By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Through a Rotary International Friendship Exchange, participants can experience different cultures and build international friendships. During the exchange, participants host one another in their homes and at their clubs.
Nine Rotarians from District 3040 in India visited Lake Arrowhead on May 8 as part of their exchange in Southern California.
Sanskar Kothari, Sanjeev Gupta and Elizabeth O’Neil exchanged club flags at lunch in the Magnum room.
Prior to coming up to Lake Arrowhead, the visiting Rotarians were welcomed at a dinner at the Rotary Club of San Bernardino. They showed a presentation that included information on their culture and cuisine as well as their Rotary projects. They sang their national anthem as well as several other songs, inviting the American Rotarians to join in the singing – and dancing.
Their first stop on the mountain was Rim of the World High School where Stephanie Phillips, the coordinator of the Career Technical Education (CTE) classes gave them a tour. The nine Rotarians from India were joined by Ladd Seekins, a member of the Rotary Club of San Bernardino and District 5330’s Friendship Exchange coordinator; his wife, Gail; Rudy Westervelt, past district governor of District 5330 and a member of the E-Club of World Peace; Karyn Westervelt, a member of the E-Club of World Peace; Armand LeSage, a member of the Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club; and myself.
Our guests were fascinated and impressed by the range of CTE classes offered at Rim. They were quick to talk with both the teachers and the students about what was taking place in the classrooms. Before leaving Rim High, they presented Phillips with a gift as their way of saying thank you.
From Rim High we headed to the Lake Arrowhead Resort where we enjoyed lunch in the Magnum room. There we were joined by Jeri-Lynn Miller, president of the Crestline-Lake Gregory Rotary Club; Linda and Stanley Oswalt, also members of the Crestline-Lake Gregory club; Elizabeth O’Neil, president of the Mountain Sunrise club; Dr. Patrick Rains, member of the Lake Arrowhead Rotary Club; and Jo Bonita Rains.
After we shared about the projects of our four Rotary clubs, our guests shared about their projects, their culture and their cuisine.
Past District Governor Sanjeev Gupta was impressed with the driving simulator. His fellow Rotarian, Ashok Jindal, studied the second simulator.
The Mountain History Museum was next on our tour. Rhea-Frances Tetley, Terry Ebert and Cindy Burnett were there to greet us and give our guests a quick tour of the museum and share a bit about the mountain’s past.
The visiting Rotarians were anxious to see Lake Arrowhead up close so we drove back to Lake Arrowhead Village and walked along the lower level by the lake. The ducks and fish were thrilled with the duck food our guests tossed into the lake. We couldn’t get over the size of some of the fish!
One of our guests – Dr. Ruma Bhattacharya – was curious about the difference between the male and female Mallards. She – like her fellow Rotarians – took a multitude of photos.
Heading up their team – Team Amity – was Sanjeev Gupta, past district governor of District 3040. He was accompanied by his wife, Archana. They were joined by Sanskar Kothari, who will be District 3040’s governor in the 2026-2027 year, and his wife, Deepti; Ashok Jindal and his wife, Rekha; Rajesh Modi and his wife, Kiran. They are all from clubs in the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India.
In late October, a group of 10 Rotarians from District 5330 will be heading to India to learn more about the projects being done by clubs in District 3040 as well as more about Indian culture. Armand LeSage and I will be part of that team.
While in Southern California, the members of Team Amity visited six Rotary clubs in San Bernardino, Redlands, Riverside, Indian Wells, Palm Springs and Corona. They also visited sites like the Lincoln Shrine and the Palm Springs Art Museum. They took a ride on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and traveled to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.
Rotarians from District 5330 will have another chance to visit with those from District 3040 at the district conference, to be held on May 17 at Galway Downs. Team Amity will head for home on May 18.
At their welcome dinner at the Rotary Club of San Bernardino, Past District Governor Sanjeev Gupta presented Judy Zulfiquar, District 5330 governor, with a gift as Archana Gupta and District Governor Nominee Sanskar Kothari looked on. (Photos by Mary-Justine Lanyon)
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