Since 1962, Helping People Around the World Have Better Relationships

1962

• Dr. Thomas Gordon teaches the first P.E.T. course to a group of 17 parents. This is the first communications skill-training program for parents.

Meanwhile, during this year…

• U.N. announces Earth’s population has hit three billion
• Eight of nine planets align for the first time in 400 years
• First quasar located by radio
• Rolling Stones give first performance

1963

• P.E.T. graduate, Barbara Lamb, and her 5 year-old daughter, Bonnie, record “The Bonnie Tape” in which Barbara uses the P.E.T. skills to resolve an ongoing conflict about Bonnie getting up for school in the morning. This recording has been a part of the P.E.T. course ever since.

This year in history…

• U.S. Congress passes bill requiring equal pay for equal work regardless of sex
• Beatles record “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
• American Heart Association is first agency to campaign against cigarettes
• President Kennedy is assassinated

1964

• Tom writes “A Credo for My Relationships with Others”.
• The first P.E.T. workbook is published.
• Tom trains the first two P.E.T. Instructors, Dorothy Briggs and Patricia Boquist. Dorothy later writes Your Child’s Self-Esteem which becomes a best-seller.

Also happening during this year…

• Supremes release “Baby Love”
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 passes in U.S.
• China becomes the world’s fifth nuclear power
• Dr. Martin Luther King is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

1965

• The Teacher Effectiveness Training (T.E.T.) course is developed in response to P.E.T. parents who want their children to be treated the same way at school as they are at home.

In other 1965 news…

• Maple Leaf becomes official flag of Canada
• The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan Show
• President Johnson orders the first combat troops to Vietnam
• Sony introduces a home video tape recorder, priced at $995

1966

• The first T.E.T. course is taught and takes place in northern California.
• The first P.E.T. brochure “Is There a Stranger in Your Family?” is published.

Also, this year…

• Carl Sagan turns one billion seconds old
• Indira Gandhi is elected India’s third Prime Minister
• Anti-Vietnam War demonstrations take place in U.S., Europe and Australia
• Movie actor, Ronald Reagan, is elected Governor of California

1967

• P.E.T. gains momentum. The idea that “parents go to school” is very newsworthy.
• Fifty P.E.T. Instructors are now trained.
• Tom gives 30 speeches and 10 feature articles are published.
• Linda Adams is hired as a part-time assistant.

This year in history…

• The world’s first ATM is installed in London
• Aretha Franklin records “Respect”
• DNA is created in a test tube
• Diane Baumrind publishes groundbreaking research on parenting styles showing that the authoritative (democratic) style as compared to the authoritarian or permissive style is associated with better outcomes for children

1968

• Tom delivers a keynote address at the American Psychological Association (APA) convention and receives many requests from psychologists who want to teach P.E.T.

Also, during this year…

• Elvis Presley stages a comeback
• General Motors produces its 100 millionth car
• U.S. involvement in Vietnam War reaches its peak
• Martin Luther King is assassinated

1969

• Tom and new staff member, Ralph Jones, conduct P.E.T. Instructor Training Workshops throughout the U.S. training hundreds of new Instructors.
• The Pasadena City Schools contract with us to offer T.E.T. to their entire staff.

Also happening…

• Woodstock Rock Festival is held in New York
• U.S.-North Vietnam peace talks begin in Paris
• Pele scores his 1,000^th soccer goal
• First trial flight of the Concorde takes place

1970

• The Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) book is published in English and will eventually be published in 34 languages.
• Tom appears on major national television talk shows and is a consultant to the White House Conference on Children.
• There are now P.E.T. Instructors in 32 states.
• The National Board of the YMCA contracts with us to train their staff and volunteers as P.E.T. Instructors.
• Dr. Peter Newell is hired as a Trainer of Instructors.

This year in history…

• The Beatles break up
• Thor Heyerdahl crosses Atlantic on reed raft, Ra
• Edwin Land patents Polaroid camera
• Japan becomes 4^th nation to put a satellite in orbit

1971

• Barbara Walters gives the P.E.T. book a good review on the Today Show.
• Articles on P.E.T. appear in McCall’s, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times.
• The Seattle Public Schools contract with us to offer T.E.T. to all their teachers to facilitate racial integration.
• The Leader Effectiveness Training (L.E.T.) course is developed.
• Tom Blakistone is hired as a management consultant.

And also happening during this year…

• Apollo 14 lands on the moon
• Second wave of women’s movement gains momentum
• U.N. Secretary General, U Thant, signs proclamation of vernal equinox as Earth Day
• IBM introduces floppy disk

1972

• Official certification of P.E.T. Instructors begins.
• The L.E.T. course is launched.
• Noel “Speed” Burch, a former school principal and teacher, is hired as head of the T.E.T. Department. Judy Gordon joins the staff as the Feedback newsletter editor and convention coordinator.

