Historical Notes

- from "Four Decades of Service Above Self - The History of the Rotary Club of Midland" - Frederick W. Hacker, Q.C. - 1991.

The First International Project

The Club was becoming increasingly aware of Rotary beyond the Town limits of Midland. The visit by the District Governor in 1968 was a major event and the Governor was greeted by more than 30 members. In that same year under the leadership of President Guy Johnstone, the Midland Rotary club became involved in its first World Community Service project. The sum of $56.00 was remitted to the Rotary Club of Cochabamba, Bolivia. The funds were part of a contribution of $700.00 from District 701 which was paired with District 469 in Bolivia. The funds were used to finance the digging of a well in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Involvement with Rotary International heightened in 1970 when the Midland Rotary Club became involved in the Group Study Exchange. In early 1970, Midland Rotarians selected Austin Matthews (then General Secretary of the Midland YMCA) to visit Australia on a Group Study Exchange. Austin participated with the outgoing Canadian group in the spring of 1970. In September 1970, the reciprocal visit to District 701 by six Australians occurred.

By the early 1970s, the Midland Rotary Club was sponsoring foster children in Columbia, Venezuela and Haiti. In the mid-1970s, the Rotary Club was paired with a Rotary Club in Cochin, India. The Club made donations to international projects including $500.00 to the Rotary Foundation in 1974 (the largest donation by the Midland Rotary Club to that date) and $500.00 to the Guatemala Relief Fund in 1976. In 1979, $500.00 was donated to the Vietnamese Boat People.

Student Exchanges

But the real breakthrough in International Service activities was the comings and goings of international visitors. From participation in 1970 in the Group Study Exchange, the Club's activities in exchanges blossomed during the 1970s. One of the most rewarding and significant projects was the Rotary Student Exchange Program. The first student to arrive was Sallyann Middleton from Bentleigh, Australia in February, 1975. She was followed by Jakomine Guodswaard from the Netherlands later that same year. The third exchange student arrived in 1977, Fernanda Majorga from Argentina. The first male incoming exchange student was Ulrich Geidel from West Germany who spent 1978 with the Club. The 1980 exchange student was Ian Nicholls from South Africa.

During the same period, a number of local students were selected as outgoing student exchange representatives. In 1975, Pat Trax went to the Philippines and Donna Jones went to Australia. In 1977, Frank Ehmke went to West Germany and in 1979 Linda Cox spent a year in South Africa.

The incoming students spent two or three month periods in the homes of four to six Rotary families resulting in a very intimate and exciting exchange of ideas, cultures and values. In addition, the outgoing students were able to bring back to our area their views and experiences of a world beyond Huronia.

Midland played host to a number of group study exchanges during this period, including a team from South Africa in 1977, a team from Sweden in 1978 and a team from India.