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 President's
Message
Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!
Are you ready for 2009? Friendship Force Dallas is ready for a very busy 2009. We’re starting the new year by hosting the SW Regional Conference in February, expecting members from New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana and Texas to come together for a fun-filled week-end. There will be a variety of activities, including small group dinners, guest speakers, workshops and panel discussions. Our focus will be on the new marketing tagline: Explore, Understand, Serve. Come to the conference and learn more about
Friendship Force in action!
Our club is also excited about the following outbound and inbound international and domestic exchanges planned for this year: China, Colombia, New Zealand, Romania, Sacramento, and San Francisco. If you are interested in participating in any of the exchanges, please
click Exchanges for additional information.
FFDallas did not have a busy exchange schedule in 2008, but we had plenty to do! Here are some of the highlights:
 | Club members focused on current global challenges by participating in a humanitarian exchange to Costa Rica, supporting the Bridgebuilders Project, which provides computers for the blind, and expanding cultural understanding of the Muslim world at the event at Thanksgiving Square. |
| FFDallas’ member, Ed Edgren, was named “Volunteer of the Year” by Friendship Force Int’l. In December, Ed was presented with a medal for his many efforts, including his work with the Bridgebuilders Project and his support of the
Friendship Force clubs in Romania. Way to go, Ed! |
| Monthly programs have been varied and successful with good attendance. Several club members conducted their own media presentations on Costa Rica, Morocco, Egypt and Harrisburg, PA. Their talks were aided by new media equipment purchased by the club. |
| While there were no inbound exchanges in 2008, members enjoyed outbound exchanges to Harrisburg and Turrialba, Costa Rica. |
We’re glad 2009 is here, and look forward to a great year. I appreciate the support you have provided to FFDallas – from attending the monthly meetings to volunteering to help during an exchange. Your presence is important, and I hope this year you will actively participate in one or more of the programs. Please invite a friend to a FriendshipForce event.
Hope to see you at the conference!
Wendy Whaley
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Coming
Meetings
By: Dora Stahl, Program Chair
January 
When: Sunday Jan 11, 2009 at 5:00 PM UPDATE: Change time to 1:30 pm
Where: Oasis Palace, 327 W. Spring Valley Rd, Richardson (Just east of Hwy 75) 972-235-6111
Cost: $14 Buffet - Includes coffee or ice tea & tip
Program: 2008 Costa Rica Outbound Exchange - presented by edward perez
Reserve: Send checks (payable to Friendship Force of Dallas) by Jan 7 to: Dora Stahl: edstahl@swbell.net
February
 Our
club meeting in February will be part of the Southwest
Conference on Feb 6 - 8. Please make plans to attend that, and be sure to register for
the Sunday brunch meeting:
Sunday February 8th, 11:30 am - 1 pm
Chinese New Year / Discover China
At May Dragon Restaurant, 4848 Beltline Road, Addison, Texas
Food: Chinese New Year Brunch Banquet
Cost: $15.00 per person
Program: Discover China presentation by Teresa Wilkin, Esther Wu of the Dallas Times Herald and
others.
Reserve: If you are not attending the conference
(and haven't completed a registration form), send your reservation check for the brunch only
for $15 made to Friendship Force of Dallas to edward perez by
Feb 2.
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Past
Meetings
 November
Friendship Force had a very different and interesting Thanksgiving meeting November 9th.
We ate lunch at Cafe' Express in Mockingbird Square, then headed downtown by car and DART train to Thanks-Giving Square. There we were treated to a tour of the symbolic grounds and building led by Tatiana
Androsov, Executive Director. It was announced that FFD is now an associate group of Thanks-Giving Square.
Our speaker was Elif Kavakci who spoke about Thanksgiving traditions in Islam. This young woman is the daughter of the Imam at the large Mosque in Richardson and is also a wife, mother, college graduate, equestrian, and a designer of fashionable clothing for women who choose to wear Islamic dress. We learned that when Muslims pray 5 times each day, they always begin with thanks. Our speaker expressed thanks that she lives in America where she and others have religious freedom. Our thanks to Teresa Wilkin for arranging such an informative and interesting program.
