Seven members of the Friendship Exchange team from District 3040 from central India experienced midwestern hospitality for the three days they were guests in our communities. They had requested manufacturing visits while in the area. Therefore, they visited the Bright Gardens Hydroponics Plant in Rochelle, Wahl Clipper in Sterling, and toured the farming operation of Terry Gerken west of Sterling to see how large farms operate in Illinois. In addition, the team visited the John Deere site in Grand Detour and the Japanese Gardens in the Rockford Area, along with seeing the Mississippi River, Lock and Dam in Thompson, and windmill in Fulton. The three days were packed with activities to share what our midwestern lifestyle is.
Friendship Exchange is an adult version of what Youth Exchange is for students - visiting a country and experiencing within their host's home its foods, its history, its culture, its lifestyle to understand more fully the similarities of all peoples. The team also presented a program of their area in India to both the Rock Falls Rotary Club and to the Rochelle Rotary Club. This team from India was also spending time in the suburban area and in Chicago.
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Members of the Friendship Exchange Team from Rotary District 3040 in central India visited Wahl Clipper International Headquarters in Sterling. Front row: Betty Clementz, escort from Rock Falls Rotary; Janki Asnani, Om Prakash Asnanmi, Satpai Sungh Chawla, Jinendra Jain, Rashmi Tongya, and Parmeet Chawla; Back row: Linda Patterson, escort from Dixon Rotary, Hiren Soni, and Mark Dreissens, Wahl Clipper tour guide.