This year in history…

• Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to visit China
• First electric power plant fueled by garbage begins operating
• Ms. magazine is launched
• Last American combat troops leave Vietnam

1973

• P.E.T. expands outside the U.S. to French Canada through the efforts of Jacques Lalanne who becomes the first P.E.T. Representative.
• The P.E.T. book becomes a best-seller helped by Tom’s appearances on the Phil Donahue, Today and Tonight Shows.
• The company receives the first of 55 contracts to train instructors within the U.S. military.
• The Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) begins to offer P.E.T. and T.E.T. to their parents and teachers which culminates in 30,000 Lutherans being trained.
• Kathleen Cornelius is hired as a Trainer of Instructors.

Also, happening this year…

• Pope Paul VI has an audience with Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister, at the Vatican
• President Nixon signs the Endangered Species Act into law
• The Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus for the first time

1974

• The T.E.T. book is published.
• The 100,000th P.E.T. graduate, Judy Cooke, of Austin, Texas is recognized.
• The New York Times calls P.E.T. a “national movement.”
• Steve Emmons becomes an Instructor. 2014 marks the 40th year that he has been conducting P.E.T. Instructor Training Workshops throughout the U.S. and around the world, most recently in China, Bulgaria, Turkey, Poland and South Africa.

And in other news…

• President Nixon resigns as a result of the Watergate scandal
• Israel and Egypt sign weapons accord
• Ayatollah Khomeni calls for an Islamic republic in Iran
• The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act is passed by the U.S. Congress

1975

• P.E.T. begins in Australia under the auspices of the newly-formed Effectiveness Training Institute of Australia (ETIA).
• There are now P.E.T. Instructors in every U.S. state.
• We secure college credit for course attendance.
• You Can Have a Family Where Everybody Wins by Dr. Earl Gaulke is published, providing a Christian perspective on P.E.T.
• Ken Miller, a former school teacher, joins the T.E.T. department. Jean Hall is hired to head up the new youth department and Tony Zener joins the staff as the Program Development Director.

This year in history…

• U.S. Supreme Court rules that teachers can spank their pupils after warning
• Microsoft is founded as partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen
• Helsinki Pact guaranteeing borders, rights signed by 35 nations
• Cars in the Netherlands must have seat belts

1976

• The P.E.T. in Action book (co-authored by Tom and his daughter, Judy) is published, documenting what happened in actual families as a result of parents’ participation in P.E.T.
• Tom and Linda Adams get married.
• The P.E.T. book is published in Sweden and becomes an immediate best-seller. Tom and Linda go to Sweden where Tom trains 70 P.E.T. Instructors and speaks before parliament.
• Feature articles appear in People, Harper’s Bazaar and Psychology Today magazines.
• The National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse asks Tom to write a booklet they can give to the parents they serve. It’s titled “What Every Parent Should Know” and is still in publication.
• Jean Hall and Tony Zener develop the Youth Effectiveness Training (Y.E.T.) course.
• Mel Kieschnick, a former church school teacher, is hired as P.E.T. Program Director and Sid Wool joins the staff to head up the L.E.T. department.

In other news…

• The Irish rock band, U2, is formed and gives its first performance
• Nadia Comaneci becomes first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Games
• 10,000 Northern Ireland women demonstrate for peace in Belfast
• Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs found Apple Computer and the Apple I is created

1977

• National public television produces a 13-part series on P.E.T. which airs weekly on 200 stations throughout the country.
• A feature article on P.E.T. in Family Circle magazine generates 7,000 phone calls and letters.
• The L.E.T. book is published.
• Tom appears on the Phil Donahue show for the third time.
• Dr. Bud Upshaw becomes an L.E.T. Trainer. Still conducting workshops in 2014, Bud has been teaching L.E.T. longer than anyone.

This year in history…

• Apple II, the first personal computer, goes on sale
• Focus on the Family is founded by James Dobson, an advocate of physical punishment and a strong critic of P.E.T.
• Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visits Israel
• Spain holds first free elections since 1936

1978

• The Effectiveness Training for Women (E.T.W.) course, developed by Linda Adams and Tony Zener, is launched.
• A national effort is begun to teach P.E.T. to single parents.
• P.E.T. starts up in France with Beatrice Bellisa as the representative and in Belgium under the auspices of Ecole de Parents.
• Kent Stickler becomes an L.E.T. Trainer and begins offering the course to banking institutions and as of 2014 has taught over 7,500 people.
• Australian Robert Pereira becomes an instructor and has now taught over 5,300 parents, teachers, youth, and clergy.

