Quick Look

Meetings

President's Message

Exchange Updates 

Colorado Outbound Exchange

August 12-20, 2010
by Jim Bourn, Exchange Director

On June 12 ,15 eager ambassadors left Dallas for North Colorado by automobile, arriving on Friday. Two more flew from Baton Rouge, and three more flew in the next day from Dallas. We had among these ambassadors four people having their first experience with Friendship Force.  We quickly found many new friends, beautiful places and cool breezes after the above 100 degree weather in Dallas. 

The homes for the group were at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park - Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley, a mere 850 miles from Dallas. In the next week we were shown each of these cities plus Boulder, and found each very different. Each ambassador had different stories to tell about where they went on their first full day - a free day. I went through Denver and west to Vail and the ski country with my hosts. Several of the group were together there. Others went to a country store in Nunn and to the Centennial Village in Greeley; some went to Cheyenne. Group activities started on the third day. 

Below: Chapungna Sculpture Garden.                                                                   Centennial Village - Greeley

On Sunday we visited several lakes and the outdoor Chapugna Sculpture Garden in Greeley, with beautiful African art. Afterward we had a great meet-the-club picnic in Loveland with members from Northern Colorado, Estes Park and Cheyenne clubs. Members each brought a dish for  the party. 

On Monday we toured the Anheuser-Busch brewery and the Vet Hospital (part of Colorado State University) and had lunch in colorful downtown Fort Collins. 

On Tuesday we visited the card company Leanin' Tree - one of the finest Modern Western art and Sculpture exhibits in the US and toured Celestial Seasonings Tea Co in Boulder. 

Teabag dress at Celestial Seasonings                                    Ava Rowe at Anheuser-Busch

Some of us visited the Dushanbe Tea House for tea, and also had dinner there the next day.                                   Teahouse built by Tajiks  

We spent Wednesday at the town of Estes Park and at Rocky Mountain National Park with our hosts. This is Colorado's answer to Yellowstone.

Each day time was allotted to economy support as we shopped, bought pottery, cards, took pictures and bought gifts to take home. 

We also enjoyed several small group dinners at various homes. 

Up in the mountains    

Dinner at Elizabeth Hutson's house: Joyce and Ernie Eberle,   Mary Riney from Greeley, Ava Rowe   

The final night we visited a Buddhist retreat center and shrine at Great Stupa on the way to Red Feather, CO. The Dharmakaya is the largest and most elaborate example of Buddhist sacred architecture in North America. 

From there we proceeded to the mountain cabin of the Colorado ED - Alice Gibson - for a wonderful salmon dinner. The farewell dinner was enjoyed by everyone as many Friendship Force stories were shared.

The final day was an example of a perfect exchange and memorable week. All agreed we look forward to the return exchange in a year or so.

Colorado Ambassadors:
Diana and Marty Behanessey
Jim Bourn (ED)
Morena Cazedejius - Baton Rouge
Hugh and June Chavern - Fort Worth
Ernest and Joyce Eberle - prospective members, Dallas

Charlotte Hudgin - former Dallas member
Sandy Kaiser
Dale and Hilda Klosterman
Stan and Taylor Parker - Fort Worth
Karen Robbins - Baton Rouge
Ava Rowe
Zia Shamsy
Marian Tobin - prospective member, Dallas
Carolyn Williams
Mary Williams

Taylor Parker, Elizabeth Hutson, Joyce Eberle at Leanin' Tree   

More Colorado pictures

Montana Outbound Exchange

August 21-28, 2010
by Henny Houston and Cathy Ignatin, Exchange Directors

We had a great exchange to Great Falls, Montana.

We arrived on Saturday, August 21st and after settling in we went to a picnic in the Johnson's back yard. The Great Falls people made us feel right at home and the food was delicious. On Sunday we toured the Charles Russell Museum. They have an extensive collection of his Western art, and the Russell house and his studio are also on the grounds. From the tour we went to the official welcoming dinner. The mayor of Great Falls, Michael Winters, was there and gave us a nice speech and we all took pictures. The food was delicious and we were all introduced by our hosts and given a lovely welcoming package.  

