Hello
everyone.
Friendship Force Dallas is starting its new year and, wow, is it going
to be a busy year! You get letters like this the first of every year
from every organization you belong to. So it should not be a surprise
that you are getting one from Friendship Force Dallas. I hope you will
take the time to read this one as next year will be a year of
experimentation and growth.
Your Board spent last year developing a new Strategic Plan for our club
and this Plan will soon be presented to the membership. We are
finalizing the Plan and steps to implement it. We took all of your
recommendations and suggestions into consideration. If you don’t see
your specific recommendation in the plan, please do not think that we
did not give it a great deal of thought; sometimes we received
conflicting recommendations so the Board had to make hard decisions. But
the Plan does allow for many ways for implementation with the idea that
we will try many things; it’s not carved in stone but allows for
flexibility so we can change as we need to take action to make our club
stronger and better.
If you have not sent the Board your recommendations and suggestions-I
know you had many obligations this year that prevented you from
attending one of the small meetings the Planning committee held, but
don’t worry—you still have a chance to let us know what you are
thinking. Watch your inbox for a survey questionnaire. Please respond
when you receive this questionnaire and tell us what you think will make
our club better and more relevant to you.
The first thing we know we need to do is get more members involved. We
have two exchanges coming up, an Inbound from Sydney, Australia in
February and an Outbound to Southern New Jersey in April and Inbound and
Outbounds with Saskatoon, Canada, later this year. If you have not
already signed up to participate in either, do so now. Contact Sharri
McIntosh if you want to home host, day host, host a small dinner,
organize an activity or otherwise participate in the Sydney exchange.
Contact Julia Cooper if you want to go on the outbound exchange to
Southern New Jersey.
We do not set the number of people who can go on an exchange; the host
club tells us how many they can home host. Julia says Southern New
Jersey is filling quickly. Remember our club has a policy on who can go
on Outbound exchanges if more people sign up than the host club can
accommodate. Ambassadors will be chosen in part on their participation
in the club and its activities, other than going on prior outbound
exchanges. So if you want to go on an outbound exchange-Southern New
Jersey or Saskatoon-- and haven’t participated in activities in a while
get busy and get involved. You have the perfect opportunity with the
Sydney Exchange.
Please make a New Year’s resolution to volunteer and participate in our
club and follow up by actually volunteering so we can make our club the
one all other clubs want to be like and to visit on exchanges.
Here is wishing you and your family and friends, Friendship Force Dallas
and Friendship Force clubs and members all over the world, a joyous and
prosperous new year.
In friendship,
Mary Latham
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Sydney inbound
Feb 22 - Mar 1, 2017 - Sharri McIntosh ED
Eleven ambassadors including two teenagers both age 18 are confirmed.
Schedule of Events:
Wed, Feb 22, 8pm – approximate arrival of Ambassadors from Winnipeg at
DFW - times vary slightly
Thurs, Feb 23, 10 am - Dallas Day on Dart Bus--ride Dart to Union
Station-- Bus stops include Pioneer Plaza, Thanksgiving Square, Arts
District and Klyde Warren Park
1:30 pm Welcome lunch at Asian Mint (I-75 and Forest)
Fri, Feb 24, 10 am - Tour Stetson Hat Factory -721 Marion
Dr.,Garland,Tx.:
12:30 –1:45 pm - Lunch in Garland (TBD)
2:00 – 4 pm - visit Dallas Arboretum
Sat, Feb 25 - McKinney Day
9:30 am - Breakfast at Bill Smith's iconic diner - 1510 W.University;
and architectural driving tour to view early-era homes
12:00 noon - Tubbs Brewery Tour, 721 Anderson, McKinney
2:00 pm - Visit to downtown square (walking)
4:00 pm - Dinner at Harry's On the Harbor in Adriatic Village, 6601
Mediterranean Drive, McKinney (pay on your own)
Sun, Feb 26 - Free day
6 – 6:30 pm - Small group dinners in members’ homes
Mon, Feb 27, 10:00 am - Top O' Hill tour, Arlington Baptist
College, 3001 W. Division St, Arlington,TX
11:45 – 1 pm - lunch at Gilligan's on 400 E .Abram in Arlington
2:00 pm - guided tour of Stockyards; meet at Visitor Center
4:00 pm - Stockyards cattle drive
5:30 pm optional happy hour at White Elephant Saloon in Stockyards
Dinner in the Stockyards, Sundance Square or home
Tues, Feb 28, 10:00 am - 12 noon - Sixth Floor Museum
Free afternoon
Farewell dinner at Mama Casa,19129 Preston Rd, Dallas
Wed, March 1 - Ambassadors depart.
