Rotary offers paid travel, experience to young professionals

As part of Rotary International's Group Study Exchange program, local Rotary District No. 7090 will be sending a team to Bulgaria in May 2008, as well as hosting a similar Bulgarian team at the same time.

In addition to a Rotarian team leader, the team will comprise four business people and professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who are in the early stages of their careers and interested in learning about the economic, social and cultural characteristics of Bulgaria.

Travel and accommodations costs will be paid for by the host Rotary District and Bulgarian Rotary counterparts. This is part of Rotary's mission, which is the improvement of international understanding and fostering of world peace by enabling young people from different countries to learn about each other.

This is a vocation-specific exchange for those working in the hospitality, tourism or wine industries. Bulgaria's tourism has expanded since its beginnings in 1960 to include the large modern Black Sea resorts, historical sites, winter sports, and hiking and biking trails, which serve 3.7 million tourists a year.

Although Bulgaria has been producing wine since the second century, it has only been in the last decade that it has grown significantly in the quality and quantity of its products. Today, there are 27,000 grape growers and 138 wine makers producing more than 200 million liters of wine each year.

While in Bulgaria, team members will have the opportunity to study and experience the Bulgarian way of life. They will live with Rotarians in a number of different localities and will have the opportunity to see first hand how their vocational counterparts work.

Applications must be submitted to a local Rotary Club by Nov. 20. For more information, call Pravin Suchak at 868-9150. Additional details and application forms can also be obtained from the Rotary Web site, www.rotary.org/en/ServiceAndFellowship/ Fellowship/GroupStudyExchange.