Hi
friends,
It’s hard to believe that it is almost September. Before we know it, we
will be getting ready for the Holidays. At our November General Meeting
we will be having the election of our five officers. Nominated are Carolyn
McMurray, Isabella Iverson, Edward Perez, Barbara Taylor and Lou Ann
King.
We have several Journeys being planned for 2020. In September we have an
inbound from Kaohsiung Taiwan, which is the club hosting the FFI
International Conference in 2021. At some point we hope to host a
domestic inbound – negotiations are in progress, so watch this space.
We’d like to have as many of our members as possible participating in
the Journeys; there are lots of different opportunities available and
it’s a great way for new members to join in, meet other members and
learn our processes.
As many of you know, our club has an FFD shuttle service for members and
their families, staffed by several FFD members. It is mostly used to go
to and from either airport with a suggested donation to the club of
$30.00. The Board has recently decided to change this and proposes the
driver be given $5.00 of the total donation to help defray the cost of
tolls and gas. We also could use more drivers (see handbook). So far
this year the club has received $635 in donations. Hurray for the
shuttle drivers!
In friendship,
Julia Cooper, President
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Outbound
Journey to Madison, Wisconsin and Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Sept, 25 – Oct 7, 2019
Journey Coordinator edward perez -
erperez54@gmail.com
We are invited to enjoy the Autumn leaf colour and visit other
locations in the area, with these clubs in late September and October. This will be a chance to meet
members in Madison and Cedar Rapids together with those ambassadors
visiting from Aichi,
Japan.
See more
information on the
Journeys page. This Journey is now
filled.
Ambassadors
from Dallas are:
Leyla Akgerman, Roger and Sandy Kaiser, edward perez and Paula Rose
to Madison plus two more to Cedar Rapids - adding Marcia Walker (who
went with us to New Zealand in 2014 and lives in Columbia, Mo) and
Mary Williams.
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2020 International Journey
September 22 - 18, 2020
International Journey Coordinator - Ray Enstam,
enstam@sbcglobal.net
In 2020 we will be hosting
Kaohsiung, Taiwan with
arrival in Dallas on September 11 and
departure on September 18. They
will also be going to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in August, from there to
Salvador-Bahia and Fortaleza, Brazil. From Brazil they will come to
Dallas. This is the club that will host the 2021 International
Conference.
We are looking for a Journey
Coordinator for the Taiwan visit, so if you are interested or would
like to know more, please contact Ray at the address above.
We did not receive any international
outbound journey for 2020. We remain on the waiting list should
anything becomes available.
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Domestic Journeys
Domestic Journey Coordinator –
Sharri McIntosh
Several possible Domestic Journeys are being explored for our
club.
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Opportunities with Other Clubs
Two opportunities within our Southwest Conference have become
available. If you are interested, please contact these Coordinators
ASAP.
FF San Antonio to Baton Rouge
Would you enjoy a short break on a Domestic Journey to Baton Rouge, LA?
We've received an invitation from Carol White of the San Antonio
club. If you're interested, she'd like to receive applications by the
end of this month (August) since the Journey is in November.
San Antonio to Baton Rouge LA
Nov 12-19, 2019
Due to last minute cancellations there are some spaces available. Baton Rouge has planned a great
journey that will include a day trip to New Orleans with lunch
and a boat ride on the Mighty Mississippi River. There will be visits to
a plantation, historic buildings & sites, a swamp boat tour, great
music, food, all Southern Louisiana & Cajun style.
Cost: $395 (including FFI fees) plus your transportation to get there.
Contact Carol White, San Antonio FF club Journey
Coordinator at
210-269-2508 for further details.
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FF Oklahoma to Gold Coast, Australia and Horowhenua, New
Zealand
FF Oklahoma is looking for ambassadors for a Journey to FF Gold
Coast, Australia and FF Horowhenua, NZ (north of Wellington on North
Island) in May 2020.
Journey fee for both clubs is still to be determined but will be
$640-740+ (FFI fee $340; Hosting fees of $300-400) plus earned seat fee,
administration fee, and contingency fee. International airfare,
travel/medical insurance, and any extensions/trips before or afterward
are extra. If you are interested or have questions, please contact
Geneva Hancock at
genevahancock7@gmail.com.
