Waipukurau accountant Nick Hume is in the United States as part of a Rotary group study exchange programme with Georgia.
After being nominated by the Waipukurau Rotary Club, Mr Hume. who works for WHK, was chosen as one of five representatives from the central North Island region.
Eligibility criteria for rising leadersbetween 25 and 40 was motivation and enthusiasm for their vocations. Mr Hume is one of the youngest principals of WHK.
Club president Peter Matthews said Mr Hume was an outstanding candidate who had contributed widely to Central Hawke's Bay, in business and recreationally.
Mr Hume's time in Georgia is being spent visiting businesses, and government and community organisations to gain an insight into commerce and local government there, while also promoting New Zealand and Central Hawke's Bay. He is staying with people from the same profession working with clients in agriculture. He will return on May 30.
Georgia was selected as the exchange location as it is a farming state and, like New Zealand, has a strong reliance on the rural economy. An exchange team from Georgia is touring the North Island.
