved the oversight of large scale software development projects for state government. Gave up on corporate america in 2003 and have been spending summers in Michigan and winters in Southern California ever since.

Any thoughts you have now looking back on peace corps days?:

I have many happy memories and some not so, of my time in India. The experience cast in stone my belief that people are the same the world over. Good people exist in all countries and are a pleasure to spend time with. Bad people, in positions of power, control the destinies of far too many This has brought the world to the state it is in today. The Peace Corps is one of a hand full of organizations with more good than bad and as such has made a very positive contibution over the years to the world we live in.

Anyone you are looking for or would like to hear from?:

Two of my fellow volunteers have remained lifelong friends. We visit each other several times a year. While we are very different people, our common experience with the Peace Corps in India has forged our lifelong bond of friendship. I would be happy to hear from any of the India VI group.

Any message for returned volunteers?:

It's all down hill from here! Your Peace Corps experience will serve you well throughout your career and life.



Originally posted: 4/20/2009

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