The North Bethesda Rotary Club was proud to host Mrs. Rebecca Leef, administrator of Walt Whitman High School, and Mrs. Sonja Maroni for the inauguration of their school Interact Club. Also attending were Mrs. Petra Palennzatis, Principal of the German International School, and Mrs. Catherine Levy, Principal of the French International School. All four officers of the new Interact Club are foreign students: Shehrez Chaudri, Tjis Kusee, Yingzhe Liu, and Yichen Sun (Liu and Sun from China). Rotary DG Ken Solow talked about the merits of Interact, the development of the next generation of world leaders, and the 9 month international student exchange programs

North Bethesda Rotary charter member and Past President, Kent Mason, presented an update of his Natures Conservancy Photos and the story they illustrate.  Kent was an officer in the Army Military Police; which led to a career in the Montgomery County Corrections and Rehabilitation.  Following retirement from the Montgomery County Government, he establish a photo portrait business.  He bought a retirement home in the West Virginia mountains, and retired a second time to devote his spare time to spectacular Natures Conservancy photography

Samantha Crosby grew up in Ellicott City, Md, with both parents and two older brothers.  She graduated from University of Md with a Bachelor of Science in Family Science.  Her career success is due in part to her 4 internships in high school and collage: music instruction to low income students; support of infant disabilities; furniture for the poor; and taught GED to students that didn’t complete high school. Samantha also traveled to Kenya during her senior year of college through a Kenya contract.During this trip, she volunteered at the David Sheldrick wildlife Trust and taught classes and delivered educational materials to three schools.  Samantha is currently a Case Manager with Interfaith Works under Friends In Action (FIA) and the Interfaith Housing Coalition (IHC).