Lan Ong
Meet Lan, a peanut butter and chocolate–
loving member of the Production Team.
For more than 25 years, she has worked
in the factory creating extraordinary
chocolates. Lan laughs when reflecting
back on her early days at Lake Champlain
Chocolates, “I was here before all of this
[pointing to the depositor and other large
factory equipment] … back when we used
to hand-roll every truffle.”
As a Vietnamese refugee, Lan moved
to Vermont with her mom and sister in
1993. The VRRP helped her establish her
new life here. They facilitated the copious
amounts of paperwork required for relo-
cation, greeted them when they arrived at
the airport, and assisted the family at every
step along the way.
During the past few years, Lan’s small
family of 3 has now grown to 11. She loves
the quiet, peaceful Vermont way of life
and the nice people. Lan’s all-time favorite
thing to make in the factory? Peanut Butter
Chocolates (because it’s her favorite
chocolate to eat as well)!
Loc Dang
Meet Loc, a dark chocolate–loving
member of the Factory Support Team. For
the past 23 years, Loc has worked at Lake
Champlain Chocolates while building her
new life here in Vermont.
Watch chocolates being made during a factory tour
With the help of the VRRP, Loc relocated
from Vietnam in 1995 with her family.
“Vermont Refugee Resettlement support-
ed my family when we came. We came
with nothing. They helped us to get jobs,
a home … everything for our new lives in
the U.S.” Loc recalls being nervous when
she first moved here because she didn’t
know English. The Vermont Refugee
Resettlement provided an English as a
Second Language program, so that she was
able to learn the language.
Loc’s English has improved significantly
since then. She started as an entry-level
employee in the packaging department,
but has been able to grow and develop pro-
fessionally, and today, is a key member of
the Factory Support Team. Loc’s one piece
of advice to incoming refugees: “Don’t
forget why you came to the U.S.—to
Lan Ong making cherry cordials