If you are interested in planning a day activity,
home hosting, day hosting, helping with the welcome and farewell
dinners, hosting a small group dinner, or helping in any other way,
please contact Sharri McIntosh at
mcintosh.sharri@gmail.com.
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Southern NJ outbound
April 22-29, 2017 - Julia Cooper ED
Located in the Delaware Valley in Southern New Jersey across the
Delaware River from Philadelphia, the region features historical sites
such as the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Valley Forge and excellent
art, natural history and science museums. We are requesting exposure to
a combination of history and nature including a day or two in
Philadelphia. Home stay capacity of 15 to 20 Ambassadors. Only 6 months
away!! Only two places remain.
See Exchange
flyer.
Contact Julia:
Acjc1804@hotmail.com
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Birmingham, AL inbound
June 3-9, 2017 – Cathy Ignatin, ED
Inbound Domestic Exchange (return visit) only 6 months away!!!
Contact Cathy:
cignatin@hotmail.com to volunteer.
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Saskatoon, Canada outbound
- UPDATE
Aug 21-28 2017 [CHANGE DATES] – Paula Rose, ED
The homestay will cost $425 US.
Application deadline – Feb 15th, 2017
Homestay will include:
• Native World Heritage sites (Wanuskewin Heritage Park)
• Market Day - gourmet delight and crafters market
• Remai Modern Art Gallery - largest collection of Picasso
linocut
prints
• Western Development Museum - archivist tour behind the
scene
• Welcome/farewell parties and time to bond with great
Canadian FFers
High
temperatures reach the 70s there in August sometimes!!!
An optional tour of Lake Louise, Banff, the icefields and Glacier
National Park booked separately through Caravan Tours will be offered
after the homestay from August 30-Sept 7 including 2 free hotel nights
in Calgary Aug 28 and 29. The tour (9 days 8 nights) will be $1,695
US double occupancy plus $289 taxes and fees.
Only two places remain. Contact Caravan Jan 4, 5 or 6 to book one of
these space.
Contact Paula Rose ED:
paularose2000@hotmail.com
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Saskatoon, Canada inbound
October 2017 (during State Fair) - Patty Niemeyer, ED
To volunteer to be an ED or Co-ED for an exchange, please contact Patty
Niemeyer
(peanutpatti1@gmail.com). (If you have not been an Exchange Director
before, give it a try. You will get lots of help and training. Plus
there are some financial incentives – see our Policies.)
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Exchanges 2018
Southern New Jersey inbound
Dates TBD in
2018.
Exchange Director needed.
Requests
The Board has voted to request the following destinations for 2018 for
outbound exchanges:
Israel or Australia or Japan
Dallas
Global Exchange
The Dallas club Board has voted to sponsor a Global Themed Exchange in
spring of 2018 (with FFI approval) which will focus on the arts,
architecture and culture of our city. The planning group has been
meeting and exploring possible activities. If you would like to be involved in more planning
contact Felicity Sentance -
fsentance@gmail.com / or Mary Latham -
mary_m_latham@yahoo.com. Dallas has so much to offer – it will be great
to show off our city to the world!
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Travel Insurance Update
By Ray Enstam, International Exchange Coordinator
There has been a major change I want to alert you to on travel
insurance. I include a few tips but want to make clear that neither I
nor the Friendship Force of Dallas can give you any legal advice on
this. You should be sure to read carefully any policy you buy.
Friendship Force International requires the purchase of travel
insurance, but you are free to choose your own company. The following
commentary applies only to the official sponsored insurance.
