The Rotary Foundation Group Study Exchange District 5830 GSE Team-Report Switzerland-Texas May 05 th 2007 – June 09 th 2007 Date: Informations Journal Pictures After the preparation time everyone was happy that the trip now started. After an eleven hours flight we landed tired but very excited about all forthcoming at the Fort Worth airport. We were already expected at the airport - with a Rotary flag a welcoming committee waited for our arri- val. A short drive took us to the city apartment of one of our host families and we enjoyed a great aperitif with a fabulous view on the city of Dallas - here we are, in Dallas, Texas! May-05-2007 City homepage: www.cedarcreekpilot.com Rotary Club Cedar Creek Lake Our first day in Texas was calm; we had no program and time to acclimate us with the time shift. The next day everyone made individual activities with their host families before the whole team met at the house of Sandy and Dale Molander for a barbecue. After the meal, some of us enjoyed, fitted with a brand new Longhorn-cap, a boat trip on the huge artificial lake of Ce- dar Creek. Later in the evening, we had our first presentation for a small group of Rotarians. May-06-2007 Alex Schär Seite 1 von 34 GSE Team-Report Switzerland-Texas / May-05-2007 – June-09-2007 Date: Informations Journal Pictures Mabank Fire Department The Mabank Fire Department, a department based upon integrity, respect and trust provides 111 E. Mason St. Fire, Rescue and EMS services to safeguard the life and property of the citizens of the com- Mabank , TX 75147 munity Mabank. The Deputy Fire Marshal Kyle McAfee showed us their equipment. Some tools www.mabankfire.org are very old and different from ours. [email protected] Collin Street Bakery On Monday we started our first professional tour. In the morning, we visited the Colin Street 401 West 7th Avenue Bakery in Corsicana - they say, that they produce the worlds best fruitcake. The family-owned- Corsicana, Texas 75151 and-operated Collin Street Bakery, located just 50 miles south of Dallas, Texas, has been bak- www.collinstreet.com ing the world-famous DeLuxe Fruitcake for over 110 years. The shy, perfectionist Gus Weid- mann ran his little kitchen in this newly formed Collin Street Bakery 1896 and made ready for May-07.2007 the busy Christmas seasons. At the same time, Tom McElwee was sending out letters, making till03.00 p.m. sales trips, and lining up an ever-growing list of Bakery customers. This year alone they will ship Texas Fruitcakes, pecan cakes, and other delicious pastries to 196 foreign countries. Gander Mountain After a small breakfast we drove to Gander Mountain , a big outdoor sports shop. Gander 3301 Corsicana Crossings Blvd. Mountain is a leading specialty retailer that serves the needs of outdoor lifestyle enthusiasts, Corsicana, TX 75110 with a particular focus on hunting, fishing, camping and boating. The Gander Mountain brand www.gandermountain.com was founded in Wilmot, Wisconsin, in 1960 originally as a catalog operation which over time was augmented with retail stores. Gander Mountain provides a unique retail experience founded upon their "We Live Outdoors" culture and theme. At the end of May 2007, the Com- pany had 108 Gander Mountain outdoor lifestyle stores in 22 states The Home Depot Later, we visited Home Depot, a retailer of home improvement and construction products. The 2290 S I-45 founders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, forever changed the home improvement industry Corsicana, TX 75109 when they opened the first The Home Depot stores in Atlanta, Georgia on June 22, 1979. The www.homedepot.com original stores stocked around 25,000 products and were attached to Treasure Island stores. Today, on average, The Home Depot offers 40,000 products and is approximately 105,000 square feet. The Home Depot story began as a vision of warehouse stores filled from floor to ceiling with a wide assortment of products at the lowest prices. The growth continues to this day, with more than 2,100 stores throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Alex Schär Seite 2 von 34 GSE Team-Report Switzerland-Texas / May-05-2007 – June-09-2007 Date: Informations Journal Pictures Russel Stover The next stop was at Russell Stover Candies. This is a familiar and beloved name to lovers 1997 Pecan Delight Avenue, of chocolate the world over. Currently the largest manufacturer of boxed chocolates in North Corsicana, TX 75110 America, the company's roots are deep in family values and traditions. In 1923, Russell and www.russellstover.com Clara Stover began a candy business in their home in Denver, Colorado. The original candy, marketed as "Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies," changed about 20 years later to Russell Stover Candies. The Stovers established principles that were