This past November, Dr. Budd Hebert, professor of business at Harding University, held a two-day business ethics seminar at the college in Szolnok. This was a cooperative effort between Harding, Szolnok University College, and the LÉT Christian Foundation. Below is Dr. Hebert’s report:
The Invitation
The trip was a success! A two day seminar on the importance of personal character was completed at Szolnok University College in Hungary. Over a two day period of time, five seminars were conducted at the College with approximately 180 students and faculty in attendance. Upon completion of the visit, Harding Character Initiative was invited to develop a long term program involving Christian academicians and professionals from the United States holding special business seminars on the College campus in Szolnok.
This effort was made possible by Mr. Tim Westbrook, Associate Director of ICF at Harding University. In a conversation with Dr. Budd H. Hebert in September, 2007, Tim suggested that the business seminars already being conducted by the Harding Character Initiative in Donetsk, Ukraine could provide an opportunity to begin a work for the Lord on the campus of the Szolnok University College.
Local arrangements for the visit were made through the LET Christian Foundation, located in Szolnok. Budd departed on October 30 for Budapest, Hungary. The two seminars were
conducted on November 5 & 6.
The Visit & The Seminars
I was met at the airport Wednesday, about noon, in Budapest by Gyula Suto, a member of the Church in Szolnok. The ride to Szolnok is about 100+ km and took a little over an hour. We stopped in the town of Abony to have lunch at a locally owned restaurant named Meszaros Vendeglo. The atmosphere was all traditional and the food was great—especially the Hungarian gulash. We then drove into Szolnok. I was taken to my hotel, the Hotel Liget, which is owned and operated by Szolnok University College for the benefit of their students majoring in Tourism & Catering.
I was invited to a reception of a Chinese delegation that evening that had arrived to sign a contract to place Chinese students in the College. During the dinner it was revealed that the Chinese want to place 100 or more students in the school and they have agreed to construct a dormitory for the Chinese students. Kind of interesting, I travel to Hungary to meet Chinese!
Based on discussions with officers from the College the Chinese want to use this a vehicle for entering Europe for commercial purposes. A local Chinese, living in Budapest, interpreted for the evening.
Since November 1 (Thursday) is a national holiday, I took the opportunity to walk around the city of Szolnok. It is an interesting admixture of new and traditional architecture. Hypermarkets have found their way to the city, located in shopping centers on the periphery of the city. The downtown area is peppered mostly with small locally owned shops. People live in the heart of the city. This is a serious holiday in which everyone ostensibly visits cemeteries! The net effect was a ghost town in Szolnok! That night I had dinner with Michael and Lisa Shuttlesworth, missionaries in the town, Gyula and Judit and her daughter.
On Friday Gyula, Michael and Caleb (son of Michael and Lisa) and I took off for Budapest. It was a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and a breeze. We drove to a “park” on the edge of Budapest then took the Metro into the city. Budapest is a relatively easy city in which to get around, with the public transportation. And, as indicated above, it is an extraordinarily beautiful city. Even with the public transportation, we did a lot of walking. By the time darkness came, we were all ready for bed!
On Saturday, I begin preparing for the seminars.
I worshipped with the church in Szolnok on Sunday. Although small—about 30 members—they have a healthy diversity of members. They have had some recent success bringing in new members though summer camps conducted in the Park area on the other side of the Tisza River from Szolnok. After worship services we met at the home of Judit, where she had prepared a meal for everyone! The food and the fellowship were great!
That evening I met with Laszlo Kacsirek, PhD the Vice Rector for International Affairs and Laszlo Szacsuri, Head of English Business Studies. This is a College that has positioned itself in the market place by focusing upon international business and teaching business in English! They were very interested in building a relationship with Harding and developing a framework in which American businessmen could conduct short seminars at the College.
Early Monday morning Szacsuri picked me up at the hotel to go to the College. The classrooms are a short distance down the road—in the Park—from the hotel (owned by the College). Based on our e-mail communications, the College had prepared a flyer advertising the seminar and they had set aside both classes and class rooms for the seminar. The audience primarily were students learning business English—they wanted to be able to hear it! This morning the students were freshmen and sophomores majoring in business. In the first session, from 8:00—11:30, we discussed why personal character is important in business. In the afternoon, from 2:00—4:00 we discussed the importance of understanding one’s own talents before making work selections. There were about 40 students attending each session, most of them the same in both session.
Szacsuri again picked me up at the hotel early on Tuesday morning. We were scheduled for two separate seminars, one from 8:00—9:30 that discussed courage with business applications and a second from 10:00—11:30 in which we discussed the character trait, truthfulness, with business applications. Again, there were about 40 present in both sessions.
Upon completion of the seminar Gyula took me to Budapest where I checked into a motel for the evening. I was scheduled to depart on Wednesday morning for Munich thence to Dulles and on to Little Rock. The motel—more a chalet—is owned and operated by a former Hungarian tennis champion by the name of Gubacsine Harangozo Julianna (Julianna). It is called Sarokhaz Panzio and I fully recommend it to anyone traveling to and from Hungary!
By Budd H. Hebert
November 29, 2007
