Loss of a GSE Friend

It is with a great deal of sadness that I post this message. Dick Poole, a member of Huntington Rotary Club and the District 6540 GSE selection committee was laid to rest today, October 27th. Many Rotarians and friends paid respects to his family for contributions to the Huntington community, the Rotary family (locally and internationally) and other organizations that he supported that made Huntington a great place to live.

Personally, he assisted in providing me with encouragement and insight into the role of GSE Team leader after my selection and was the consumate supporter of our whole team. He was so excited for our team going to Turkey and he was looking forward to his own trip to Turkey with his son, John. One of his responses to our blog postings was "Please keep the reports coming. Some of us check several times a day. All the best!!"

After returning home, he visited the Wabash Club meeting when I presented a program, and also had the team make a presentation at Huntington Club. I was in Huntington one afternoon and decided to call and visit personally about our experience and spent about 1 1/2 hours with him. We reviewed maps , destinations and experiences and I was looking forward to comparing notes upon his return. In a brief visit with John at funeral, he indicated they had a great time on their trip, which I was glad to hear. Poole, as his friends called him, will be missed.

Lagrange Rotary Club Presentatio

I had a wonderful time at the Lagrange club held at the Brickhouse Inn. A small energetic club that oozes Rotary and a very quaint place to meet with great food. I went through my condensed pictures to provide a few slides of each of the communities the team experienced. Jane was able to join me and we had a great time, enjoyed the fellowship and interest in group study exchange. My encouragement was to look for young professionals in their community for the Mexico performing Arts exchange in the spring as well as future exchanges. The meeting was on August 3rd.

Dave

Rotary Presentation Elkhart Morning Club- Vivian

My first Rotary Meeting. I will be at the Elkhart Morning Club Meeting on August 27th at 7am.

Rotary Presentation in Auburn. - Katy

Hello to all. It will be one month back as of Wednesay. I have a cd of Turkish pop music playing in my car to keep the experience alive.

Just wanted to let you know that I will be doing the following Rotary presentation:

Tuesday, August 4th - Auburn Rotary Club.

If any of the rotarians would like us to reach out to specific clubs, please let us know and we would be happy to do so.

Happy July!

Upcoming Rotary Presentations- Sarah

All--

Thank goodness for fathers. Who else would sit through (literally) 1807 photos of my travels in Turkey and then on my own in Greece!?

But luckily, we've learned a bit of editing and have started to hone our presentations to be ready for your viewing pleasure. All of us would LOVE to share our stories and thanks with as many clubs in District 6540 as possible!

Here is a list of the upcoming presentations that I know about:
(Sorry if there are others-- please add comments if you know of one I missed!)

Dave: Wabash Club: July 27th
Dave: Huntington Club: August 18th

Vivian: Downtown South Bend Club: unsure of date (sorry!)

Katy/Erin/Sarah: Downtown Fort Wayne Club: August 17th

Katy/Sarah: Columbia City: September 15th

Please feel free to contact us directly at our email addresses or phone numbers. We look forward to hearing from you!

Back Home Again in Indiana - Dave

The last few days the tune of this line has been passing through my mind....especially on the plane rides. It is great to be home, but what a wonderful experience. I look forward to being able to relive the experiences as they are shared with family, friends, Rotary Clubs and other organizations. The memories of wonderful new friends, the beauty of the countryside from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, the warmth and hospitality of our hosts and all those we met, trying to relax during the travel on the roadways, and reflecting on the history that we were exposed to that was magnificent. It will be strange to not have to negotiate a price for a purchase or to not see a minuet in the near distance.

It's back to work and catching up.....with the opportunity to review the many wonderful memories as we go through pictures and videos. I look forward to getting together with this team and sharing once they are all "Back Home Again in Indiana".

Last Day in Istanbul - Katy

Last day in Istanbul. Last day in Turkey. Yesterday, Matt, Erin & I took a 6 hr. trip on the Bosphorus. It was 90 mins. on the ferry, 3 hrs. in this little town with a castle to explore and fresh seafood to eat, and then the return trip on the ferry. It was spectacular; the Bosphorus Strait, which divides Istanbul into a city that sits on both the European continent and the Asian continent, connects the Black Sea and the Marmara sea (which then is connected to the Mediterranean). The water, outside of the dirty waterways in the busiest ferry sections, is a beautiful aqua blue. Istanbul is very hilly, they call it the city of seven hills, so there is nice elevation on either side of the Bosphorus which gives you a great view of the cityscape. Old beautiful Mosques, old Ottoman buildings, old European-inspired buildings, Ottoman Palaces, and new modern buildings cover the city center of Istanbul. Minarets for all of the mosques pop up in rapid intervals along the skyline. As we travelled farther away from the city center, the landscape relaxed. Ferries were replaced with yachts and skyscrapers were replaced with beautiful summer homes and hotels that occupied the coveted strait-front property.

Today we are going to explore the Topkapi Place, where Ottoman Emperors ruled/lived for hundreds of years. Sarah will have a couple of hours between her return from Ephesus and her departure for Athens, so we are hoping that she can join us for one of my last adventures.

This has been such an amazing experience. The last couple of days we’ve continued to remind ourselves how truly fortunate we are to have been chosen for the Turkey team. Rotary does a lot of wonderful things, and from my personal experience, this is one of the best! The sights and sounds and tastes of Turkey are remarkable, but the true impact has been the relationships we’ve made with the people we have met. Turkish people truly define the word hospitality. Opening their homes and hearts to us wasn’t just an opportunity for them but a cultural obligation that they take on with passion. Time and time again, they all said to us, “If you are happy, then we are happy.” I only hope that I can return the favor in some way in the future.