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Traveling with other clubs
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
openings:
https://www.friendshipforce.org/journeys/
They are also listed on our
Other Clubs
page.
If you are interested in any of these journeys, contact the Coordinator
ASAP. The decision for a journey to go or to cancel occurs at least 90
days preceding a scheduled date. Notice of remaining seats can be out of
date as journeys fill and there are cancellations. Contact the
coordinator concerned for the most current information.
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Board Meeting
The next Board meeting will be Monday, September 9th at 1:30 pm at Julia
Cooper’s house.
All members are welcome to attend.
Nominations for 2020 Officers
Ray Enstam chaired a committee made up of Ray, Paula Rose and John Whaley to find a slate of possible officers
for 2020. Nominated are:
- Carolyn McMurray - President
- Isabella Iverson -1st Vice-President
- Edward
Perez - 2nd Vice-President Membership
- Barbara Taylor - Secretary
- Lou Ann King - Treasurer
At our November General Meeting we will be having the election for these
five offices. Nominations may also be made from the floor. Other
committee chairs are appointed.
Shuttle Service Changes
FFD shuttle service for members and their families is staffed by several
FFD members. It is mostly used to go to and from either airport with a
suggested donation to the club of $30. The Board has recently decided to
change the payment plan and asks that the driver be given $5 of
the total donation to help defray the cost of his/her tolls and gas. Then pay
the balance by check to FFDallas and send it to our Treasurer, LouAnn
King. We also could use more drivers (see handbook).
Shuttle Service
The shuttle service is available to any FF of Dallas
member who needs transportation from their home to either airport or
from the airport to your home. You can also use this service to
destinations other than airports. After your ride, you make a donation
to FF of Dallas and your driver.
If you need a ride, send an email to
ffDallas-shuttle@googleGroups.com and all
club members who are shuttle drivers will receive your request.
If you would like to be a shuttle driver, contact edward perez
at
erperez@gmail.com and he'll add you to the list. Take this opportunity to help out your
club while meeting and learning about your fellow club members. You are
not obligated to handle every request, but please do what you can.
If you would like to manage the shuttle driver list, contact
edward perez and he'll help you learn how to manage the list. It's very
easy - you just need access to email and the Internet.
In friendship,
edward perez
Shuttle Service Manager
FFD Business Cards
Remember - you can order your own FFD business cards from
Mary Williams with your
name and email address on them.
Give them to people you tell about Friendship Force. This service is
free.
Facebook
You can also let your friends and family know about Friendship Force by
sharing yours experiences on your social media account(s). Invite them
to attend an upcoming monthly meeting, an event or an inbound or
outbound journey. FF Dallas has a
Facebook page that you can like and
follow as well as share with your other FB friends.
https://www.facebook.com/FriendshipForceDallas/
However, remember Facebook rules: Anyone may post comments or photos on
our page, but only posts about FF are acceptable. The club can get in
trouble with the IRS for posts that advertise or endorse commercial
products or businesses, so please do not do that.
Sunshine Report
Cathy Ignatin, Sunshine Chair
cignatin@hotmail.com
Martha Durst is at home now and doing well after shoulder surgery. She has Occupational Therapy
and Physical Therapy coming to the house and welcomes company if you
will just call first.
Should you want to phone her please contact Cathy Ignatin for the
number. Her NEW email address (note the name ‘durst’ is all upper case):
DURST6070@twc.com
Ruth Barrow is at home recuperating from surgery.
If you know of anyone who needs anything from Sunshine, please give me a
call: sometimes I don’t hear of a need until they are well. Thanks.
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Photography
Clusters
Interested in photography? Want to learn how to be a better photographer
to record your Journeys and help sell FF to others? Unfortunately, we
now have no leader for this group, so if you’re interested in heading it
up contact our president, Julia Cooper, or email directly to Roz Worrall
in California at
FFIPhotoCC@gmail.com who is heading up this nationwide group
and has lots of great ideas.
