The 2005 GSE Team for Rotary District 6460 went to Argentina on April 17, 2005 and returned on May 17, 2005. District 4880 in Rosario, Argentina will host the GSE Team. The team members were: Helen Downey (Team Leader), James "Jamie" Johnson, Karen McDonald, Elizabeth Becker Bryant, and Tiffany Warmowski.

The GSE team sent updates regularly from Argentina and we posted them on this section of the website. Click here to read updates.

Helen Downey, the GSE Team Leader, is a member of the Jacksonville Rotary Club. She has lived in Central Illinois for most of her life. She graduated from University of Illinois in 1967 with a degree in Spanish. In 1974, she received an MSSW from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She worked for the State of Illinois Department of Human Services for 33 years, first as a caseworker, later as a Staff Development Trainer, and finally as a Local Office Administrator for the last 26 years. She retired in December 2002. Since that time she has continued to be active in the community. Her husband Ernie owns an Independent Insurance Agency. He is also a Rotarian, who led a Group Study Exchange Team to the Philippines several years ago. She has one daughter, Sarah, who was a Rotary Exchange Student to France in 1996-97. She enjoys reading, traveling, studying foreign languages, and working in her garden.

James "Jamie" Johnson was born in Naperville, Illinois in 1978. He graduated from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, in 2000. Since graduation, he has had several jobs. For 3 weeks, he worked in Connecticut with the "Hole in the Wall Gang Camp", a summer camp for children suffering from cancer. He worked as an elementary school teacher for 2 years, and in 2002, he worked with the Olympic Games in Utah. He also worked as a volunteer for peace and justice for two months in Nicaragua. He presently is working as a firefighter and paramedic in Wilmette, Illinois. During his free time, he is a Chicago Cubs fan, and plays with a local football club.


Karen McDonald lives in Edwardsville, and was born in Hermann, Missouri. She met her husband David while in college, and they were married during her junior year of college. She obtained her degree in Elementary Education in 1992 from the University of Southern Illinois in Edwardsville, and has been working as a teacher since then. She is currently working as a Special Education teacher for children from 3 to 5 with Special Needs. Her husband is a Department Head at SIU Edwardsville. She has two children. David is almost 14 and is in 8th grade. Breanna is 12 years old, and is in 7th grade. She and her family like traveling, camping, hiking, biking and canoeing. She has been involved with the Girl Scouts for many years.


Elizabeth Becker Bryant was born and currently lives in Jacksonville, Illinois. She graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, with degrees in Business and Sculpture. She began her banking career as a teller at Farmers State Bank and Trust in Jacksonville during her last year of high school. While she attended college, she worked on a farm during her summer vacations. After graduating from college, she returned to the same bank and worked in different departments until obtaining her present position as Property and Security Manager. She is a member of the YMCA Board, and is very active in Jacksonville Main Street, the Passavant Hospital Auxiliary, and the Art Association of Jacksonville. Her husband Jason is a police officer. Her interests include banking, agriculture and art.

Tiffany Warmowski is from Jacksonville, Illinois. She is a newspaper designer/photographer for the Jacksonville Journal Courier. She graduated from MacMurray College in 1998. During her last year of college, she began to work with the Journal Courier as a photographer. She received a degree in Deaf Education, but decided to continue with photography and newspaper work as a career. She was born in Peoria, Illinois and grew up in a southern suburb of Chicago. In 2001, she married Steve, a fellow photographer. She attends the Centenary United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, teaches exercise classes at the YMCA, does some design/photography work for the School for the Deaf in Jacksonville, restores old photographs, and interprets for deaf persons. She likes to go antiquing, and to visit art galleries and the theater.