That said, Friendship Force International has now switched its sponsored
insurer and links to this can be found on their website. You should be
aware that the form of policy will vary from state to state and as a
resident of Texas you should click through to get the proper form. To
help you I include a direct link. Read the policy carefully:
http://www3.thefriendshipforce.org/downloads/Massachusetts_Oklahoma_Tennessee_Texas.pdf
In view of the current interest in “pre-existing conditions,” I have
copied below some provisions of the policy. You should note that
“pre-existing conditions” exclusion can apply not only to the Trip
Cancellation, but can exclude payments for Medical Expenses. In view of
the fact that Medicare does not apply to treatment outside of the US,
travelers on international exchanges should pay close attention to this.
And note in the last paragraph that you can get a waiver of these
exclusions by early purchase of the policy.
The following exclusions apply to Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption,
Trip Delay, Emergency Evacuation, Repatriation of Remains and Missed
Connection:
Loss caused by or resulting from:
1. Pre-Existing Conditions, as defined in the Definitions section
(except Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation of Remains);
The following exclusions apply to Emergency Sickness Medical Expense and
Emergency Accident Medical Expense:
Loss caused by or resulting from:
1. Pre-Existing Conditions, as defined in the Definitions;
Pre-Existing Condition means an illness, disease, or other condition
during the sixty (60) day period immediately prior to the Effective Date
for which You, a Traveling Companion or a Family Member booked to travel
with You: 1) exhibited symptoms that would have caused one to seek care
or treatment; or 2) received or received a recommendation for a test,
examination, or medical treatment; or 3) took or received a prescription
for drugs or medicine. Item (3) of this definition does not apply to a
condition that is treated or controlled solely through the taking of
prescription drugs or medicine and remains treated or controlled without
any adjustment or change in the required prescription throughout the
sixty (60) day period before the Effective Date.
The Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion is waived if You (a) purchased this
Policy at the time You pay the deposit (to Friendship Force) for Your
Trip (or within 15 days of the initial trip deposit); and (b) You are
medically able to travel at the time the premium is paid.
A FEW COMMENTS:
I have spoken with Friendship Force International (FFI) and have some
additional information about travel insurance and the question of
covering “pre-existing conditions.” This only applies if you buy the
official policy from FFI. You are on your own if you buy with a
different company.
Deal With FFI not Insurance Company. If you buy the official travel
policy you will buy from FFI and not deal directly with the company. You
will make payments to FFI so they have more control over when you need
to buy and when you get a refund.
Purchase Cut Off Date More Flexible. Even though the policy says you
must buy within 15 days of the first payment to “Friendship Force” this
is not clear which Friendship Force is referred to and if a refundable
payment is a payment. The key time to buy insurance is when you make the
first non-refundable payment. In the case of travel fee payments to FFI
that is 60 days before departure. When you make a deposit to the Dallas
club it is not a payment if it is refundable. The first payment date is
the date the club makes a non-refundable payment and can no longer
refund all your money (ie, payment to FFI or to a travel agency or
such). But it also means that if you buy a plane ticket or pay some
other travel expense to an outsider that is non-refundable, that is when
you need to buy your insurance.
Insurance Premium Refundable. If you buy insurance when you make your
first refundable deposit, such as to the club, and then cancel, you can
also cancel the policy and get a refund of your premium. This is handled
by FFI so you don’t have to deal with the insurance company.
Buy Insurance in Installments. It was also suggested that you can buy
insurance in stages. When you make your first refundable payment to the
club you can buy $1,000 worth of insurance for $38 (which is the minimum
policy amount) and add on to this as you commit more money. And if you
cancel, that first premium is refundable. If you buy insurance because
you have made a non-refundable payment, it is not clear if you can
cancel the policy. Of course, you cannot both make a claim and cancel.
If you have further questions on this you can call Allison Lindsey at
Friendship Force International at 404-965-4342.
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Dues
THANKS to those who have paid your dues and renewed your club membership
for 2017!!!
To renew your membership, print out a Membership Renewal Form (get a
copy
here) or contact edward for a paper copy), fill it out and mail it
with your check for $35.00/person to edward perez.
erperez54@gmail.com
Friendship Force Dallas - Member Idea
Meetings
By edward perez, Vice President, FFD Board, Chair of 2016 Strategic
Planning Committee
As mentioned in previous newsletters, your board voted this past spring
to define and implement strategic plans for our club - to involve more
members, to attract and retain new members, and to interact with our
community. We've held several meetings and gathered ideas on membership,
club programs and activities, exchanges, and more.
