•    We learned in October that the primary contact person with the El Tuito Amanecer (Sunrise) Rotary Club near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico was unable (due to health) to coordinate the water filter project for which we were awarded a District 5960 grant. We did not know any other of their members. Therefore, our Board decided to not continue with the water filter project in Mexico at this time. A portion of the club’s budget that had been allocated to this international project was re-assigned to two other Rotary projects:  the district 5960 grant project sponsored by the West St. Paul/Mendota Heights Rotary Club for upgrading and remodeling of a Maternity Hospital in Haiti and a scholarship for a secondary school student in a rural mountain community near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico which is the area where we previously had a water filter project. Four AH/SV Rotary club members, who have personally supported scholarships for Mexican students for several years, have also donated additional funds to be sure that poor, promising students can continue to be in secondary school. Funds were also approved to be given to the Chicago Lakes Rotary Club for their global grant project in Jamaica for hospital equipment and training but we were too late for the funds to be given.
•    There were plans to host the Rotary Friendship Exchange team from Thailand in early February but, at the choice of the Thai team, the incoming exchange has been postponed to October, 2016. There will be an outgoing Friendship team going to Thailand this fall – watch for information on application for that team this spring or early summer.  
•    The outgoing Rotary Youth Exchange student sponsored by our Club will be Michaela Allen, a senior at Mounds View High Scholl and resident of Shoreview. She will be an exchange student in Turkey. She and her mother attended our December 29 meeting. There is another outgoing Rotary Youth Exchange student who is a Shoreview resident. She is Araina Durgin who is sponsored by the White Bear Lake Rotary Club and will be an exchange student in Indonesia.
•    There is an upcoming opportunity to learn more about our Muslim neighbors. On Thursday night, January 14, at 7PM, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Shoreview will host an inter-faith program to gain understanding of the Muslim faith. It will be a presentation by three members/volunteers from the Muslim American Society of Minnesota. The event is free. Call Shepherd of the Hills at 651 483-5419 for more details.