European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 14, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine Back on track Cox news service like the Man was having difficulty Defi Ning the contributions by former Ohio Richard Celeste during his 17month tenure As director of the peace he kept speaking of intangibles Celeste raised restored identity and revived Enthus realizing he want making his the official told an Celeste was barnstorming through Africa not too Long ago visiting peace corps each there were six or eight and each Day his african hosts watched in open mouthed Awe Asce Leste  and enthusiastically wolfed Down every local food delicacy put before the africans loved the peace corps volunteers loved and Celeste loved you what Celeste has done is brought an Overall sense of Mission and vision Back to the peace the observer applied to another such accomplishments might seem but at an Agency that has gained its driving Force from such intangible qualities As celestes work is highly his enthusiasm is was How another source put he believes in what the peace corps has stood and he exudes it like a Good and that truly especially with this when Celeste came to the peace corps in the Agency was in Sam director of the peace corps Parent had Complete control Over the peace corps personnel and in Brown an outgoing peace corps director Carolyn Payton had carried on a acrimonious and very demoralizing Public squabble Over the Type of pro Grams the peace corps would undertake in the third at the observers called it a Snake pit or a hornets recalling such descriptions Celeste a lot of people thought the peace corps was going Down the this was a dispirited people were at each but i feel Good about the last year and a we were Able to fashion a More autonomous peace to bring Back authority to the peace corps director to shape the budget and to build morale and to begin to increase the sense of visibility and establish a sense of direction his own evaluation is shared by congressmen with a deep interest in the peace last during a House foreign affairs committee review of the peace corps budget for fiscal year Don a moderate Democrat from washing praised the ohioan for a Superb first As peace corps the Praise came despite the fact that Celeste was Given Little Money to implement his in the peace corps budget was two years despite rampant inflation it was just Mil Dick Celeste has been cheated of a great Deal in terms of what he could have done by Lack of said one peace corps he had far More ideas than he could the Bill authorizing foreign Aid spending for the cur rent year includes million for the peace a level even higher than that requested by president car to a this reflects the continued Strong bipartisan support enjoyed by the in Sharp contrast to other foreign economic assistance but con Gressional sources also say that celestes effective poli ticking was instrumental in securing the funding in the fight Over peace corps autonomy was viewed As the crucial test of celestes commitment to the peace the Agency allies believe that it can succeed Only if it retains an individual identity and which they say would be impossible if it were submerged in most observers believe Celeste has largely succeeded in reasserting control Over the peace corps budget and personnel from Brown and the peace corps director now has full control Over the Agency budget and program but there is still some grousing on Capitol Hill Over the fact that it shares recruitment with the Domestic Volunteer and that it shares several top administrative positions with on a scale of Celeste i give myself an 85 on the autonomy but in this if you wait for the youll be drawing your pen Sion before you see with its Independence Celeste embarked on an unabashed Public relations Campaign to reestablish the Public awareness of an Agency that had once been the very embodiment of american it is important to make this organization said one Agency have tried to make it but Celeste has been out there making getting the peace corps in the making the american Public realize it still exists and is Ameri Cas leading institution for learning about the developing the results of this Campaign Are unclear since the Agency budget has not permitted it to take on addition Al but there is an undeniable sense among its supporters that the peace corps is Back on Larry a conservative Republican from told Celeste during last aprils i think that you Are one of the Best spokesmen that i have Ever heard for the peace the tight budget has also blocked Celeste from initiating new but he in the words of one Agency permitted forces and trends that were just getting established when he arrived to for the most dominant peace corps program for years was the instruction of often to persons with no need to learn by the Agency had started to shift its emphasis to programs in vocational vegetable Small animal health and nutrition education and Inland Celeste is credited with dramatically increasing Agency programs geared toward under his women in the third world Are now regularly consulted As projects Are designed and More of them Are aimed at generating income for until Dick Celeste this area had not received adequate attention at said one Agency Celeste made women in development a policy of the peace corps and said he expected country directors to look at this the other area where Celeste is singled out for special Praise is beginning for the first time to develop a pro Gram in the United states capitalizing on the knowledge of the noting that one of the original goals set by president Kennedy for the peace corps was to use returning volunteers to educate the american people on the problems and needs of the developing Celeste the biggest failure in the past was the inability to bring in a systematic the experience of the vol he envisions using a volunteers for consultants to school officials to make sure that curricula Deal accurately with third world but Congress has so far not provided Money for the so called development education Oise Ste also instituted some far reaching changes in peace corps recruitment and training programs designed to put More capable and better prepared volunteers in the there Are some who feel this May be Bis lasting legacy at the Celeste will return to Ohio probably to make a second run for the even had Carter been he he would have returned to the state by Richard Celeste Success in giving the peace corps a sense of direction for the january 1981 the stars and stripes Page 13