Connections through Rotary

I haven't even left for Australia yet, and already I've made important business connections. Today, I just linked Steve Barker's employer JFNew with my family business's website at www.janetsgardencenter.com. Earlier this spring, I had updated our website to include common gardening tips that everyone can use to be more "green." One of the tips included using more native plants in gardens. JFNew happens to have one of the largest native plant nurseries in the nation, so they provide a perfect link for my "green gardening" page on Janet's Garden Center's website. Hopefully Rotary has given both of our businesses an opportunity for growth!

Australia Turns to Desalination Amid Water Shortage

NPR's "Climate Connections" recently did a nice piece on Australia. See http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11134967

Australian Censorship Tests

While reading the June/July 2007 issue of American Libraries, I came across a news brief on page 42 regarding censorship criteria in Australia.

Books and DVDs that glorify terrorism will face much tougher censorship tests under new laws, federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said. Ruddock and state attorneys-general struck an agreement April 13 to allow materials that "advocate" terrorism to be pulled from bookstore shelves and stopped at Australia's border. The state attorneys-general will report back to Canberra on the feasibility of the proposed laws by July. --Wodonga (Vic.) Border Mail, April 14

According to the Australian Library and Information Association,one of its core values is to "... [promote] the free flow of information and ideas through open access to recorded knowledge, information, and creative works. We assert that this access across time and across cultures is fundamental to a thriving culture, economy and democracy."

I will be interested to follow this story in the Australian press and to talk to library professionals about this in October.

A little about me...

My name is Kimberly Wagner and I am very excited to be traveling to Australia as part of Rotary International's Group Study Exchange Program! I love to travel places all over the country but have never been overseas so this is a very exciting first for me! I have also enjoyed meeting the other members of our team seeing as we all have things in common yet are very different from one another!

Some stuff about me: I was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to my parents John and Sherry Grannan, as well as an older sister, Maura Studebaker. The 3 moments in my life that I am most proud of: marrying my husband of almost 4 years, Jason Wagner, in August 2003; seeing my sister get married to Matt Studebaker in October 2000; and celebrating my parent's 35th wedding anniversary in July 2006. We are all still very close as we live within 1/2 mile of each other in connecting subdivisions and try to have dinner together every Saturday :)

I have a B.A. in Media and Public Communication from Purdue University and Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University. I work full-time at Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne with first-year students and occassionally teach Introduction to Criminal Justice. A lot of who I am and what I do is because of my family. My dad is a retired Fort Wayne police officer who served for 27.5 years before becoming the Criminal Justice Program Chair at Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne in October 2005. My mom has been a registered nurse at Lutheran Hospital for over 36 years and doesn't plan to retire anytime soon! My sister is the Superviser of Expenditure Accounting at Triple Crown Services and will be finishing her M.B.A. in a week! And, my hubby works for Verizon Wireless as a Data Sales Consultant and is an avid bowler!

One last thing....I am a very proud mom to Belle...a 1 1/2 year old Golden Retriever :) She has been a great addition to our home and is the best dog a girl could ask for!

Cheers, from NW Indiana

I'm best known by my friends and peers as Dios de Fuego, or Steve, which may or not may say something about my affinity towards fire, its beauty, and our connection to it, innately speaking or otherwise. Aboriginal use of fire has been referred to as “Fire Stick Farming,” which I think is aptly put. Prescribed burning, subsequently, has a spiritual and cultural significance for me, kinda like a 21st century white Indian walking around with a drip torch. I can talk hours on this subject, but we'll save that for another time.

Vocationally speaking, I'm currently involved with sustainable development and regional land-use planning, restoration ecology and natural areas management, sustainable agriculture and a local foods economic development initiative. I'm active in a number of local non-profits and recently graduated from Leadership Northwest Indiana. Photo attached. It’s all about quality of life and our contributions to it.

Family wise, I come from a relatively large Irish-Catholic family. My grandmother gave birth to 15. So this relatively unique family, raised and born on a small farm in Walkerton, Indiana, is in large part who I am. I can’t envision life without them. Edward Abbey said it best, “I love the land – its great rivers, plains, mountains and the ineffable desert; I love my friends, my kin, my unknown allies – I will stand by them to the end.”