Here’s a message from Roz:
You are always welcome to contact me at
FFIPhotoCC@gmail.com if you
are interested about what FFI Photography Club Clusters are all about,
in signing up to start a cluster, or need some help and inspiration in
getting your photo cluster started. Likewise, I would love to hear from
you if you have photography resources to share, suggestions, ideas to
contribute, or would like to be a part of the FFI Photo CC volunteer
leadership team.
Rozlynn Worrall
FFI Photography Club Cluster Coordinator
FFIPhotoCC@gmail.com
"SHARED EXPERIENCE"
One of the joys of our Friendship Force Journeys are shared experiences
with our new friends around the world. Our organization's signature
program of immersion homestay is what makes Friendship Force unique and
provides the best photographic opportunity to share with the rest of the
world of how we create friendships and build peace.
Yes, we eat together and pose for group photos in interesting
destinations (most common and least interesting photographs to
non-members), but we may also be engaged in activities that are of
higher interest to potential members who are looking for cultural
experiences beyond what they would see and do with travel clubs or
accommodation services organizations. As an ambassador, you may
experience a wedding, a birthday party, a first day of school
celebration, a game night, harvest, floral arranging, cooking, sports
activity, milking a cow, fixing a fence, grocery shopping, setting the
table, teaching in a classroom, service or art project with your host
family. These are shared experiences that distinguish Friendship Force
hosted home stays. You become a member of your host family. Shared
experiences change casual acquaintance relationships into friendships.
If you have not experienced these types of home stays as an ambassador,
think about how as a host club you could create these types of
experiences for inbound journeys. Once a shared experience is happening,
step back from your involvement and with your camera take the photos of
others that capture the moment of the Shared Experience. These are the
unique photos that FFI would love to share on a global stage.
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by Vice-President Membership - edward perez,
erperez54@gmail.com
"The falling leaves
...Drift by the window
The autumn leaves ...Of red and gold!"
(
Autumn Leaves, Songwriters: Jacques Prevert, Johnny Mercer,
Joseph Kosma)
Yep, in just a few weeks, autumn will here. Time to regroup, reconnect,
re-energize. I hope that you had a great summer, either with family,
friends, the FFI World Conference, or a Friendship Force Journey -
Exploring and Discovering Common Ground.
A
new member gathering is in the planning
stages.
The gathering is for new members to meet each other, Board members and
club members; to learn more about FFI and FF Dallas; and to learn how
they can serve, contribute and help our club. If you are a new
member, watch for an invitation to this September event.
Membership
Updates and News
The club now has 88 members (including 3 emeritus and 2 associate
members). Remember to extend your hand of friendship to all our new
members (15 so far this year) at an upcoming meeting or event!
- New members: Amy Allen, Vicki Hubbard, Sally Dyer, Anne
and Jack Young, Lisa Stripling, Charlotte Tarrell, Mary Driver, Mary
Weis, Barbara Reyes, Aurora and Felix Madrigal, Beth and Randy Tetzlaff,
and Joyce Smith.
And
THANKS TO THOSE WHO HAVE INVITED YOUR FRIENDS TO MEETINGS AND EVENTS.
Word of mouth is one of our best ways to attract new members!! If you
know of a group or organization to which we can present info about
Friendship Force of Dallas, or if you know of any advertising media
where we can get out the Friendship Force word, please let me know (see
contact info above).
Friendship Gatherings
*
Meals with Gatherings
We hold these casual events (either at lunch or dinner time and either
on weekdays or weekends) to allow you time to meet with other club
members and share stories about our lives and journeys. Our next
gathering will be in October - brunch and then a visit to "Autumn at the
Arboretum". (October announcement above)
* Wine Tastings Update
Once autumn arrives and the weather cools down a
bit, we'll hold several of these (wine, beer, tea, coffees, even
kombucha?). These will be small groups. Dates, times, and costs to be
announced.
* "How can I help?"
Know of a restaurant than can accommodate 10-20 in a separate space??
Want to host a "Meals with Gatherings" or a "Tastings with Friends"??
Have an idea for a different kind of friendship gathering (food tasting,
arts event, festival, etc)?? Want to coordinate one of these events??