This is your club. Your concerns and suggestions are important and
appreciated. If you prefer to discuss these issues with a member or
members of your board, fee free to contact any Board member. We are
eager to receive your ideas.
We will hold a few more meetings in early 2017 and send a survey to
gather more ideas and comments. Based on the information gathered, in
2017, we'll propose and put into action several objectives and
strategies.
Facebook
We have a Friendship Force page on Facebook. If you are on Facebook, you
can type FriendshipForceDallas in the search line and get our page. Then
LIKE us and you will receive regular notes, news and
photos from our page. Most important: SHARE these notices with your own
contacts to spread our message.
Election of Officers for 2017
The election took take place at the General meeting in November and the
officers voted in are as follows – Congratulations to all of you and
thank you!:
President - Mary Latham
First Vice President - Sharri McIntosh
Vice President Membership - edward perez
Treasurer - Lou Ann King
Secretary - Patricia Andeweg
Committee News
Here are the names of the committee chairs for 2017:
Communications Committee
– Mary Williams
Ways and Means Committee
– vacant
Telephone Committee
– ulia Cooper
Newsletter Committee
– Felicity Sentance
Yearbook Committee
– Edward perez
Sunshine Committee
– Cathy Ignatin
Finance Committee
– LouAnn King
Exchange Treasurer
– Edward perez
Exchange Committee
– Ray Enstam (International Exchange) and Patty Niemeyer
(Domestic Exchange)
Communications Committee
By Mary Williams
With reorganized committees, a group known as the Communications
Committee has been formed. Mary Williams is Chair and committee members
are Ava Blais, Carol Chapuis. Mary Latham, Sharri McIntosh and Pat
Peters.
The purpose of this committee is to involve more members in contributing
to the running of the club; to take the burden off some who do many
things; and to train people to take positions that at some point will be
vacated.
The scope of this committee includes coordinating with the newsletter
publisher, including some “reporters” to help write articles; publishing
and maintaining a club website, updating as new information becomes
available; designing and publishing meeting flyers to announce upcoming
meetings; and to disseminate Information to the membership and community
through a club Facebook page.
We encourage every member to help in the Facebook project – set up your
own Facebook page if you do not yet have one. Search for
friendshipforcedallas.org – then LIKE this page. You will then receive
emails about FFD events past and future. Please SHARE these emails so
that all your contacts know what our club is doing. This is a great way
to get interest in our club through our own friends.
This committee is also working with the Membership Committee to attract
new members through Meetup groups and other possible methods. Ideas for
this committee are always welcome.
Ways and Means Committee
Ray Enstam has agreed to be on this committee. We continue to need a
Chair for that committee.
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Other News
• The next Board meeting will be Monday January 16th, at 1 pm at Mary Latham’s. All members are welcome to attend.
• When you get mail from our FFD e-mail address, please do not hit REPLY; that mailbox is not monitored every day. Reply to the person organizing the meeting or exchange..
• Patty Niemeyer is heading a search for volunteers for our unfilled
positions. If you are interested in any of these positions, please
contact Patty at
peanutpatti1@gmail.com
• edward perez is assuming maintenance of our database due to ill health of Bill Pierce. Send any changes of address or email to him -
erperez@acm.org
• When you receive changes, please update your yearbook
• Groups have been meeting to discuss needs/wishes/goals of club. These discussions will continue and a survey will be sent out to all who were not able to attend as noted by Mary Latham, our president.
• Lost and found - To the person who left a large pink plastic bowl at Chimney Hill, Mary Williams has it and you can claim it from her.
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Shuttle Service
If you want a ride to an airport or other location or a pickup:
• Look in the back of your FF Dallas yearbook. You send an email with
the place, date and time you need to go - to the Shuttle Drivers list.
If someone is available, they'll contact you. When your ride is
complete, make a donation to the club. Easy!
• How do you know if you have a driver? Since all of the drivers get
your request, the person who can drive you will Reply to All including
you so the other drivers know you have a driver. Respond (Reply to All)
accepting the ride.
