Each year Rotarians from The Rotary Club of Sarasota Bay, Florida, invite District Governors Elect to participate in the Home Stay Program for a week before they make their way to the Rotary International Assembly in San Diego to be trained for their year that begins on July 1. Last year, District Governor Beth and Barry participated in the program and Roger and Joan Hayward had the privilege of co-hosting them for the week. It was a delightful time, getting to know them just a little bit better and sharing their hopes for successfully leading the district this year......
This year, Rotarians hosted 18 District Governors Elect and their partners. The hosts were represented by many Rotary clubs in the immediate vicinity and also by The Alliston Club. This is because Joan and Roger Hayward co-hosted a couple from Germany, Dietmar and Ute Brauer.
The program ran from January 12 to January 18, 2020 and involved visits to The Ringling Museum and Art Gallery, the planetarium and museum in Bradenton, and Myakka State Park. These were augmented by activities organized by the hosts, including shopping trips and time spent at the beach. A welcome reception was held on the Monday night and the farewell dinner on the Friday evening. There were also two Rotary meetings where the participants informed local Rotarians about the benefits of the home stay program for them personally.
The program provides the opportunity for the participants to get to know each other before they all gather for the international training a week later in San Diego. It also promotes understanding among people from many places in the Rotary world, with opportunities to talk about culture, politics, and issues in their home countries.
For the Rotary Club of Alliston, the home stay program gave Joan and Roger the opportunity to talk to District Governor Elect David Roach and his wife District Governor Nominee Amanda Roach about the effect of the Australian fires on their local community.
As a result, the Rotary Club of Alliston generously decided to send $2000 to David’s club as immediate assistance, to help them in their efforts to rebuild the lives of farmers in their community. The money will be used to purchase water, feed for the cattle that survived, seed for next year’s crops, and everyday food supplies. David and Amanda are very grateful for the generosity of our club.