Also in 1978…

• Price of gold tops $200.00 an ounce
• Sweden becomes the first nation in the world to ban aerosol sprays, believed to be damaging to the earth’s ozone layer
• Nearly 100,000 demonstrators march on Washington, D.C. for Equal Rights Amendment
• Bee Gee’s “Saturday Night Fever” goes to No. #1

1979

• The E.T.W. book by Linda Adams is published and is serialized in major newspapers throughout the U.S.
• Oklahoma City Schools sponsor Effectiveness Training courses for teachers, students and parents.
• P.E.T. begins in the Netherlands when Wilna Weeda, Annet Bakker-Brouwer and Ankie Ulrich establish N.E.T. John Rimml founds the program in Switzerland and Austria. And in Finland, Liisa Tuovinen affiliates with the Lutheran church to offer P.E.T. there. In addition, the first P.E.T. Instructors are trained in Denmark and Mexico.

This year in history…

• Sweden become the first country to outlaw spanking
• International Year of the Child and The Year of Janusz Korczak begins
• U.S. and China begin diplomatic relations
• Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

1980

• The New Jersey Dept. of Education trains 3,000 administrators, teachers and parents in Effectiveness Training courses.
• Both the P.E.T. and T.E.T. courses are updated.
• Chie Kondo founds JIPET and Ralph Jones goes to Tokyo to train the first 67 Japanese P.E.T. Instructors.
• In Germany, Dr. Karlpeter Breuer establishes P.E.T. and organizes the first workshops. 2014 marks his 34th year as the representative. P.E.T. is also established in Madagascar by Sister Estelle Fontaine.
• The largest women’s organization in Sweden sponsors an E.T.W. Instructor Training Workshop.
• Mel Kieschnick and Tom develop Effectiveness Training for Clergy.

Also happening in this year…

• The Gdansk agreement is signed, allowing Polish citizens to bring about democratic changes within a communist political structure
• Gold reaches $1,000.00 an ounce
• U.S. boycotts Summer Olympics in Moscow
• Ronald Reagan is elected President of the U.S.

1981

• School districts in Mississippi, Indiana and New Jersey offer Effectiveness Training courses as a way of dealing with the desegregation of schools.
• E.T.W. is taught to military women to help combat sexual harassment.
• Father Patrick Tyrrell of Limerick, Ireland becomes an Instructor and starts offering P.E.T. and then T.E.T., E.T.W. and Y.E.T. eventually training over 3,000 people there.
• Steve Crandall becomes an L.E.T. Trainer. Steve is responsible for introducing and getting L.E.T. established in many companies including Meijer, Magna Donnelly and Old Kent State Bank.

In other news…

• Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse (first invented in 1963 by D. Engelhart)
• AIDS epidemic is formally recognized by medical profession
• IBM-PC computer is introduced
• Behind Closed Doors by Dr. Murray Straus, et al, a book which reports on the prevalence of physical and verbal punishment in the American family, is published

1982

• Instructors begin offering P.E.T. and Y.E.T. through the juvenile justice system.
• P.E.T. is established in French-speaking Switzerland by Bruno Savoyat and in English-speaking Canada by Inger Slater. It also begins in Bermuda.
• Participation in P.E.T. and other courses declines in U.S.

This year in history…

• President Reagan talks about the need for “good old-fashioned discipline” in schools
• Dr. Michael De Bakey performs first successful heart transplant
• Time magazine’s Man of the Year is a computer
• China announces its population is one billion +

1983

• We test a home-study program for P.E.T.
• Tom and Linda go to Sydney, Australia to attend the first national conference of Effectiveness Training Instructors there.
• The P.E.T. book is published in Indonesian.
• W. L. Gore becomes an L.E.T. client and begins offering the course to all of its associates.

Also, during this year…

• Lech Walesa wins the Nobel Peace Prize
• Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” becomes #1 album
• Greece gives wives an equal voice in the home
• Oldest human skeleton, aged 80,000 years, is discovered in Egypt

1984

• Well over 10,000 military personnel have now participated in an Effectiveness Training course.
• Mel Kieschnick trains Instructors in Karachi, Pakistan. P.E.T. and other courses start in Peru.
• Thousands of different parent training programs are now available in U.S., some of which borrowed heavily from P.E.T.
• Ken Miller moves to Florida and founds the Teacher Education Institute which offers T.E.T. to over 50,000 teachers in the following 12 years.

Also, during this year…

• First planet outside our solar system is discovered
• South African Bishop Desmond Tutu wins the Nobel Peace Prize
• U.K. signs agreement to return Hong Kong to China in 1997
• Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial is completed

1985

• In his book, The Strong-Willed Child, James Dobson makes a strong case against parents using P.E.T. and encourages them to use corporal punishment in disciplining their children.
• L.E.T. has a very successful year when courses are offered to several Fortune 500 companies.
• There are now over 20,000 E.T.W. graduates.
• Dr. Bill Stinnett becomes an L.E.T. Trainer. As of 2014, he has conducted over 400 L.E.T. workshops in the U.S. and in many countries around the world.

