Exchanges

Libertad Inbound Rescheduled

The Friendship Force of Dallas now has an inbound exchange this year!  The Board has accepted an inbound exchange from La Libertad Club, Trujillo, Peru for a week beginning about October 15, 2003.  This will be our only exchange for the year!  Due to the international political and financial situation the number of exchanges is down this year and this will be our last chance.  Please mark that week on your calendar so we can have a large participation from the club.  If you have any questions or suggestions, or wish to volunteer to help or to host, please contact Raymond A. Enstam, Exchange Director (enstam@sbcglobal.net), or Paula Rose, Homestay Coordinator (paularose2000@hotmail.com).

Exchanges for 2004

Ray Enstam has announced the exchanges for the year 2004.  The Friendship Force of Dallas has been offered and the Board has accepted the following exchanges:

•  June 2004: one week outbound to South Flanders, Belgium, followed by a second week in Kiel, Germany (Kiel is in the north of Germany, near the Danish border). UPDATE: Both of these dates have been accepted by these clubs.

•  September 2004: an inbound from Cleveland County, United Kingdom.

These look like two wonderful exchanges and we are very lucky.  If you are interested in serving as Exchange Director for either of these two exchanges, please contact Raymond A. Enstam, Exchange Coordinator, or Jim Bourn, President.

Meetings

August Meeting

Date/Time: 

Place: 

Program:

Meal/Cost:  

Reserve:                             

Sunday August 10 at 5 PM

Chimneyhill Clubhouse

9223 Emberglow, Dallas TX 75243

Dallas International Folk Dancer Shelley Allison will present the program on folkdancing

A catered dinner will be served and will include a variety of meats, salads, vegetables, dessert and drinks. Cost is $12.

September Meeting

Date/Time: 

Place: 

The deal:   

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Saturday or Sunday evening, September 13 or 14

Potluck dinners in homes

Please contact Paula Rose by August 31 at paularose2000@hotmail.com. Indicate which day you want to attend, if you are  able to host and how many you can accommodate. Hosts will coordinate food with attendees as soon as lists are finalized the first week of September.

Date/Time: 

Place: 

The deal:   

Wed Oct 22, 5:00 PM. 

Darwin and Myra Smith’s house 

The October meeting will be the farewell party for the La Libertad exchange. Dinner will be a catered barbecue

Details will be in the next newsletter with a signup sheet.

Club News

June and July Meetings

The June meeting was held in the backyard of Jim Bourn’s house. Member Zia Shamsy was the speaker He showed slides that he had taken and told about his private trip to Africa visiting a Bahai temple there and staying in an African home. Jim Bourn grilled burgers and members brought lots of good side dishes.

Lilliana Hollister reported that 41 people attended the July meeting at the Celebration Restaurant. Ava Vorosmarty Rowe and Toni Kaufmann spoke on Hungary - destination for this year’s International Conference.

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Nominations for Officers 2004

The nominating committee consisting of LaNell Koch, (Chair), Marilyn McRae, Ana Marie Lee, Ed Edgren and Ed Stahl proposed the following slate of officer to the club:

Elections will be held at the October meeting. Other nominations may be made from the floor at that time. If you are willing to be Program Chairperson, please contact LaNell at Lanell162@aol.com.

Great Ambassador Gifts

250 more wooden pens with Friendship Force engraved on them have been ordered. Order some from Jim Bourn.

Field Reps

Friendship Force International is looking for Field Representatives for the Southwest District.  So far there have only been two applications received. If you are a seasoned member and would like to contribute your talents to help new members and clubs get established, help all clubs with questions and ideas on exchanges, membership and other issues of interest, please apply to Dot Yerby of Baton Rouge She is at dotflet@juno.com.

Board Meetings

The Board meets the second Monday of each month (with exceptions during exchanges) from  7-9 pm at the Richardson YMCA, 821 Custer Road in Richardson. These meetings are open to anyone who wishes to attend. There will not be a Board meeting in August. The next meeting will be September 8.  UPDATE: Next Board meeting will be September 29.

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Newsletters

Thanks to all contributors to this issue. Send information about club news and members to Mary Williams at txtravel@flash.net. For the October newsletter,  please submit by September 24. 

Change Your Yearbook

Welcome new members:

Leo and Martha Durst  

Please contact the webmaster for their address: txtravel@flash.net

E-mail changes:

Jim Bourn: airbourn@comcast.net

Jim Ewing: ewingjim@comcast.net

Eleanor Roylance: ellielance@comcast.net         

Vera Lo Curto and Carole Braden have moved.  Please contact the webmaster for their new address: txtravel@flash.net

Communication with FFI

If you wish to provide comments to the Board, you may e-mail to: FFIBoard@friendshipforce.org. Your comments will be taken into consideration at the next Board meeting in September, 2003.

If you are interested in downloading a copy of FFI’s annual tax returns or those of any other nonprofit organization registered in the U.S., you can access this information at the following web site: www.guidestar.org.

Jim’s Jewels

It seems like yesterday that the year was new, not half over. The best is yet to come. We found out today that Peru still wants to come the last half of October.  As soon as the exact dates are confirmed, you will be contacted so everyone involved can help and greet our South American friends.

