The GSE inbound and outbound team along with Chair and Co-Chair Jill Zachery and Chris Carlson.

The presentation went well and we are looking forward to showing it at the Rotary clubs in Tassy. Special thanks for Gail and John from the Bemidji Rotary Club for letting us do the 'practice' presentation in their home. Thanks to everyone who attended. Thanks as well to Jill and Chris for organizing everything.

After our anxiety from the presentation wore off we went back to Rutger's Lodge on Lake Bemidji and had some team bonding time with the inbound team. Oh, and the Tasmanian team did go swimming. We were all very impressed! We are looking forward to see them again in Australia.

Last weekend in Bemidji

We have all made it to Bemidji, Minnesota for our last 'planning weekend' We arrived quite early to get some work done but ended up a bit side tracked. Our team really likes swimming so we did another dip into Lake Bemidji. It was so cold but at least the ice has melted off the lake. We are meeting up with the inbound Tasmanian team this evening and hopefully we can get them in swimming too. There is a 27% chance of snow for this evening so they might be in for a shock.

On  more serious note, we will be doing our first presentation today for the GSE Chair and Rotarians in this area in T minus 4 hours. 

Greeting the Tasmanian inbound team at Thunder Bay International Airport.

A bunch of us went to the Thunder Bay airport on Good Friday to greet the inbound Tasmanian team. It was a great chance for the Canadian half of our team to meet them. On Saturday night Sioban, Kathryn and I went for dinner with the inbound group at the White Fox Inn. We look forward to seeing them again in Bemidji next weekend. 

Itineraries!!!!

The team received our much anticipated itineraries a few days ago and all I can say is, WOW! Our hosts in Tasmania have some fantasic outings scheduled for us and we can't wait for the fun to begin!

The highlights include:

*Meeting many wonderful Rotarians in District 9830 and presenting to their clubs. as well as at the District Conference.
*Many, many extremely interesting vocational visits tailored to our industries
*Canoeing
*Hiking at Cradle Mountain
*A weekend on a yacht! *Visiting several wineries and breweries
*Visiting a Chocolate Factory and cheese making facility
*Touring a Historic Town (Richmond)
*Visiting a Female Convict Factory
*Bonorong Wildlife Park, Salmon Ponds, Seahorse World & Platypus House
*Mole Creek Caves
*Beaconsfield Mine & Heritage Center
*A weekend at Green's Beach
*The famous Salamanca Market
*Parliment House
*Farms

And many, many other fantastic, enriching and enlightening activities. So stay tuned as more adventure unfolds.

We cannot stress enough how grateful and thankful we are to Rotary, everyone that has been involved with planning this amazing schedule for us and our hospitable host families. Thank you just doesn't seem like enough.

On a side note - our practice presentation is coming up fast on April 21. This is our last get-together before we say bon voyage to Canada and the US. We are also excited about this gathering because we get to meet the GSE team coming from Tasmania. It will be neat to hear their perspective on Canada and the US.

No update on Tamoo while he's been hanging out with Angil in Bismarck. I trust her kitties love him as much as Siobhan's kitties do.

Team canoeing outing in Bemidji, MN on March 31