Hello Friendship Force Dallas Members,

As the year draws to a close, it seems like a good time to reflect back on Friendship Force Dallas’s year. It was the year that we began to spring back into action after several years of dealing with Covid-19.

Our members started to take journeys and FFD had our first inbound in four years. Cedar Rapids, Iowa was finally able to do a reciprocal journey to Dallas, and what a successful journey it was! Over 50% of our membership participated. For many of our members it was their first involvement in any kind of journey. It was a full week which included a welcome dinner, the Bush Presidential Center, the 6th Floor Museum, Dallas World Aquarium, Dallas Arboretum, small group dinners, and the farewell dinner, just to name a few of the many events.
 
But the most important part was making friends and fulfilling our Friendship Force Vision, “A World of Friends is a World of Peace”. The club is especially grateful to Edward Perez, our inbound journey coordinator, who so successfully pulled it all together. Thank you, Edward.

This seems like a great point to mention our two domestic journeys for 2023. Dallas’s inbound from Dayton, Ohio and Dallas’s outbound to Dayton. It is time to select a journey coordinator for both of these trips. If you are interested, or just want to know more about being a journey coordinator, please contact Julia Cooper, the journey organizer at ajc180c4@hotmail.com. There is financial assistance available to journeys coordinators for their travels on journeys for both inbound and outbound journeys. For details, refer to FFD 2022 Yearbook page 34 and 35.

We would like to give a big thank you to the phone committee for all of their hard work keeping the membership informed of upcoming events. We wish you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas and Happy 2023 New Year.

Explore, Understand, Serve,

Sandy Kaiser, President

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Board Member – Leslie Parker

Following up on information sent in a previous newsletter, we’re presenting a short bio about each board member in ensuing publications. I present our Treasurer, Leslie Parker:

Leslie Parker

It has been my pleasure to be a member of Friendship Force of Dallas for about 5 years. My passion is travel! I have hosted new/existing member gatherings to recruit new members for our club. For clubs visiting Dallas, I have hosted small group dinners, day hosted and home hosted as well as attending Welcome and Farewell dinners. I have traveled with several FF tours, including Armenia, Georgia and the Ukraine, Turkey and Myanmar and Laos as well as an FFI cruise. I look forward to many more adventures with Friendship Force!

I have an accounting background and was a partner with Arthur Young, now Ernst & Young. I have served either as Treasurer or a member of the Finance Committee with several organizations for many years and am currently serving as Treasurer of Friendship Force of Dallas.

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Meetings coordinator – Paula Rose, paularose2000@hotmail.com

Past Meetings Viewable Online

Were you unable to attend a past meeting? Want to "re-attend" a past meeting? You can view recordings of our prior meetings at our club's YouTube webpage (click on "Videos" or "Playlists"). Recordings run between 50 minutes and just over an hour. You can always "rewind" or "fast forward" sections. You can watch them on your computer, tablet, smartphone or smart TV. ....

FF Dallas' YouTube Channel at https://tinyurl.com/FFD-YouTubeChannel...
Or search YouTube for "FFDallas Texas" (include the quotation marks!)

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September

Our Inbound Journey from Cedar Rapids and 3 other clubs replaced this meeting.

Mary and Frank Stull - Dallas Arboretum	Mary and Frank Stull - Fort Worth Stockyards	Mary and Frank Stull - Pioneer Plaza
Frank and Mary Stull - Dallas World Aquarium	Frank and Mary Stull - Dallas Arboretum	Mary and Frank Stull - Fort Worth Water Garden

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October – Historic East Coast From Maine to Florida
by Mary Williams

Mary’s made many trips to the east coast of the USA when visiting family so assembled this group of photos to share with us.

This photo is Plimoth Plantation - a living outdoor musuem just south of Plymouth, Massachusetts, showing how life was lived in the early days of our country.

