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President's Message
 “Changing the Way You See the World”
Our club has just received information on the Friendship Force International’s Re-Branding Project, which addresses a major element of the strategic plan to increase public awareness for Friendship Force around the world. A new website
(www.thefriendshipforce.org) will be launched this month with additional information, but I’d like to share some of the highlights with you:
A New Slogan
“Changing the Way You See the World” now replaces the original slogan, “A World of Friends is a World of Peace.” The new slogan focuses on transforming our way of thinking and taking action to bring positive changes. The old slogan is now included in the official Friendship Force vision statement.
A New Logo
The new logo replaces the green logo handshake. The abstract design is meant to convey different things to different people. It can be the six continents, doves of peace or people, or even hands. The colors can represent diversity of the clubs
A New Tag Line: Explore, Understand, and Serve
The mission of Friendship Force is still to promote global understanding across the barriers that separate people. In the process of making friends we discover new cultures and countries. Our traditional exchanges help us to understand, respect, and celebrate our differences and similarities. Other new initiatives, like the “Discovery” and “Pilgrimage” programs can give us in-depth look at places and issues we have only read about. Humanitarian exchanges, like the recent ESL program in Costa Rica, give us added opportunities to serve those in need.
Of course slogans and tag lines aren’t going to transform anyone’s thinking by themselves. Yet they can effectively introduce our organization to those who have never heard of us. It is our challenge to show them how Friendship Force has changed the way we see the world.
Happy Summer!
Wendy
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Upcoming Meetings
By: Paula Rose, Program Chair
 July: Small group dinners in members' homes
When: July 13th, 5
pm or later (host's choice)
Place: Members' homes TBA.
Program: Discussion and good eats! A great way to get to know folks and visit with old friends.
Cost: The cost is only the dish you bring – no other cost. The host usually provides a main dish and other attendees bring side dishes, wine, bread, dessert.
Reserve: Coordinators are Henny Houston - hennyjack@att.net and Bobbie Boger -
txbrooksie@juno.com. Please contact either one by July
6th to volunteer to host or sign up to attend. Hosts will contact attendees coordinating what to bring and what time to come.
*********************
 August: Morocco
When: August 10th, 5 pm
Place: Oasis Palace Mediterranean Buffet
327 W. Spring Valley Rd, Richardson (about 2 blocks east of Central on Spring Valley) 972-235-6111
Program: PowerPoint presentation by Ken Walker and Peggy Benton – their Discover Morocco experience with FFI
Food/cost: $13 for large buffet: salads, meats, vegetarian entrees, dessert and tea, coffee, soft drinks (tip not included)
Reserve: Send check made to Friendship Force of Dallas to Paula Rose by August 1st - 9511 Liptonshire Dr., Dallas TX 75238.
paularose2000@hotmail.com
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| Past Meetings
Our May meeting was the annual Picnic Pot
Luck, held on May 18th. Thanks to Kathy Morris for again hosting it in her backyard. Judy Cornell organized a plant exchange and swap meet, and served as the ‘auctioneer.’
It was a nice addition to our
picnic; thank you Judy. Will this also become an annual tradition?
Guests and visitors were: Cathy Ignatin, friend of Kathy Morris, (Cathy is now a member, welcome!); Ruth Knight, friend of Wanda Hamilton; Judy Sisk, former member.
Please come back!
************
 We held the
June meeting on June 8th at the Greek Isles Grille and Taverna in Plano. John Whaley gave an excellent presentation on his March participation in a FFI humanitarian mission to Brasilito Costa Rica. The group had raised over $4,000 in donations for the school, which enabled the purchase of a copier and
 other much needed equipment. Participants took only a minimum of clothes, using most of their baggage allowance to take school supplies for the children.
John and his group had a home stay in Liberia, then spent 3 days at the tiny town of Brasilito, helping the 150 students with their English studies. He related that it was both a challenging and a rewarding experience.
 
On May 27 the President of FFI sent the following message to FF Dallas:
Dear Wendy:
Thank you and the Friendship Force of Dallas for your contribution of $250 to the Costa Rica Humanitarian School Fund through Friendship Force Internaponal.