This year in history…

• “We are the World” is recorded
• Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the leader of the Soviet Union
• Madonna’s “Crazy for You” goes to #1
• President Reagan and Gorbachev meet for the first time

1986

• P.E.T. is introduced in Iceland. Vigdis Finnbogadottir, the future president, participates in a P.E.T. course taught by Icelandic representative, Hugo Thorisson.
• The courses become known as “The Gordon Method” in Germany, the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe.

Also, during this year…

• International Peace Year begins
• Space shuttle, Challenger, explodes 73 seconds after takeoff
• Oprah Winfrey’s television show premieres
• Reagan and Gorbachev open talks at summit in Reykjavik, Iceland

1987

• We celebrate the 25^th anniversary of P.E.T.
• Australian Trainer and Instructor, Lola Mavor, visits us in Solana Beach. As of 2014, Lola has trained 700 Instructors and over 4,200 course participants.
• Hungary becomes the first Eastern Bloc country where P.E.T. is offered, established by Gordon Iskola. P.E.T. also begins in South Africa.

This year in history…

• Astronomers at the University of California see first sight of birth of a galaxy
• Margaret Thatcher is first British Prime Minister in 160 years to win third consecutive term
• Bruce Springsteen releases “Tunnel of Love”
• President Reagan gives speech at Berlin Wall, saying “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

1988

• Tom writes a summary about how P.E.T. differs from competing parenting programs to help Instructors explain these differences to parents.
• The third conference of GTI’s European Representatives is held in Helsinki, Finland.

Also in this year’s news…

• Iceland elects Vigdis Finnbogadottir as President
• Latvian flag is raised in Riga for the first time since annexation by the U.S.S.R.
• U.N. Peacekeeping Forces win Nobel Peace Prize
• Benazir Bhutto is named first female President of a Moslem country, Pakistan

1989

• P.E.T. begins in South Korea under the leadership of Dr. Inza Kim whose dream is to see North and South Korea reunited and believes that the Gordon skills can contribute to that goal.
• Teaching Children Self-Discipline in which Tom makes a case against punitive, power-based method of discipline, is published.
• Linda Adams’ book, Be Your Best, is published (revised edition of Effectiveness Training for Women).

This year in history…

• Hungary proclaims itself a republic and declares communist rule ended
• The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System is placed in orbit
• Germans begin demolishing the Berlin Wall
• 150 million year-old fossil egg found (oldest dinosaur embryo)

1990

• Effectiveness Training sponsors a worldwide Conflict Resolution Training event and representatives and instructors in 23 countries offer a free one-day course in which 12,000 people participate.
• P.E.T. is established in Italy by Alberto Zucconi and in Taiwan by Steven Hsu.
• Tom and Linda travel to Japan for the 10^th anniversary celebration of P.E.T. there.
• A landmark paper by Peter Salovey and John Mayer on emotional intelligence is published. It makes a case for learning social skills including self-expression and the ability to understand and empathize with others.
• Michelle Adams is hired as an assistant.

Also, in the news…

• Lithuania declares its independence
• Romania bans the Communist Party (first Warsaw Pact member to do so)
• East and West Germany merge to become Germany
• Soviet President Gorbachev wins Nobel Peace Prize

1991

• Over 40,000 P.E.T. Instructors have been certified by now.
• P.E.T. is established in Greece by the Costeas-Gitonas School.
• We publish a summary of research findings confirming the benefits of the P.E.T. model.
• A European “Gordon Youth for Peace” event is created by Wilna Weeda (Netherlands) and Bruno Savoyat (Switzerland) during which they and U.S. Trainer Steve Emmons teach the Y.E.T. skills to teens from seven countries.

Also in the news…

• Warsaw Pact officially dissolves
• 400,000 demonstrate for democracy in Madagascar
• Estonia declares independence from the U.S.S.R.
• Last day of existence of the U.S.S.R.

1992

• We develop, produce and test a video-based P.E.T. course.
• The L.E.T. course materials are updated.
• L.E.T. is established in Hungary by Sandor Szomora, Peter Papp and Eva Kiss.
• A conference of international representatives is held in Hungary.

And also during this year…

• President Bush apologizes for raising taxes after pledging not to
• 10,000,000^th cell phone sold
• Euro-Disney opens in France
• Bill Clinton wins the U.S. presidential election over President George H.W. Bush

1993

• The Sales Effectiveness Training (S.E.T.) book co-authored by Tom and Carl Zaiss is published.
• P.E.T. begins in New Zealand, Indonesia and Argentina.