If you want to volunteer to drive:
• Contact edward perez at erperez@acm.org to volunteer.
• What do you need to be a shuttle driver? Email (to receive requests
and post replies) and a car (to take people places).
• How many times do you need to shuttle? As much as you're comfortable
with, once a year, once every few months or whatever.
• What if you cannot do it anymore? Contact edward perez at
erperez@acm.org and let him know.
• Do you need to collect any money/checks? No, the rider(s) is/are on
their honor that they will send a donation (recommended $30) to the
club's treasurer. If the rider wants to give the money/checks to you to
mail/deliver, that's up to you. The rider may offer you toll fare or gas
money. It's up to you to accept or decline.
Thanks to all drivers and riders who help support our club.
This is a great fundraiser for our club but we need MORE DRIVERS.
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Newsletter
Send your news to both Felicity Sentance, our Newsletter Editor
at fsentance@gmail.com by Feb. 22 for the
March/April
Newsletter. Share changes in address/email and tell us what you are doing with your FFD friends.
By Felicity Sentance
A reminder… the newsletter is for you and by you with my (hopefully)
light editing touch. I’d like to be able to publish at least one member
submission per newsletter so feel free to email me anything you feel
would be of interest to fellow members…. Travel news, special escapades,
etc. The deadlines for submissions for the next newsletter will be
February, 25th.
Remember to use our website for your club questions, meeting and
exchange dates, online newsletter, opportunities to travel with other
clubs, photos, articles and much more.
This Newsletter will appear on our website below within a few days.
Friendship Force of Dallas, P. O. Box 551151. Dallas, TX 75355
http://www.friendshipforcedallas.org
Our general email box is friendshipforcedallas@yahoo.com
Sunshine
Contact Cathy Ignatin to let her know about members who could use a
little sunshine - a call or card.
cignatin@hotmail.com
Website and Email
Remember to use our website for your club questions, dates,
opportunities to travel with other clubs, photos, articles and much
more.
When you get mail from our FFD e-mail address, please do not hit REPLY;
that address is not monitored every day. Reply to the person organizing
the meeting or exchange. Our address and email:
Friendship Force of Dallas
P. O. Box 551151
Dallas, TX 75355
friendshipforcedallas@yahoo.com
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Gaby McKenzie – from Mac Mackenzie and family – We’re sorry to say,
Gaby’s health is deteriorating. She is, now, in hospice care at Suncoast
Hospice Center, 164 West Lake Road, Palm Harbor, Florida 74684.
Contact the webmaster or president for home address for B.E. (Mac) &
Gaby Mackenzie in Clearwater.
UPDATE:Jan 4: Gaby passed away in her sleep in the early hours of Jan 4.
Our condolences to the Mackenzie family.
Bill Pierce had fallen and broke his shoulder, but is now recuperating.
Cathy Ignatin, our Sunshine Committee chair says he’d love some
visitors. Cathy also says that she mails get-well cards to those members
who are sick but that Gerry Arens has volunteered to work with her to
form a group to visit those who are sick, as well.
VOLUNTEERS PLEASE
CONTACT CATHY OR GERRY.
Ed and Marge Edgren have discontinued their FFD membership but would be
really happy to see us. They are at Presbyterian Village North.
Contact the webmaster or president for their new address and phone.
Please welcome the following new Member:
Franda Hayes
email:
frandasue4u@gmail.com
Franda was introduced to the club by Sue Priest and joined a couple of
months ago. She was born in Texas and raised in Massachusetts and led a
varied work life including working as a flight attendant for N. E.
Airlines before it became part of Delta, courier for Fedex for whom she
also worked with customer service and quality control, designing
packaging that ‘wouldn’t be broken by an elephant walking on it’ and as
a courier for Greens Keepers Indoor Plants. She says her apartment is
full of plants.
Since retirement from Fedex she says she likes to travel, read, paint
with water colours and do volunteer work with children particularly with
Children’s Theatre and with Vogel Alcove, a non-profit childcare centre
for the homeless.
Changes to contact information for present members:
Sandy Kaiser’s new email address is
coachs@grandecom.net
Brud Kisner has moved to Temple TX to a really nice retirement
apartment. edward and Paula visited with him in late December and he is doing
well there. Brud’s son, who is a nurse, lives in nearby Salado about 20
minutes from Brud. His email is the same -
bkisner@sbcglobal.net.