We thanked our founders and charter members who attended, and presented gifts commemorating Friendship Force Dallas' 15 year anniversary Honored were Jackie
Bluhm, LaNell Naughton, Brud Kisner, Diana Bosworth, Zia Shamsy (all founders but LaNell and Zia who are charter members ).
Mary-Helen Lyons (founder) attended the lunch, but not Thanks-Giving Square. Founders Jerry Bluhm and Ann Kisner did not attend but were also honored.
LaNell, who kept the sign-in roster at the initial November 28, 1993 meeting, explained to me that the Founders were the first officers of FFDallas, and that the Founders and the Charter Members were all present at the initial meeting. The founders and charter members are listed on p 5 of the yearbook. -- Ken
Walker
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December - Holiday Party
Our annual Holiday Party was held at the Chimney Hill Clubhouse. Everyone brought side dishes and deserts to go with the ham provided by the club. Entertainment was Lu Mitchell's irreverent songs and Lorenzo Gonzalez, international harp music. A good time was had by all!
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Al Hicks and Paula Rose getting
dinner |
Lu Mitchell entertained |
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Nancy Hicks and Bobbie Boger |
Henny Houston, Martha Durst and Kathy Morris |
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Lorenzo Gonzalez on
harp Georgia Sigalos / Myrna Ridings Marge Edgren
/ MaryHelen Lyons
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2009
Exchanges
Here are updates on our scheduled exchanges:
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Ed Edgren announced that the May 13-27 outbound
exchange and tour to Sibiu, Romania currently has only 6 members signed up for this
exchange: Mary Williams, Teresa Wilkins, Mary and Lee Latham and Cathy
Ignatin and a person from another club. The trip has been opened up to FF at large with no additional ambassadors as yet.
Ed says, "If we do not get at least 10 members then Atlanta will offer the trip to an additional club in January. I am assuming we will have at least 10 Ambassadors collectively before I have to contact Sibiu to determine if they will take only
6 on the exchange.
"This appears to be a common problem for 2009 as many other exchanges are not getting an adequate number to justify the exchange as scheduled. If any of the Dallas club members are remotely interested I would encourage them to consider investigating the potential using frequent flier miles to make this exchange. Mary Williams
has booked a frequent flyer ticket. You should also investigate air fares today as they may have dropped considerably since I developed the cost last September.
"I would hate to see the club lose this opportunity considering the interest expressed when we had the Romanians visit us a year ago." Please contact Ed Edgren directly if you have
an interest in going on this exchange at texmared@sbcglobal.net |
UPDATE 2/10: This exchange and tour is a GO! It
now has 11 participants going, but is open to others joining the group. Contact Teresa
Wilkin, who is taking over for Ed at this point.
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Dale Klosterman announced that plans are well underway for the
inbound exchange from San Francisco that will take place from April 24 through April
30, 2009. There will be 20 people arriving on the 24th from San Antonio where they will have taken part in the fiesta. They have expressed an interest in seeing the Arabian Horse Ranch, Kennedy museum, downtown Dallas, and a rodeo.
We are looking for home hosts, day hosts, and a one evening coordinator for dinners at members homes. We especially need day hosts for the King Tut exhibit and the tour of downtown Dallas. If you have any
questions or want to volunteer, contact the ED, Dale Klosterman at daleklosterman@sbcglobal.net. |
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Mary Williams suggests you might want some time
away from Texas in August on an exchange that won't break the bank. Dates for the outbound
exchange to Sacramento are from August 3 - 8, 2009. Cost is $110. You are on your own for transportation getting
there. Roundtrip airfare on Frontier Air as of December 9, 2008 was $324 – this may change as prices
fluctuate. We anticipate fun sightseeing in this historic area and meeting new friends.
