Lincoln Rotary Club seeks hosts for exchange student

[March 26, 2013]  Thirty-two years ago Lincoln Rotary Club welcomed an exchange student from Belgium. Bart Remans was a high school senior who stayed with Lincoln residents Bill and Jerri Dennis. Recently, Lincoln Rotary Club received an email from Remans. He is asking for help from Lincoln's citizens. Bart's son, Andries, is currently a senior and wants to experience the same welcoming community his father enjoyed as an exchange student.

Rotary's student exchange program is still a strong and thriving program, and the club is prepared to welcome Andries for the 2013-2014 school year. However, for the program to be successful, the club needs appropriate housing for the incoming exchange student.

The Dennis family -- and many other local families over the years -- have had wonderful cultural experiences while hosting Rotary exchange students. Bill and Jerri Dennis still keep in contact with Bart Remans and have many great memories from his stay with them.

Now, new families are needed to create new memories with the next generation of exchange students. Ideally, Rotary strives to find three or more host families to "share" the exchange student throughout the school year. This gives the visiting student a variety of living experiences and eases the commitment of each host family.

If you and your family would like more information about what is involved in being a host family, contact the Lincoln Rotary Club's youth exchange officer, Stephanie Deneke, via email at [e-mail] or by phone at 217-732-1719.

[Text from file received]