v      Official club name:  The Friendship Force of Shelby, North Carolina

v      Closest major airport(s):  Charlotte is approximately 45 miles from Shelby and has the closest major airport.

v      Cost of transportation between the airport and our city:  by Santa Barbara Airbus: $54 per person or $540 per group (from Los Angeles)

v      by private car:  no charge (from Goleta)

v      The maximum number of Ambassadors our club can host:   25

v      About the club: The Friendship Force of Shelby/Cleveland County has 50 members who are eager to host. The membership is made up of mostly retired members but is always seeking younger members.

v      About the region: Cleveland County is nestled in the southwestern corner of North Carolina along the South Carolina border in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The county has 466 square miles and Shelby has 9.388 square miles. There are approximately 90,000 people in the county. ClevelandCounty has been regarded as one of the best agricultural counties in the state.  ClevelandCounty has a seven month growing season. Farms are diversified as to products produced such as cotton, poultry, dairy, livestock, grain crops, blackberries, grapes and greenhouse crops. These crops are the major source of income for farmers. Textiles have been important to this county in recent years. Now there are 100 manufacturing firms in the county. These firms produce food products, textiles, furniture, electronic and electrical equipment, truck transmissions, aircraft equipment and more. A new industry in ClevelandCounty is wine making. North Carolina is one of the newest and fastest growing vineyard states. The Battle of Kings Mountain was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. Of coarse we Americans know this war was for our independence from Briton.  ClevelandCounty was named for  Col. Benjamin Cleveland and Shelby was named for Col. Isaac Shelby both of whom were heroes in the Battle of Kings Mountain. The national park is located in the southeastern part of the county.

v      About the exchange:   Ambassadors coming to ClevelandCounty are shown a variety of places when they come. Some of the interesting events available for an exchange include the following: The NASCAR series races at the Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte. Tours are    available for groups.  Charlotte is the home of the Carolina Panthers professional football team and tours are available America's largest private home, The Biltmore House, is located in Asheville which  is only 70 miles away from Shelby. GrandfatherMountain and it's MileHighBridge is a favorite site for ambassadors. West Jefferson has a cheese making industry and also churches with frescoes painted on the walls. Greer, South Carolina, is home to a BMW plant that has daily tours of their automobile production. The SchieleMuseum in GastonCounty is a favorite spot for museum lovers. Mt.Mitchell is the highest mountain east of the Mississippi and is an easy drive  from ClevelandCounty.