Thursday, May 31st, 2012

Steve, Allen, Cara, and Kristi all met at 5:30 a.m. this morning to leave for Stockholm.  Blake, because of his commitment to Edsbyn's soccer team, stayed in Northern Sweden.  Steve is headed back to the United States today, while Allen, Cara, and Kristi are all headed to Germany to continue their travels around Europe.  


We know that it is going to take some time for us to all process what a fabulous experience this last month has been.  We also know that there is no way for us to fully express the gratitude we feel toward the multitude of people who have not only made this trip possible, but who have made it one of the most valuable and positive experiences of our lives.  


We would like to thank Rotary International for the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.  This trip would not have been possible without the diligence of both GSE chairpersons, John Gibbons (District #6460, United States) and Mari Zidén (District #2330, Sweden).  Our deepest gratitude goes to District Governors, Gordon Jumper (District #6460, United States) and Catharina Hedin (District #2330, Sweden) as well as to the Rotary Clubs of Edwardsville, Jacksonville and Macomb for sponsoring our team's leader and members.  Cara, Kristi, and Allen thank District 7 Superintendent, Dr. Ed Hightower, Assistant Superintendents, Nancy Spina and Dr. Linda Andre, as well as Edwardsville High School principal, Dennis Cramsey for allowing us to take advantage of this opportunity and making arrangements for our absences.  A special thank you to alternate team leader, Marcia Bullis, and alternate team member, Rachel Harris, for their hard work and support during this entire process. Thank you to Ulrica Bateman who translated from English to Swedish all the information for both our brochure and photo book.  We also appreciate local businesses and organizations who donated items for us to share with the people of Sweden. Further, we are indebted to the Swedish GSE team and all of the people who hosted us, fed us, transported us, took us on tours, taught us, and shared their lives with us.  We sincerely thank those of you who took the time and energy to be with us and make our time spent in Sweden one that we will never forget.  




It has been a pleasure to write the entries for this blog.  If you notice any corrections or omissions that should be addressed, please contact Cara Lane at clane@ecusd7.org.  Thanks to Allen Duncan for setting up the blog address and the April page and to Steve Hopper for sharing so many photos.  

Cara Working on the Blog at Jan and Susanne's House in Borlänge