Contact the webmaster or president for his new address and phone.
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Conferences
2016
International Conference - Marrakesh, Morocco
Charlene Clements, one of the FFD delegates to the FFI Conference in
Morocco in September, reported to the club on her experiences. The full
text is here:
As soon as I learned the 39th World Conference of Friendship Force
International would be in Marrakesh, Morocco, I wanted to go. I also
decided to sign up for a 7 day tour after the convention that included a
homestay. I kept checking flights to Morocco and discovered it would be
best to fly to Casablanca which has a large International airport, and
alsonbecause my 7 day tour would end there. I didn’t book my flight
right away. I bought my ticket in April when I suddenly came upon and
unusually low fare--$675. Air Canada was the airline and the route going
was a bit long since I had to change planes and airports in Toronto and
then change planes in Montreal. The return was easy with Luthansa. I
flew to Frankfurt and then directly to Dallas.
I decided not to reserve a flight to Marrakesh but to take the train
from Casablanca to Marrakesh. My only mistake was not asking enough
questions at the ticket office for the train. I bought a 2nd class
ticket and didn’t realize there were no seats in 2nd class until the
train arrived and I had to get on. I stood in the aisle for the first
1.5 hours. When the train stopped a lot of people got off who were
sitting in a compartment with a shelf about 4 feet high, I quickly
grabbed a seat on the shelf. An hour and a half later we arrived in
Marrakesh and I got a taxi to Kenzi Farah, the convention hotel where I
was sharing a room with the FF president from Orlando.
After checking in Thursday afternoon there was time to meet other
attendees at the bar near the pool and make plans for dinner. On Friday
the first large group meeting began with a local band playing some
wonderful local music. I learned that a friendship force convention was
much different than attending an academic conference. All kinds of
activities were scheduled throughout the day. I could have gone hot-air
ballooning at 5 am, taken a bellydance class by the pool fro 8-8:45 and
then gone to unconference workships from 9:15 – 10:15.
After lunch the first round of afternoon workshops began at 12:45 and
included topics such as Best Practices: Club Recruitment and Rentention
& Marketing and Communications as well as Moroccan Argan Oil presented
out in the Gardens.
Friday night was an optional evening in the Medina with dinner. I added
it to my schedule after I realized there wasn’t anything else scheduled
for Friday’s dinner and evening. We gathered at the hotel entrance at
6:30 pm to board our horse-drawn carriage that held 4 people. We made
quite the grand entrance at the medina with 40-50 carriages in
procession. Walking across the open space of round medina, we were met
with exotic animals, people in costume and various little side shows all
intended to tempt you into taking a picture. We were warned that taking
any pictures of these people would require a donation. Some people tried
to sneak a picture but they were always caught. So instead of trying to
get a free picture, just pay for one. It was a pretty long walk to the
restaurant and difficult for some people who were escorted to a bench to
wait for the rest of us to enjoy the amusements taking place all around
us.
The restaurant was very atmospheric: It was an old Riad with the open
center covered over. Groups of 8-10 were seated at low round tables. The
food included delicious tagines. This Moroccan national dish consists of
dried fruits, spices, vegetables, with or without meat or fish baked in
a conical clay pot. Drinks could be ordered and paid for separately.
After dinner there was various entertainment and dessert. We went home
by large buses rather than by horse drawn carriages. It was well worth
the $80 price tag.
Shopping for a traditional tagine pot in the various souks was what Jim
[Kerr] and I did on the last afternoon of the conference. Rather than
going with a group the three of us hired a guide and walked to some
wonderful souks and shopped.
Food was abundant and delicious at this conference. We had a fabulous
breakfast buffet every morning which included fruit, pastries, bread,
assortment of cheeses, juices, eggs prepared individually for you, and
abundant coffee. Themorning coffee break came at 10:15 and included
delightful pastries, juices, fruit and coffee. Then another buffet for
lunch and another coffee break in the afternoon more spectacular than
the morning break. Delightful tarts, cakes, puddings, and chocolates
were beautifully displayed out in the garden with coffee, tea and juices
to choose from.
