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President’s
Message
“Changing the Way You See the World”
By edward perez
Welcome to 2010!
Depending on how you are counting, we've either just entered the 2nd decade of the 21st century or just entered the 10th year since 2000 started. Regardless, what is clear is that Friendship Force of Dallas has entered its 17th year and that it is part of an organization that's been around since March 1, 1977 [one reason why World Friendship Day is March 1]!!
An organization that spans all continents [except Antarctica] with thousands of members from many cultures, many languages, many beliefs. An organization whose mission is to develop friendship and goodwill through home hosting, foster understandings of others, and embrace differences and affinities. When you think about what has happened over OUR club's history, you'll see that we have accomplished much in line with that mission. And you'll see that, as with many things in our life, there are opportunities for more accomplishments.
The responsibilities of your officers and board of directors are to carry out that mission. For every meeting we hold and every inbound or outbound exchange we conduct, we work with your fellow members to organize, plan, fund, publicize, and conduct those events. It takes quite a bit of time and energy to do so. Each of those events turns out to be fun and informative, building friendship and camaraderie between our members, guests, and members of other clubs. And for all they do and accomplish, I am very grateful.
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edward perez
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"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles."
– Tim Cahill
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Newsletter Editor:
Ken Walker www.friendshipforcedallas.org
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As in past years, this year will be filled with events -
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monthly meetings [not every club holds monthly meetings] |
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small group dinners [excellent ways to meet your fellow
members] |
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two inbounds |
- Haliburton Highlands, Ontario, Canada [founded Apr
2007]
- Harrisburg, PA [founded 1983]
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three outbounds |
- Northern Colorado
- Great Falls & Helena - Central Montana [founded
1978]
- Izmir, Turkey [founded 1993]
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as well as outings, shuttle rides to/from the airport, and more. |
Events where you can learn more about FF members from the Dallas area and elsewhere, about people's backgrounds and histories, about cultures, about our world, about our similarities and differences. So, come participate in your club and your world. Learn about a member or greet a guest at our meetings, invite a friend or colleague to a meeting or an exchange, go on an outbound, host an inbound ambassador [for the week or just a day], participate in planning and conducting an event, write a newsletter article. Form and share great memories and experiences with others. And to start it all off, join me at the January meeting - pick up your new FF Dallas badge and 2010 yearbook and learn about our 2010 plans and events!!
See you there!
con amistad!
edward perez
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| January Meeting |
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| When: |
January 10 at 5:00 pm
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| Where: |
Cafe Istanbul
5450 W. Lovers Lane, Suite 222,
Dallas 75209
in the Inwood Village Shopping Center – SE corner of Lovers
Lane & Inwood – behind the theater
Phone 214-902-0919
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| Meal: |
Choice of Beef Shish Kebab, Chicken Shish Kebab or Vegetarian Casserole
Includes tip and soft drinks/tea/coffee
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| Cost: |
$15 with reservation, or pay $17 at the door
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| Program: |
Turkey - Speaker from the Turkish American Association
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| Reserve: |
Send check of $15 per person made to Friendship Force of Dallas by January 5 to Dora Stahl. For
information contact Dora at:
edstahl@swbell.net
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Club History
Special Report, Nov 29, 1993
For about the last two years, members of the FF of FW/Metroplex who live in the Dallas area have been meeting monthly for the most part. They have not had a formal organization but have been led by a Dallas coordinator who has attended FW/Metroplex club board meetings to represent the Dallas area. Presently that coordinator is Mary-Helen Lyons.
Previous to Mary-Helen, Jackie Bluhm served in that capacity and, along with her husband Jerry, attended FW/Metroplex board meetings. With the help of a number of persons, the coordinators have achieved growth in numbers and in readiness of the group to take a stronger role in our club. … Mark Bryant
[Friendship Force Fort Worth President] called a discussion meeting for Saturday, Nov 20 to discuss the organizational steps which would need to be taken.