In other news…

• 12-member European Economic Community sets up vast free trade zone
• The World Wide Web is born at CERN (on the French-Swiss border)
• Nelson Mandela and South African President F.W. de Klerk are awarded Nobel Peace Prize
• Barbra Streisand gives her first live concert in 20 years

1994

• A Hungarian T.E.T. Instructor, Maria Nadas, opens a “Gordon School” where children learn traditional curriculum in conjunction with the Gordon Model skills.
• To celebrate the International Year of the Family, Instructors around the world hold one-day events to promote democracy in the family.
• Tom, Linda and Michelle travel to Budapest and meet the President of Hungary, Arpad Guncz accompanied by the Hungarian book publishers, Sandor Szomora and Eva Kiss.
• Linda becomes President of Effectiveness Training International.

Also, during this year…

• International Year of the Family begins with the theme “Building the small democracy at the heart of society”
• The U.S. Congress passes the Violence Against Women Act
• Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
• Bill Gates buys Leonardo da Vinci’s “Codex” for $30,800,000

1995

• Making the Patient Your Partner co-authored by Tom and Dr. Sterling Edwards is published.
• Tom and Linda attend instructors’ conventions in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
• Be Your Best is adapted for university students and the first group of Instructors is trained at Depauw University in Indiana.
• According to the Pew Foundation, there are now 50,000 parenting programs in the U.S.
• P.E.T. is established in Portugal by Dr. Joao Hipolito.

This year in history…

• Austria, Finland and Sweden act to join European Union
• Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered and becomes visible to the naked eye nearly a year later
• The 4^th Conference on Women opens in Beijing with over 4,750 delegates from 181 countries in attendance
• The Dow-Jones closes above 5,000 for the first time

1996

• We change our company name from Effectiveness Training International to Gordon Training International.
• The Synergistic Selling course which applies the Gordon Model skills to the salesperson/customer relationship is developed and introduced.
• We design the Conflict Resolution Workshop (CRW), a customized program for Merck managers.
• The international representatives convene in Marathona, Greece.

And in other news…

• Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
• IBM’s Deep Blue defeats chess champion, Gary Kasparov
• Intel releases 200 mhz Pentium chip
• The first democratically-elected Palestinian parliament is formed

1997

• Tom is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Australian Senator, Jocelyn Newman.
• Up to this time, 60,000 Australians have participated in one of our courses.
• The L.E.T. course materials are updated. The Conflict Resolution Workshop is revised for use by any company.
• Michelle becomes Director of Client Relations for L.E.T.

Also, during this year…

• Ted Turner gives a billion dollars to the U.N.
• Princess Diana is killed in a car accident in Paris
• Japan’s maglev train breaks world speed record at 280.3 mph
• Merck baldness pill for men is approved by FDA

1998

• As the idea of peer mediation at school gains momentum, we develop The Mediation Workshop for junior high and high school students as well as Resolving Conflicts at School.

This year in history…

• Google is launched
• The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels
• New law requires California bars must be smoke-free
• President Clinton is impeached

1999

• N.E.T., GTI’s representative in the Netherlands, celebrates 20 years of P.E.T. during which time they trained 1,000 Instructors and 45,000 Dutch people participated in a course.
• It’s the 10^th anniversary of P.E.T. in South Korea where over 50,000 parents were trained during that period.
• Tom receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Foundation.

Also, during this year…

• Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO
• The Dow-Jones closes above 11,000 for the first time
• The Day of Six Billion: the proclaimed 6 billionth living human in the world is born
• November 11, 1999 is last upside down date until January 1, 6000

2000

• The P.E.T. book, now considered a classic, is revised and updated and published on its 30^th anniversary.
• P.E.T. re-starts in South Africa with new Representative Maggie Heyneke.
• Tom receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Psychological Association.
• Noel Burch and Tom complete their book, Good Relationships: What Makes Them, What Breaks Them.
• Michelle becomes Vice-President of GTI.

And in other news…

• No major Y2K problems occur as the year 2000 arrives
• President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea meets with Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea, for the beginning of the first-ever inter-Korea summit
• Hillary Rodham Clinton is elected to the U. S. Senate while she is still the First Lady
• Vice-President Al Gore delivers his concession speech effectively ending his hopes of becoming the 43^rd U.S. President; George W. Bush becomes President

2001

• T.E.T., The Mediation Workshop and Resolving Conflicts at School begin in Egypt with new Representative Azza Abul-Fadl.
• The L.E.T. book is revised and updated.

Also, during this year…

• On 9/11/01, terrorists hijack four American passenger planes, crashing two of them into the World Trade Center in New York, one into the Pentagon and one in a field in Pennsylvania. 2,941 people are killed
• Apple announces iTunes at Macworld Expo in San Francisco and releases iPod later in the year
• Wikipedia, a free internet encyclopedia, goes online
• China joins the World Trade Organization

2002

• Tom passes away on August 26 after a battle with cancer.

