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International Speakers Fund

Cherishing the Country Mile:

Lifting Each Other Across the Miles

Through Friendship and Leadership

By Shar McGowan

There are wonderful times in life when we enter an
experience and are enriched beyond our wildest expectations.
My journey as an invited DKG International Speaker and
attendee at the Arkansas State Organization’s Ella Reese
Leadership Seminar in June 2022 was one such time.
It is no small feat to travel from my home in Regina,
Saskatchewan, Canada, to Little Rock, Arkansas. When I
first received the kind invitation from the Arkansas State
Organization leaders to attend the seminar, my first thought
was that Arkansas was an enormous distance away and I
could never make it work. But, after a second thought, I
considered that numerous and terrific opportunities exist for a
member of DKG and that all one must do to afford herself of
these opportunities is to respond yes! With the support of the
International Speakers Fund, I was able to arrange flights and
soon found myself heading to the airport.
Appointed as a DKG International Speaker in the fall
of 2020, I was filled with gratitude and excitement for new
opportunities to contribute to the Society; however, 2020–
2022 proved to be difficult years for International Speakers as Candi Martin (left;
the pandemic continued without letup. Invitations to speak from state organizations past Southeast
were fulfilled on Zoom and, even though participation was made possible this Regional Director
way, face-to-face connections were absent. By spring 2022, however, travel was and current chair
once again possible, and the generous invitation to be an International Speaker for of the International
Arkansas State Organization leaders could be fulfilled in person. I couldn’t have Leadership
been more thrilled! Development
& Golden Gift
The 17 member countries of DKG span enormous distances and thousands of Fund Committee)
miles. Traveling from my city of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, to Little Rock, welcomes author
Arkansas, encompassed 1,529 miles each way. It took three flights and one airline Shar McGowan to
delay to get there, but get there I did, accompanied by my husband, who regularly Arkansas.
travels with me and supports all my DKG endeavors. We were picked up the next
day by a most delightful Arkansas State Organization member who drove us to
Heber Springs, where the 2-day leadership seminar was to occur. Neither my
husband nor I had ever been to Arkansas, and we had little experience with the
southern United States, so we were enthralled by the countryside as we headed
out of Little Rock. A gorgeous landscape led us to sweeping spaces lush with
trees, lakes, and open skies. We were given a lovely room at the Red Apple Inn,

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