Mary Helen Hasby and Travis Hollman provided us a glimpse at the history of, as well as a preview of what is to come, in down town Minot. The Down Town Area Association has been organized for some time but only recently sprung back to life. Some of the visionary merchants have banned together determined to improve product accessibility, variety, and the enjoyment a down town shopping can provide. 

Special events designed to draw patrons that may have wandered away from the area back began last weekend with the Downtown Fall Festival. It was a fun event with many activities for the entire family. But, if you were unable to attend, fear not! More is on the way. Later this month (September 20^th) there will be a “wine walk” where, for a $25.00 ticket guests can stroll from one store front to the other and enjoy a different wine and hors d'oeuvres selection at each store. As Halloween approaches, look forward to “Black Friday” and the Christmas Lights train later in December. They even suggested that Valentine’s Day might provide a different opportunity for Minot Down Town in spite the "typical" North Dakota weather!

I had the privilege of transporting our Foreign Exchange Student to her entry orientation this weekend and, in the spirit of Rotary, we picked up other Students along the way. If you been around young people much, you know the magic that fills the air as they get to know each other. And, so it was going as we traveled down Interstate 94 towards Fargo.

What I thought might be a show stopper was when one of the young ladies poised to the group, “Were you home sick when you first got here?” Now, according to many years of observation, the answer is overwhelmingly “Yes!”, but the young man way in the back rather shrugged it off with a “No”. I simple wrote it off as he South American cultural “bravado” but  the other students wouldn’t let it go. “Why not?” they asked.

“Oh,” he explained, “I had just spent two months here last summer. I got over it all then!” As it turns out, 26 years ago this young man’s father had been a Foreign Exchange Student in this same community. Juan’s best friend is the son of his father’s best friend when he was here.  A new generation of friendship has emerged.

Individual relationships across International boundaries for generations to come; that is the difference the Rotary Youth Exchange Program makes. And it needs your involvement to make that difference. Get involved. Talk to Tom DeVilbiss or Tom Hienzepter to determine what role you can play in this important Rotary international program.