In history this year…

• The Euro currency makes its debut
• Michael Jackson receives the Artist of the Century award at the American Music Awards
• Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world non-stop in a balloon
• U.S. and Russia agree to cut both countries’ nuclear arsenals by up to 2/3 over next 10 years

2003

• Linda and Michelle travel to Madagascar to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of P.E.T. with the Malagasy Instructors and GTI Representative, Sister Estelle Fontaine.
• P.E.T. begins in the UK with Valerie Winfield as the representative. T.E.T. and L.E.T. start up in South Korea under the auspices of the Management Development Institute and Dr. Won Kim.
• The T.E.T. book is revised and updated.
• Linda begins writing a column for leaders for the San Diego Daily Transcript.

Also in the news…

• An estimated 11 million people around the world take to the streets to protest against the looming war in Iraq
• Hu Jintao becomes the President of China
• Sherpa Lakpa Gelu climbs Mount Everest in 10 hours, 56 minutes only three days after his previous record
• The journal Nature reports that 350,000 year-old footprints of an upright walking human have been found in Italy

2004

• Linda and Michelle go to Finland to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of P.E.T. there. They then travel to Estonia where P.E.T. will soon become available thanks to the efforts of Mart and Ruti Einpalu.
• L.E.T. is now available in Turkey.
• Esterline becomes an L.E.T. client.
• The L.E.T. and S.E.T. books are published in Thai.

This year in history…

• A 9.3 magnitude earthquake creates a tsunami causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Maldives, killing 230,000 people
• The Orange Revolution begins in Ukraine resulting from the presidential election
• Al-Jazeera broadcasts a video of Osama bin-Laden in which he admits responsibility for the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
• The official opening of Taipei 101, the current tallest skyscraper in the world: 1,670 feet

2005

• P.E.T. begins in the United Arab Emirates where Kathleen Cornelius (Kelly-Denslow) trains 18 Instructors in Dubai.
• L.E.T. begins in Japan with Kazuko and Brian Miller and Sony becomes a client.
• Medtronic becomes an L.E.T. client in the U.S.

Also during this year…

• You-Tube is launched in the U.S.
• Angela Merkel becomes the first female chancellor of Germany
• Hurricane Katrina devastates U.S. Gulf Coast
• Hong Kong Disneyland opens

2006

• P.E.T. begins in Poland with new Representatives, Piotr Kruczkowski and Violetta Kruczkowska.
• L.E.T. begins in the UK with Acclara as the licensee and in Singapore with Linda Schumann.
• The P.E.T. and T.E.T. course materials are updated.
• Gordon Food Service becomes an L.E.T. client.

In other news…

• One million Lebanese opposition supporters gather in downtown Beirut calling for the government to resign
• U.S. population reaches 300 million
• Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia’s president, becoming Africa’s first female elected head of state
• Liquid water is discovered on Enceladus, the sixth largest moon of Saturn

2007

• P.E.T. re-starts in Mexico with Lauro Macias Ortega as the representative and in Greece with new representative, Alexandros Papagos.
• L.E.T. is established in Sweden by Martin Cervall.
• Kimberly-Clark becomes a client in the U.S.

Also during this year…

• Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces the iPhone
• The Dow-Jones closes at an all-time high
• Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated.
• The 110^th Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history

2008

• P.E.T. begins in the People’s Republic of China with Liu-Lu (Coco). In Romania, Miruna Patrascu and Iulia Zamfir start up P.E.T. and Ruta Kacuceviciute becomes the representative in Lithuania. The program gets a fresh start in France under the auspices of Nathalie Reinhardt.
• L.E.T. and the Conflict Resolution Workshop begin in Saudi Arabia and Bill Stinnett conducts the first workshop there.
• The Be Your Best course materials are updated.

In other news…

• Fidel Castro retires as President of Cuba after nearly 50 years
• Bhutan officially becomes a democracy with its first-ever general election
• “Bloody Friday” sees many of the world’s stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history
• Lady Gaga release her debut album, The Fame

2009

• Linda and Michelle travel to Shenzhen, China to help introduce P.E.T. in the P.R.C.
• P.E.T. begins in the Maldives with Representative Aishath Shiham.
• We develop and produce a 30-minute DVD entitled “Working Together: The Gordon Model in Action” for use in L.E.T. and our other workplace programs.
• We create Coaching and Communication, a customized program for Kimberley-Clark.
• Dr. Won Kim, the Korean L.E.T. licensee, begins teaching the course at LG.