The exchange usually includes a visit to Lake Tahoe and to a couple of small gold mining towns in the foothills, a trip to the big trees in
Calavaras, a trip to the Capital in downtown Sacramento, and a visit to the railroad museum, plus
some free time.
There are a number of people already interested in this exchange; some have already
submitted applications.
Request information and/or an application form from Exchange Director Mary Williams - txtravel@flash.net.
Send Mary Williams your check, made to Friendship Force of Dallas, for $110 per person and the completed application form no later than
Feb 1, 2009. There are 20 openings for this domestic outbound so get your application in as soon as possible. Ambassadors will be selected and notified by Mary by February 3.
Click here to see the flyer. |
UPDATE 2/10: This exchange is a GO! It now has 11
participants, but is open to others joining the group.
| Teresa Wilkin is the ED for the national
Discover trip. She has lived in China while working for the US Information Service. See the flyer for
the Discover China exchange - Sept 14 - Oct 1 (or
5), 2009. You can find out more about the trip at the February 8th brunch
meeting. |
2010 Exchange Requests
The exchanges we requested for 2010 are: Canada, Turkey, Egypt, and Israel. We should have some response around the first week in
February.
UPDATE 2/10: We have received notice that we are
assigned one outbound in 2010 to Greater Izmir, Turkey - October and one inbound from Haliburton Highlands, Canada - April. More
information later!
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A Little Suggestion
from Martha Durst
Before inbound and outbound exchanges, home hosts and ambassadors need to know some vocabulary and phrases (just a few basics) of
the language of the country visiting us, and the country we're going to. Maybe that could be part of Exchange preparation. I know Ray has a high level Spanish group that meets regularly; but I'm thinking of something less advanced.
I was amazed that my host in Costa Rica  did not know ONE word of English and wasn’t interested in learning even simple greetings or "OK." My Spanish ran out fast!
I would have liked to have known a few words of Romanian when we had that
inbound exchange.
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Peggy Benton in Tarapoto with Carlos La Torre |
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Costa Rica Exchange
Report
by Ray Enstam, Exchange Director
 On October 7, 2008, twenty-three intrepid Friendship Force travelers set forth to Costa Rica for our only international outbound exchange for the year. The number included seventeen travelers with the Dallas Club and five from Austin. Costa Rica is well known as a country that has abolished its army and uses the money saved for education and health care. What is less known is that Costa Rica is also the home of the University for Peace in San Jose, dedicated to teaching protection of human rights and methods of peaceful conflict resolution, as well as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, established by treaty among the Organization of American States to hear appeals from national courts where there are allegations of violations of human rights. It sounds like an ideal Friendship Force destination!
We were greeted warmly at the airport for a two-hour bus ride to Turrialba. We soon got used to bus riding during the following two weeks. We met our hosts upon arrival in Turrialba and spent the next week in constant activity. It seems that all the travelers had a great time and the hosts were well matched.
 One thing we did learn early was the meaning of “rainy season” in Costa
Rica. Every morning we woke up to bright sun light and we had clear sailing until around three in the afternoon, when it seems that it started to rain almost every day and continued well into the night. Fortunately we all came expecting this and were well prepared.
At the end of the week we left Turrialba realizing that the Ticos, as Costa Ricans call themselves, are as open and friendly to visitors as their government is on an official level. Eight travelers returned home and seventeen continued on for another week in one of the great eco-tourism nations of the world. That is another of Costa Rica’s high points, that the government has set aside great portions of the country as national parks where the plants and animals are undisturbed, and don’t even mind our constant gawking. I guess they are used to us and know we are harmless.
I hope you can all come to the January Friendship Force of Dallas meeting to see a presentation of some of that wonderful adventure.
edward perez will show photos from the exchange. After an exchange like that you realize why taking on the task of exchange director is worth every effort expended!
See more photos
here.
