The Ethan Allen Career Advancement Grant supports working residents of Essex, Elizabethtown, Lewis, Westport or Willsboro NY who wish to pursue specific credentialing, licensure, internship, or degree programs. The goal is to help them grow their careers and the community.
Ethan Allen President, Chairman and CEO Farooq Kathwari was named a 2020 Ascend A-List Business Leader. Learn more about this prestigious honor.
1. Personal Development
Ethan Allen Recipients are encouraged to take a personal development journey and explore their passions, interests and talents. Whether it’s pursuing a credential, licensure, internship or degree program in their chosen field, the Allen Family Career Advancement Grant can help them achieve their goals.
The company’s leadership echoed this message at its annual convention, celebrating its 90th year of innovation. Chairman, President and CEO Farooq Kathwari discussed the importance of combining design with a focus on people, and spoke of how the company has evolved from an iconic retailer of colonial furnishings to one that now offers a full spectrum of solutions for the Twenty-First Century American Home.
He also discussed the company’s history of making its own furniture, and its focus on sustainable sourcing and social responsibility. He shared that the company has built its business on a foundation of trust and integrity, and is proud that the company has never been in financial trouble.
A panel discussion followed, with participants exploring the question: How can we be better citizens? Panelists included John O’Brien, founder and executive director of The Vermont Foodbank, who discussed the importance of philanthropy to strengthen communities; Mary Jane Hennessy, senior vice president for government affairs at Ethan Allen; and Sarah Hodge, director of public policy at The Conservation Fund.
Among the many topics addressed were the need to educate young people about civic engagement, including volunteering, and the role of public service in developing leaders who can help create a more inclusive and equitable world. Panelists also emphasized the importance of supporting organizations that promote civil discourse and debate on critical issues.
J. Kevin Graffagnino, professor of History at the University of Vermont and expert in global and military history, presented a compelling look at the life of Ira Allen, land speculator, revolutionary, pamphleteer, politician, and empire builder. While in some ways a larger than life character, in other ways he was self serving and tragically flawed. Nevertheless, it is his complexity and uncertainty that make him so interesting to us today. His book, Inventing Ethan Allen, is a reexamination of the famous Vermont pioneer’s life.
2. Professional Development
Professional development is the process of seeking out new knowledge or skills in order to improve one’s career path. This can include taking courses, attending seminars or webinars, and even seeking out a mentor. The benefits of pursuing professional development are vast and varied. For example, learning new skills can allow for better communication with coworkers and clients, or it may help an employee become more well-versed in the latest trends within their industry. It can also give a person more confidence in their work and even help them overcome feelings of imposter syndrome.
Professional Development can also give people the tools they need to grow professionally, even when they’re not looking for a change in their career. For instance, learning a new skill set can make them more attractive to potential employers, or it might help them pursue freelance or consulting opportunities. Additionally, professionals who prioritize professional development are often better equipped to handle challenges at work.
For businesses, focusing on professional development can have significant advantages. It can increase employee retention by showing employees that the company cares about their growth. It can also reduce turnover rates and save companies a lot of money. Lastly, it can also help companies adapt to changing business landscapes.
However, it’s important that businesses focus on professional development in a way that supports their employees’ career goals and doesn’t interfere with personal or family obligations. For instance, it’s not uncommon for companies to offer paid training programs or reimburse for certification exams. While these benefits are tremendous, it’s important to choose a program that is aligned with the goals of each individual employee. To do so, companies should create a plan that includes the skills and knowledge that each employee needs to advance their career. Additionally, companies should provide a safe environment for employees to learn and grow.
3. Leadership Development
The ability to lead is one of the most sought after skills for employees, and leaders are increasingly required to do more with less. With the rise of new forms of technology, and increasing diversity in the workplace, leadership development has become an important area for professional growth.
Leadership development includes activities that help individuals to develop their capacity to influence others and achieve results through teams, whether at work or in communities. These activities can include coaching, mentoring, training, consulting, and coaching, as well as education, research and writing. Leadership development programs should be designed to fit the specific needs of an organization or community, and should be based on an understanding of evidence-based practice.
Several challenges face those who want to be more evidence-based in their leader development programs (LDPs). These include: an underdeveloped knowledge base about effective LD, with what does exist often underappreciated and difficult to access; the identification of many different interventions in LDPs as leadership development, even when they lack clear content or method; and difficulties with assessing the effectiveness of individual LD efforts.
Our project aims to address these and other issues related to a better understanding of the nature and value of effective leadership development. We are working with partners at the Ethan Allen Homestead, Vermont Historical Society, the University of Vermont, and the Fort Ticonderoga Museum to create a documentary film that explores the life of Ethan Allen and his impact on the Revolutionary War and Vermont’s struggles for statehood. We are also collaborating with local schools and community groups to develop curriculum and other educational materials to accompany the film.
The Allen Family Career Advancement Grant is available for working residents of Essex, Elizabethtown, Lewis, Westport or Willsboro NY who wish to pursue a credentialing, licensure, internship, degree, or certificate program that furthers their career advancement goals. This opportunity is made possible by the generosity of philanthropists such as Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, President and Principal Executive Officer of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. The program is administered by the University of Vermont and the Vermont Council on Rural Development, which receives funding from the U.S. Administration of Education and the State of Vermont.
4. Community Development
Throughout the years, Ethan Allen has been involved in a wide variety of community and educational activities. Our contributions to these programs and services are a reflection of our company’s values, which focus on social responsibility.
The Ethan Allen Foundation offers the Allen Family Career Advancement Grant, which provides assistance to working residents of Essex, Elizabethtown, Lewis, Westport or Willsboro, New York who want to further their career ambitions through a credentialing program, licensure, internship, or degree program. This program was created to ensure that local people could have access to education, despite their limited financial means and other personal circumstances.
Ethan Allen Transportation GM Rick Wolff has been awarded The Golden Merit Award by the National School Transportation Association (NSTA). This prestigious honor is given to bus operators who have demonstrated excellence in safety, driver training, business practice and vehicle maintenance, as well as superior service to their school district, community and pupil transportation industry.
In a remarkable generation of Green Mountain frontier pioneers, land speculator, revolutionary, pamphleteer, and politician Ira Allen stood out for his extraordinary energy, vision, and accomplishments. This talk will explore his life and legacy, examining how his vision and strategies were shaped by his experience on the frontier and his response to Vermont’s challenging political and economic environment.
This event is free to the public but registration is required.
A redevelopment project on the site of an old Ethan Allen plant in Randolph, Vermont, has been the catalyst for a revitalization of downtown Randolph. The redeveloped property will include housing, offices, retail and commercial space, and a public park. To help make the project a reality, RACDC is working to secure funding from federal, state and local sources. This will allow the development of a new park and public spaces, as well as new homes that can be sold to a range of buyers, including working families. This will benefit the surrounding neighborhood and downtown area as a whole. The project is scheduled to begin construction in 2018.