Also in this year…

• Barack Obama becomes the first African-American President in U.S. history
• Roger Federer wins a record 15^th Grand Slam beating Andy Roddick at Wimbledon
• General Motors files for bankruptcy
• New groundbreaking research conducted by Murray Straus finds that children worldwide who are spanked have lower IQs than those who are not

2010

• Linda and Michelle return to China for the first anniversary celebration of P.E.T.
• P.E.T. begins in Latvia under the auspices of Ruta Kacuceviciute, in Thailand with Siriluck Latsamrit, and in Morocco with Soumia Chami.
• The P.E.T. and T.E.T. books are published in Russian and Teaching Children Self-Discipline is published in Vietnamese.
• We revise and update the Y.E.T. course.
• L.E.T. Master Trainer Summit takes place in San Diego.

And in other news…

• In Dubai, the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, officially opens
• Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, begins erupting, spewing ash that leads to the closure of most of Europe’s air space
• Sixteen year-old Australian, Jessica Watson, becomes the youngest person to sail solo around the world, non-stop and unassisted
• The first 24-hour flight by a solar-powered plane is completed

2011

• P.E.T. begins in the following countries: Lebanon through Arcenciel; Turkey with Vedat Erol; Bulgaria with Darina Georgieva; Trinidad and Tobago with Edwin Job; and Egypt with Azza Abul-Fadl.
• The P.E.T. workbook is published in Arabic.
• Finnish Trainer, Markus Talvio, and Finnish Instructors celebrate 30 years of Y.E.T. there during which time they trained over 30,000 youth.
• Y.E.T. starts in China and South Korea.

Also during this year…

• A wave of revolutions take place in the Arab world, known as the Arab Spring
• Osama bin-Laden is killed by U.S. special forces in Pakistan
• The world population reaches seven billion
• Neptune completes its first orbit since its discovery on September 23, 1846

2012

• Gordon Training International celebrates the 50^th anniversary of P.E.T.
• The L.E.T. course materials are updated and the L.E.T. book is published in its 35^th printing.
• Linda and Michelle travel to Poland to promote the Gordon courses.
• Venezuela with Larissa Castro and Chile with Luis Macias Alejos join our group of international representatives.
• P.E.T. and T.E.T. Instructor Training Workshops are held in Mexico, Romania and Bulgaria and in San Diego, California.
• L.E.T. Representatives and Trainers from around the world and throughout the U.S. gather in San Diego for an international forum.

In other news…

• Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with the former IRA commander, Martin McGuinness
• Paleoclimatological research claims that dinosaur flatulence may have warmed the Earth
• NASA rover, Curiosity, makes a successful landing on Mars after a 354,000,000-million mile journey
• Barack Obama is re-elected President of the United States

2013

• New L.E.T. Licensee, Faith Masilo, starts L.E.T. in South Africa.
• Alphonse Raj becomes the L.E.T. Licensee for Malaysia, Singapore and Viet Nam.
• New mobile website for L.E.T. and P.E.T. Graduates is launched.
• Special edition of the T.E.T. book is published in Turkey for National Teacher’s Day.

Also, this year…

• Pope Francis becomes the first pope from Latin America
• NASA reports that Mars could have supported life in the past
• Mary Barra becomes the first woman CEO at General Motors
• Nelson Mandela dies

2014

• P.E.T. begins in Spain for the first time with new Representative, Marta Mediavilla.
• South African P.E.T. Representative, Heidi Malan, starts both T.E.T. and Y.E.T. – and P.E.T. is endorsed by Child Welfare South Africa.
• Peru becomes the newest country to offer P.E.T. with the Colegio Jean Le Boulch as the representative.
• Estonia celebrates the 10th anniversary of P.E.T. there.
• The P.E.T. book gets published in Georgian.

In other 2014 news….

• Russia, under President Vladimir Putin, annexes Crimea and invades Ukraine
• Dow-Jones hits 18,000 for the first time
• 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ debut is commemorated
• Germany beats Argentina in soccer to win the World Cup

2015

• P.E.T. is re-introduced in China with three new Representatives for different provinces—Jason Zhang’s company, Horigo, is based in Beijing. Jacky Yang and Mabel Zhang’s organization Shenzhen Qianhai TOYOHU is headquartered in Chengdu, and Michelle Zheng whose company Shenzhen Daoji Culture Communication is in Shenzhen
• A Lebanese NGO, Believe, becomes the Y.E.T. Representative there
• The L.E.T. program is introduced at Amazon

And elsewhere in the world…

• A summit on climate change is held in Paris where almost 200 countries agree to reduce carbon emissions
• China ends its one-child policy
• The U.S. and Cuba re-establish full diplomatic relations after 54 years of hostility
• NASA announces evidence that liquid water has been found on Mars

