Guest Speaker and Grand-daughter of Roger and Pat Lescun, Jessica Connell, at age 15 was a member of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus in Albury for 5 years specializing in hula-hoops and aerials, then moving to Melbourne for a year before joining ‘Circa’ in 2011 at age 19. Jess says one of her highlights was world premiering “S”, one of five different shows ‘Circa’ performs, at the Brisbane Festival in September 2012. ‘Circa’ encompases Acrobats as well as Musicians in most performances and has toured internationally since 2006 to 30 countries across six continents. Critics have raved about its shows calling the work “stunning…exquisite… heart-stopping” and “electrically charged”. Jess mentioned the intensity of circus performing interest overseas … 500 professional performers in France, 2000 in Canada … 30 in Australia ! The training and rehearsals are a major part of the curriculum with complete satisfaction coming from performing … ‘living-her-dream’ ! Jess presented a short video of a ‘Circa’ performance titled “S”. ‘Circa’ presented “Sixtyone-in-Sixty Seconds” at the Albury Entertainment Centre last Friday and Saturday nights … a number of members attended.
President’s Message
For those who were unable to attend our meeting a couple of weeks ago, Paul Armstrong tendered his resignation from the Club for personal reasons at the end of the last Rotary year. I am grateful that PP Pete and the Board at their last meeting extended to Paul an honorary membership of the Club, and that Paul kindly accepted this invitation. I know that Paul is greatly respected by all in this Club, and it is wonderful that he & Marcia continue to be part of our Club. We are also fortunate to welcome Agnes Westlund, our exchange student from Sweden – welcome Agnes and we look forward to sharing the next year with you. Thanks also to Rod & all the exchange families. The sadness of the Malaysian Airlines disaster in the Ukraine highlights the importance of organizations such as Rotary in promoting international peace. It also reminds us of how fragile life is. Our thoughts go out to all families suffering from this tragedy, and other areas of conflict. Whilst we are truly lucky to live in this country, this event shows that our nation is not immune from the effects of such violence. It reminds us that through Rotary and other areas we are called to foster international fellowship. Justin
Rotary Foundation
Click on Rotary Foundation above to view a short video and see what Rotary does all around the World.
Rotary Youth Exchange
This Friday, 16 year old Agnes Westlund from Sweden will touch down at Albury Airport to begin her year as a Rotary Exchange Student, living in Albury and experiencing life in Australia. Agnes will be met at the airport by members of the Rotary Club of Albury Hume (RCAH) and her host parents for the year.
Agnes comes from Trosa in Sweden, located on the Swedish coast less than an hour’s drive south of Stockholm. Trosa is an idyllic town with beautiful, centuries-old wooden houses, cafes and public buildings built by master craftsmen. It is a favourite place for summer holidays in Sweden.
Justin Clancy, President of RCAH, says ‘Our club is really looking forward to welcoming Agnes to Albury and to our community. Our club regularly hosts inbound and outbound exchange students. Currently we are sponsoring Xavier High School’s James Richardson on his exchange in Germany, and in the last few years have hosted students from France and Japan.’
Rotary Youth Exchange provides a wonderful opportunity for young people aged between 15 and 18 to live and study abroad for a year. Students develop in many ways over their exchange year; they enjoy a new culture and enjoy a new way of living, often learn a new language, learn a great deal about themselves and gain confidence and self-sufficiency.
Rod Bramich, Student Exchange Coordinator with RCAH, says ‘As a club we enjoy immensely hosting exchange students. They attend our weekly meetings and get involved with our community activities, as well as living with their host parents. Agnes will live with four host families while in Albury for about three months with each family, and attend Albury High School.’
A central part of the Rotary Youth Exchange program is to promote world understanding and peace. RCAH member Graeme Maddox has served many years on the Rotary District 9790’s Youth Committee and says ‘The exchange students bring with them tremendous friendship, enthusiasm and warmth and are great ambassadors for their countries. We hope that Agnes quickly feels right at home here and are looking forward to a great year with her.’
Agnes will be coming from southern Sweden’s temperate summer, where currently the days are around 20 degrees, and there are 19 hours of daylight every day. While the daylight hours will be halved and the temperatures will be somewhat chillier here, we hope Agnes will experience the warmth of the Albury Wodonga community and make some wonderful friends during her exchange year.
about rotary
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