Rotary Friendship Exchanges offer club members a chance to travel and learn more about different cultures from fellow Rotarians in different countries.
At the Waunakee club’s meeting Dec. 14, Linda Olson talked about her District 6250 Friendship Exchange to Croatia last fall, a trip District Gov. Michelle McGrath was also along.
Linda learned about the trip from the District Dispatch, the District 6250 newsletter. She said these are great ways to connect with fellow Rotaries and promote peace.
Exchanges such as this one often grow from projects clubs in different countries are collaborating on. The Beloit Rotary Club had received a district grant to complete a digital literacy project in Croatia and so planned to travel there.
Their project turned into what Linda called a “big deal,” saying it became a model throughout the country for second- and third-graders to be introduced to coding and digital processing.
The District 6250 Rotarians left for the 10-day trip in September. For those who are not strong in geography, the country was formerly part of Yugoslavia and sits across the Adriatic Sea from Italy.
It is now part of the European Union, and the Euro is the currency, making tourism easy.
Linda described being wined and dined for 10 days and said these exchanges are extremely affordable. They paid for just the plane ticket and $400.
The gracious, generous hosts went out of their way to entertain and feed them, and even treated them to some ive-course meals, boat trips and tours of the gorgeous national parks.
There was also a Burgers, Brews and Blues event, and each morning, the guests were greeted with a glass of Prosecco.
Linda said the exchanges require travelers to be flexible, able to go along with a larger group’s plans, and open to whatever accommodations are available. When she went to Brazil, she had to sleep on the floor for a night.
The Croatian hosts will visit Wisconsin and be in the Madison area for a few days. There will be lots of opportunities to interact with them, and Rotarians can be home hosts, drivers or tour guides for the guests.
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Other News:
-The Christmas party will be Feb. 1 at Buck & Honeys.
-The club made a donation of $30,000 to the Village of Waunakee’s Playscape, to help fund playground equipment and splash pad features. The new Playscape will be constructed at Centennial Park next year.
-President Jennifer Tasker explained how the Rotary International donations from members come back in district grants. With club members contributing $100 per member for Rotary Internation, the club provided $9800 in all last year. Rotary International has provided $6300 back in grants.
-The Rotary in Lights collections at the gate broke a new record last week, taking in more than $1,600 per night Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s total was above $1,200. In 2020, during COVID, the club reaped $40,000 from that project and has been able to stay nearly on par since.
Guests: Larry Huismann, guest of the club.
Visiting Rotarians: Michelle McGrath.
Birthdays: Dec. 21, Howard Teeter; Dec. 21, Max Ujdak; Dec. 25, David Weishoff; Dec. 27, Jim Kattner.
Anniversaries: Dec. 27, Jim and Jean Elvekrog; Dec. 27, Rich and Sue Wipperfurth.
Greeters: Dec. 21: Roxanne Johnson, Tom Roepke and Scott Cochems; Dec. 28, Kevin McDaniel and Jeff Smith.
To sign up to greet or to find out if you are greeting, visit:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054CAAAA2CA7F85-44320149-2023#/
