Chamber Hosts Ribbon Cutting for Education, Travel, and Culture Organization
The Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated a new cultural opportunity for the community on Tuesday, July 15, with a Ribbon Cutting ceremony for Education, Travel, & Culture (ETC) at Southside Charter High School. ETC, a nonprofit organization, recently joined the Chamber and is seeking local host families to open their homes to international high school exchange students.
The event featured remarks from Amanda Sharp, ETC Assistant Field Manager, and Dr. Amy Foree, 12th-grade counselor at Southside Charter High School and a former host parent through the program.
“ETC is about creating connections, building bridges between cultures, sharing our everyday lives, and realizing that despite our differences, we have so much more in common,” said Sharp. “When you host a student, you’re not only giving them a place to stay—you’re giving them family, community, and a home-away-from-home. In return, you get a new perspective, new traditions, and often a bond that lasts a lifetime.”
Dr. Foree spoke about the personal and educational benefits of hosting exchange students, both in her school and her home. “As one of the high school counselors at Southside, I have the unique privilege of seeing firsthand the impact exchange students have on our campus and in my own home,” said Foree. “My family hosted a student, and it was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had. We keep in touch today. Exchange students inspire curiosity, inclusion, and cultural awareness in ways textbooks simply can’t.”
ETC places international high school students with local families, allowing them to attend American schools and experience life as a U.S. teenager. The organization emphasizes cross-cultural exchange, lifelong friendships, and building understanding between nations.
For more information on becoming a host family, visit www.edutrav.org or contact Amanda at 870-805-1306. You can email her at asharp@edutrav.org.
Ambassadors in attendance include: Aaron Herndon (Citizens Bank), Christina Watts (LaCroix Precision Optics), Eva Henriksen (Merchants & Planters Bank), Julie Hinkle (Bank of Cave City), Lori Campbell (Batesville School District), Lori Tacker (Batesville Eye Care Center), Michael Kelley (Peco Foods), Rickie Westbrook (Centennial Bank), Roxanne Rananudo (Family Violence Prevention), Silje Antonsen (First Community Bank), Sydney Wood (Main Street Batesville), and Tammy Jeffrey (First Community Bank).
