On July 17, Kathy Austvold will bring us a special program by Daryl Griffin, who served as a missionary in Venezuela for approximately 15 years. He and his wife have lived in Fergus Falls the past few years but regularly returned to Venezuela until events of this past January. Trying to understand and make sense of what is going on there should make for a fascinating program.
Buzz Lundeen has arranged another outstanding program for July 24. We will hear from Ted Meinhover, originally from Ottertail, who joined the U.S. State Department as Foreign Service Officer in 2010. He has served as a diplomat at U.S. Embassies and Consulates in several parts of the world, including in Jamaica, China, and Pakistan. Ted focuses on political and economic issues, and he is not only the eyes and ears on the ground for policy makers in Washington who shape our foreign policies, he also advocates for our country's interests abroad. Ted spent much of his career working at the Embassy in China's capital, Beijing, where he used his Chinese language skills to help manage relations between the two countries. He most recently finished an assignment at the U.S. Consulate in the city of Lahore, Pakistan's cultural and political epicenter. Ted, or Andy as he is called by his family, will be speaking about the importance of civil society and community organizations, like Rotary, for American diplomacy and our country's place in the world. Please plan on attending, and bring a guest or two!