successful then and are still carefully followed today. The three principles of quality, service and value allow Russell Stover Candies to remain "Only the Finest." College of Navarro The Pearce Civil War Collection is a balanced collection documenting both the northern and Pearce Collections Museum southern Civil War experience. Correspondence from its major political and military leaders is 3100 West Collin Street included as well as letters and diaries written by common soldiers and civilians. Corsicana, Texas 75110 The Pearce Western Art Museum has a large collection of portraits and landscapes of the www.pearcecollections.us Native American life. Athens Park Homes Athens Park Homes, LLC was formed September 9, 2004 by a group of investors led by Phil PO Box 1270 Surles former Chief Operating Officer of Champion Enterprises, Inc. While Surles was COO, Athens, TX 75751 Champion was the Nations largest housing and mobile home producer in the United States www.athensparkhomes.com and Canada. The group purchased the large 140,000 sq. ft. manufacturing plant in Athens, TX from Champion to produce park models and cabins and to take advantage of the large skilled work force in the area. The four member management team of Athens Park Homes has over 118 years combined experience in factory built housing. The plant supervisors and associates have been building custom manufactured and modular housing in this facility for over 30 years. Athens Park Homes began producing & marketing a full line of park models and cabins na- tionwide December 1, 2004. The park models feature tape and textured walls and ceilings, lofts, dormers, large bay windows, fiber cement, cedar lap and log siding. We could track the whole manufacture way from the beginning to the completed house. This was our last stop for today before were picked up from the Rotary Club Athens. Alex Schär Seite 3 von 34 GSE Team-Report Switzerland-Texas / May-05-2007 – June-09-2007 Date: Informations Journal Pictures City homepage: www.athenstx.org Rotary Club Athens In the late evening, the whole team met for dinner in an Italian restaurant - we spent a great May-07-2007 evening with the Rotarians of Athens. Trinity Valley On Tuesday, we toured through the 2-Year-College Trinity Valley Community College Community College (TVCC). The TVCC is cheaper than a common university and has very modern education 100 Cardinal Dr equipment like interactive classrooms. They also teach in 4 prisons. TVCC ranks as a leader Athens, Texas 75751 among all Texas community colleges in the success of its students who transfer to senior col- www.tvcc.edu leges and universities. They offer a large variety of academic programs. Henderson County May-08-2007 Junior College was founded by a group of Athens civic leaders, headed by J. P. Pickens and Orval Pirtle, and public school administrators in late 1945 and early 1946. The creation of Hen- derson County Junior College was formally approved by voters in the election of May 4, 1946. The first registration was conducted in temporary facilities at Athens High School on June 3, 1946, and three days later classes began there. Trinity Valley Community College has a proud heritage of service to the people within the region and is currently engaged in continuing growth and development toward realization of its full potential in higher education. Red Dot In the afternoon we visited Red Dot , a manufacturer of steel buildings. The company has a big Building Systems social engagement and has social projects all over the world and for their employees too. P.O. Box 1240 1209 W. Corsicana Street Athens, Texas 75751 www.reddotbuildings.com Alex Schär Seite 4 von 34 GSE Team-Report Switzerland-Texas / May-05-2007 – June-09-2007 Date: Informations Journal Pictures Athens Daily Review Later in the afternoon, we toured the The Athens Review . The Athens Review was estab- P.O. Box 32 lished as a weekly newspaper by J.B. Bishop and George M. Johnson, Editors and owners, on Athens, Texas 75751 Dec. 24, 1885. The earliest newspaper in Henderson County appeared, in 1886. Now the Ath- www.athensreview.com ens Review is published daily except Saturdays. Throughout its history, The Athens Review has served the area as a community newspaper. Encouraging community spirit and supporting projects of benefit to the area. Devoted to the development and progress of Athens and Hen- derson county and their people. The newspaper has been an important element in the areas heritage. Everyone was surprised about the old equipment of the company. Fieldstone of Texas Before dinner, some of us could visit the FieldStone, Larry Russels company. FieldStone is a Hand Cast Stone Veneer manufactured stone veneer that offers an economical alternative to natural stone while captur- 1100 S.E. Loop 7 ing the same beauty and appeal.