To all of my Dallas Friendship Force friends, I am writing to say good-bye and that I will miss each one of you.

By the end of January I will be moving to Palacios, TX (near Corpus Christi) on the coast. On Friday, February 14, I will be marrying my new found love, Dr. Jack Allen. Jack is a veterinarian and we will be living on a large horse farm (race horses) just outside of town.

I will be starting a new chapter in my life in great excitement and expectations, but there will be sorrow in leaving all my good friends.

My years in Friendship Force have been wonderful. I joined the club when Mary-Helen Lyons was president and she asked me to be on her extended Board, and I have served every year that I have been in the club. As your President, it was an honor and a great joy for me to serve as your leader.

In 2000 our club hosted the Southwestern Regional Conference and I helped lead that event.  But the biggest challenge our club accomplished was the recent International Conference and I was happy to serve as the Coordinator for that event.

Our club has come a long way since I first joined and I wish lots of success to Jim Bourn and for all the club members. I enjoyed working with each of our Past Presidents.

These are all very fond memories I will carry along with me; also all my memories of the Inbound and Outbound Exchanges we have experienced. Friendship Force opened up the world to me.

I will not be leaving Friendship Force, just the Dallas Club. The nearest club to me will be Houston.  I may retire for a short while, but I hope to still see some of you at Conferences and Exchanges.

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