Personal hobbies as follows: Lake Michigan surfing is must. I’m dekeen on sea kayaking, rafting, canoeing, backpacking, and travel. I failed in poetry, though I'm a avid reader and sporadic writer. I somewhat enjoy talking politics and solving the world problems, especially in an Irish pub. I actually played college football, believe it or not, and thus have a fondness for sports. I try to catch a local band and/or an independent film at least once a week, twice if I’m lucky. Northern Indiana has some great, local talent and venues. I failingly try to balance travel and adventure with building community and my garden. Maybe Australia will lend some answers...

On a closing thought, I am incredibly excited about Australia and my future endeavors with Rotary. I have already met some tremendous folks through GSE and the Chesterton Rotary Club #3348. I can't wait to travel across the planet to meet more Rotarian mates and learn about the Canberra region. Cheers.

Chemical-free Greenhouse Management

Here is one very big (but also very little) reason why I want to begin using more organic and chemical free approaches to greenhouse management. This is my nephew, David William Pence. Even though he's only three, he's always a big helper!

--Aunt Carrie

Hi from Bluffton, Indiana

My name is Carrie, and along with my other team members, I am so excited to be going to Australia with Rotary International's Group Study Exchange. I never would have guessed that following in the footsteps of my mother with her business would allow me to participate in such a wonderful program.

My current profession as a horticulturalist in my family's garden center and greenhouse business has launched an exciting study experience for me in Australia, but I didn't always picture myself as a flower grower.

Much of my educational experience has centered around English literature and teaching. In 2000, I graduated as valedictorian from the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne with a BA in English Lit. I spent the next two years doing what every other English major does--I looked for a career while working odd jobs. Then I decided to teach English in Japan for a year which enabled me to travel and learn about Japanese culture. When I returned to the States, I was determined to go back to school and get a "real job" as a high school English teacher.

Along the way, I discovered many things. First, I don't like teaching high school. Second, working in a greenhouse is the best job in the world. And third, being close to family is invaluably rewarding.

I will be finishing my master's degree in English this August, and I plan on teaching composition to college freshmen part time. But my primary career is with growing flowers. Most teachers teach for a living and grow flowers as a hobby--I feel lucky to grow flowers for a living and teach as a hobby. Although teaching has enabled me to travel in the past, I am so proud that now I get to travel because of my current profession as a horticulturalist.

I hope that while I'm in Australia, I will learn how to implement chemical free and organic programs into our greenhouse management. I currently have plans to switch to organic fertilizers, and I have already been using biological insect control. But there is so much to learn, and it's my mission to make our business more environmentally friendly for my family, my customers, and my community.

Hello, My Name is Jessica

I'll go ahead and be the first GSE member to introduce myself. My name is Jessica Jacko, and I live and work in Merrillville, Indiana. I am representing Rotary Club #3375, Merrillville, IN. The man in the picture with me is Tony Lux, superintendent of the Merrillville School District and president of Merrillville Rotary.

I grew up in Park Forest, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago. I attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where I received a B.A. in history in 2003 and a M.S. in Library and Information Science in 2004. I worked as a reference librarian at La Porte County Public Library in La Porte, Indiana for almost two years before accepting the circulation services manager position at Lake County Public Library in July 2006.

A little bit about my family. My dad is a retired junior high social studies teacher, and my mom heads the human resources department for a small business in Homewood, Illinois. My younger sister, Leah, lives in Evanston, Illinois (world headquarters of Rotary International!) and works as a corporate event planner. My younger, Tim, recently graduated college and is looking for a job as a high school history teacher. My boyfriend, Greg, works for the computer security and access department at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Big Ten season is always such a happy time in our relationship.

I love watching and playing most sports (I live for college football and basketball, and I was a state qualifier in tennis in high school), reading, watching movies, making handmade greeting cards, and trying new restaurants.

I hope to meet with Australian librarians during my trip to see what problems they are facing, how they are adapting to changes in this information age, and meet Australian families to see how they interact with each other. And maybe take a surfing lesson.

The 2007-2008 Group Study Exchange Team

Here is your team representing District 6540 going to Canberra Australia in October 2008.


Sitting, from left: Kim Wagner, Group Leader Kay Schwob, Steve Barker. Kneeling, from left: Carrie Pence, Jessica Jacko

On June 2, we met at Kay's house as a chance for our families to meet one another and to get to know one another in a more relaxed atmosphere. We learned some really important things about each other.

Our love for 1990s pre-teen rappers
Fosters is NOT Australian for beer