Your commitment to assist the local school in the village of Brasilito with needed teaching aids, books, student supplies, clothing, computers and equipment is sincerely appreciated. We're excited about the vast array of new opportunities our members have for changing the way they see the world through the perspective of understanding and respect between people as a result of personal connection through the "force of friendship."
Again, thank you for endorsing this grand vision, and then working with us to make it a reality.
In friendship,
George T. Brown, Jr.
President
Martha Durst, coordinator of our April meeting, sent the following message to our guest speakers, who were Chinese:
Dear Dr.Gu and Professor Liu,
On behalf of the Friendship Force Dallas club, I want to extend our sympathy and concern for the
victims of the earthquake in China. We hope your families and friends are safe.
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Club
News
Election for New Board (UPDATE)
The nominating committee has suggested these
officers to be voted on at the September meeting:
President: Wendy Whaley
First Vice-president: Teresa Wilkin
Second Vice-president/membership: Sandy Kaiser
Secretary: Ruth Barrow
Treasurer: edward perez
Program Co-ordinator: Dora Stahl
Airport Shuttle and Other Fund-raising
Interested in donating your time and gas to the
club as a driver to the airport? Need a ride to the airport? Support our fund-raising
efforts by booking a club member to be your shuttle driver. Instead of paying a commercial
service, pay the club a fee of $30 for a ride from Dallas, $40 for Plano and north. Contact edward
perez for details.
Peggy Benton still has lots of fabric and patches
which you can purchase, or can arrange to have a club vest made for you. They are like the
vests worn by our Peruvian visitors. Contact Peggy
if you are interested.
 UPDATE: Dallas pins have been ordered and will be
available for sale at the September meeting.
If you have any suggestions for fund-raisers, please contact
edward perez, Wendy Whaley
or Mary Suther.
Treasurer's Report
At our July business meeting, edward perez
presented our Treasurer's Report to date - the current balances as well as income and expenses for our three main club accounts [Bridge Builders, Club operating, Exchange] as well as budget and current expenses for the 2009 Friendship Force Southwest Regional conference that we will host in Feb 2009.
The Club reported income from fund-raising [including the popular FF Dallas Airport Shuttle
service, FFD Vest sales [THANK YOU to Peggy Benton], gifts [THANK YOU to Bob Langford and Mary Suther], new members, and monthly meeting meal fees. Our income and expenses are
in line with our budget other than technology and conference [see below]. Overall, the club has adequate resources to fund all of our activities and end the year in the black.
Contact
edward perez for details.
Bridgebuilders
In January, the Bridge Builder project purchased one computer from Bob Langford's group [Texas Center for the Physically Impaired], which Ed Edgren took in February to the Helen Keller School for the Visually Deficient in Jerusalem. Then, in March, the project bought 10 Spanish talking calculators, which Paula Rose sent via Beth Allen-Eden]
FF Oklahoma] to the Tulio Herrera León School for the Blind in Trujillo, Peru.
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New equipment
We welcome our three new FF Dallas "members" - an HP 8710 notebook computer and software, an Epson S5 computer projector, and a Da-Lite Versatol projector screen. These new "members" performed flawlessly to show John's presentation at the June meeting. They are available for future meetings [like the August presentation by Ken & Peggy on their FF Discovery to Morocco] and will be used heavily during the 2009 FF SW Regional conference. If you are thinking about a presentation you'd like to give and want to do so using
our new equipment, contact edward perez.
Southwest
Conference 2009
Our plans are progressing for the Southwest
Conference that we will host Feb 6-8, 2009. We have made a deposit to the Crowne Plaza Addison
hotel [on Midway Rd n of LBJ];
it's a great hotel, with comfy guest rooms, a fantastic hospitality suite w/ patio [hope for warm weather in Feb
2009!], two medium sized meeting rooms, and a large ballroom, where we'll have lunch, and dinner. We have
an attractive a breakfast buffet package in a private room in the hotel restaurant as well.
We have put together a budget for the conference that is break-even. We hope to line up sponsors for some of the
hospitality expenses and door prizes. If you are interested in helping out with the conference, contact
Wendy Whaley - we sure would appreciate your help.
UPDATE: If
you have a personal contact at a business who might donate something we could use for our
conference, contact Wendy, Mary Suther or Teresa Wilkin for a letter, donation form and 501c
status letter.