Want to contribute/serve on a committee or on our board?? If so, please
let me know (see contact info above).
Invite your family & friends to attend an upcoming monthly meeting, an
event or an inbound or outbound journey. Just forward our emails to them
about an upcoming meeting and/or our newsletters. Or share your
experiences on your social media account(s).
You can also visit with another member by using or being a driver in our
volunteer shuttle service to go to/from a local airport or to/from an
appointment (see page 43 in your 2019 yearbook).
FF Dallas has a Facebook page that you can like and follow as well as
share with your other FB friends.
https://www.facebook.com/FriendshipForceDallas/
"CH, CH, CH,
Changes..." (David Bowie)
Let me know via email to erperez54@gmail.com if
...
+ you move or change your contact information (phone number, email
address(es), etc.)
+ you need a replacement badge ($14, $10.50 if you pick it up in
Richardson).
Wishing you a great autumn with friendships and fun!
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2020 Journey Fee Announcement
After nearly a year-long discussion about the rising cost of doing
business, the International Board of Directors unanimously approved a
small increase to FFI Journey fees starting in January 2020.
It has been five years since Journey fees have increased, and in that
time, global inflation has increased nearly 8%. Friendship Force
International continues to use both Journey fees and donations in
efficient, cost-effective ways. These funds support existing clubs,
create and sustain exceptional friendship-building programs, and help
establish new opportunities to encourage peace through friendship around
the globe. This small increase in Journey fees will help us to remain in
step with rising business costs worldwide and better support our mission
now and for years to come.
The Board is optimistic about the upcoming launch of FFI’s new strategic
plan as well as several new clubs that are currently in development.
Although we cannot avoid fee increases from time to time, our greatest
strength remains the sustainability of our clubs and growth of new ones
to carry us into the future. Thank you for your continued involvement
and support of Friendship Force!
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Additional Address for FFI
In an effort to expedite mailed checks, letters, and other items to FFI
Headquarters, we have acquired a P.O. box designated for immediate
receipt of mail. Please use this mailing address for any and all
payments or other mailings that you need us to receive immediately:
Friendship Force International
Attn: Finance Department
P.O. Box 570
Asheville, NC 28802
U.S.A.
Please note that our current mailing address is still active and open
for use; this new P.O. box is just to supplement that. Be sure to have
both addresses in your address book! Our current mailing address is
still:
Friendship Force International
400 West Peachtree Street NW
Suite #4-980, Atlanta, GA 30308
U.S.A.
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e-checks
As an alternative form of payment, FFI has introduced e-checks for
payment for travel insurance, Journeys and club dues. This will be a
form of payment directly from your bank to theirs. Unlike credit card
payment, which are immediate, the process will take up to 7 days to
process but, like credit card payments, are secure. For more information
look for the ‘Payments’ tab under the member resources section of their
website here
https://www.thefriendshipforce.org/resources/
If you have any questions, please contact
finance@friendshipforce.org.
Member Resources
The Member Resources page is here to help make your involvement with
Friendship Force easier!
If you have any questions, please contact
finance@friendshipforce.org.
Stories of Friendship
Send stories of your FF experiences that have helped eliminate barriers
that separate us and bring us closer together. Send to:
http://storiesoffriendship.org/
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International Conference
in 2019
By Mary Williams
The biennial Conference of Friendship Force International met at the
University of Colorado in Boulder from Tues July 23 through Friday
morning July
26th.
Our new Southwest Regional Field Rep, Karen Vingiello (from Baton Rouge)
hosted a happy hour at nearby Capelli’s Italian Restaurant preceding our
Conference for SW delegates to get together and say hello.
Delegates from Dallas included Roger and Sandy Kaiser, Paula Rose,
edward perez, Doris Rodriguez, Cathy Ignatin, Patty Niemeyer, Barbara
Taylor, Isabella Iverson, Gerry Arens, and Mary Williams. In all, 44
clubs were represented, with 550 in attendance.
Teresa Wilkin - Olympia, Judy Hornsby -
Cincinnati, Kumiko Hashimoto & YoshikoKoizumi - Sapporo,Japan.
