Big Bear, Ca, June 8, 2011, 9:00am- Rotary International has a rich history of building communities and bridging continents. One way that it is done is through the Group Study Exchange, which takes place each year and is funded through the local, regional, and national Rotary Exchange Program. The regional Rotary District of 5330, which includes areas of the Inland Empire, sent a Rotarian and four young local professionals to Turkey, and in exchange a similar team was sent here to the United States specifically to see Southern California. The Turkish team members spent last Saturday here in Big Bear touring the mountains by way of the Snow Summit Sky Chair and on the lake at Pleasure Point Marina. The team shared their rich culture and business backgrounds with several Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake Rotarians including local Rotary President Larbi Loucif. The Turkish Team leader Mine Uygur is herself a Rotarian Past President, and is the owner of a human resources company in her hometown of Izmir. The non-Rotarian team members included Denize Yazicioglu, a 26-year-old product purchase manager for Tesco, one of Europe’s largest retail stores, Gami Bahadir, a 29 year old product engineer, Gulser Vardarci is 27 years old and works in her family’s manufacturing business, and 35 year old Haluk Engezer is a getting his doctorate in food engineering. The county of Turkey is considered the ancient crossroads of Europe and Asia,and it has flourished for over 9000 years. The people of Turkey are warm and friendly with a healthy love of the outdoors. As this Rotary Group Exchange explained, a trip to Turkey is an enchanting experience and an unforgettable adventure, and they thanked the Mountain Rotary group for their hospitality.
