President Jim Speirs welcomed a visitation from the Biggar Rotary Club President, Raymond White, along with a further nine members of his Club, four Group Study Exchange (GSE) students and their team leader, all hailing from Bogotá, Columbia, who were being hosted by members of the Biggar Club, to the regular weekly meeting. 

L to R GSE Chairman Doug Forsyth, Sonia Ardila, Maria Arias, German Jimenez (Team Leader), Virginia Gomez, Diana Guzman and District Governor Alasdair Seale.

The GSE Programme of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young business and professional men and women between the ages of 25 and 40, in the initial years of their professional life.

The programme provides travel grants for teams of young participants to exchange visits between paired areas in different countries. For four to six weeks, team members study the host country’s institutions and ways of life, observe their own vocations as practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.

An exchange offers the most unique and rewarding skills-building opportunity and personal growth experience available to young professionals as humanity steps forward to face the challenges of the 21st century.  Individuals who participate in this valuable, once-in-a-lifetime experience will return home, not only with new perspectives and an enlarged vision, but with fresh ideas and an understanding of a nation’s culture, commerce and government that can be invaluable to a country’s, and a company’s, future.

The GSE group, led by their team leader German Jimenez, each gave a short presentation to the Carluke Club, who gleaned such information, as: geographically Columbia is 14½ times bigger than Scotland; dominated by the Andes; Bogotá, the Capital; is 8,500 feet above sea level; their mean temperature is 13 degrees (at sea level the average is 30 degrees) and an overview of their surroundings, family and careers.  They are already very much enjoying the hospitality of Scotland.

President Jim thanked the members of the Biggar Club, German and the four GSE students for visiting the Carluke.

In other business, the Fiddlers’ Rally planned for 1 November has had to be postponed/cancelled due to booking difficulties with the owners’ of the Carluke High School property.  The Club have now received eight nominations for the “Citizen of the Year Award” and the Club is also looking into ways to celebrate their 30th Anniversary in May 2009.