FORMER Pendle man Leonard Dole has been appointed a vice-president of a leading Internet computer company in America.

The son of former Pendle Councillor Len Dole and his wife, Betty, recently returned to his home town as part of a business trip.

Mr Dole, 58, worked for local TV firms after leaving Whittlefield Secondary Modern School, Nelson, and spent 14 years with electronics giant EMI.

He emigrated to the USA with his wife, Glennis, in 1976 and became the first international sales manager of the California-based television company Grass Valley Group.

Now he has been made international operations vice-president of O'Reilly Incorporated, of Nevada City, and president of the company's Japan operations. The appointment will see him travelling all over the world to promote the business.

His father said: "Len is now working for a company dealing with digital technology, publishing, software and Internet applications.

"It has been a complete change of life for him because he no longer works in an office. Instead, when he is at home in the States, he works from home using the Internet. I think this is the way people will be working in the future."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.