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Following that meeting, Mary-Helen called a meeting of the Dallas Area for Sunday, Nov 28. The announced purpose was to begin to organize a Dallas-area Friendship Force club. … Mary-Helen, who as Dallas-area coordinator had called the meeting, was elected temporary chairperson and Debbie Carmichael, temporary secretary for the discussions. … The group then looked at the organizing steps and then the group discussed “The timetable for going public.”
Following this debate Judy Ritchie moved that July 1, 1994 be set as a target date for having the Dallas club formed. This was seconded and the vote in favor was unanimous. … The group voted to accept the name “The Friendship Force of Dallas.”
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Organizational Meeting - 20 November 1993
Jackie Bluhm, Mary Helen Lyons, Mike ?, Marcus Bryant, Frank Baldwin, Dorothy Baldwin |
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Gathering at the November meeting
were founders:
Margie Tareilo, Diana Bosworth, LaNell
Naughton, Jackie Bluhm, Jerry Bluhm, Brud Kisner, and Zia Shamsy
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Holiday Party
December 14, 2009
Thanks to Myra and Darwin Smith for hosting our
holiday party at their renovated Swiss Ave home.
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Ed and Dora Stahl |
edward
perez |
Elizabeth Umana and Peggy Benton |
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Pam Varney Terrell, guest Jim Bradley and
Barbara Jones |
Nikki Ashcraft, Audrey Schlect, Kathy Morris
and Paula Rose |
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Peggy Benton, Joleen Reynolds and Paula rose |
Pat Andeweg, Wendy Whaley, Sylvia Brown and
Brud Kisner |
Zia Shamsy and Leo Durst talking Turkey |
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Peggy Jane Wilson, Myrna Schmitt,
and Ed Stahl
Guest Sudi Pishvazadeh and Lilliana
Hollister
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Dallas Exchanges for 2010 |
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Halliburton Heights Ontario Canada will be our only international Inbound Exchange April 17-24, 2010. This exchange will definitely take place. There are 20 confirmed and 4 on the wait list. Reports are that these are VERY active ambassadors. We will have some tried and true activities such as the arboretum, a horse country trip, and small group home dinners. In addition there will be some new activities such as a visit to Delany vineyards, a fun walk at White Rock Lake, and a bluebonnet picture taking excursion.
These committee chairs need your help:
Paula Rose - ED
Martha Durst - home host chair; home hosts are
needed. Here's your chance to share you home ( or apt.) and really get to know one or two Ambassadors from Halliburton, Ontario
for the week. Twenty Ambassadors are coming! If you would like to be a home host or have questions, contact: Martha
at marleo9039@tx.rr.com
Henny Houston
- day host chair
Ruth Barrow - small dinners coordinator
Please contact these people to help/volunteer in making this a memorable exchange for our Canadian
ambassadors.
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Georgia Sigalos has agreed to be the home host coordinator
Pam Varney will be the coordinator for the trip to the horse ranch
Jim Bourn will arrange Dallas Day
Paula Rose will coordinate a trip to the Arboretum
Ed Edgren will arrange the welcome dinner
Mary Williams will print exchange materials
Contact Dale to volunteer to coordinate day hosts, small dinners, the farewell dinner, Fort Worth day or your suggested
activity.
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Domestic outbound to Northern Colorado
August 13-10 - just before Montana exchange, ED Jim Bourn |
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 Friendship Force of Dallas has one outbound in 2010 to Izmir, Turkey. We were lucky to get this exchange, as it is a much sought after exchange destination. Izmir is the modern name of the ancient city of Smyrna, which has a 5,000 year history through Classical and Biblical times. The homestay exchange will be from October 17 to 24 of 2010 and will be preceded by a ten day optional tour of Turkey from October 8 to 17.
