THE FRYDEK-MISTEK ROTARY CLUB

Located in the Moravian city of Frydek-Mistek in the Check Republic, the Frydek-Mistek Rotary Club is a partner of the Ames Morning Rotary Club.  It was chartered in March 2003.  As an extended part of the chartering ceremony, the Ames Morning Club presented the Frydek-Mistek Club with a Rotary bell engraved with the names of the two clubs.  In return, the Frydek-Mistek Club presented the Ames Morning Club with a bell and a charter document showing pictures of their charter members and acknowledging the Ames Morning Club for sponsoring their club for membership in Rotary International.

HISTORY

The idea for a Rotary Club began as an outgrowth of Frydek-Mistek being a partner city of Ames, Iowa. In May 1997, a group of Ames residents lead by then mayor Larry Curtis traveled to Frydek-Mistek for the signing of the partner city agreement in Frydek Castle. One of those Ames residents was Myrna Whigham, past President of Ames Morning Rotary. At the time, Myrna was on the faculty in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at Iowa State University. One of her responsibilities was coordinating field experiences for students in the College of Education.  While in Frydek-Mistek, Myrna met Radomilla "Radka" Vanickova who was the manager of a school in Frydek-Mistek. Working together, they facilitated the formation of a student exchange program between Radka's school and Iowa State University's College of Education and Ames High School.  

The exchanges with ISU started Spring of 1998 and have continued to the present. During this same time framework, Radka's school started sending secondary students to Ames High School. The first set of students came on tourist visas but it soon became apparent that student visas were required for Ames High to legally accept these students. To facilitate formal student exchanges, Radka started having students apply as Rotary exchange students through the Rotary Club in Ostrava, a neighboring city to Frydek-Mistek. Quickly, leading citizens in Frydek-Mistek decided that forming their own Rotary Club would greatly benefit their community and their young people. They started meeting informally and their Rotary Club was formally chartered in March 2003.

The 2003/2004 school year marked the first time a Rotary exchange student from Frydek-Mistek has been sponsored by the Frydek-Mistek Rotary Club, a partner club of the Ames Morning Rotary Club.

The Ames Morning Rotary Club Board Member responsible for International Service handles the secondary student exchange program in collaboration with Ames High School. Approximately three host families are needed annually. Ames Morning Rotary assists the student and the host families financially and with other aspects of the stay.