Open Letter from District 5520's Ambassadorial Scholar

Last summer the District 5520 Ambassadorial Scholarship Selection Committee chose Andres Martinez sponsored by the Rotary Club of West El Paso as our 2009-2010 scholarship recipient.

Recently Andres sent a letter and some photographs that I would like to share with the District.

Bonjour from Neuchâtel, Switzerland!

It's been two months since I arrived, and I can already tell that this is going to be the most memorable year of my life. When I arrived the Rotarians graciously picked me up at the train station and took me to my dorm. After a day of sleeping, and overcoming jetlag, I started a week and a half long orientation program at the university; I've been busy ever since.

Neuchâtel is a charming city of about 30,000 people on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel. On a clear day, I can see the snow capped Alps in the distance. Every day I take the bus to the train station to catch an underground tram that drops me off just under campus. Campus sits on the beach of the lake. In September, when it was still about 75 degrees, my friends and I would sit on the beach after class. I'm taking classes in French, English, and Spanish, and am really enjoying them. Every Tuesday, the Rotary Club of Neuchâtel invites me to the Hôtel du Peyrou, the beautiful building where they meet, to have a three course lunch complete with wine and coffee. I really couldn't ask for more. My hosts are gracious and the food is amazing

I've had the opportunity to travel all over Switzerland. I've been to Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux, Schaffhausen, Lucerne, and Zürich. I hope that some of you can come visit! The Rotarians here would be more than glad to have y'all!

Thanks again,

Andres

Each year District 5520 participates in the Ambassadorial Scholarship Program, by awarding a $25,000 scholarship to a student from our District. Since its founding in 1947 Rotary’s Ambassadorial Scholarship programs has become the world’s largest privately funded international scholarship program. Nearly 800 scholarships were awarded for study in 2005-06 with grants totaling $500 million dollars from students from about 70 countries to studied in other countries around the world.

The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarships program is to further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas. While abroad, scholars serve as goodwill ambassadors to the host country and give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and other groups. Upon returning home, scholars share with Rotarians and others the experiences that led to a greater understanding of their host country.

To learn more about Rotary District 5520’s Ambassadorial program visit http://rotary5520.org/scholarships/index.html Dates for 2010 will be posted very soon.

Zone Institute Reception for DGN

During the recent Zone Institute in Oklahoma City, Lorraine and I hosted a reception to welcome Bobby and Michele Wallace as District 5520’s District Governor Nominee. We were joined that evening by PDGs Bonnie Fairall, Rick Akins and Roz, DGE Tim Parker.

The Zone Institute and District Governor Nominee Training are the first of several required trainings to prepare Bobby to serve as District 5520’s Governor in 2011-2012. During the Institute, Tim attended his District Governor-elect’s Training. Both Tim and Bobby will attend the International Assembly in San Diego the January prior to taking office in July.

The successes that our District has accomplished are built on the work and accomplishments of all our Past District Governors and the 3000 dedicated Rotarians in District 5520. I look forward to working with Tim and Bobby during their years of leadership as our District Governors.

GSE Team to Philippines Chosen

Last Saturday District 5520’s GSE Team to the Philippines was chosen. The team members, pictured above, are Kristin Drexler, Las Cruces; Anita Bringas, Taos; Chavi Peterson, Rotary Club of Taos, Alternate Team Leader, Kim Robinson, Alamagordo; Andrew Herrera, Espanola; Team Leader Lisa Witt, Rotary Club of Albuquerque and Leigh Ann Caswell, Albuquerque.


The Team will be leaving April 12th for their month long tour of District 3870, but in the meantime they will spend many hours together learning the culture of the Philippines and preparing their presentation about themselves and District 5520 for the Clubs’ they visit.

Thanks to Donna Pedace and the selection committee for their efforts selecting our wonderful team.

We have received word on the composition of the inbound team from the Philippines and will soon be receiving their complete bios. The Team representing District 3870 will be composed of a public health doctor, human resource officer, an entrepreneur and a Catholic priest. The team will be lead by a corporate attorney.


I’m looking forward to learning more about the team, meeting them on their arrival and presenting them to the District Conference.

Belen Discusses New Ideas for Membership

The Rotary Club of Belen is struggling with membership as are many clubs in District 5520. Club President Pete Armstrong has several ideas for building the club’s membership. Addressing the membership issue and discussing Pete’s ideas were the topics of discussion during the board meeting. They understand that membership is the responsibility of the club and are working to reverse the trend. I’ve pledge to make district resources available to them in their effort to grow the club. We also discussed the possibility of the club partnering with UNM Valencia for a community food project. I think the ideas that come out of the Belen club and their work to reverse declining membership trends will be a great example for the District.

I should have stopped at Starbucks!

I’m not a morning person, so one of the more challenging tasks I’ve faced as District Governor is getting going for the 7:00 am meetings. As I drove into Rio Rancho for my visit to their breakfast club I passed several Starbuck’s and kept thinking that I should stop for my usual Americano - 3 shots of espresso with a little water. But I didn’t. As soon as I drove up to the Chamisa Hills Country Club at 6:30am, I realized that I had made a mistake by not stopping. Before I got out of the car PDG Rick Akins popped out of the club house to greet me! He had already set-up the room for the meeting and immediately started telling me everything about the club and the plans that are being made for the 2010 Zone meeting in Albuquerque. This was just the start of an exhilarating and energy filled meeting.

The Rio Rancho Sunrise is one of the newer clubs in the District, but they have already become an stimulating club. President Mac rang the club to order and introduced the Rotarian of the Day, Karen Delle Site . The Rotarian of the Day offers the invocation, leads the pledge and introduces the speaker. The club was excited that their first Rotary Youth Exchange Student would be arriving in a few days. Membership chair Michael Smith inducted a new member that morning and announced 3 more would be inducted the following week. I had a great visit to the Rio Rancho Rotary Club. My visit was made even more special by a large group from the District Leadership Team that offered their support by attended the meeting…PDG Rick and Roz Akins, DGN Bobby Wallace, LG Bill Lowen and AG Bill Rothweiler.

Note to self…Next visit to Rio Rancho Sunrise STOP at Starbucks first!