2007 Outbound GSE Team - District 1680 (France)

2007 GSE Outbound Team to District 1680 (France) Steve Maxwell, Team Leader Justin Bank Tamisha Cheatham Jill McIlroy Joanna Stewart

Steve Maxwell's middle name is Lucky - no, really it is.

Born on Friday the 13th of January, 1956, Steve Lucky Maxwell, past president (twice) of the Rotary Club of Little Rock-Metro, Maxwell is lucky for another reason - he will lead District 6150's Group Study Exchange team to eastern France in October.

Maxwell, vice president and consulting engineer for Seltech, an engineering firm that works with manufacturers in the region, was chosen by District GSE Chair Lynnn Robert and committee to represent District Governor Bob Warner, Arkansas and the United States as he and his team depart Oct.  6 for a month-long visit to District 1680 which has53 clubs throughout two regions of eastern France,  Alsace and Franche-Comte

As a border region, Alsace has been fought over for centuries by France and Germany. Today the region presents a more peaceful landscape of pastel-painted villages, fortified towns and sleepy vineyards.

Once a part of Burgundy, Franche-Comté -the Free County- struggled to remain independent of the French crown, and was a province of the Holy Roman Empire until annexed by Louis XIV in 1674.

Franche-Comté's capital, Besançon, is an elegant 17th-century city with a tradition of clockmaking. Topographically the France-Comté is divided into two, with gently rolling farmland in the Saône valley and high Alpine scenery to the east. The forest country of Alpine brooks filled with trout is also the home of great cheeses, notably Vacherin and Comté, and of the characteristic yellow wine of Arbois.

The team that Maxwell will lead includes Justin Bank of Little Rock, a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch; Tamisha Cheatham of Little Rock, an administrative office supervisor at UALR; Jill McIlroy of Little Rock, suite manager for the Arkansas Travelers baseball team; and Joanna Stewart of Little Rock, community relations liaison for the Little Rock wastewater utility.

GSE is often called a life-changing experience for the lasting friendships its participants make, the close-up looks at the life and culture of another country that team members are given that no ordinary tourist could ever hope to be afforded; and the contribution that the program makes to world peace and international understanding.