SUMMER CONFERENCE CENTRAL STATES ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE PROGRAM INC. CALVIN COLLEGE Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A. Thursday • Friday • Saturday • Sunday July 13th - 14th - 15th - 16th 2017 Welcome RI President Ian Riseley! CONFERENCE STAFF Conference Chair: Bruce Goldsen 517-937-5344 Registrars: Jill & Jim Karolyi 734-502-4470 Chief Ambassador: Ken Mainland 231-330-4667 Breakout Coordinator: Bill Pritchard Variety Show Chair: Donna Carricato Opening Ceremonies: Sue Goldsen Medical: Megan Mainland 231-330-3348 Parent Events: Ed True Georgia Kautz Program Booklet: Bill Lair Secretary: Paige Weting- Bennett A/V & Technical: Liz Smith Treasurer: Joe Sawyer 2 WELCOME & THANK YOU! On behalf of the 200 Rotarians who have given their time and talent to provide you with this amazing Rotary Youth Exchange experience, I welcome you to the CSRYE summer conference, and congratulate on the greatest decision of your life – becoming an RYE student, or encouraging your son or daughter to participate! We have structured this year’s conference to provide you a mix of inspiring messages, practical information and smaller-group discussion. We are happy to have as our special guest our current Rotary International President, Ian Riseley from Australia. President Ian is a great supporter of Rotary Youth Exchange; it is a program in which he has volunteered for many years. Whether you are an outbound preparing to embark on the greatest adventure of your life, an inbound about to leave for home or a rebound who has just returned from a year filled with amazing experiences, we have prepared sessions to help you cope with the changes you’re about to face, what we call “culture shock” and “reverse culture shock.” And we have special breakouts for parents, because the youth exchange experience affects them as much as their children. If you have any questions, please talk with one of our ambassadors (yellow shirts) or Rotary volunteers – they’re here to help. At the conclusion of the conference, you’ll receive, via email, a survey. I hope you will take a few minutes to provide us with your feedback. It helps us as we design next year’s event. Finally, please tag all of your social media posts and pics with #csrye17 so everyone can see what’s happening across the Calvin College campus. Have a GREAT conference! Bruce Goldsen, 2016 Summer Conference chair A message from CSRYE Chairman Don Moore Welcome to each and every one of you! When I connect with my inbound students, I ask them if they are excited yet! Are you excited?? Outbounds, this is your final orientation before you take the journey that will be “the best year of your life”! For parents, this is your opportunity to meet and talk with other Outbound parents and Rebound parents who can share all sorts of experiences and knowledge about their student’s experiences. For our Rebounds, we say “Welcome Home!” We ask you to share your knowledge and experiences that you gained with our Outbounds. For our Inbounds…this conference is one where we all share your excitement of “going home” but also your mixed emotions of leaving your “other home,” America and Canada. We are proud of you for taking the challenge of leaving your own country to spend a year with us in Central States. We are pleased to welcome Rotary International President Ian Riseley. A month ago, Ian addressed close to 400 youth exchange officers, ROTEX and others involved with Rotary Youth Exchange and explained how this is one of Rotary’s finest programs….one that fosters world peace and understanding. This is the program from which Rotary will find its future members and leaders. This is the program where the world will find its peacemakers. Enjoy the energy, the enthusiasm, and the excitement! It’s contagious! 3 Ian H.S. Riseley President, Rotary International 2017-2018 Ian H.S. Riseley of Sandringham, Australia, is a chartered accountant and principal of Ian Riseley and Co., a firm he established in 1976. Prior to starting his own firm, he worked in the audit and management consulting divisions of large accounting firms and corporations. His firm specializes in income tax and management advice for individuals and small businesses. He has a master’s degree in taxation law and grad- uate diplomas in accounting and income tax. Riseley has been a member of the boards of both a private and a pub- lic school, a member of the Community Advisory Group for the City of Sandringham, and involved in Sea Scouts and sporting groups, as well as hon- orary auditor or adviser for a number of charitable organizations. Riseley’s honors include the AusAID Peacebuilder Award from the Australian government in recognition of his work in East Timor, the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the Australian community, the Distinguished