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Last week we were visited by Julia Nygra our outbound Group Study Exchange (GSE) participant. Our club has participated in this Rotary Foundation vocational program before by hosting a team from England and Julia's team is off to Ireland August 26th for 6 weeks. The Rotary Foundation's Group Study Exchange (GSE) program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for businesspeople and professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who are in the early stages of their careers. The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits in paired areas of different countries. For four to six weeks, team members experience the host country's culture and institutions, observe how their vocations are practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas TRF Website I had the privilege to host the GSE team leader, Chris Chubb, when they were here a couple of years ago from Portsmouth. I had the chance to meet young professionals learning about new ideas from like minded North Americans about how they can improve the service they are providing. It is also an opportunity to promote peace and cultural understanding. We have had teams go to India , Turkey, Australia and Brazil over the past few years. And always the participants come back having a life changing experience. These are some of the gifts Rotary gives to the world. Julia works for Surrey RCMP as a Victim Services Caseworker. She and her family came out to the Hike for Hospice to help with the setup and registration. I know from speaking to her she is looking forward to Ireland and being able to share some of our great Canadian programs and have new perspectives about ways to help victims of crime. Other members of the GSE are William Freitas from Burlington, Maureen Hari from North Delta, Susan Rai from Abbotsford, David Sadler from White Rock, and the team Leader Debe Franz from Lake Stevens. There is a Bon Voyage lunch this Sunday in Bellingham that I'm planning on attending. I would be happy to join with other members of our club to wish them all the greatest success. On Monday evening we have a Board meeting. I will report highlights on Wednesday. Nick