                                                                                  Henny Houston, Karen Hoover (Great Falls ED), Cathy Ignatin 

On Monday, we took the Going-to-the-Sun highway to Logan Pass in Glacier National Park. It was beautiful. It was also freezing! The altitude at Logan Pass is 6646 feet. The temperature was said to be 18 degrees at the top of the pass and the wind chill made it seem like zero. However, we got such beautiful photos with the top down on our little red bus, that we all voted to leave it down. They are still using the same buses that they had in 1935 and had rebuilt in 1999. There is a lot of road construction going on to widen the road. Unfortunately, it will take them 17 years to finish because their time to work is so short due to winter snows. The road didn't open until June 26th this year. After our trip to Glacier we had soup and sandwiches at Robin and David Baker's house. 

Tuesday we went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. We saw an interesting movie about the expedition and also part of the PBS film that Ken Burns made. (The expedition was delayed at the five great falls they encountered on the river and they  had to drag their heavy canoes overland for 18 miles.) We went to lunch at the Good Eats Cafe where we were served a buffet with Pasties as the main course. These were meat pies that the miners took in their lunch pails. Delicious! Most of us returned to the Lewis and Clark Center and went through their exhibits and then went to the Giant Springs and fish hatchery on the Missouri River. 

While at the Giant Falls, Leyla Akgerman was walking along the sidewalk and a Ranger spoke to her; as she was walking back, she met him again. He asked her where she was from and she told him, "Dallas, but I'm originally from Izmir, Turkey and still have a home there." The Ranger said that he had lived in Izmir between 1978 and 1980. When they started comparing their addresses it turned out that they had lived right next door to each other and had never met until 2010 in Great Falls! We all thought that was a big advertisement for Friendship Force.That night we went to our small dinner parties and enjoyed talking one on one with each other. 

  Leyla and Ranger Bruce Deitle

Wednesday was one of our most interesting days. We toured the Fair Haven Hutterite Colony. These people live in a commune where everyone works and lives together. They have extensive gardens and workshops and an advanced dairy barn, selling the milk to a local dairy. When we went into the calf barn we were fascinated by the method of feeding the calves. Each calf is tagged with a chip in its ear and when it goes to the automatic feeding machine, the machine not only keeps track of the amount of formula they take, but refuses to feed them if they have already eaten. All computer run. We had a great lunch of roast duck with all the side dishes raised on their place. After lunch we visited their school. They are part of  the Olm public school system and their teacher has taught in their two room school house for 17 years. The students are schooled only until the eighth grade and then they go to work in the colony. I had never heard of the Hutterites and enjoyed reading about them from a book my hostess made available in my room. 

We also visited the First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park, near the Hutterite colony. This is an archaeological site with possibly the largest bison cliff jump in North America. Native peoples used this site for at least two thousand years prior to Lewis and Clark's expedition through Montana. Buffalo were killed for food and hides by driving them off the cliff. The kill site consists of a mile long sandstone cliff; there are remnants of drive lines on top of the cliff and the remains of millions of 'processed' bison below. (Comment by Ken with information from www.visitmt.com) On Wednesday night we all took our hosts out to dinner.

On Thursday we drove to Helena and toured the city riding the little train on wheels and also went through the Capitol Building. We had a picnic in the park with some of the Helena members and came back by way of the Gates of the Mountains Park on the Missouri River. We took a two hour trip on the Missouri with a guide telling us a lot of interesting information. Because of the winding river and sheer cliffs, Lewis and Clark thought they were cut off by the mountains until they got close enough to see the mountains open up to more Missouri River before them. We were hoping to see some eagles or elk, but we only saw some ospreys.

On Friday we had lovely party at Joyce Thomas' cabin up in the Little Bent mountains and followed it with a farewell dinner at a local restaurant (Below: Dallasites sing about Texas). I feel a wonderful trip was had by all.

More Montana photos

President’s Message:

by edward perez

Soon, the sun will pass the equator sight line and autumn will be upon us. It's that time of year where seasons change. And that time of year when we begin to plan for the upcoming year. At our September business meeting, the 40+ members who attended approved the revisions to our bylaws - making programs coordination a committee [which it has essentially been for several years], allowing members to serve as an officer subject to the membership, and reducing the number of business meetings from four to two.

