Jim Dunny
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
Program for Tuesday, August 5, 2014
The speaker for August 5, 2014 will be Kevin O'Connell. Mr. O'Connell will speak to us about the upcoming football season.
Meeting Assignments
Date
Who Am I
Cheering for Rotary
August 5, 2014
Martin Sheps
Gordon Erickson
August 12, 2014
Rob Weinberg
Paul Gorman
The assignment for the Who Am I includes providing the positive thought at the beginning of the meeting and introducing guests and visiting Rotarians during the meeting.
Cheering for Rotary assignment includes selling opportunity drawing tickets.
By Augusto La Colla, a Rotary Youth Exchange student from Villa Regina, Argentina, to Muenster, Germany
Youth Exchange Students in Europe
Through my Interact club in Argentina, I learned of an opportunity last year to go on a Rotary Youth Exchange to Muenster, Germany. I want to echo what others have said on this blog, that Youth Exchange is an unforgettable experience.
I had the pleasure of staying with two families in Germany — the Kirchhoffs and Beikers — and I consider both part of my family. Getting to know the German culture, to be a part of it, and to be immersed in it, I developed a new appreciation for my home country, and the world beyond. It made me realize just how amazing this world is, and gave me a desire to work to make the world a better place.
From left, Tobias Kirchhoff, my host father in Germany, me, and my host brothers Philipp and Julian during a trip to Switzerland.
I grew so much during the year. I experienced different lifestyles, a different language, and a great deal of new emotions. I allowed myself to explore different ideas and behaviors, and they helped shape my character. The year helped define who I am.
Because I belonged to an Interact club back home, I spent time with Rotaract in my host country, and took part in many enriching activities. It even confirmed my choice of profession. In Argentina, I go to a technical school with a speciality in architecture. During the last month of my exchange, I spent two weeks learning from German architects and engineers, visiting their work.
In October, I traveled around Germany for two weeks with 50 other exchange students, and spent three weeks in Europe in April. I enjoyed Christmas in Germany with my host family, and a wonderful New Years in Switzerland.
One of my newfound German brothers accompanied me on my return trip to Argentina, and I spent time together with both my German and Argentinian families in Buenos Aires.
Because of all these experiences, I am more confident in my ability to make a difference in the world and I believe we can build peace. Anything is possible, if we work for it.
I thank Rotary for this incredible experience. If you have an opportunity, go on a Rotary Youth Exchange. It will change your life.
One of the things about Rotary that is not ofent discussed is the membership attendance standard. Each of us are supposed to attend oveR half of the meetings of our club. There is actually a good reason for this. Rotary is meant to be built on the interpersonal relationships we build by regularly interacting with each other in person. Attending our weekly meetings (and social events) allows us to build the trust necessary for our club to accomplish the projects we do. We recently experienced the impact of the friendships we develop in our Rotary Club when we lost a member and the spouse of another. In the context of our club as extended family we directly experience the true value of our membership
MaryCay Durrant, in her Cheers for Rotary last Tuesday, brought up another aspect of being a Rotarian. Because MaryCay travels extensively in her business, she often isn't in town for our meetings. She said last Tuesday that when she feels a need to be with good people, she attends a Rotary meeing wherever she is. Whereever you go in the world, you will automatically have a friendly place to go when you attend a Rotary Club meeting for a makeup.
Another way to "make up" a Rotary meeting is to go to a Rotary e-Club website. There you can spend some time viewing a video about something that Rotary does. Viewing 1 or 2 of these video presentations makes you eligible to get meeting attendance credit. Just follow the instructions on the particular website.
