(Party held on May 17, 1994 at the Hotel New Otani; sponsored by the Osaka- Tonan R.C.)
Good evening. I am Keichi Tanaka, chairman of the Rotary International Committee of the club.
We have taken this opportunity of home meeting of our club as the welcoming back party of the GSE team members who were sent by our district to the states of Nebraska and Iowa in the United States of America.
Team leader Mr. Okuda, from our club, took four team members with him and spent four weeks (from March 13 through April 13) in America. The team had a very productive time there before returning to Japan. Tonight, we have the privilege of hearing from each of the team members, starting with team leader Okuda, about their experiences. First, I would like Mr. Okuda to introduce each of the team members before we hear from them. Afterwards, we will have some comments by pastr district governor Keizo Furuta. Mr. Okuda, please.
Thank you, Mr. Tanaka. Since I already spoke at length at the regular meeting held on April 19, I will just summarize what I said at that time.
Let me say first that I am grateful for the opportunity to have our team share our experiences with you. Mr. Tanaka talked to me about tonight's meeting at our meeting at the end of February, and the district chairman consented to attending tonight.
For about four weeks, from March 13 through April 13, we visited Nebraska and Iowa in the so-called American "Midwest," and we experienced life in the friendly, good old USA.
Team members have three obligations after returning from a GSE trip:
1. to write a report of their experiences (except for the team leader),
2. to speak about their experiences (for those who were sent out by their club),
3. to display the Rotary spirit at their place of employment.
It is sometimes difficult for the team leader as he encourages his team members to write their reports quickly. Tonight represents their obligation to speak to the club that sponsored us about our GSE experiences, and in particular I think some of the team members are planning to say some things about me.
The order of speeches tonight will be the same order decided upon for the 16 club visits we made in America. The first one up will be Ms. Nakanishi, who because of her excellent English, impressed our American hosts who were hearing English spoken by a Japanese for the first time. Ms. Nakanishi, please.