In addition, the attending members voted the following members as your 2011 officers: me as president, Mary Latham as 2nd Vice President, Ruth Barrow as Secretary, and Jim Naughton as Treasurer. All of us are serving for our 2nd or 3rd terms. We were not able to find someone to volunteer to be our Membership Vice President, so that role was not filled, which could have a big impact on our club. Fortunately, after the meeting, two people volunteered to take on that role. As soon as they discuss with one other person, the board will announce them and either hold a special vote by the membership or vote on the appointment ourselves [have to research the bylaws].

In the new year, your club will need two or more people to help communicate information about our club - a publicity person and a newsletter person. There are plenty of folks who will be glad to help you learn about and support you in the role. Both roles require at least email experience. The newsletter role perhaps a bit more, depending on your skills and how you'd like to see the newsletter. 

Our upcoming domestic exchanges also need exchange directors [ED] - one outbound will in October 2011 to San Francisco Bay Area [we hosted them in Spring 2009] and one inbound will be in April 2012 from Sacramento [they hosted us in Summer 2009]. Again, there are plenty of folks who can help and support you.

I ask that you give serious thought about any of those roles and contact me or any board member for info or to volunteer. Contact Dale Klosterman about the ED roles [972-644-1583 or daleKlosterman@sbcglobal.net.]

There are other ways you can help your club - attend monthly meetings and be a greeter, host or attend a small group dinner (coming up in October), organize an outing to a festival or restaurant or arts performance, host inbound ambassadors for the week or one or more days, offer to drive folks to/from our area airports [and raise money for our club], organize a service project for an organization in our neighborhoods, schedule a talk about FF to a local group or organization, or submit articles or even a column for our newsletter. 

You can also join other FF clubs on outbound exchanges - check out the Friendship Force International Catalog - http://www2.thefriendshipforce.org/catalog/default.aspx 

Our November meeting will have a Friendship Force photo exhibition. That's an easy way to let others view a bit of our world from your point of view. Contact Paula Rose for more information.

So, join us as we explore, understand, and serve our neighborhoods, cities, state, country, and world.

edward perez
president, friendship force of dallas

Meetings 

by Georgia Sigalos

July Meeting
The July FFD meeting was held for the first time at the Highland Park Cafeteria in Casa Linda. The facility allowed for comfortable socializing and Paula Rose and the Bridgebuilders, including Ed Edgren, gave a very informative presentation about the program. Most of the members were not aware of the dedication of the Bridgebuilders to provide computers to the blind. Zia Shamsy told us about the Turkey FFD Foreign Exchange coming up in October2010. There were several guests who indicated an interest in joining our club.

August Meeting
In August we had small group dinners. They are very popular with the members because it gives us an opportunity to get to know each other better. I encourage members to be host/hostesses at future dinners. Everyone brings food or drink and it is a fun night.

September Meeting - Sept 12, 5 pm
The September meeting will be held at Dimassi’s in Addison at Beltline/Dallas Parkway, a Mediterranean Buffet. This is another first and they have a spacious separate area for a comfortable place to socialize and hold the meeting. Mary Williams is presenting "Expanding your Travel Options". There will be an election of officers.

October Meeting - Oct 10, 5 pm
Small pot-luck dinners in homes
Sign up to host or attend. Reply to Paula Rose by Oct 1: paularose2000@hotmail.com or by phone.

November Meeting - Nov 14, 1:30 - 4 pm (note time)
At Chimneyhill Clubhouse, 9223 Emberglow, Dallas. Photo Exhibit (see next section); guests from Fort Worth. 

Program: Reports on outbound exchange to Izmir. Catered barbecue dinner. Let us know if you prefer a veggie burger as your entree.

Cooperative Photo Exhibit
Ft Worth and Dallas Friendship Force clubs

Paula Rose

There will be a photo exhibit during the November 14 meeting. This is an opportunity for members of the Dallas and Fort Worth clubs to share their favorite exchange photos. It will be an exhibit, not a competition. 

Please send your photos to Paula Rose by computer (jpeg files) or by snail mail (printed copies from 4x6 to 8x10). Limit five entries per member. All photos need to be taken during an exchange. Please label each photo with photographer's name, and the category you prefer it to be displayed in. Categories are explore, understand, serve, faces not places and sense of place. Be sure to identify the exchange (club, inbound or outbound, year and month) and where the photo was taken.