Service Award and the Regional Service Award for a Polio-Free World from The Rotary Foundation. A Rotarian since 1978, Riseley has served as treasurer, director, Foundation trustee, and member and chair of numerous RI and Foundation committees. He and his wife, Juliet, a past district governor, are Major Donors and Bequest Society members of The Rotary Foundation. They live on seven hect- ares at Moorooduc, where they practice their personal philosophy of sustain- able and organic living. They have two children and four grandchildren. Rotary District Governors, 2017-2018 5580 Debra Warner 6220 Christine Hall 6250 Joe Ruskey 6270 Jeffrey Reed 6290 Ed Swart 6310 Patricia Post 6330 Martin Ward 6360 Teresa Brandell 6400 Rick Caron 4 Featured Presenter Jon Paley Jonathan Paley is celebrating his 26th year as a Rebound, and is still re-adapting to his native culture. A shy teenager but eager to see more of the world and become a global citizen, he was an Outbound RYE student from Amsterdam, NY (D7190) to Novo Horizonte, SP, Brazil (D4480). Having [mostly] recovered from reverse culture shock and no longer so shy but still curious how the universe works, Jonathan received his undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Physics from Drew University in 1997, and his Ph.D. in Experimental Particle Physics from Boston University in 2004. He experienced culture shock yet again when he moved, along with his wife, Laura, from the East Coast to the Midwest to take the next step in his career as a postdoctoral researcher in the Physics Department at Indiana University. It was there that Jonathan joined Rotary in 2005, and immediately got involved with the D6580 RYE. He was co-Chair of the D6580 RYE program from 2008-2010. Jonathan and Laura now live in Lisle, Ill. He is a scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill., where he designs, builds and analyzes data from high-energy particle physics experiments. His research is aimed at understanding the nature of the elusive neutrino which may ultimately explain why the universe is made of matter (instead of anti-matter or no matter at all!). Although Laura and their two children, Theo (7) and Beatrix (3), are the center of his universe, Jonathan does his best to give back to his community and to the organization that changed his life when he was 16. He was president of the Lisle Rotary Club in D6450 from 2012-13 and is still very active in the club. Rotary District Governors, 2017-2018 6420 Steven Kuhn 6440 Donald R. Brewer 6450 Scot McAdam 6460 Douglas Huff 6490 Larry Howell 6510 Jill Pietrusinski 6540 Lisa Waterman 6560 Bryce Adam 6580 Dr. Judy Bush Use #csrye17 on all your social media posts 5 CENTRAL STATES ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE PROGRAM INC. OFFICERS CHAIR - Don Moore, District 6330 VICE CHAIR - Brent Sheppard District 6540 SECRETARY - Paige Weting-Bennett, District 6560 Exchange Student 1990-1991 to Japan TREASURER - Joe Sawyer, District 6310 OUTBOUND COORDINATOR - Roberto Sanchez, District 6400 RESPONSIBLE OFFICER - Harold Watters, District 6460 A Brief History Rotary has been involved in youth ex change for a long time. However, prior to 1972, any exchange was essentially a District to District exchange. In the late 1960s and early '70s, Districts 6290 and 6440 cooperated in a joint program. And those two dis tricts would involve yet another district, 6560, in sharing students and opportunities. In February of 1972, eight District Governors from the Great Lakes area formed the Central States Rotary Youth Exchange Program, Inc. From the original eight Ro ta ry Dis tricts, the program has grown to in clude 18 Districts in the states of Illinois, In di ana, Michigan, part of Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada. More than 850 Rotary clubs are represented by the Central States Rotary Youth Exchange Program. The first chairman and one of its founding fathers was Lawrence Meyering (Laurie). He was chairman from 1972-1976. Bob Shoemaker then became the chairman and served Central States for the next 12 years. In 1988, vice chairman and fel low founding father, Bob Brickman, took over the chairmanship. Bob Hosch was chairman from 1992 until 1998. Other chairmen have been Don Mayo (1998-2003), John Weting (2003-07), Bill Lair (2007-11) and Dave Smith (2011-2015). Don Moore began his term as chairman in October 2015. 6 Over the years the success of this program is the result of the quality of leadership in Central States and the supreme dedication of the District Chairs, Correspondents, and District Governors, both within the U.S., Can a da, and overseas. They are united in their efforts to provide students with the most memo ra ble year of their lives, hoping one day that this experience may contribute to the ultimate goal of world understanding and peace.