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GRSP Annual Student Conclave for the Class of 2010-2011
Savannah, Georgia, August 27-29
Savannah Marriott Riverfront Hotel.
Visit the conclave website for more information.
     Hotel reservations
     Register online for the conclave
     Schedule of events
     Learn about Historic Savannah
     Any questions?

What a great time we had in Montreal!
By: Jim Drake, Chair
The GRSP booth provided excellent exposure for our program.  Dozens of Rotarians from around the world stopped by to inquire about GRSP and were amazed to learn what Georgia Rotarians have been doing since 1946 to promote peace. The most common response was, “Wow,” followed by, “But how are you able do that?” We spoke with a number of RYLA students as well as Interact students. I fully expect to receive applications from many of them, perhaps as soon as this year. We also spoke with many DGs, PEs, International Service Chairs and just plain Rotarians. As late as 2 p.m. on Wednesday as the work crew was taking up the carpet from in front of our booth, people continued to come by and ask questions. We had alumni from as far back as 1973-74 stop be to say hello. We also had several relatives, including parents, of former students stop by just to say thank you. It was proof positive that GRSP really is for a lifetime, not just one year.

We had candid talks with many Africans about the difficulties experienced the past several years getting qualified students from many African nations.  Hopefully the information shared will make it possible for us to once again have students from Africa participate in GRSP in significant numbers.  I had the pleasure of speaking briefly with outgoing RI Vice President Eric Adamson, a WWF, who asked me to thank everyone involved in GRSP for making this Program possible and encouraged us to continue our efforts to increase its scope throughout the world.  Pretty cool!  More will be said about our Montreal experience at the upcoming Summer meeting. Thanks to all those who helped staff the booth. Their names are listed below.  Thanks especially to PDG Kenan Kern and his wife, Beth, for setting up the booth on Saturday and helping with the take down on Wednesday.
     PDG Kenan Kern and Beth
     DG Shane Burr and Donna
     Dist 6900 Chair Bill and Susan Smith
     PDG Steve Stanfield
     DGND Bob Griggers and Brenda
     DGN Gordon Matthews
     GRSP Chair Jim Drake

GRSP Chair Jim Drake’s report at the GRSP Summer Business Meeting held July 16^th and 17^th at Lake Blackshear

The state of the GRSP program is good as we prepare to welcome the 65^th class of students. The GRSP Endowment increased during the past 12 months and reached a significant milestone in excess of $8 million. 146 Georgia Rotary clubs participate in GRSP, which is 71% of the clubs in the state. The 2010-11 class has almost as many students from Iceland (3) as from Colombia (4). As GRSP seeks to promote “Peace through Understanding,” we need to strive to get more students from Middle Eastern countries.

While the contributions to the Endowment were down from 7/1/2009 to 6/30/2010, Chairman Drake expressed gratitude for the $395,253 in contributions during a down economy. Chairman Drake recognized the >$12,000 in contributions from the Stephen Ginn Memorial Fund. During the 2009-10 year, there were 93 new Will Watt Fellows and two new Kendall Weisiger Fellows. All Trustees were encouraged to become Sustaining Members by giving $100/year.

The GRSP History Project is continuing through the efforts of Jack Pannacoucke, who has traveled to interview a number of alumni.

The GRSP Officers for 2010-2011 are: Jim Drake, Chair; Terry Gordon, Vice-Chair; Johnny Dukes, Treasurer; Blake McBurney, Secretary; and Ed Hall, Parliamentarian. The GRSP booth at the RI Convention in Montreal provided excellent exposure for our program. Dozens of Rotarians from around the world stopped by to inquire about GRSP and were amazed to learn what Georgia Rotarians have been doing since 1946 to promote peace.

The Annual Student Conclave will be held in Savannah August 27-29 at the Riverfront Marriott Hotel. This will be the first Conclave in Savannah since 1973. The success of GRSP is greatly due to the two full-time staff of Janis Comer and Barbara Lariscy and the 72 volunteers made up of the Trustees and officers. Chairman Drake thanked the GRSP team for helping to make the world a better place by promoting “Peace through Understanding.”

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