President's Letter

President's Letter
By Wendy Whaley

It’s still hot, hot, hot in Dallas, but relief is in sight soon – I hope. The heat shouldn’t prevent us from attending our next important event on September 13th. The election of the 2010 officers will be held, followed by an informative presentation by participants in the Spanish Immersion exchange to Colombia.

There will be several committee positions open for next year – including exchange directors. We will have at least four exchanges in 2010, and we are recruiting members who might be interested in serving as an ED. A special session on exchanges is scheduled on September 30th. Please contact Ray Enstam to sign up or for more information. 

Our domestic exchange to Sacramento, CA in August went well. We enjoyed their wonderful west coast hospitality, and anticipate hosting them in Dallas in 2011. 

See you at the next meeting!                                                   
~Wendy

Event:

September Meeting

Program: 

Election of Officers 

Presentation on the recent First National Friendship Force Language Immersion Exchange to Bogota, Columbia by Ray Enstam and Dallas participants

Place:

El Fenix Restaurant

1601 McKinney (at Field St), Dallas TX 75202

Food and activities:

Choice of five of the most popular entrees including vegetarian salad. Pay your own gratuity and drink; non-alcoholic drinks are $1.99 per person

Cost:

Reserve:

Send check for $8.39 per person made to Friendship Force of Dallas to Dora Stahl. edstahl@swbell.net 

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Date/Time:

Sunday Oct. 11, 5:00pm

Program:

Presentation on Sacramento, CA Outbound Exchange -

  Mary Williams

New New Chinese Buffet
3822 Beltline, Addison, TX

(3 lights west of Midway, turn south at Business Ave., the restaurant is just east of Target & PetSmart). 972-243-1198.

Invitation for Jazz 

Fort Worth Friendship Force invites the Dallas FF Club to an evening of Jazz and/or Gallery visits Saturday, September 12th. The official beginning of the event will be a gathering in the afternoon about 4:30 to meet each other and to go over the evening's plans. We will then split up into small groups to go to dinner and to the Jazz Festival and to Gallery Night.

Club News

Officer Nominees

The nominees for the 2010 officers are:
  President – edward perez (2nd term)
  1st Vice President – Mary Latham
  2nd Vice President – Membership – Sandy Kaiser (2nd term)
  Program Coordinators- Paula Rose, Audrey Schlecht, Georgia Sigalos, and Dora Stahl
  Secretary – Ruth Barrow (2nd term)
  Treasurer- Jim Naughton
Any further nominations, with the consent of the nominees, shall be accepted by the President at the meeting.

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Message from the President-nominee 

As previously announced by the FFD nominating committee, Mary Latham; Sandy Kaiser; a program committee of Paula Rose, Audrey Schlecht, Georgia Sigalos, and Dora Stahl; Jim Naughton, Ruth Barrow; and I have been nominated for officers of your club for 2010. For over 8 years, Paula and I have been in this club. In that time, we have really appreciated the experiences and people we have met at meetings and during exchanges. Throughout those years and going back to our club's inception in 1993-1994, it has been the commitment of people like Zia Shamsy, Brud and Ann Kisner, Diana Bosworth, Jim Bourn, Nancy Hicks, Ray Enstam, Paula Rose, Mary Williams, and many many many others that has helped this club grow in experiences and in numbers. I share their commitment and am inspired by their passion and dedication to our club.

Behind the scenes, there are many duties and roles that bring about our meetings, exchanges, dinners, and social gatherings. Once the election is over, your board members and I will be calling upon you for help in making 2010 another great year. I hope that you will seriously consider how you can contribute to our club in the coming year.

In friendship,
edward perez

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Exchange Director Training

An abbreviated Exchange Director Training Session will be held Wednesday evening September 30 from 7 PM to 9 PM. The location will be the Hillcrest Recreation Center at the corner of Hillcrest Road and Churchill Way. Training will cover domestic and international inbound and outbound exchanges. All Friendship Force of Dallas members are invited and urged to attend. The club has two international and two domestic exchanges planned for 2010 and more for 2011. We need additional qualified directors. Attendance does not carry any obligation to accept an assignment. Space is limited. If you plan to attend, contact Ray Enstam at enstam@sbcglobal.net.

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Treasurer's Report

The July-August newsletter reported our current account balances. What it doesn't report is how they compare to the beginning of the year and to previous years. As a result of hosting a fantastic Southwest Regional Conference in February [expenses were about 15% more than revenue] and small deficits in our exchange and operating accounts, our current net worth is about 33% less than it was at the beginning of the year and only about 13% less than it was at the beginning of 2008. The other good news is that all of our accounts are in pretty good shape. The expected major items for the remainder of the year include membership renewals & meeting pre-paids; and FFI dues, software, printing, postage, and meeting expenses. 

There are a couple of ways each of us can help out.:

1. Schedule an airport shuttle ride - many members make a contribution to FFD after using this volunteer service to get to and/or from DFW or Love Field airport for a fraction of the cost of public shuttles/taxis or parking. In 2008, members contributed close to $900. So far this year, members have contributed over $650. See below for more information. 

2. Pay your membership dues by mid-December this year - so that we can forward our dues to FFI on time and have those funds available when we create our budget for next year. Also, with these funds available, think about what sort of events you might like - to raise funds for specific/general use or to benefit our members, our exchanges, our Bridge Building, and our community. Let me or any of the current or new board members know of your ideas.

