District 6970 Recognized with Gold Achievement Award

Two years after being recognized as the Outstanding District Youth Exchange program in North America (story), District 6970 has just received another honor, as one of only two districts to earn a Gold Achievement Award at the 2008 USA-Canada Youth Exchange Conference.

The District Achievement Awards are based on many facets of a Youth Exchange program, including number of exchanges, participation by clubs, program innovations, involvement in international and regional conferences, and more. The awards were presented for the first time in 2007, with no districts earning the top Gold-level recognition that first year. District 6970 was one of about half a dozen to receive the Silver award in 2007.

This year, several districts from around North America earned Bronze and Silver awards, but District 5010 (Alaska-Yukon) and District 6970 were the only ones to merit the top level Gold certificate. Congratulations to all members of the D6970 Youth Exchange Committee, and to the Rotarians, host families, and students who together made this happen.

50 Outbounds to Represent RYE-Florida in 2008-09

Rotary districts throughout Florida, working together for the first time as Rotary Youth Exchange Florida, will send out 50 teenagers in 2008-09, representing our region as Rotary exchange students in 24 countries around the world. Never before have so many students been part of Rotary Youth Exchange in this area.

The new outbounds come from many areas of Florida, as well as Grand Bahama Island (part of District 6990). Their destinations, with new exchange partners underlined:

• Europe: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey
• Asia: India, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand
• South America: Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador

To meet our 2008-09 outbound students, click here.

The 2007-08 Exchange Year is Underway

The first few outbound students have left Florida for their destinations around the globe, and the first member of our inbound class has arrived. With 25 outbounds and 30 inbounds, this should be a great year for District 6970. Here's a look at some of the arrivals and departures:

Brazil outbounds Laura, Natalie, and Noah await their departure at the Jacksonville airport	How do they pass the time during a long layover? With the new Harry Potter book, of course!	Noah and his new host sister Nati. After a few days together, Nati left to begin her year here in Florida.
A big welcome from Nati's host family at the Daytona airport	Members of the host Rotary club, Ormond Beach West, greet Nati	Nati's got her flowers, balloons, blazer, and, of course, her smile
Kevin arrives from Argentina, surrounded by host families and Mandarin Rotarians	Airi from Japan is welcomed by Four Townes Orange City Rotarians, friends, exchange students, etc.	Outbound Caroline is greeted in Austria by her host parents and host sister
Laura from Italy received a warm welcome from her host families and outbounds Heather and Brad	A Brazilian flag and hand-made signs made it easy for inbound Fernanda to find her host family	Yudi's long trip from Brazil ended with him in the midst of a happy host family welcome
Niky from Taiwan was greeted by this nice group, including outbound-to-be Bristol	It was after midnight when Destan from Turkey arrived, to meet host family, friends, and outbound Rev	Ponte Vedra Beach Rotarians and friends turned out to welcome Anne from Denmark
Haley arrives in Slovakia, greeted by her host family	OP Rotarians, OB Gustav, host family and friends welcome Marcelo	Thore, at his first North Jax Rotary meeting, with Rotarian Pat Mulvihill
Dillon arrives in Japan - his version of Gulliver's Travels?	Dillon does dinner with his host family, the Kitades

Fourth Annual Welcome Home Dinner is August 4th

One of the most special events of the Rotary Youth Exchange year will take place on Saturday evening, August 4, 2007. The annual Welcome Home Dinner, featuring speeches by all of our current outbound students, will be held at the studios of WJCT-TV, located on the St. Johns River, at 100 Festival Park Ave., in Jacksonville, Florida.

Each year, students who have just returned from their exchanges are given a few minutes each to tell stories about their experiences. It is an inspiring evening, filled with tales that strike hard at both the heart and the funny bone. The event has been sold out for the past couple of years, and the same is expected this time around.

Tickets are $25 each, and include a barbecue dinner and dessert (our Youth Exchange program is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, so a portion of the price may be tax deductible - ask your accountant). Tickets may be obtained from any member of the District 6970 Youth Exchange Committee, or by sending a check, payable to "Rotary District 6970 Youth Exchange", to:

Rotary D6970 Youth Exchange
Al Kalter, Chairman
141 Elmwood Dr.
St. Johns, FL 32259

For more information, e-mail al@kaltermail.com or call 904-673-5566.

D6970 YE Program Accepted for Listing by CSIET

Rotary District 6970 is proud to have received the following notice from CSIET: "On the basis of materials submitted and reviewed, the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel grants First Year Provisional Listing to Rotary District 6970 Youth Exchange in the 2007-2008 Advisory List. The CSIET certification mark certifies that this organization complies with the standards set forth in the CSIET Standards for International Educational Travel Programs."

As a newly listed organization, D6970 YE will be considered "provisional" for the first two years. Continued compliance with CSIET standards during that time will qualify our program for Full Listing for 2009-2010.

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