During my five and a half month stay in Marbella, I am not sure how many people I have met. Actually, it is countless. Studying in Les Roches was a once in a lifetime experience and Marbella is a truly special place.
Though I have always focused hard on my studies, I have also found joy and pride in being a member of the Rotaract Club Krusevac, international charity organization for many years. Rotaract was created by Rotary International , which is a charity organization that gathers and unites successful people and experts from all industries in one community with one goal. This goal is to help change the world to become a better place to live in.
I had the pleasure to participate in some of Rotary/Rotaract’s activities and projects. One project that I had the privilege to be a part of was “Belgium on the Borders.” This was part of the Rotary youth exchange program during summer 2007. I made friendships during this time, 7 years ago, that still exist and I am in contact with a lot of these people from all around the world who share my same ideas and interests.
My father is a surgeon and he is a member and past-president of the RC Krusevac, Serbia, District 2483, but profession is not a factor when assessing membership. Rotary’s slogan is “service above self,” which I find to be very interesting and identify with. I believe this slogan really speaks to the mission of the Hospitality industry. In this industry, we strive to provide exceptional service, as our main goal, every day.
In Marbella, Rotary has a lot of impact on the society, as their club has been very active during the growth of this beautiful city. In honour of the club and as a way to thank the people that make it so special, there is a Rotary sign in the center of Puerto Banus on the grass in roundabout which is part of Rotary Avenue.
When I came to Spain, I needed some time to adjust and dedicate my time to my studies. But, soon after, I found a contact through Les Roches, which lead me to a Rotary Club.
Rotary Club Krusevac sent their flag with me and after discussing it with Mr. Soler, he arranged a meeting with the secretary of the RC Marbella. I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Ms. Conchi Cueavas, secretary of RC Marbella and professor of Nutrition at Les Roches Marbella, who was extremely helpful and willing to introduce me to everyone in the club and support my passion for Rotary. While I would have liked to connect the school and the local RC more, an agreement already existed addressing mutual actions and working together.
It was a huge honour to meet all the wonderful people in RC Marbella. Representing my city, country and school was a great privilege. I so enjoyed meeting the many professionals and experts in the club and extending my invitation from Rotary Club Krusevac to meet with members in the future in Spain, Serbia or anywhere in the world.
I really hope that RC Marbella will soon form a Rotaract club and I am sure that it would find many hospitality enthusiasts in LRM who would like to be members.
Although LRM & RC Marbella have already established a partnership, I want to thank the members of RC Marbella on behalf of myself and all Les Roches Marbella members for supporting our “Sports day” event by donating prizes for winners in a raffle that we organized in September 2013.
I got an email from the officials of RC Krusevac after they received the flag from RC Marbella. The email expressed real joy and gratitude. I feel very proud after creating this relationship between two Rotary clubs, which can lead to future partnerships, friendships and any other positive relations that may occur between the members of both clubs.
As I am currently completing my internship at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco, I plan to visit the Rotary Club of San Francisco very soon to continue my involvement with Rotary. I am looking forward to meeting all of the members here and wonder if one of them will be from the hospitality industry. In our industry it is all about networking. It will be a pleasure to represent my country, city, hotel where I am at the internship at the moment and all educational institutions that I have been part of so far (of course this includes Les Roches International School of Hotel Management!) at the San Francisco Rotary Club.
Until the next blog, “service above self”!
Cheers!
Tomislav M Miladinovic
