Wales here we come.....

It’s hard to believe that Sept. 30th is almost here and we’re days away from leaving the Palmetto State and heading to Wales. On behalf of the GSE Wales Team, I’d like to thank all of our sponsoring Rotary Clubs of District 7770, the Rotary Clubs of District 1150 in Wales that will graciously host us, and of course, our fearless team leader, Rick Melton.

We’re looking forward to the opportunity of a lifetime. Thank you!

-Betsy Reves (Charleston), Mariah Bywater (Beaufort), Adrel Langley (Johnsonville), Ruben Santiago (Columbia), Richard Sidebottom (Columbia)

The Team

I am very proud and honored to be the team leader of the Wales GSE Team. We have selected a special group of young South Carolina professionals who will be great ambassadors for our District and State. They have trained hard and all have contributed to the planning of our trip and our presentation. We have bonded very well and we look forward to our upcoming adventure. The team consists of Mariah Bywater. Mariah is an Emergecy Room Nurse at the Beaufort Memorial Hospital in Beaufort. She was sponsored by the Beaufort Rotary Club. Her part of the presentation will be about Health Care and Education in S.C. Adrel Langley is the editor of the Lake City News and Post in Lake City and lives in Johnsonville with her daughter, Allison. She was sponsored by the Lake City RC. She is going to talk about football and other traditions. Betsy Reves is the Catering Sales Manager at Embassy Suites on Charleston and she was sponsored by the Spring Valley RC. She is going to talk about our culture and food especially BBQ. Ruben Santiago also was sponsored by the Spring Valley RC and is a lieutenant with the Richland County Sheriff's Dept in their Community Services Division. Ruben lives in Columbia with his wife and 3 children. He is going to talk about Law Enforcement in S.C. Richard Sidebottom is a historical architecture consultant with the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. He lives in Columbia and was sponsored by the Columbia Rotary Club. He is going to talk about the Welsh connection in SC. Rick Melton of the Lake City Rotary Club is the team leader, He is the past president of his club and is part owner of Johnson Auto Sales, LLC in Lake City where he lives with his wife, Millie. He will talk about Rotary in District 7770.

The Team is Ready!!!!

Our team held our last training session on 9/24 in Charleston as we put the final touches on our presentation. Each team member will tell about themselves and a little something about S.C. Richard Sidebottom, our team historain, will end our presentation with the Welsh connection in our State. He will talk about the Welsh Neck area near Society Hill, Swansea, SC and the Welsh Slate Roofs in Charleston. After Hurricane Hugo, the roofs were in need of repair and it was determined that the slate originated in Wales and the new materials were obtained from there.
Adrel Langley, the editor of The Lake City News & Post and from Johnsonville, was so excited after her meeting that she went home and packed everything except her pecans which are a part of her Host Families' gift package. We leave from Columbia 9/30 at 4:13 PM and fly to Detroit. From Detroit, we go to Amsterdam and then to Cardiff Wales. At the airport, we will be met by Mike Parry, the newly selected GSE Team Leader who will be bring a team to our District in Feb/Mar 07. Our first stop is Swansea Wales. Our hosts have an exciting schedule prepared for us and each team member should have some vey interesting vocational experiences to share when they get back home. We will look forward to sharing with you as we embark on our journey through Wales. A special thanks to Cayce McIntosh and Shannon Mewborn who served as team alternates and Wayne Whelan who was my alternate. All of your help and support is and was appreciated by the team very much...Rick

Departure Time is Approaching!

The Wales Group Study Exchange Team will be departing for Wales September 30.
The group will be led by Rick Melton. Team members are: Mariah Bywater, Andrel Langley, Betsy Reves, Ruben Santiago, and Richard Sidebottom.