Ray has also announced that the outbound has been offered to us to go to Belgium  (South Flanders club) and Kiel in Northern Germany for next June. The inbound exchange will be from Northern England. It won’t take long to teach ‘em Texican.

Our next exciting trip leaves August 14 to North Carolina and Georgia - out of the heat and into the mountains.

We have several people going to Budapest in October.  Openings are still open for our regional trip to Belgrade, Croatia and Austria. The trip has changes that mean less time on buses, and of course we will get to meet our new friends in Belgrade who want to form a new club. If we don’t get 15 people we can still go by getting a driver and reserving our own hotels. That can really make the trip open for changes that people would like. We have four people with a few more interested. Some may join the trip but not stay for the conference. Since many of us will be out in August, I do not plan to have a Board meeting in August.

Also it is with regret that I received an e-mail today that the job status of Chris Michalek has changed and she has been forced to resign as the club’s first Vice President. She is in Kansas City with her job as Missouri AARP State Director and does not see any change in the near future. We hope to see her back soon. I hope everyone is having a great summer, getting some of the rain, and enjoying every minute. See ya at the meetings.

Jim

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October Trip I Revised

Oct 20  - Meet in Budapest.  Hotel Mercure Buda.   Dinner.

Oct 21 - Drive to Szeged Hungary for 1/2 day tour, then on to Belgrade  (Total 380 km=245 mi). Hotel Srbija.  Dinner self pay.

Oct 22  - Half day tour then leisure, Plan to meet with Future FF club in Belgrade. Dinner with group - self pay.

Oct 23 - After breakfast. Leave for Zagreb, Croatia. Half-day tour   (395 km=245 mi). Hotel Laguna.  Standard Dinner.

Oct 24 - Tour to Hrvatsko, Zagorje, Kumrovec, Trakoscan Castle and back to same hotel             Dinner - self pay.

Oct 25 - Tour to Plitvice Lakes A UNESCO world heritage site of 16 lakes (135 km= 85 mi) then on to resort town of Opatija on the Adratic sea (153 km=97 mi ). Hotel Admiral.   Dinner - self pay.

Oct 26 Full day of Leisure in Opatija.  Standard Dinner.

Oct 27 - Tour to Ljubljana Slovenia; half-day tour (110 km=70 mi)  then on to Graz, Austria  (190 km=120 mi). Hotel Austria Trend Europa.     Standard Dinner.

Oct 28 - Half-day tour Graz Armory, Schloss Park with local guide, then on to Vienna  (315 Km=195 mi)  Hotel Prinz Eugen Vienna.  Dinner-self pay.

Oct 29 - Stay in Vienna; Tour St. Stephen Cathedral, Opera house Hofburg (treasury), Schoenbrunn Palace; local guide.  Special Heurigen Wine Dinner.

Oct 30 - Continue to Budapest; half-day tour of city (190 km=120 mi).  Drop at hotel Hilton in time for Convention Dinner.

For 15 paying passengers, price is $1278

For 20, $1157         For 25, $1069

For 30, $1011         For 35, $ 969

For 40, $ 952         Single supplement (single/bathtub ) $322

All breakfasts are included. Airfare and Conference fees are not. Please contact Jim Bourn ASAP if you are interested.

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Member News

Mary-Helen Lyons says she is recovering from her surgery. She had a pacemaker implanted in July.

Our condolences to Wendy Whaley, whose father died in mid-July.

Marge Edgren is recovering from knee surgery.

Marilyn Wilson Allen’s family weathered a hurricane in Palacios, but all are safe. Her daughter lost a  roof and moved in with them during the storm and for awhile afterward. Marilyn sent a picture of her and Jack at the Kentucky Derby in spring. One of Jack’s horses (he’s a vet) was in the Derby.

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Friendship Force 27th International Conference - Budapest, Hungary

Oct 30 – Nov 2, 2003

Rejuvenation is the theme – the renewal of our organization, our membership, our programs, and our mission. 

Register online at the FFI website, www.friendshipforce.org.  Or call or e-mail at conf@friendshipforce.org with your complete mailing address to receive a printed registration packet. A pre-conference tours to Prague, Vienna and Bratislava and to Croatia and Bosnia is offered, as well as post-conference homestays in Hungary and Slovakia.  Our conference site is the Hilton Hotel, in the spectacular Castle District of the Buda hills.  This area is a UNESCO World Heritage site preserved much as it was in previous centuries.  You will love wandering through the cobblestone streets reminiscent of a past age.  Don’t miss this opportunity to play an important part in Friendship Force history while enjoying the sites of Hungarian history.

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Staying in Touch

Friendship Force International (FFI)  is located at 34 Peach- tree Street, Suite 900, Atlanta GA 30303.  Tel:  404-522-9490 or 9490; e-mail: ffi@friendshipforce.org. Debbie Powell is our FFI Program Service Coordinator in Atlanta.  Check the webpage for Friendship Force International:

http://www.friendshipforce.org

Find the Dallas Club at  972-713-4898, fax: 972-713-4898

e-mail: friendshipdallas@yahoo.com

http://www.friendshipforcedallas.org

Also see the webpage of Dallas International for a listing of Dallas international community events:

Friendship Force: a cultural exchange group that promotes peace and friendship in the world through homestays.