Exchange students in Holland: Maiya Foleck (left), Lily Berz and Aaron Wactor.
The August 7 Program
As we do every two years, Norfolk Rotary heard from local high school students who took part in our Tiel Student Rotary Exchange Program. This year, we had three students who gave us a Power Point presentation about their expectations and perceptions of The Netherlands versus what they actually experienced. The students were Maiya Foleck from Norfolk Academy, and Lily Berz and Aaron Wactor, both from Granby High School.
Each student had images of wooden shoes, windmills and tulips. As it turns out, tulips were out of season, windmills were few and far between, and wooden shoes are confined to the annals of history.
What the trio did experience was a country that had a bit more individuality than their own with few large chain stores, but lots of small, independent business, including bakeries offering some pretty incredible treats.
The students stayed with local families with Rotary connections and assimilated to the culture during their three-week visit. One day, they tried their hand at fishing. After eight hours and only five fish, they decided that was enough.
Among their more exciting activities in the Netherlands, were testing their skills in a KLM flight simulator. The group also visited Germany and Poland, viewing the remnants of the Berlin Wall and touring art museums. No matter where they went, the students discovered that more people got around by bike than car -- another big difference between there and here.
The Meeting
Guests visiting us included the new president of Tidewater Community College, Dr. Gregory T. DeCinque. as well as family members of our three exchange students who presented our program.
Joe New reported that Joe Massey is doing better, driving again, and should join us at next week’s meeting.
During the Rotary Minute, Walt Sobczyk shared some interesting history about our club. Since we were founded more than 100 years ago, we have birthed 45 clubs in the region, including those in Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Elizabeth City, and even Port-au-Prince, Haiti!
Happy Bucks:
- Barry Kesser – Paid tribute to his wife in honor of their 55th wedding anniversary.
- Mal Branch – Praised a local Boy Scout troop for properly disposing of his American flag which had reached the end its usable life.
- Gary Boswick – As a former Scoutmaster he honored the Boy Scouts.
- Bill Davis – His grandchild was accepted into the Marine's officer training school.
- Dyteya Lewis – Her mother received her Ph.D.
- Laurie Harrison – For next week’s Chesapeake Bay Classic to benefit breast cancer research at EVMS.
Announcement of August Birthdays
- 3rd – Patricia Kremner
- 7th – Angus Hines (97) and Roger Flagg (88)
- 8th – David Brandt and Adam Foleck
- 11th – Jim Allison
- 12th – Robin Ray
- 14th – Sigur Whitaker
- 16th – Jim Kitz
- 18th – Chuck Spence
- 20th – Tim Lawrence
- 23rd – Wayne Shank
- 25th – Chip Finch
- 26th – Jim O’Brien
With $10 in the daily pot and $451 total, Jerry Friedman drew the winning ticket, but not the big bucks. So, the pot continues to grow.