Prints submitted by snail mail will be displayed at the meeting on poster boards by category. Submissions by email (jpeg files) will be displayed at the meeting on a laptop, in a slideshow with all other email submissions.

Submit entries to Paula Rose by November 1 (limit five entries per member). Contact Paula at 
or paularose2000@hotmail.com for more information or for her address.

Exchange Updates

Outbound Exchanges  

by Ray Enstam

Australia
The word is in! Jim Bourn, the ED for the outbound exchange to Australia now has the final dates. The exchange will start with a week in Melbourne from the 16 to 23 of March, 2011 (flight will leave on March 14 because we will lose a calendar day crossing the time zone). The second week will be in Tamworth. Because of the distance, it will take two days to get to Tamworth, with an overnight stay en route the night of March 23, arriving in Tamworth for an exchange from March 24 to 31. There will be optional events afterwards, but arrangements have not yet been made.

Be sure to mark you calendars for those dates! For more information and price estimates, and to get on the list, contact Jim Bourn at (H) 972-699-7626 (C) 214-789-4555, or airbourn@tx.rr.com. Jim is back to answer questions after September 5.

UPDATE 9/10: Dates may change - to leave March 10 to include a trip first to Cairns, then Tamworth exchange, then four days in Sydney, then Melbourne. An optional trip to Tasmania is possible after Melbourne.  The return date if you do both exchanges and all the options would be April 10.  Watch this space for final dates. Applications will be available soon with firm prices.

Turkey
The exchange and tour are full, but you may place your name on a waiting list. 

Domestic Exchanges 

by Dale Klosterman

For 2011 we have an outbound to San Francisco Bay Area in October (The best time to visit San Francisco)
   - we need an exchange director
For 2012 we have an inbound from Sacramento in April
   - we need an exchange director
For 2012 we have an inbound from Northern Colorado and Great Falls, Montana together
   - we need an exchange director

Northern Colorado and Great Falls would like to come together. N. Colorado would go on to Baton Rouge after Dallas, and Great Falls would possibly return through Oklahoma City. This would be a big exchange for Dallas, and we will have to see how many ambassadors we can actually handle. 

Other Clubs

Please see the email below from Exchange Director, Chuck Goldfarb, in the National Capital Area club. He is leading an exchange to Nashik, India [Western India near Mumbai] leaving Oct 31. Please see the following link for more details.
http://www2.thefriendshipforce.org/catalog/catalog_asia.aspx#10215. 

We need another man to join us on the Nashik, India exchange!

Glenn Hogan finally got the green light from his allergist to join the Intrepid 16 on the exchange, but Paul Gesalman cannot join us and so we are seeking another man to be Glenn's roommate. (That $920 single supplement is a killer!)

If you know of any man who would be a good Ambassador, please let him know about the exchange and ask him to contact me ASAP. Time is getting short to get the visa and to allow Pulin to get the necessary tickets and hotel reservations. Contact Chuck immediately if you can go.

Chuck Goldfarb
c.goldfarb@verizon.net

Friendship Force Dallas - September Meeting

The September meeting was held at Dimassi's Mediterannean Buffet, Dallas 5220 Belt line, in Addison. This was our first meeting here, many commented on the quality of the food. The roasted eggplant, lamb shank and baklava were some of my favorites. Hopefully we will have many more meetings at Dimassi's. 

After updates on the 2011 Australia exchange, and coming domestic exchanges, we has a business meeting to vote on changes to the FFDallas bylaws and on the club officers for next year. Both the bylaw changes and the nominated officers were approved as presented.

Mary Williams gave us an excellent presentation on "Expanding Your Travel Options." No matter what your travel dreams might be, she had a way to fulfill them. As she summed up “ The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.”

NOTE: If you missed this program and would like an extensive handout with website sources, or one of 22 short handouts on specific travel ideas, ask Mary to e-mail it to you: txtravel@flash.net.

