Fickes to speak at Northside Church on Sunday

By Panzi Blackwell
MaKaylee Fickes, a local 17-year-old who toured Europe as a People to People ambassador, will speak at Northside Christian Church in Vandalia at 2 p.m. this Sunday.

She recounts her tour by telling something about each place she visited.
She said that she has always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, and when she learned that France was included on the tour, she sent in her application and worked very hard to come up with the money needed to make the trip.
She had to have good grades, good behavior, extra curricular school activities, community service and she had to be accepted in an interview to qualify for the People to People ambassador program, which was started by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956.
“Everywhere in Europe, we took a tour bus.
"There were 35 kids and four leaders,” she said. “We arrived in Paris, and we went straight to the Eiffel Tower.”
From there, they traveled on to Switzerland, Austria and Italy.
In her programs, she comments on her experiences in each of the different cities and countries.
Fickes is the granddaughter of Donna Blair, who is a retired mail carrier, and great-granddaughter of the late Donald and Eula Blair.