2 guests from the Vanier EarlyAct Club (middle) present guest speaker books to presenters Jane (second left) and Julia (third left), while Rotarians Ken Durand Jr, Marilyn Powers, Alfred O'Rourke, and Teacher rep Melissa Tom look on.
Rotarian Rene Melchers (left) presents Gananoque Rotarian Doug Bickerton (right) with a guest speaker book following his presentation on the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Doug is one of the early founders of this important Rotary initiative in this region.
The Rotary Club of Brockville and the Rotary Club of the 1000 Islands held a joint meeting on March 9th, to learn more about recent successes related to the Youth Exchange Program. The Clubs hosted students from Vanier School, as well as, two amazing young women who shared their exchange experiences.
First, Julia, a student from Gananoque Secondary School, presented her exchange trip experience to Argentina from July 18th to September 11th, 2025. She spoke about how this trip abroad helped her find out who she is as a person and brought out a greater sense of independence. Julia explained that although Argentina is a spanish-speaking country, there are different regional vernaculars within their language.
Next, Jane who is from New Taipei City, Taiwan, spoke to the group. She is being hosted by the Rotary Club of Gananoque. She noted that her Grandpa is a Rotarian in Taiwan and he was the one who introduced Jane to the possibility of participating in the Exchange Program. Jane also gave a very insightful presentation about her home country. She explained that Taiwan is influenced by many different cultures and languages. Taiwan is a warm country where plus 10 degrees celsius is considered cold. The Canadian weather came as quite a shock to her system, Food is also an important part of their culture and she reflected on several national dishes, including a popular dish called "stinky tofu". Jane also reviewed some popular attractions there, including Taipei, Sun Moon Lake, and the Alishan Forest Railway. She has been happy to learn more about Canada and our own cultural differences.
The Vanier EarlyAct students thanked the Rotary Exchange Students by presenting the customary guest speaker books that will be donated to Pineview School.
In addition to our student presenters, Rotarian Doug Bickerton took a few minutes to speak about the importance of supporting the Youth Exchange Program. Doug is one of the founding Rotarians of the Youth Exchange Program, which dates back 45 years in this region. Doug shared several stories that he has been involved with over those many decades of youth service. He highlighted that short-term exchanges run about 3-4 weeks, while summer exchanges run for 6-8 weeks in length. Doug's advice to Rotary Brockville regarding the Exchange Program is to "go for it"!
MC for the day was Ken Durand Jr, who is the Regional Chair for Rotary Youth Services. Ken was recognized for all his hard work to continue to provide our youth with this important opportunity to learn more about the world and themselves, as individuals.