Why I love Rotary--A photographic essay

I had no idea what I was in store for when I attended my first international Rotary function.  I don't attend the big fancy conference they hold each June.  I go the week before, so I can work at the international leadership conference for young people (non-rotarians) ages 18-30.  When I first started going I wasn't much older than some of the participants, many of which are simply amazing.  More than a little humbling for a stay at home mom, to say the least.  The Rotary program didnt quite know what to do with me, given that I am really out of their demographic norm.

This first shot was in Chicago in 2005.  This is Zdenik from the Czech Republic and Newton, from Brazil.  Zdenik is one of my best Rotary friends I have ever met.  He is such a great guy.  Currently buiding a Boy Scout lodge in the Czech Republic, worth over $1 million American dollars.

This is Sophia.  She is Greek.  She is a translator of secret documents

for the Greek government.  She is super wonderful. 

Such a together young woman. 

This is Tato from the Phillipines.  He is quite wealthy and

very influencial in his part of the country.  Here we are in LA.

He is a business man.  We felt like siblings when we met.

(maybe he felt my Chinese vibe?)

This is Erik.  He is the man in Kenya. 

Erik runs a non-profit foundation for at risk childern.

I love this picture of my group taken in Sweden.

Look at how different all our faces are.  Isn't that neat?
All with a story.

George is like the Guru of our program.  Hailing from Sweden,

he is a professional human resource trainer for Aika

and Sony Erickkson.  He is the best at what he does.

We have worked three confernces together. 
Man, I am looking tired in this picture taken in England.

This is Mat and Kate from the States.  Kate works for Rotary

in the youth program.  Mat was our committee chair this past

two years.  I love that they are so different.  Ages, gender,

life stories.  But when we are all together, it matters not.

This is Roger, from England, on the committee for ROtary that I

am serving on as well.  He is retired and is considered THE

leading nuclear engineer of the entire UK.  What I like about

 him besides his profound humility, is that he really

has the best interest of the kids at heart.  Admirable.

There was a quote I heard once from Anne Of Green Gables:
Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think.

It is splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.

I wonder who I will meet in Montreal next summer?