Photos:
2010 Officers (left to right)
Treasurer – Jim Naughton (2nd term)
President – Edward Perez (2nd term)
First Vice-president – Mary Latham (2nd term)
Secretary – Ruth Barrow (3rd term)
Second Vice-president [Membership] – to be nominated

Mary Williams: "Expanding Your Travel Options" presentation

Membership Update
by Sandy Kaiser

Our total membership is 105. 
Please welcome these new members since the May meeting: 
• Virginia de la Garza
• Dot Marchesano

Serving

by edward perez

As in recent exchanges, your Board and Exchange Directors decided for the Harrisburg inbound exchange to make a contribution to a non-profit agency. The two clubs made a combined contribution of $100 to the North Dallas Shared Ministries. Here is a portion of the letter we recently received from them. 

Dear Raymond Enstam,
Please extend the thanks of North Dallas Shared Ministries to the members of the Dallas and Harrisburg clubs for their gift of $100. Recently the news media have been highlighting the early summer heat wave with temperatures reaching over 100 degrees in the Northeast. As a thirty year Texan, I am not at all impressed by the mention of 100 degree heat but was stunned by the phrase early summer. Since very early June, NDSM volunteers have been immersed in what is for most is an early fall or very late summer concern - school supplies and school uniforms.

[details of their program for giving school supplies and school uniforms to families with students in the NDSM service area, with estimated costs of close to $100,000] NDSM's role in the academic arena extends beyond this program as evening adult English-as-second language classes continue to flourish this summer and plans are underway to expand the program to include off-site daytime classes this fall.

I am so happy that you have chosen to share in the work and wonderfulness of NDSM. You make possible so much goodness for so many. I wish you a terrific early, middle and late summer. Have fun; enjoy and be thankful for the gifts you so generously share. 

Sincerely,
Judy Rorrie [with handwritten note: We are truly touched. Thank you.]
Executive Director

FFI Worldwide Silent Auction

Stay in an Indonesian palace. Climb Mt. Fuji. Take a farm holiday in Australia. Sunbathe at a Brazilian beach apartment. Experience the 4th of July with a US homestay. MAKE YOUR BID TODAY! This year FFI is sponsoring a new, online auction which will raise funds to expand the Friendship Force — and it's a lot of fun for all our members!

Log on to www.friendshipforceauction.org now to view items that have already been donated, such as vacation opportunities, timeshares and homestays, including the ones listed above. On the site you can also donate an item yourself and bid on one or more items of your choice.

The auction will stay live online to its conclusion, but it closes during the conference on the evening of Sunday, October 17 - so don't wait!

Attendees at this year's Friendship Force World Conference in Washington, DC, will also be able to bid in the traditional silent auction format for the last few hours. 

All proceeds will go to the Legacy Fund. However, clubs donating an item may request that up to 35% of the proceeds from items they donate be retained by the club for local expansion projects. All clubs and individuals who offer items for sale will be recognized at the World Conference. Once you are ready to bid on an item (or list one of your own) just visit the auction site at www.friendshipforceauction.org.

HAPPY BIDDING, HAPPY TRAVELS!

For details on the auction, donating items, bidding, payments, and the auction timeline, please visit the auction site at www.friendshipforceauction.org. The auction is organized by members of the FFI Board of Directors who are volunteering their time and effort and have generously put the first items up for bidding. Board Treasurer Andrew Stirling of Ottawa, Canada, developed the website and is the coordinator. If you have any questions, please contact Andrew Stirling by email at iax@magma.ca.

Event/Volunteer

Fiesta Latinoamericana! Group Volunteer Opportunities

DFW International Community Alliance would like to invite you to volunteer in our ¡Fiesta Lationamericana! This is Dallas' first Latino cultural festival that includes the cultures of all the countries of the Americas. Help us celebrate the bicentennial of Latin America's independence, along with the many rich heritages of our Hispanic residents. High school, college or any groups are especially welcome.

Sunday, October 10, 2010 - 11 am to 7 pm

Flora Street in the Dallas Arts District from the Guadalupe Cathedral and the Meyerson to the AT&T Plaza
FREE
Shifts available are: 10 - 1 pm, 1 - 4 pm, and 4 - 7 pm. 

Responsibilities include arts and crafts, face painting, games, Parade of Nations, food booths.

For more information contact: annemarieweiss@dfwinternational.org

Photos

Peggy and Ken were traveling in Colorado and New Mexico for most of July and August. If you are interested, a few photos of their  trip are on their Picasa site here. 

Ken Walker, Editor