President Rick called the meeting to order and led us in the Pledge of
Allegiance. Garry offered the prayer. We welcomed guests Quenton
Boyle (Salvation Army) and Daniel and Laurel Fisher. Mike and Keith got to
don the birthday paraphernalia while the club sang birthday wishes with
gusto. Tom won the BIP and promptly donated his winnings to Polio Plus. It
was noted that all our currently employed educators took the school
holiday off, apparently choosing to sleep in! They missed some great
numerology trivia on the date—11/11/11. We also recognized our veterans
in attendance (Quenton). Sandy and Gary have begun the publicity for
the Toy & Book Float with notes to businesses and churches as well as flyers
posted in local businesses. She will be on WCMY and will have the
Chamber send out an e-blast. Sunrise members should plan on meeting at
the parade staging area at the lower lot just east of the old Central school
at 5:45 dressed festively. Rick read a thank you note from the YMCA
thanking us for the donation to their “Partners in Youth” program. Jane
paid a fine for not potting the paper whites in the correct pots, but did
note that the project turned a profit of $637.
Keith’s program guests were Natalie and Joe Schmidt, no strangers to Ottawa SunRise Rotary. Their daughter Caroline was
our Short Term Youth Exchange student this past summer. The Schmidt’s had known Eldon and Nancy and they had had many
conversations about the youth exchange program and they knew their daughter would be interested. They completed their
application in the late Fall of 2009 and went through the necessary interviews, background
checks and the mandatory 2-day orientation for all the exchange students.
This was in Rock Island and Joe said it was an an excellent chance to meet other
students, some going and some coming home. A lot of his questions were answered and a
lot of apprehensions about turning their daughter over to “strangers” in Italy were eased.
Ireland, not Italy, was Caroline’s first choice, but being matched with Fabiana and her
family was the best thing that could have happened. Their expectations of the program,
support and experience were exceeded and they were delighted to have participated.
Fabiana got to experience the pace of America, the Chicago skyline (not a lot of real tall
buildings in Italy) and the size of American farm equipment. Caroline got to experience the
old, traditional slower and more structured life in Italy. Facebook and other social networking
sites helped the girls get to know each other before the exchange. The Schmidt’s
described Fabiana as delightful, amazing, fascinating, humble, and polite. They even went
to Italy this past summer with Caroline to meet Fabiana’s family and to see their home and
community. They experienced the same warmth and love that Caroline experienced.
Caroline was the first American to spend any significant amount of time in their village, and
it was a wonderful chance to these Italians to see a “real” American, not the Hollywood
version. It was fascinating for them to learn that their extended family’s dairy herd used
American genetic material for breeding and Joe learned that Italian farmers are as loyal to
their favorite brand of machinery as their counterparts in America. They loved the
international connection they have with Fabiana and her family, they hope to be able to
host them in the future, and cannot imagine a better way to show the world what real
Americans are like, and isn’t that the whole idea of conducting exchanges?
