Cleveland industrialist and philanthropist Peter C. Kole is the winner of the 1998 Distinguished Alumnus Award, ISU's highest award, which recognizes exemplary professional and/or personal contributions resulting in national or international visibility. A 1963 graduate of ISU with a BBA degree in business and finance, Kole is president and owner of one of the largest manufacturing firms in Cleveland. In addition, in large part through his efforts as chair of book collection for the New England Albanian Relief Organization, his hometown of Pogradec, Albania, has a library with more than 300,000 volumes. Kole has also had books shipped to Albanian schools and collected hospital and dental equipment for Albania. Kole's company, Paramount Metal Products, employs 300 in its five divisions and won Cleveland's 1992 Community Improvement Award for its efforts "to enhance local neighborhoods through reinvestment, job creation, and other improvements to the community." Kole continues to be a friend of ISU. He has endowed three scholarships at ISU with gifts totaling $150,000. "Peter C. Kole is an outstanding example of a businessman our students can emulate and admire for both his business success and community involvement," said Dr. Bill Stratton, dean of business. "The College of Business is very proud to claim Peter as one of our graduates."

October 16, the University honored Peter C. Role, BBA '63, Business and Finance, as the 1998 winner of the Idaho State University Distinguished Alumnus Award. This is ISU's highest award, and it recognizes exemplary professional and/or personal contributions resulting in national or international visibility. Alumni, faculty, students, and other friends and supporters of ISU joined President and Mrs. Richard L. Bowen for a pleasant and memorable dinner evening to recognize Kole. This traditional Homecoming activity also honored the winners of the William J. Bartz and Idaho State University Achievement Awards. In response to President Bowen's award presentation, Role shared with the audience his appreciation and highlights of his personal and business background. His success serves as an outstanding example of the rewards of commitment and ethics the College tries to instill in its graduates. Nancy Kole, a retired teacher, accompanied her husband to the dinner and other Homecoming festivities. Many of those attending enjoyed having a chance to talk with her at the preceding reception as well as during dinner. Her warm and friendly demeanor complements Kole's sincere desire "to give something back" for all the good he has received. Role continues generous contributions to the College of Business through funding four scholarships. He endowed the Frank Seelye-Peter C. Kole Scholarship with a gift of $50,000. This scholarship honors former College of Business Dean Seelye and is awarded to a non-traditional student in the College with preference given to children of single parents. He created the Klime and Athina Kole Memorial Scholarship with another gift of $50,000; it is awarded under the same criteria as the Seelye-Kole Scholarship. Kole also created the Peter C. Kole Scholarship with a gift of $50,000; this scholarship is awarded to a student in the College. After Kole's Homecoming visit, he provided another $50,000 scholarship for College majors in the CIS program. This generosity and concern for others mirrors Kole's contribution to his community in general. His parents brought him from Albania to the U. S. when he was one year old. After returning to his native country for the first time in 1990, Kole spearheaded a successful drive to obtain and ship books to Albania's elementary and high schools and universities. As chair of book collections for the New England Albanian Relief Organization he helped establish an American open-stack library of more than 300,000 volumes in his hometown of Pogradec. Kole's business success has enabled him to be a benefactor to so may less fortunate than he is. His company, Paramount Metal Products comprises five divisions that employ 300 people in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1992, the company won Cleveland's Community Improvement Award for its efforts to "enhance local neighborhoods through reinvestment, job creation, and other improvements in the community. Cleveland native, Dean William A. Stratton, first had the opportunity to visit Kole at his business on the near west side of Cleveland in June 1997, while taking a break from a professional meeting. In describing his visit, Stratton says, “On display in the reception area of Kole’s Paramount Metal Products companies – he owns and manages several different enterprises – are a number of awards he has won for fostering economic development in one of the older, more economically depressed areas of Cleveland’s inner city. Kole runs a clean, efficient operation with few frills; but he treats his employees well. Four of the five original employees in the first business Kole stated are still with his company, and the fifth just recently retired. Stratton notes, “in addition to his library project in his home country of Albania, Peter is talking to experts in Idaho about the potential for raising trout there as a means of helping his many relatives attain a better livelihood. The College of Business is very proud to claim Peter as one of our graduates. He is most worthy of being named Distinguished Alumnus."

