The evening of Sunday June 9th, was special for the Holmen Area Rotary Club. We met with the Rotary Friendship Exchange group from Poland at Halfway Creek Park for barbeque and to get acquainted. Barry Ploessl broke more than a sweat cooking his epic brisket, ribs and pulled pork for everyone to nosh on. It was amazing! The group got into town on Friday and it was like Ferris Buehler's day off, as they did literally everything the last three days- Guadalupe Shrine, Mississippi Queen Dinner excursion, water skiing, pontoon boat float, International Garden tour, Rotary Lights tour, Rotary on the Go Mobile Clinic presentation, Pettibone lunch, Moxies, Elmaro Winery, Catfish Days Parade, the Trempealeau Hotel, (There's more but I am forgetting some of it) and then a barbecue with the club. I hope we didn't break any of them. At the end of the meal a representative from each one of the four clubs present stood up and gave a short description of what their club has been working on in their communities. Representing Poland was Rotary Club of Szczecin, Rotary Club of Poznan, Rotary Club of Bydgoszcz Stare Miasto and Rotary Club of Olsztyn Varmia. A common theme throughout was the war in Ukraine and how the clubs were responding to the great need of the recent refugees now living with them. A very special group and we are glad to have met them. It is with a heavy heart we say "till next time'" to our new friends as they fly back home.
