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Vanderford returns from Down Under

Lydia Vanderford, SmartBodies’ rehabilitation coordinator and fitness instructor, and adjunct instructor for the School of Health Sciences at Clayton College & State University, has returned from her Rotary Group Study Exchange to Western Australia.

Rotary International’s Group Study Exchange is a unique program that provides young professionals the opportunity to grow professionally and personally through interaction with individuals from another country. District Governors meet at the Rotary International Convention and select one or more districts as exchange destinations. Teams from the districts then trade places and spend time in the host country/district learning and sharing professional and cultural experiences.

Vanderford, a resident of Griffin when she’s not globetrotting, and the rest of the team from Rotary District 6900 visited District 9450 of Western Australia for five weeks. The majority of their time there was spent in Perth, as most remote a city as there is in the world. Although Western Australia makes up roughly a third of Australia’s landmass, its population is only 1.8 million. And of that 1.8 million, Perth contains 1.25 million.

"Once you leave Perth and the surrounding towns, you don’t see much, just bush," said Vanderford. "The whole of Australia has a population of only 20 million, just a little over double the population of Georgia.

"The weather was comfortable, for the most part. However, we did experience a couple of days of around 105 degrees. The rest of the time, however, it was usually in the 80s during the day and 60s or so at night."

Vanderford reports that the food was quite good with seafood being very popular, along with lamb with mint jelly. Other food choices, names, and traditions demonstrated the strong English heritage, she adds, noting that cookies are biscuits, morning tea is common, and scones or biscuits and tea are everywhere.

Vanderford and her team also found that the people were genuine and kind, entertaining and very keen on sharing their interests, opportunities and way of life.Ê

"Most everyone we met were very complimentary of Americans as a whole and those we talked with who had traveled in the States could not say enough about how kind and accommodating those they met had been," she said. "Many still referred to MacArthur and America's involvement in Australia’s defense in World War II."

While Australia Austraila, the local Rotary team presented to more than 20 Rotary clubs, sharing information about Georgia, their professions, and how they deal with national trends or events that have impacted our workplaces.

"The Australian clubs were very impressed and complimentary of our team's presentation and evident professionalism, especially as our team consisted of five women," noted Vanderford. "Women are involved in the workplace in Australia, but business leaders, especially those involved in Rotary, are still predominately men."

"It was a fabulous experience, and I am thankful to all those involved who made this opportunity possible," said Vanderford. "I would especially like to thank SmartBodies Director Cindy Lauer, who took extra responsibility on her already full plate."

Vanderford will be presenting her pictures and experiences in a “Lunch and Learn” around the end of June or the first of July. Contact SmartBodies at 770-961-3408 for more information.

Also, anyone who is interested in participating in a similar opportunity through Rotary, who is between the ages of 25 and 40, should contact Lydia Vanderford at 770-960-4358 or Clayton College & State University Foundation Trustee Robert Lee at 404-366-6172.