Rotary - From Langnau to Cape Coral

In order to prepare for the Rotary presidential year, all president-elects must participate to the PETS (President-elect Teaching Seminar). The event is organized by the club of the future District Governor with a goal of preparing upcoming district and club leaders for their terms in office. In-depth seminars that emphasize participation in conjunction with fun and fellowship make for a powerful learning experience for Rotary's leaders. The members of District 1990 were hosted in Langnau im Emmental by DGE Peter Pfister who put together a great event, including a great evening in Trub, home town of current District Governor Charles Zaugg.

Change of scenery 4 days later at the weekly meeting of the Cape Coral Rotary Club in Florida. As a visitor, I was able to exchange the RC Monthey banner with a local one. The club was founded in 1967 and counts 75 members. The Rotary Club of Cape Coral took charge of many city improvement projects initially such as building the Memorial Arch at the entrance of Cape Coral; planting hibiscus in the median strips; sponsoring a petting zoo for handicapped children; building bicycle racks at school bus stops and building a Welcome sign at the west end of the bridge with the clubs’ insignias. Education has been a priority including:
International Students Exchange, which had students coming and going from Cape Coral to Belgium and Germany ; group Study Exchange which was originally founded by International Rotary Foundation; scholarships for Edison Community College, FGCU and High Tech Center North; career Days supported youth with vocational presentations in Middle Schools.