Albanian Independence Day – November 22, 2008
Cleveland, Ohio

National Albanian American Council

Below is the program invitational program from the Dinner:

In September 2002, the council of the Commune Council in the village of Alarupi, region of Pogradec, Albania, passed two decisions (resolutions) honoring Mr. Kole for his efforts in rebuilding the school in his parents’ hometown. The first decision made Mr. Kole an honorary citizen of the village and the second decision named the school in honor of Mr. Kole’s parents who were citizens of the village. In addition, the pupils and teachers of the school sent a special thank-you letter and poem to Mr. Kole for his efforts. Copies of the certificate (and an English translation) are shown below. Also, English translations of the decisions and thank you letter from the school pupils and teachers are shown.

With a population of 3.3 million people, Albania is bordered on the north and east by the former Yugoslavia, on the south by Greece, and the Adriatic and Ionian Seas on the west. Albania, while one of the smallest countries in Europe (11,100 square miles or the size of Maryland), has throughout history played a key role due to its strategic location between Italy, Greece and the former Yugoslavia. Three quarters of the country consists of mountains and plateaus, part of the Alps, which run through the country from north to south. A coastal plain runs along the western edge of the country. This coastal region has a Mediterranean-like climate, allowing Albania to grow many crops, including olive trees, citrus groves and vineyards.

Albania is one of the less densely populated countries in Europe, about 300 people per square mile. Nearly two-thirds of the population reside in rural areas. Tirana, the capital, is the largest city withe nearly 300,000 inhabitants.

Climate

Albania falls under the humid subtropical belt of the Northern Hemisphere and is in the Mediterranean climactic zone with a relatively short, soft and very humid winter in the coastal lowlands and a long, hot and very dry summer. Most of the air streams running over Albania are average sea, western streams created over the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas (warm and humid), continental air streams coming from Eastern Europe (cold and dry) and tropical air streams coming from North Africa and Asia Minor (warm and dry, hot humid when arriving in Albania because they are saturated with humidity over the Mediterranean). Determining factors in Albanian weather are the powerful baric centers of the Iceland Cyclone with its branch the Bay of Geneva Cyclone (during the cold half of the year )and the Azore Anti-cyclone (during the warm half of the year).

The mountainous relief of the country also has a great effect on the climate. Because of the mountains, especially in the direction of the main ranges, the influence of the seas is strongly felt in the narrow strip of the coastal lowlands, whereas the influence of the sea in the east is lessened. As a rule, the rainfall on the western slopes of the mountains is greater than on the eastern slopes. Climate in Albania changes considerably from one region to another with pronounced contrasts especially in temperature, rainfall and air humidity. The annual average rainfall in Albania is 1430 mm. Rainfall in the cold half of the year accounts for 70 % of the annual amount. As a rule, rainfall decreases from the west to the east

Sunlight ranges from 2750 hours (Tirana) to 2046 (Kukes) a year. Other cities enjoy 2722 hours (Vlore), 2520 hours (Shkoder), 2423 hours (Korce), 2246 hours (Pershkopi), 2731 hours a year (Xare - Saranda) a year.

History

The territory of present day Albania has been inhabited since the middle Palaeolitic period (100,000 to 40,000 B.C.), but the first significant civilization dates from the Neilitic period (6,000 to 2,000 B.C.). The original people, the Illyrians, are the ancestors of the present day Albanians. Illyrians were skilled in the working of metals, and also engaged in trade and some piracy. These activities soon brought them into contact with the Greeks, who established colonies around 600 B.C. The Illyrian Kingdom came under attack from the Romans in the late 3rd century B.C., with Philip of Macedonia providing military assistance in 214 B.C. Aseries of wars culminated in Roman conquest and control in 167 B.C.

Despite Roman rule, the Illyrians retained their own language, customs and traditions. During this Roman period, which lasted until the 4th century A.D., Illyria enjoyed peace and prosperity, with the city Durres becoming a major Roman trading center. From the 5th until the 12th century, control of the region went back and forth between Byzantium (Constantinople) and the Bulgarians. Independent feudal states were established between the 12th and 14th century. After the Turkish victory over the Serbs in 1389, Albania came under Ottoman control.

From 1443 to 1468, one of Albania's brightest moments in history was their brief freedom from the Turks, led by their national hero, Gjargj Kastrioti (given the name Skanderbeg). From his fortress in Kruje, Skanderbeg led his fellow Albanians in some twenty five battles against the Turks. This brief period of freedom ended eleven years after Skanderbeg's death, with the Turks regaining control in 1479. For the next 433 years the Ottoman Empire controlled the country.