In friendship,

edward perez

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Airport Shuttle

Want to get to know your fellow members better? Need a ride to DFW or Love Field? Want to help out FFD? Then have we got a deal for you! When you need a ride, contact me and I'll send you a list of members who have volunteered to shuttle people to/from the airport. You make the arrangements, you get your ride, then you send a contribution to FFD [$30 each way, $40 if to/ from N. Plano and points north]. It's an easy, fun, and relaxing way to learn about another member, get to the airport, and help FFD. If you would like to be a volunteer driver, contact me and I'll add you to the list. In friendship we ride.

edward perez

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Sunshine

Annette Dempsey would like to hear from you… Do you know a club member in need? Please contact Annette Dempsey and let her know. We are a caring group and want to offer an encouraging word. Annette can be reached at asdrn@hotmail.com.

Exchange News

Spanish Language Exchange to Bogota

Se Habla Español. That’s what the T-Shirts said! Spanish Spoken here! The T-Shirts were given by the school in Bogotá to all of the participants. There were 12 of us, 6 from the Dallas club and 6 from the rest of the world. One traveled from Bavaria, Germany, one from Phoenix, Arizona and others from Ohio, North Carolina and Florida. 

Several years ago Friendship Force International decided to expand the Friendship Force experience by sponsoring a series of special purpose national exchanges, such as environmental issues, teaching English in local schools, helping with senior centers, etc. About a year ago they added foreign language training for the ambassadors. So far there have been two inbounds from Germany to the US to learn English. In July we participated in the first exchange for English speakers wanting to practice a foreign language, in this case Spanish. The Friendship Force of Bogotá was our host club. We departed on July 11 and spent a week in Bogotá home hosted by members of that club before returning home on July 18. 

The classes took place in a local university, the Fundación Universitaria del Área Andina. We spent the mornings in classes and spent the afternoons touring Bogotá and its environs. Evenings were with our hosts practicing in depth the use of Spanish. We spent one morning in the school’s culinary department which teaches cooking for professional chefs, watching and helping as the master chef prepared a typical Colombian meal, explaining to us in Spanish the names of foods, processes and implements. Then we enjoyed a fabulous repast eating it! 

Some classes were dedicated to the geography and regions of Colombia. Other sessions were dedicated to the music and dance of Colombia, with live performances by musicians and dancers as we learned the words of the songs. All told it was a great adventure, with all of the friendship and partying of a regular exchange, but with a focused purpose for those with a goal in mind. This program is still experimental, but if all exchanges are as great as ours was I hope the program continues! 

Ray Enstam, Exchange Director

Friendship Force chefs reporting for duty:

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Outbound Exchange to Sacramento, CA

From August 3 – 8, Dallas Friendship Force members enjoyed beautiful weather, gracious hosts, an interesting series of excursions in northern California, and a great time. Along with beautiful Lake Tahoe, we enjoyed visiting in the homes of two members who live there to have lunch and to have an afternoon wine and cheese stop. We learned about the Donner party and those who lived at the Lake in later times. On another day trip we explored the forest of big sequoias, had lunch at an historic old hotel and visited a winery. On a third day we had guided tours of the California State Capitol and the Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento – both with excellent guides. We spent our last day with our hosts at a variety of places of interest in the area. 

Both welcome party, held outdoors at the home of members, and the farewell dinner at a country club, were well planned and lots of fun. Many of us had small dinners with members on one evening and took our hosts to eat on another evening. This full week with fun people was a welcome break in our summer, and we are anxious to invite the Sacramento folks to come visit us. Participating in the exchange were Gerda Kreyer, Betty Mayeur, edward perez, Paula Rose, Zia Shamsy, Dale Klosterman, Wendy Whaley, Mary Williams, Carina Vanlaet, Brud Kisner, Sandy Phelps, and Cathy Ignatin.

Mary Williams, Exchange Director (pictured with Sacramento ED Tom Flynn)

See more Sacramento photos here.

Board Bios

Habla Español?

Ray Enstam - International Exchange Coordinator

Ray has been a member of the club for 14 years and has been an outbound ambassador on six exchanges. He cites the exchange to Havana, Cub and the international conference in Istanbul, Turkey as the most memorable trips he has had with Friendship Force. He is married with one daughter and is a retired attorney. Besides Texas he has lived in Connecticut, Ohio, North Carolina and New York. His favorite book is Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo and The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa. Few people know that his favorite poem is “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe.

Ray’s favorite hobby is studying and practicing Spanish. He has been exchange director on two trips to Bogota, Colombia where his language skills came in very handy. He also hosts a weekly “Tertulia” for those who wish to improve their Spanish.

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Salsa Anyone?
edward perez - Treasurer

Meeting people from different parts of the world is what edward likes most about Friendship Force. Since joining in 2001 he has participated in three outbound exchanges to Trujillo, Peru, Turrialba, Costa Rica and Havana, Cuba. He and his wife Paula have home hosted groups from Japan, Peru, the U.K. and Canada. Like Ray, he found the trip to Cuba the most memorable since he got to see what life was like close up on the island.

For the past 13 years he has been a business analyst and previously was a developer of software computer programs and as a trainer for many of those programs.

He’s been married to Paula since 2003 and is a step-dad and grandpa. Besides visiting other parts of the world he enjoys listening to jazz, latin jazz and latin music. He also attends arts festivals and likes to check out older homes that have been restored.

He reveals that some people think he’s a living comic strip character!

Speaking Engagement