What a fabulous morning! After a traditional "American" breakfast at the Best Western Hotel cafeteria, the GSE team was briefed on its schedule for Area 1, learned how to use the GSE master book in the van with schedule, home stay and vocational day information for all areas, took a group photo, were presented Foundation pins by District Governor Elect Lou Venuti and a special certificate of merit was presented to team member Eun-Mi Jang for all her wonderful work in translating for the team and helping coordinate preparations for the exchange. This is a wonderful group of professionals who are off to a great start on their GSE...now I would like you to meet the Rotarians of Area 1 who are volunteering as home stay hosts - hear their thoughts and feelings in the video below!
Well, it's already Sunday evening and we've had a tremendous introduction to Korea...
Our flight arrived about 45 minutes early yesterday; no problems with immigration or luggage and we were greeted by
a group of about 10 Rotarians - including the Assistant District Governor (Mr. Kang), the GSE Team Leader & 3
team members, other Rotarians and an interpreter. they met us with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a welcome
banner and lots of smiles; what a great way to start! The drive to the hotel in Bucheon (Hotel Koryo) took about an hour -
mostly due to traffic; beautiful hotel! After we checked in, they took us to dinner at a traditional Korean restaurant -
sitting on the heated floor and eating many, many different foods, a great time was had by all. Should have trained for the
floor sitting!
Today, we traveled to a museum honoring Pearl Buck; we were each presented with a souvenior picture
book and had the chance to learn about this amazing woman. After the museum, we went to the Hundayi Department
Store - huge, beautiful and expensive - very New York like. We ate lunch in the store and then returned to the hotel
for some rest. Ryan was asked to go play virtual golf - haven't seen him yet, but I'm sure he'll have stories to tell. We're to
meet in about 45 minutes to go to dinner - can't imagine eating another meal already! I'm being a bit electronically
challenged - can't quite get my laptop hooked up to the internet, my adapter is not cooperating and I haven't figured
out how to cool down the room - all minor issues that I hope to resolve soon. I think most are operator error related!
Fortunately, the room has a computer available.
About the vocational days, apparently last year they had some difficulty
taking the team members on individual vocational visits, so this year they have decided to take the entire team to each
site - tomorrow we will visit City Hall & a Chinese herbal doctor; on Tuesday, we will do our presentation for the first time.
They are planning a welcoming ceremony & greeting party in the evening. Plans are to have us check out of the hotel
on Monday and beginning that evening, Ryan, Ana & I will stay at the home of the ADG and Krista & Carey will be in
individual homes. The team members are thrilled to be here! Hopefully my computer issues will soon be a thing of the
past and I'll be better able to keep in touch.
Take care,
Denny
GROUP STUDY EXCHANGE TEAM PREPARES TO DEPART FOR KOREA:
The five members of the outbound Group Study Exchange team, from Rotary District 6930, are making their final preparations for their departure to South Korea on March 19. Embarking on a month-long vocational and cultural exchange with Rotarians in District 3690 that encompasses outlying areas of Seoul in northern Gyeonggi Province, the team has put together a multimedia presentation to describe the most important economic, historic and cultural features of the East Central and South Florida region. The team members will job-shadow professionals in equivalent occupations and experience the Korean culture first-hand. The team returns home on April 19.
Since their selection in October of last year, the team has spent many hours researching Korean culture and principals of Rotary International, met for a series of preparatory meetings, received coaching from native Korean speakers, attended Rotary club meetings and service projects, planned for international travel, practiced conversational Korean phrases, and shared authentic Korean meals with their families at locations throughout the District. The Group Study Exchange program is made possible by funding from the Rotary Foundation.
Titusville Sunrise Rotary Club is sponsoring GSE Team Leader and Club Past-President, Denny Meneghelli, and two young professionals from Brevard County. Carey Beam is the communications specialist with Craig Technologies in Cape Canaveral, and Krista McGowan is the owner of Orcom Labs in Indian Harbor Beach. Viera Rotary Club is sponsoring Ryan McGill, an engineer with Harris Corp. in Melbourne, and the Boca Raton Sunrise Club is sponsoring Ana Petkovic, a pharmacist manager with CVS in Boynton Beach.
"The rigorous nature of GSE is both physically and mentally demanding and lasts between four and six weeks. Following the exchange, team members are expected to share what they have learned on the GSE with Rotary clubs, youth groups, schools, and other organizations," according to the GSE program guide. The program is designed to develop professional and leadership skills among young adults to better prepare them to address the needs of their communities and an increasingly global workplace.
A team of District 6930 Area Coordinators is now making preparations to receive the inbound GSE team from Korea District 3690, due to arrive April 3. Both inbound and outbound teams will be presenting their GSE experience at the Rotary District Conference on May 1 at Hutchinson Island.
Through the magic of the internet, you can follow our Team's progress as they post updates to their trip journal on-line at http://district6930tokorea.wordpress.com/. Just log on to find out what they are up to, and this year the team will be equipped with a "Flip Video" recorder and plan to post videos as well as photos and narrative. A link to the Team Web Site will also be posted on the District Web Site at http://www.rotary6930.org/index.php
Thank you!
Bill Pearl
GSE Chair
5683 High Flyer Road South
Palm Beach Gardens, Fl 33418
561-691-9912 office
561-371-8587 mobile
561-691-9869 fax
Denny Meneghelli of Titusville Sunrise Rotary Selected As GSE Team Leader to Korea!
AHN NYEONG!
Outbound Team Exchange Dates: 3/19/10 to 4/19/10
Inbound Team Exchange Dates: 4/2/10 - 5/4/10
Deadline for Team Member Applications 9/30/09!!
Team Member Selection Date: 10/10/09
On behalf of Governor Leo and the GSE Selection Committee, I am proud to announce the appointment of Denny Meneghelli of Titusville Sunrise Rotary as our GSE Team Leader to District 3690. Hearty congratulations to Denny and her husband Barry! The GSE Selection Committee met Saturday 9/19, enjoyed an authentic Korean brunch prepared by my lovely wife, Dr. Joann Hendelman - Pearl, and fellowship with each of our five applicants, followed by an intensive interview session with each. While every candidate was amply qualified, the Selection Committee decided that Denny was the best fit for the job.
Denny Meneghelli is a Public Administrator and Community Volunteer with 8 years Rotary experience. She served as club president in 2005-2006. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 she lead a team of Rotarians and friends to Mississippi to assist in building a playground for victims of Hurricane Katrina with help from a RI Foundation grant for the project. In 2009 she took on the duties as International Service Chair for her club and has completed Phase 1 of the Rotary Leadership Training Program. She attended the 100th anniversary of the Rotary International Convention and has visited clubs in Melbourne, Australia, Queenstown, New Zealand and Cape Town, South Africa. Denny has also served as Public Relations Chair for her club.
On behalf of all Rotarians of District 6930, we thank Denny for volunteering to serve our district in this exciting and challenging task! If you would like to offer her your support, her email address is 2menes@cfl.rr.com Way to go Denny!!
Bill Pearl
GSE Chair
5683 High Flyer Road South
Palm Beach Gardens, Fl 33418
561-691-9912 office
561-371-8587 mobile
561-691-9869 fax billpearl@msn.com
Bill Pearl
GSE Chair '08-'10
5683 High Flyer Road South
Palm Beach Gardens, Fl 33418
561-691-9912 office
561-371-8587 mobile
561-691-9869 fax billpearl@msn.com
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