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If you have any suggestions for fund-raising, or ideas for events or activities to benefit our members and inbound ambassadors, or would like more information about our budget and accounts, please contact
edward perez (Treasurer), Wendy Whaley
(President), Paula Rose (Program Coordinator)
or Mary Suther (Ways and Means).
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(More) Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Do you plan visits to clubs in the United States?
Answer: Yes, there are 107 clubs in the United States and clubs can arrange what are called “Domestic Exchanges” or “Inter-club Exchanges” with another club where there is a mutual interest in such a visit.
Question: What types of social activities does the club have?
Answer: The club normally meets once a month all year round on the second Sunday of the month at 5 pm, or brunch in the winter. Exceptions are when we are hosting an incoming club; then the social events associated with that exchange are our meeting for the month. Meetings feature speakers or parties. (Since most of our meetings also include a dinner at a restaurant, please let us know you are coming. Sometimes we need reservations by check in advance.) Topics include places we are visiting or hosting, world events, cultures of other countries and topics of interest to those who enjoy international culture, travel and friendship. During the year we typically have a picnic, small group dinners in homes, small group meetings in restaurants and a holiday party. Other events may be planned as well. We hold business meetings four times a year and Board meetings once a month.
Question: What should I expect financially when I go on an Outbound Exchange?
Answer: On an outbound exchange, we who are visitors have all or most of our expenses paid by the host club and their members; we pay for our own transportation to the host country and a fee to Friendship Force International for the exchange; some of that fee is paid to the hosting club to entertain us. If there is a tour following the exchange, you would pay the cost of the tour if you choose to go.
Question: Am I required to host or go on Outbound Exchanges if I am a member?
Answer: There is no requirement by our club for members to host visitors or go on outbound exchanges. We hope though, that those joining would want to actively participate in these events, as they are how we can best learn about people in other cultures. If you cannot host or travel, you can still day host or participate in other ways.
Question: What if I am not able to go or don’t care to go on the Outbound Exchange you have scheduled? Are there other ways for me to travel with the organization?
Answer: There are a number of other ways to travel. You may travel with another club from this country if they have room for you. There are Mission and Discover trips that include people from several countries where the Ambassadors travel somewhere and stay mostly in hotels but meet people from that country to interest them in forming Friendship Force Clubs. Several Festivals are held each year in different parts of the world where all are welcome to come to stay in a hotel but meet people from the area; there may or may not be home stays offered after the Festival. Regional and International Conferences are held each year, and there are long weekend trips in our area and volunteer opportunities as well. See the list of exchanges and events on the
Exchanges and Other Clubs page and the Friendship Force International website.
Adapted from information from Friendship Force International in Atlanta by Brud Kisner, Peggy Benton, Mary Williams and Ken Walker.
The full list of Frequently Asked Questions is at Club
Information.
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| Member News
 See the article
and photos by Pam Varney-Terrell and Allen Terrell on their recent trip to Peru on
the Articles page.
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| Exchanges
Going on the Outbound Harrisburg exchange July
1-7 are: Frits and Pat Andeweg, Hilda and Dale Klosterman, Lanell and Jim Naughton, Ruth
Barrow, Diana and Marty Behannesey, Martha Durst, Roger and Sandy Kaiser [Roger was
unable to go at the last minute], Paula
Rose, Ed and Dora Stahl, Zia Shamsy and Mary Williams. Frits is the Exchange Director, with Don
Covaleski ED in Harrisburg. These ambassadors are looking forward to a week visiting the
Pennsylvania state capitol and governor's mansion, experiencing fireworks and art show on
the river for 4th of July, and visiting nearby Hershey, the Amish country and Gettysburg. Several
people are also seeing family and friends while they are in the area.
Ray Enstam, International Exchange Coordinator reports that exchanges for 2009
are in the planning stage: Ed Edgren will be ED for the outbound to Romania in May 2009, and Ken Walker and Peggy Benton are
co-EDs for the inbound from Taupo, NZ in November 2009. Dale Klosterman has agreed to be the ED for the inbound from San Francisco from April 12 to 17 (approximately) and Hilda will accept being the assistant ED. We have
some time before this occurs, so we are in good condition.
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