2016

• GTI launches its new website
• L.E.T. is introduced in Iceland by Mr. Gudmundur Hauksson’s organization, Effica Ehf
• P.E.T. continues to expand to more Chinese provinces with two new Representatives. They are Vivila Huang, Shanghai Singing Culture Communication in Shanghai; and Odette and Jonathan Umali, Nurture Well Limited in Hong Kong. Odette and Jonathan also represent P.E.T. in the Philippines
• The P.E.T. book is published in Afrikaans
• The Czech Republic and Slovakia become the latest countries to have a P.E.T. Representative, Gordon Institute CZ headed by Jan Vavra
• L.E.T. begins in Romania represented by Gordon Relationship Trainings, headed by Iulia Zamfir and Diana Dragu

Also, this year…

• NASA’s Keppler Mission announces that 1,284 planets have been found, nine of which could support life
• Great Britain votes to leave the European Union
• The solar-powered Juno space probe reaches Jupiter and begins its collection of data
• Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to be nominated to be President of the U.S.A. Unfortunately, despite winning the popular vote by almost three million votes, she does not win the election.

2017

• GTI’s Hungarian Representative, Eva Kiss, sponsors a PET Instructor Training Workshop in May
• Michelle Zheng becomes the T.E.T. Representative in the Fujian Province of China
• Leandrie Pentz becomes the P.E.T. Representative in the United Arab Emirates
• Heidi Malan starts the Be Your Best program in South Africa
• Gordon Training International celebrates its 55th anniversary and Linda Adams celebrates her 50th year of working at GTI

In other news…

• Norway is ranked as the World’s Happiest Country of 2017 followed by Denmark and Iceland
• The FBI confirms that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election
• A total solar eclipse occurs on August 21st and is visible in the U.S. for the first time in 99 years

2018

• GTI completes an extensive update of the P.E.T. course and makes it available to Instructors in the U.S. and to Representatives worldwide. The project was a team effort by Linda Adams, Steve Emmons, Lauro Macias Ortega, Selena Cruz George, Michelle Adams and Meike Lemmens.
• Iulia Zamfir and Diana Dragu of Gordon Relationship Trainings in Romania re-start the P.E.T. program there.
• XPO Logistics, one of the world’s ten largest providers of transportation and logistics services, becomes an L.E.T. client.
• In commemoration of what would’ve been Dr. Gordon’s 100 birthday, GTI’s Hungarian Representatives, Eva Kiss, Virag Szomora and Sandor Szomora, host a conference of our Representatives from around the world which Linda and Michelle Adams attend. What a wonderful experience! Darina Georgieva, GTI’s Representative in Bulgaria, has offered to host the next meeting in Burgas, Bulgaria, in 2020.

And elsewhere:

• North Korea accepts South Korea’s invitation for high-level talks.
• In the U.S. mid-term election, the Democratic Party takes control of the House of Representatives and for the first time ever, over 100 women will serve in the House.
• On the 100^th anniversary of World War I Armistice Day, French President Macron urges the world to reject nationalism in a speech under the Arc de Triomphe.
• Archeologists announce discovery of thousands of undetected structures in Mayan lowland civilization in Guatemala using Lidar, suggesting a population of 10,000,000.

2019

• The P.E.T. book is published in an updated edition which was done by Linda and Michelle Adams. This classic book is celebrating its 50^th anniversary. The new edition is also being published in French and in Chinese.
• The Gordon Model spreads to even more parts of the world, especially in Asia. We hold the first T.E.T. Instructor Training Workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The FAROS organization will also represent P.E.T. and Y.E.T. there. The Believe organization in Lebanon becomes the new Representative of both T.E.T. and P.E.T.
• We revise the L.E.T. program and begin field testing it. It will be launched in the Summer of 2020.
• Sheryl Wilde, a member of the GTI staff, interviews over 40 people, both adults and teens, who had been raised by P.E.T. parents. Their stories are very moving. Reading them reminds us why we continue to do this work.
  In other 2019 news…

• The 116^th Congress convenes in the U.S. and elects Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
• Oceans are warming faster than previous thought due to fossil fuel burning according to data in the “Science” journal.
• Finland is the world’s happiest country.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins re-election in a landslide in the world’s largest-ever democratic election with over 600 million voters.
• Donald Trump is impeached on December 18, becoming the 3^rd U.S. President to be impeached.

2020

• Because the coronavirus means that most people cannot meet together in a classroom setting, we design online book clubs for P.E.T., L.E.T., T.E.T. and Be Your Best that Instructors and Representatives can offer. And they’re being held all over the world.
• We postpone the international Representative’s conference which was to be held in Burgas, Bulgaria and hosted by our Representative there, Darina Georgieva. We hope to re-schedule it for 2022 when P.E.T. and Gordon Training International will turn 60 years old!

In other 2020 news…

• The coronavirus spreads throughout the world causing the deaths of millions of people.
• Several pharmaceutical companies develop vaccines to prevent the coronavirus and receive emergency authorization for their use.
• Joe Biden becomes the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris becomes the first female Vice President. Now we begin the daunting task of restoring our democracy.