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Member
News
International Volunteer of the Year
award
 Friendship Force International has selected Dallas club member Ed Edgren as the International Volunteer of the Year.
Saturday night, Dec. 6, many past presidents and the current president of FFDallas were treated to wine and cheese at Ed and Marge Edgren's home to witness the presentation of the award from Friendship Force International to Ed Edgren. The presentation was made by Mac
MacKenzie, FFI board chairman and former president and member of FFDallas.
He read a citation from George Brown, FFI CEO which extolled the many contributions Ed Edgren has made to FF. These include his work with the Bridgebuilders project which has placed computers for the blind in schools in Chile, Peru, Romania and Israel. In addition Ed has worked to found FF clubs in Sibiu and Brasov Romania. For these contributions to FF Ed Edgren is awarded the International Volunteer of 2008 award!!!!
(Citation from Friendship Force International,
as presented by FFI CEO George Brown at the
October International Conference in Australia)
“Our next (Volunteer of the Year) award winner is Ed Edgren, of Dallas, Texas, USA!
Ed first became involved with Friendship Force in 1996. That same year a blind member of the Dallas club
[Bob Langford] sparked an interest in a project for the blind that could be incorporated into Friendship Force exchanges. Ed knows a good idea when he sees one and has provided the leadership for this project ever since! The Dallas club calls this their “Bridgebuilder project” and it provides rebuilt computers with special software that reads the written word from the computer screen, so that the computer may be used by blind students overseas. Ed has organized club donations and fund-raising auctions that have raised $9000 for this project and he has personally organized Friendship Force groups to deliver these computers to schools in Peru, Romania and, as recently as this year, in Israel.
In addition to his dedication to the project, Ed has been a key leader in helping develop two Friendship Force clubs in Romania: The Friendship Force of Brasov
and The Friendship Force of Sibiu. He is currently working with contacts in Jerusalem and Bethlehem to encourage a Friendship Force presence in those cities as well.
Most recently Ed established a “career-matching” program for exchange groups being hosted in Dallas. In 2007 he and his club arranged for 14 Romanian ambassadors to spend one day alongside someone with a similar career in Dallas; they placed nurses, a marine engineer, a home builder, a newspaper editor, a physician, lawyers and teachers with counterparts for the day. (I’m told that the physician had to buy a small suitcase to take back all of the free information that the Dallas doctor and hospital had provided him.)
Ed has served his club and this organization in so many capacities and we, along with his friends in Romania I’m sure, are delighted to recognize him for his tireless dedication and passion.
Ed is not here at the conference with us today, but has asked his friend and former Dallas club member Mac MacKenzie to accept the award on his behalf.”
 In Memoriam - Gary Paramore
(Reprinted from an earlier notice - Ken Walker)
Gary Paramore passed away Saturday night, November 8. There was a memorial service at 2pm November 15 at the Horizon Unitarian Universalist Church, 1641 W. Hebron Parkway, Carrollton, TX 75010.
Shortly after joining Dallas Friendship Force, Gary went on the March 2005 exchange to Peru. He was the Exchange Director for our inbound from Medicine Hat, Canada in February of 2007. Gary will be greatly missed.
Memorials may be made to the Heifer Project: www.heifer.org
In Memoriam - Ann Kisner
 It is with great sadness that we report that we have lost Ann Kisner, a founding member of the Dallas Friendship Club. As one of our board members said Monday night, “She was a real
sweetheart; we are going to miss her”.
In Brud’s words: “Ann died Monday, December 15, at about
1:30 pm. It has been very painful to lose her, but we all feel thankful that she went quietly and peacefully. She never was in any pain. We will have a remembrance gathering some time after Christmas.”
Memorials may be sent to Century Hospice, 4101 McEwen Road, Dallas, TX 75244. 972-239-0907
 A Mystery Trip
Gerda Kreyer signed up for "a mystery
trip" - destination unknown until after you commit to going. Read Gerda's article on
our Articles page about her destination and experience and see
photos from her trip.
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