Barbecue dinner (ladies from Africa)
Isabella Iverson with ambassadors from Volta Lake, Ghana
The Conference officially opened on Tuesday with a welcome from the
Mayor of Boulder, Suzanne Jones.
CEO of FFI Jeremi Snook welcomed delegates. He stressed reaching out,
making new friends and finding new opportunities. The number of clubs
stands at
360 in 60 countries worldwide – a declining number. With attrition of
older members we are still not attracting enough members in our target
market.
FFI is addressing this situation by investing in growth through
technology:
· revising our database making it easier to use
· publishing our website and official documents in several more
languages
· making member resources more accessible on our website
· Improving communication with non-English speaking clubs around the
world by providing translations, social media, registration, forms in
several languages. (He called for volunteer translators.)
· advancing use of technology – use of grant and foundation money
He asked us to remember why we are here, remind people why we do what we
do, and to be leaders in our communities.
Dr. Michael English was the keynote speaker. Dr. English is an author
and specialist in the Peace, Conflict and Security Program at the
University of Colorado. He spoke on conflict analysis and resolution. He
spoke on “The Power of Friendship in Dangerous Times” and how our
building relationships worldwide contributes to peace in the world.
What
we do matters. As we travel abroad and invite others into our homes, we
reduce gaps, stereotypes and polarizations. We can use these same skills
among our own families, friends and organizations, using non-violent
ways to solve conflicts.
He said that by the time violence occurs, a toxic situation has been
going on for a long time. We need to be aware of pre-cursors to violence
– differences escalating to hostile verbal exchanges, then polarization
and loss of trust, violence and war. It is harder to de-escalate from
war with negotiated settlements, normalization of relations and
reconciliation. Better tactics are to begin with accommodating
differences, not becoming entrenched in positions to achieve goals, and
being respectful of others. Look for areas of agreement and joint
projects. Our role as citizen diplomats is non-threatening and enhances
the rich human experience.
A variety of excellent workshops was offered at each of seven time
slots, several repeating – including:
• Planning and Leading an Inspirational Journey
• Communicating Without a Common Language
• Characteristics of an Awe-Inspiring Host Program
• How to Become a “City of Peace”
• Hosting the Open World Leadership Center Program
• It’s a Match! How Journeys are Requested and Assigned
• Characteristics of an Effective FFI Ambassador
• What Can FFI Regional Support Managers and Field Reps Do for My Club?
• Attributes of a Strong Club
• Useful (and FREE) Technology – making the most of Google
• A Perennial Approach to Club Development
• Hey, You Made the News!: Media Relations for Your Club
• Friendship Force Website Walkthrough
• Recruitment for Membership and Journeys
• Planning an Inbound Global Journey
• FFI Strategic Plan: How Clubs Can Help FFI Grow
• What is The Friendship Force?
• Leadership Happens: Training and Succession Planning
• Our Inner Force of Peace
• Social Media to Build Community
• How to Pack Like a Champ
• Must-Have Apps On The Go
• Ready, Set, READ! Preparing for Your Travels
• Best Practices: Club Websites and Data Security
• Your Membership Toolkit
• Sharing a Journey Experience: Photography, Stories, Social Media &
More!
• Marketing for Clubs - Websites & Social Media
These presentations will be posted on the FFI website soon so you can
see what was presented and get specific information.
www.friendshipforce.org
The final party was a barbecue dinner in Boulder with a bluegrass band
and dancing. Jeremi Snook gave awards to best club – Sacramento - and to
outstanding members and projects. He thanked members of the FFI staff,
many of whom were in attendance.
The traveling Conference Cup was passed from Manchester to Boulder,
where it will reside until the next conference in 2021 in Kaohsiung,
Taiwan, the club that will be visiting us in September of 2020.
The Fundraiser for this year was a nearly-secret auction of homestay
opportunities, with homes donated by members. Money raised on high bids
went to FFI. Over $1600 was raised.
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July Meeting
August Meeting 
October
Special Event - Lunch/Arboretum
October
Meeting - Festival at Sea (rescheduled)