The decline of the Ottoman Empire, assisted by various insurrections, led to Albania's declaration of independence in 1912, with Ismail Qemali heading the first government. The Great Powers recognized Albania as an independent nation in 1913 after they had partitioned Albania, giving more than one-half of the country to Serbia and Greece.

In 1924, following the overthrow of Fan Noli, Albania was ruled by the despotic King Zog, whose own rule ended abruptly in 1939 following the invasion of the country by Mussolini. The Albanian Communist Party was founded in 1941, led by Enver Hoxha. Resistance against the Italians and later the Germans led to the liberation of the country from foreign troops in 1944. Albania was the only Eastern European country without the presence of the Soviet Army.

The People's Republic of Albania with Enver Hoxha as president was established in 1946. Following a break in relations with Yugoslavia in 1948, the removal of Sviet influence in 1960, and a deterioration in relations with China in 1978, Albania chose to follow a unique form of Marxism-Leninism. Albania chose to be isolated from most countries, becoming self-reliant in all matters. Albania's brand of communism was patterned after the form developed by Joseph Stalin. For forty years, Hoxha ruthlessly crushed all dissent and opposition, outlawed all religion, and prepared his country for a possible invasion from the outside world. The U.S., along with the Soviet Union, were the ultimate enemies.

With the death of Hoxha in 1985, the enormous weight of isolationand the atmosphere of fear began to be lifted. Following the breakdown of communism throughout Eastern Europe in 1990, Albania cautiously began to move towards true democracy. This quest culminated in the landslide victory of the democrats in 1992.

• What about passports and visas?
  
Visitors should have a valid passport. No visa is required for Americans visiting up to 30 days. All other visitors can easily obtain entry or transit visas from:

The Embassy of the Republic of Albania
1511 K Street nw - Suite 110
Washington D.C. 20005
(202) 223-4942

• What is the climate in Albania?
  
  
Mediterranean climate, cooler in the mountains. Spring and fall, cool nights and comfortable days. Summers are much warmer. Winters can be quite cold in the mountains.

• In what time zone does Albania lie?
  
  
Local Albanian time is 6 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. As in most parts of Europe, Albania observes daylight savings time from the end of March to the end of September.

• What currency is used in Albania?
  
  
Albania's monetary unit is the lek. There are 100 qindarkas to the lek. Money can be exchanged at the front desk of most hotels. They accept American Express and Visa traveler's cheques. Credit cards are not generally accepted in the country. The U.S. dollar is often used as an alternative currency. We strongly suggest that you carry a number of small denomination U.S. dollars.

• What languages are spoken?
  
  
Albanian is the official language of the country (an Indo-European language with many Latin, Greek and Slav words). Most hotel and restaurant staff speak English. Many Albanian speak more than one or two foreign languages, including English.

• How is telecommunication service?
  
  
To dial to Albania from the U.S., dial the International Access Code (011) + Country Code (355) + City Code (if needed) + desired number. International calls can be made from most hotels. Some telex and fax facilities are also available.

Albanians are now allowed to practice their respective religions. Most are either Muslim, Albanian Orthodox, or Catholic

Der Mutter Teresa Flughafen (albanisch: Aeroporti Nene Tereza) ist der einzige zivil genutzte (internationale) Flughafen Albaniens. Er liegt etwa 25 Kilometer nordwestlich von Tirana beim Dorf Rinas, nach dem er früher benannt war. Er verfügt über eine Landebahn und ein Terminal. Die Infrastruktur für Passagiere ist nach wie vor sehr einfach. Im Flughafen stehen Duty-free-Shop, Autovermietung, Wechselstube und Taxis zur Verfügung.
Flugreisen Albanien
Komfortabler Preisvergleich für das Fliegen nach Albanien. Sie möchten billig fliegen nach Tirana? Unser benutzerfreundliches Portal ermöglicht Ihnen schnelles und leichtes Buchen. Hier finden Sie alles zum Thema Flugreisen Albanien und Billigflieger Tirana zu Top-Konditionen.

Fliegen nach Tirana mit Albanian Airlines
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Telefonisch buchbar unter: +49 (0) 0234 - 387431 oder 4146922,