The tour will visit Istanbul (once called Constantinople), Ankara, the capital city, Cappadocia, home of the famous rock formations, Konya, the home of the whirling dervishes and the tomb of the writer Rumi and many other sites.
The exchange in Izmir is near the well preserved ruins of Ephesus of Biblical
fame (above), and a visit there will be one of the exchange highlights. Registration for this trip is restricted to Friendship Force of Dallas members until March 15, 2010 and then will be open to other clubs. For more information
or an application to reserve a place contact Zia Shamsy, the Exchange Director, at zia_shamsy@yahoo.com.
Deadline to apply: March 15, 2010
See the Exchanges
page or Izmir, Turkey information page for more details.
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Southwest
Regional Conference
Fri Feb 5 - Sun Feb 7, 2010
McAllen, TX
Hosted by FF Rio Grande Valley Club
Come to McAllen and meet members from throughout
our district. Learn about new initiatives, exchanges, programs. Share experiences, develop
new friendships. President edward perez will be representing our club.
 From Jean Ellis of Rio Grande Valley:
I bid you welcome to come to our Conference to be
held in the Rio Grande Valley “The Land of Two Summers.” We anticipate temperatures to
be in the high 70ºs with lots of sunshine and some wind. Isn’t that better than snow and
ice? Just fill out the reservation form and send it (with your money) AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Cuz--we only have a few working members.
If you are flying, Continental & American come into Miller International in McAllen.
Southwest flies into Harlingen, TX [about 20 miles from McAllen]. We will try to meet you
there or you can rent a car—However if you are just coming for the conference, you shouldn’t
need one. PLEASE COME – We hope you will see 100 of your FF Friends here.
 Contact: Wanda Boush at wandalb35@sbcglobal.net
for more registration information.
Conference Registration Fee $100 if postmarked before January 4, 2010 or $110 if postmarked after January 4, 2010.
Price: includes Friday night social, conference sessions, Saturday lunch, and Saturday dinner [prime rib, salmon, chicken, or special diet].
Hotel Information: Grand Casa Real - SPECIAL rate of $40 [single] or $50 [double]. Complimentary breakfast 7 to 9 AM.
Indoor & outdoor pools. Contact them directly and mention FF Conference.
Casa Real Hotel
200 W. Expressway 83 (off 2nd St.)
McAllen, TX 78501
(956) 686-2471
frontDesk@grandCasaRealHotel.com
or
http://www.grandCasaRealHotel.com
Airlines: Both Continental and American fly into McAllen (Miller International terminal). We will try to have someone meet you. Southwest flies into Rio Grande Valley Intl Airport in Harlingen, TX 78550 airport (about 40 miles from McAllen). As of Dec 15, round trip fares on American were about $280-304; on Southwest about $200-300 nonrefundable
to $460 refundable.
See the Exchanges
page for more information.
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  Club News
A Big Thank You
From Wendy Whaley, outgoing president and edward
perez, incoming president:
A big thank you to the following members who
supported the club in these committee positions this past year:
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All of our officers |
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Mary Suther - found some great money-making
schemes as Ways and Means chair |
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Teresa Wilkin - managed our database and was ED
for the Romania exchange; presented a great program on China |
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John Whaley - edited our bi-monthly newsletter |
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Martha Durst - sent publicity to news outlets
about our activities |
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Ed Edgren - arranged for domestic exchanges
with other clubs |
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Annette Dempsey - sent Sunshine to members
needing a smile |
A big thank you to the following members who stepped up in the last few months to
take new committee positions in our club:
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Ken Walker - producing our bi-monthly newsletter |
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Dale Klosterman - coordinating domestic exchanges |
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Ray Enstam - managing exchange finances |
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Ed Stahl - maintaining our membership records |
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Peggy Benton - coordinating Sunshine for members. |
And a big thank you to the following members who are continuing to help our
club in their committee positions:
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Jim Bourn - Speakers bureau |
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Pat Andeweg - Telephone committee |
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Mary Williams - meeting flyers, website, yearbook, exchange booklets |
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Ray Enstam - International exchange coordinator |
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Bob Langford - Bridge Builder committee |
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Pat Peters - Hospitality |
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Ken Walker - Media / Newsletter |
We still have a few unstaffed opportunities. Contact any board member to learn more and to sign up!