      

          

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Journey Coordinators Wanted

If Taiwan or Dayton are on your bucket list, consider being a Journey Coordinator; there is some compensation for being a JC with a reduced FFI fee and money toward an airline seat. Also, there is a monetary benefit to those serving as Inbound JCs. See page 34 in your Yearbook for additional information. Contact Julia Cooper if you would like to apply to be a Journey Coordinator for any of these three trips.

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Join Another Club’s Journey

Don’t forget to check the FFI website for other possible adventures for 2023. They are a tremendous (and sometimes underutilized) resource for our clubs. You can get information at https://www.friendshipforce.org
Click on "News & Updates" for the Blog page and "Virtual Experiences" for the Virtual Experiences page.

Here's a direct link to the FFI Blog which has links to the Friendship Connection newsletters.
https://blog.friendshipforce.org/. If you are interested in 2022 and 2023 Journeys you can go to www.FriendshipForce.org page: then https://archive.friendshipforce.org/journeys-and-eflyers/ . Just click on a Journey name if you are interested and send a message.

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Business Cards

Remember - you can order your own FFD business cards from Mary Williams. Give them to people who ask about Friendship Force. This service is free.

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Facebook

Like our page and follow what is going on with FF Dallas.                           

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Shuttle Rides
Shuttle Coordinator Aurora Madrigal - aurora487@sbcglobal.net

For those of you doing some traveling or for running errands, remember, use our volunteer shuttle service (see page 45 in your yearbook). Make a new friend or learn about a friend's journey/trip during that ride to/from the airport. Send an email to ffdallas-shuttle@googlegroups.com with info on date, time, and place for pickup and/or drop-off.

Want to become a shuttle driver? Send an email to Aurora Madrigal for more info. If you use this service, remember to send a donation to the club treasurer (Leslie Parker) after your ride and pay your driver $5 for his/her expenses.

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Board

Board meetings are being held via Zoom on the second Tuesday of each month. All members are welcome to attend. Please contact our Vice-president, Randy Tetzlaff (planner25@gmail.com) for a link to Zoom if you wish to attend. The next Board meeting is on November 14th at 1:30 pm. Randy will preside over this meeting in the absence of our president.

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The Travel Book Club
Chair: Barbara Taylor - be_taylor@verizon.net

October's Book Club was Salt Houses by Hala Alyan. The story was about three generations of Palestinians told mainly through the women. It was a good look of how the upheaval in the region affected Palestinians. There were five of us and we had a good discussion on the book and the book club.

For November Julia selected Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. Although is it set in NYC, it has much information about Cameroon. Reminder that our book club theme is tied to the message of FFI - learn about people and culture around the world to promote peace and not necessarily has to be a "travel" book.

The meeting will be held the last Tuesday - November 29th due to Thanksgiving holiday.

New York Times Bestseller • Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award • Longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award • An ALA Notable Book NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • The New York Times Book Review • San Francisco Chronicle • The Guardian • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Chicago Public Library • BookPage • Refinery29 • Kirkus Reviews

Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion, and loyalty—and Jende is eager to please. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses’ summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future. However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers’ façades. When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende’s job—even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice.

Thanks, Barb Taylor

Mary Latham shared a link for free e-books:
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-read-e-books-for-free-without-pirating-them-1847187739

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Newsletter Apprentice Wanted

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP FRIENDSHIP FORCE DALLAS AND LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CLUB FROM YOUR HOME? DO YOU HAVE WRITING, COMPUTER AND ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS?

Then you might like to apprentice with Felicity as editor of this newsletter sent to members every other month. The role of editor involves:

- Attend the board meeting each month via Zoom
- Keep up to date with club activities
- Obtain email updates for the upcoming newsletter
- Transfer this information to the newsletter template

If you’re interested in learning more please contact Felicity Sentance at fsentance@gmail.com.