Since this was my first FF conference, I don’t know how typical this
conference was. I know that as a relatively new member of FF, I was more
a listener than a participant at the small group discussions. In one
discussion about ED’s needing to screen participants more carefully,
especially as it concerned the physical abilities of participants, I
could really begin to understand the problem from the view of ED’s and
hosts as well as participants of all abiltiies. My group concluded that
clubs could do more individualizing of activities for physically limited
participants in addition to better screening. The reality is that as we
age we are less able to do the physically demanding activities, but we
still want to continue being ambassadors of peace around the world. I
noticed that participants were very willing to accommodate slower
walkers especially for those older participants who had given 20 or more
years of their lives to organizing FF trips and now weren’t quite as
able as they once were. Finding younger members will never be the only
solution to our problem of an aging population.
More
information about the workshops of the conference can be found in the
notes under
Conferences on the FF website. After the conference I went on a
7-day tour which included 2 nights of homestay in Azrou. As usual, the
homestay gives the participant so much more than a place to sleep. I was
fortunate enough to be placed in Lofti Lamrani’s home. He is the founder
and Managing Director of Friendship Force Morocco.
His group has implemented ideas which brought over 1500 students from
American universities as well 300 FF ambassadors from 18 clubs from the
US, Canada, Belgium, Germany Costa Rica, Japan and Romania to Morocco
from 2007-2014.
I found every part of my trip a wonderful education. In addition to the
wonderful people we met throughout Morocco, we visited Fez, Rabat and
Casablanca. Although the largest place we visited was the mosque in
Casablanca, third largest in the world, the highlight of the trip was
going to Rick’s Café with a couple of friends our last night in
Casablanca. We sat at the bar right next to piano and bass players. The
atmosphere was wonderful, the Casablanca beer, bartender, the small
tables, and the lighting memorable.
**
In relation to Charlene’s comments, Paula pointed out that March 2017 is
the fortieth anniversary of Friendship Force. Paula is planning a
special program involving a mixer and a video on Friendship Force.
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2017: International Conference
August 24 (6 pm) to August 28 (12 pm), 2017
Midland Hotel
Keynote Speaker: Benedict Allen, TV Presenter, Explorer and Author
Manchester day tours, including: a Beatles tour, indoor skydiving, the
Imperial War Museum, the National Football Museum, a private canal
cruise, city walking tours, an English Manor House and gardens, the BBC
headquarters, and a local brewery.
Travel back in time! Our opening night party takes us back to 1977 when
the Friendship Force began. The music, costumes, dancers, decor, food
and atmosphere will have you waxing nostalgic about the ‘70s. It’s time
to celebrate 40 years of this great organization...and time to put on
some bellbottoms.
Gateway to Europe at Your Doorstep! Pre- and Post-conference homestays
and tours in Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Scandinavia, Croatia, France and
UK.
Flyer:
http://www3.thefriendshipforce.org/downloads/Manchester_Flyer.pdf
Online registration opens December 2016.
Please contact Debbie Powell to be personally notified on the day of
launch: debbie@friendshipforce.org
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Friendship Force
International
Stories of Friendship
This is a new feature on the FFI website. Send stories of your
experiences that have helped eliminate barriers that separate us and
bring us closer together. Send to:
http://storiesoffriendship.org/
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Remember that you are welcome to join other clubs on their exchanges if
there is room.
When you travel with another club you help fill
their seats and make new friends in another club as well as your
destination club. See the FFI World of Friends Catalog for a list of all
exchanges with openings:
http://www2.thefriendshipforce.org/catalog/ffi_listonly.aspx.
If you are interested in any of these exchanges, contact the Exchange
Director ASAP. The decision for an exchange to go or to cancel occurs at
least 90 days preceding a scheduled date. Notice of remaining seats can
be out of date as exchanges fill and there are cancellations. Contact
the ED for the most current information.
Please contact clubs well in advance, as an exchange may
cancel if the Exchange Director doesn’t know about your interest.
See where some other clubs are going on our
Other Clubs
page.
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January Meeting – Presentation
on Eastern Canadian Cities
November
Meeting
– Presentation on Outbound Exchange to Birmingham AL
