Rotary Exchange Students Highlight Annual District Conference
On Friday, April 29, Rotarians from
throughout District 6970 gathered in St. Augustine for the start of the
annual District Conference. And what a start it was, with our second
annual Youth Exchange "Parade of Flags" opening the luncheon.
Forty-three current inbound students and outbounds-to-be marched in with the
flags of 20 nations, accompanied by the anthem of each country. Moments
later, the students entertained and inspired the audience with their
four-song musical performance, culminating with what might be considered the
Youth Exchange theme song, "Let There Be Peace On Earth". The Rotarians
joined in to make that a true performance for the ages.
In the first plenary session following lunch, the Youth
Exchange program took center stage again, with dynamic and touching speeches
by outbound-to-be Nicole
LaRochelle (going to Russia), current inbound
Nick Melgaard (from
Denmark), and former outbound
Rochelle Smith
(France, 2003-04).
Then, a special presentation was made. For the first time,
District 6970 designated and honored one inbound student as the "Exchange
Student of the Year". The honoree was
Luca Garofalo, from
Italy. Luca's selection was enthusiastically greeted by the other students
in the room, and he received congratulations and a plaque. And then, to add
to the moment, in a gesture that is sure to thrill his Rotarian mother, Luca
was presented with a Paul Harris Fellowship by District Governor Ken Baker.
We are all very proud of Luca, and of all the exchange students who help to
bring our world closer together.
The day concluded with a pizza-and-pool party at the
Williams YMCA in Mandarin. Pictures of that event, and of the entire day,
will be posted shortly.
Congratulations to all exchange students for their
performances at the District Conference. It was truly an awe-inspiring day
for all involved.
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