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Vice-President Membership - edward perez, erperez54@gmail.com
 
Autumnal breezes, colors, showers, and temps - some prefer spring, but i enjoy the cool downs that the autumn months bring to our area. We've had plenty happening in our club - great programs (THANKS Paula!), intimate 3rd Thursdays, and an inbound journey !!! Wishing you a cool Autumn!

edward perez
vice president, membership

Membership Renewal

It's that time of year for renewing your membership in FF Dallas. For the past two years, your FF Dallas board reduced Club Membership Dues from $20 to $0 since we did not anticipate any journeys in 2021 or 2022. In mid-2021, the FF International Board set FFI Membership Dues at $25 for 2022 and $30 for 2023 (See communication from FFI below). After reviewing the current economic and world situation, FFI recently delayed the 2023 fee increase. Your FF Dallas board recently set our local dues at $10 per member per year. So, your FF Dallas 2023 membership dues are $35 per member per year.

If you are a member of another club and wish to be an associate member of FFD, your dues are $10 per person per year. Every January, FFD sends FFI dues based on paid members as of December 31. To renew your membership, print out the membership renewal form, fill it out, then mail or give it along with your dues to me (my address is on the form) by December 15, 2022. If you have any questions about your membership, FFD, FFI, or encounter any difficulties printing the form, please contact me.

On October 06, 2022 In 2020, the International Board of Directors of Friendship Force International approved a $5.00 USD increase to the FFI Membership Dues for 2023 to go from $25 USD per year to $30 USD per year. This year the Finance Committee of the Board has been assessing the impact on the state travel due to the slow recovery from the pandemic, global inflation, the weakening of many currencies relative to the U.S. dollar, and regional conflicts, resulting in the Board’s unanimous decision to suspend this scheduled increase
for 2023. “We need to do all that we can to support clubs in their recovery,” stated Chuck Goldfarb, Treasurer of the Board, “Friendship Force International is on stable ground thanks to so many who donated and gave their time to keep FFI going through the pandemic, now FFI must do the same for clubs and members.”

Inflation continues to skyrocket globally making currency exchange rates unstable in many of the places where FFI clubs exist. Chistiane Beaupré, Chair of the Board of Directors commented, “we see eagerness to travel, eagerness to host, and eagerness to get back to the mission of FFI. The Board will continue to monitor global recovery from the pandemic and do everything in its power to ensure a strong recovery, despite our current challenges. This reprieve is one step of many.”

The scheduled increase will now take place in 2024.

edward perez

Vice President, Membership 


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Membership and Meetings

No new members the last few months, but our new members have been participating in our events and the Cedar Rapids & Madison inbound! Our membership total is 72 -- 67 Members, four Associates, and one Emeritus. We are the second largest club in the Southwest Region. Please extend your hand of friendship to our newest members (or give them a virtual wave) at an upcoming meeting or event! aula Knarr (in Columbia, MO referred by Marcia Walker), Wanda Hoff, Pat Moreno Fisher, and Ted Hillberg.

Speaking of meetings, average attendance at meetings is about 20-30 members and guests. I encourage all members to attend in person (carpool w/ members in your area - see pages 21-24 in your 2022 yearbook for members by Zip Codes) or via Zoom. And for those who attend in person, we often go out for early dinner - plenty of time to visit and learn about your fellow members. And, remember to invite your friends, members of groups/organizations you're in, and others to ourmeetings, gatherings, and events. If you know of a group that we should present to about FFI, let me or any board member know.

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Membership Connections

3rd Thursdays
We had one 3rd Thursdays in October at a great Mexican seafood restaurant (hey, i'm partial to Mexican and Tex-Mex foods! And seafood is good for your health!). As these are smaller and more informal gatherings, these are a great way to meet & learn about other members. COME JOIN US!

Be on the lookout for announcements for our Thursdays in 2023; we won't hold one in November or December. Some members have suggested holding a games night, wine tastings, field trips, and more. Know of a great restaurant for lunch or a great place we can visit ? Have ideas for Membership Connections topics and/or locations ? Like to volunteer to organize and/or host a gathering, field trip, picnic, tasting, etc. ? If so, let me know so we can plan a Membership Connections event !!

