Thanks Rotary

Rotary provides many great opportunities for us to learn, grow and improve ourselves and one of them is through the RYE (Rotary Youth Exchange) program. Many of us in our club and the TM Noon club have had the wonderful and rewarding opportunity to be host parents to high school students from many different countries. The RYE students provide us with an opportunity to see our country and community through their eyes and at the same time they share their unique cultural differences and insights with us. We both come away with a better understanding and appreciation of our differences and similarities.

Nancy and our family were hosts to Cristina Sancen from Mexico 14 years ago. We’ve had an opportunity to follow her accomplishments over the years and we reconnected with her in Quebec in 2006. We were very happy for her when she got engaged and thrilled to be invited to her wedding. We were more than wedding guests, we were introduced and treated as her parents from the USA. It was a beautiful wedding culturally different from anything we’ve ever experienced.

We thank Rotary for this great gift and encourage others to consider becoming a host family or really getting to know a RYE student when they are here visiting us. It’s really is beneficial to all concerned.

Brian Monroe