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Oct. 4,
2006
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Svitek,
Thank you so much for providing me with a scholarship
through the Kate Svitek Memorial Award for this
summer. Your generous gift allowed me to continue
working as an intern at Draker Solar Design and
Burlington’s Green Business Community. I was
able to apply all of the great information I’ve
learned at UVM into real life work experience in
the environmental field. I gained valuable work
experience that will give me a strong base for future
employment.
Most of my work concerned marketing to the community
the green building owned and occupied by Draker
Solar Design, a renewable energy monitoring company
in Burlington. This work shows the community of
Burlington that renewable energy is here now and
possible in the present, and is not just an idea
for the future. Over the course of the summer I
took pictures to document work in progress, got
the building involved in a number of community events
(including the First Friday Art Hop and the Old
North End Ramble), made many potential business
contacts and learned a whole lot about the green
building business world.
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My favorite activity
of the summer was organizing a fundraiser for Local
Motion, the Burlington Community Bicycle Advocacy
Group. I designed a ‘sustainable’ bike
tour of the city. After contacting a wide range
of potential tour guides in Burlington, I was able
to create a plan that allowed a group of bicyclists
the chance to stop at various renewable and sustainable
energy initiatives along the waterfront, including
the brand new hydrogen fueling station at the Burlington
Electric Department.
I had other opportunities to attend the largest
renewable energy fair in the world (The Midwest
Renewable Energy Fair) where I met the editor of
HomePower, a leading renewable energy magazine.
I submitted an article later in the summer and it
should be published within the next year. I was
able to attend the Vermont Business Expo at the
Sheraton Hotel, where I met with many business leaders
and was able to really get a sense of how interconnected
the Vermont economy is.
Overall, I now have a better sense of what people
who work in public relations do and what methods
they use to organize and market events, especially
those related to the renewable energy field, and
how I can apply them in our own local community
of Burlington, Vermont. Once again, I would just
like to say that this would have never been possible
without your help. Thank you for supplying me with
a summer I will never forget.
Sincerely,
Chris Franske
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