May 08, 2009

Today, we welcome John Rufli, Executive Director of Land Between The Lakes Association. LBLA, doing business as "Friends of LBL", is a private, non-profit organization to the USDA Forest Service at the LBL National Recreation Area.

John was formerly with the Kentucky Department of Parks, retiring in 2004, after 30 years of service.

He brings to the position of Executive Director extensive experience in tourism, management, and environmental education. His goal for "Friends of LBL" is to keep it a dynamic organization that will serve as a resource of the many stakeholders of LBL to show their support in keeping LBL one of the top outdoor education and recreation attraction in Kentucky and Tennessee.

He will be speaking about the Land Between The Lakes; its history and the many activities it offers the visiting public. Also, he will talk about "Friends of LBL" and the projects and activities they support.

John is married and has two grown sons. He is a member of Rotary Club of Cadiz, KY; a two time Past-president of that club, and a Paul Harris Fellow.

Next Week, is another banner week for Union City Rotary, as we host the Rotary Scholarship Banquet, since this is such a large gathering it will be held at First Baptist Church Family Center, here in Union City.

This year Rotary Scholarships, will be distributed to some 129, deserving students from Obion County. These students will receive $144,500.00, in student aid to help them further their educations.

Back in 1982, Union City Rotary awarded $1,000, in scholarships, 1983, $4,000, 1984, $5,000, 1985, $9,500. So as you can see, in the 28 years of existence, the program has grown by leaps and bounds, thanks to very generous endowments and private donations. And as of this date, over 3 million dollars has been distributed to well deserving students of our county and city schools.

We want to express our deepest appreciation to the Rotary Scholarship Committee and our high school guidance counselors for their time and efforts to make this program the success it is today.

Last Week, Rotary District 4790, visited Rotary District 6760, and brought with it some very impressive visitors to Union City Rotary.

We were very well entertained, as each of the Argentina Rotary Members took turn describing their region of the country, and gave us information and some about the culture of the area, including food, drink, activities, different cities and entertainment which the locals enjoy.

Ana Fernandez, leader of the group, spoke first, explaining how much they were enjoying the hospitality the group was receiving, and exchanged Rotary Banners with Randy Barnes, and as you would think, Randy really struggled as he desperately tried reading some of the English displayed on the Banners.

The group then moved to the screen display and produced some very beautiful pictures of their country and local regions. Showing some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. The pictures also showed in detail the culture and habits of the country, and how some of the Argentinean’s make their living avd also some of the animal life of the region.

District 4790 is located in the Northeast section of Argentina and composed by the provinces of Chaco, Corrientes and Formosa. They mentioned that part of the country is a subtropical climate, it is wet, swampy and hot during the summer. There is an extensive network of rivers and lakes in the area and large rivers provide a habitat rich in food and shelter for a large variety of plant and animal life.