We cannot do it without you! Contact edward to volunteer.
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Publicize club events with local media, clubs, organizations, etc. (requires access to a computer and the internet) |
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Print and mail out meeting flyers and club newsletters to some members and to guests |
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Manage the electronic mail address book (requires access to a computer and the internet) |
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Organize greeters for our meetings |
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Store club video equipment and banners and bring it to meetings as needed |
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Store and sell club merchandise (lapel pins, pen/pencil sets, etc) |
 Cooperative Photo Exhibit
Announcing a cooperative photo exhibit --
Fort Worth and Dallas Friendship Force clubs
This is to be a joint photo exhibit at
the November 2010 meeting; this is not a competition. You are encouraged to submit entries from now through Nov
2010, up to 5 entries per member. You can submit 4x6 prints or .jpg files. Photos must be associated with an
exchange. Be sure to identify the exchange (inbound or outbound, year and month) and where the photo was taken.
Some categories: service, understanding, exploring,
"faces not places," humor, diplomacy, friendship, sense of place, moment, children and miscellaneous.
Submit entries to Paula Rose - paularose2000@hotmail.com
Dues
A last word about dues - There are members who haven't renewed.
Mary Williams needs a yes or no from every member in order to do the yearbook. They will be ready at the January meeting "so, if you want to be listed in the yearbook, please join now."
(edward's deadline was Dec 15th for free badges).
Your new badge will now cost $10.
 Sunshine
Peggy Benton would like to hear from you...
Do you know a club member in need? Please contact Peggy and let her know. We are a caring group and want to offer an encouraging word. Peggy can be reached at
pjbentonathome@hotmail.com.
New Members
Please extend a welcoming hand to these
new members who joined us in 2009:
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Leyla Akgerman |
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Nikki Ashcraft |
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Maxine Bearden |
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Susan Beaudry (Cooper) |
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Sylvia Brown |
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Susan Carpenter |
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Chi Chi Hoquee [that's a Q in her name] |
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Isabella Iverson & Gerry Arens |
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Patty Niemeyer |
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Joleen Reynolds |
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Samylu Rubin |
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Myrna Schmitt |
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Carolyn Williams |
 Board Bios
Board Bios - Last Words: ‘Thank you for sharing that with us.’
Dale Klosterman - Mail Distributor
Dale has been a member for five years. He has been
on five outbound exchanges, the latest being Bogota and Sacramento. He and Hilda have hosted several
inbound exchanges. Dale was the ED for the San Francisco inbound and is the coordinator for our 2010 domestic exchanges.
“I am a psychologist, have two daughters, grew up in Cincinnati. I have lived in Oklahoma and Texas.” “In Bogota I stayed with a family that did not speak a word of English. We ended up having a terrific time.”
Dale’s hobbies include writing, geology, golf and travel. The most recent book he read was Jade - “a historical novel about a British child who was kidnapped in China during the Boxer Rebellion and had many interesting experiences.”
What you may not know about Dale - He spent 28 years in the Coast Guard Reserve, rising from Seaman Recruit in 1962 to Commander in 1987.
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| Computers to Romania
We received word that the project the Dallas club started a few years ago - thanks to Ed
Edgren and Bob Langford - has continued with computers in Brasov. We received these photos
of the Christmas party held at the school for the visually impaired in Brasov.
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2010
FF International Conference
Washington, DC
Saturday, October 16, 9:00 a.m. - Monday, October 18, 12:00 p.m.
Speakers, workshops, international visitors;
followed by optional 4-day homestay in the area.
See the FFInternational page for more information.
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