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Let People Know About Friendship Force Dallas!!!

THANKS to those members who have invited your friends, family, and members of other clubs to our meetings and events. Please continue to share with your friends about Friendship Force and invite them to our meetings and events - just forward club emails to them. If you know of a group that might be interested in learning about FF, please contact me.

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Contact Info Updates

If you move or change your contact information, let me know so I can update the records. I will publish a list of updates every few months which you can use to update your yearbook and email address book. Our telephone tree, led by Patty Niemeyer, contacts members prior to monthly events. If you haven't been receiving calls, contact edward perez so I can make sure you are on the calling list. If you know a member who has not be attending recently, please give them a call and invite them, perhaps offering to carpool with them. Pages 21-24 of your yearbook lists members by zip code.

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Replacement Badges

Do you need to replace a lost or damaged badge? Need a replacement magnet? If so, please contact edward perez who will order a new one. Replacement badges are $14 (mailed to your home) or $11 (pickup in Richardson). Magnets are free.
    
edward perez
vice president, membership:
erperez54@gmail.com

                              
                    
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my.friendshipForce.org

In 2021, FFI launched my.friendshipforce.org (aka myFF or myFF.org). The idea was to partition the publicly available and member-only information to two different websites - https://friendshipforce.org/  and https://my.friendshipforce.org/

Because of this partitioning, FFI now knows who are members in various clubs, including presidents. Thus, they can email info and announcements about the organization, journeys, virtual experiences, etc. to folks who have signed up at myFF. Folks who sign up at friendshipForce.org for the public newsletter will only receive general information.

As of October 2022, myFF.org has info about journeys, virtual experiences (webinars), conferences, events, clubs and groups, and a help center. In the future, myFF.org will provide ways to communicate with other clubs and other members *and* find and apply for journeys (the "journey marketplace"). If you are one of the 31 Dallas members who have already signed up for myFF, THANKS!

If you have not signed up, please do so at https://my.friendshipForce.org (click on the purple "SIGN UP" button). I have an instruction document which goes through the process step-by-step. Let me know if you want a copy or would like assistance in completing the sign up. Once you sign up, FFI assigns you a Member ID - you'll need it to apply for any journey.

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Travel Insurance

FFI used to allow a waiver for people who chose NOT to buy travel insurance and to self-insure. They are revising their policy and standard application form - everyone will now be expected to get travel and medical insurance when traveling on any FF journey, either domestic or international. People can get an insurance policy from the FFI recommend insurance company or a company of their own insurance choice. More details as they finalize their policy.

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Next World Conference

* Save the date for the Friendship Force World Conference 2023:
  October 2-5, 2023
* Our host will be Dubrovnik, Croatia, on the beautiful Adriatic Sea.
* Plans are underway, including pre- and post-conference tours in
  the region
* Registration will open at the end of 2022

   
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Friendship Connection



If you’re are not receiving the FFI Newsletter or other emails from FFI, you can go to the FFI home page https://www.friendshipforce.org/  then go to the bottom, put your email address in the "email address" box under "Newsletter," then click Subscribe.

Remember, FFI hosts Virtual Experiences presented by FFI staff and members of clubs around the world. There are several "Faces and Places" events.
 
You can see all upcoming events at the FFI blog  webpage. Toward the bottom of that page is a list of previously recorded events. ....
https://blog.friendshipforce.org/virtual-experiences/

Here's a direct link to the FFI Blog which has links to the Friendship Connection newsletters.
https://blog.friendshipforce.org/.

Don’t forget to check the FFI website for other possible adventures for 2022/2023. They are a tremendous (and sometimes underutilized) resource for our clubs. You can get information at https://www.friendshipforce.org
 
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