|
Return to Newsletters Home. Return to FFSFBA Home. |
|
|
Return to Newsletters Home. Return to FFSFBA Home. |
|
|
Contents
Deadline Extended for SF Tour! World Friendship Day Report (and photos)
Regional Meetings
Membership News
Western States
Leadership Conference General Meeting on May 15 and Silent Auction
Contents
Deadline Extended for SF Tour! World Friendship Day Report (and photos)
Regional Meetings
Membership News
Western States
Leadership Conference General Meeting on May 15 and Silent Auction
Contents
Deadline Extended for SF Tour! World Friendship Day Report (and photos)
Regional Meetings
Membership News
Western States
Leadership Conference General Meeting on May 15 and Silent Auction
Contents
Deadline Extended for SF Tour! World Friendship Day Report (and photos)
Regional Meetings
Membership News
Western States
Leadership Conference General Meeting on May 15 and Silent Auction
Contents
Deadline Extended for SF Tour! World Friendship Day Report (and photos)
Regional Meetings
Membership News
Western States
Leadership Conference General Meeting on May 15 and Silent Auction
Contents
Deadline Extended for SF Tour! World Friendship Day Report (and photos)
Regional Meetings
Membership News
Western States
Leadership Conference General Meeting on May 15 and Silent Auction
Contents
Deadline Extended for SF Tour! World Friendship Day Report (and photos)
Regional Meetings
Membership News
Western States
Leadership Conference General Meeting on May 15 and Silent Auction
Contents
Deadline Extended for SF Tour! World Friendship Day Report (and photos)
Regional Meetings
Membership News
Western States
Leadership Conference General Meeting on May 15 and Silent Auction
Contents
Deadline Extended for SF Tour! World Friendship Day Report (and photos)
Regional Meetings
Membership News
Western States
Leadership Conference General Meeting on May 15 and Silent Auction
|
Vol.
22 No. 2 SAN
FRANCISCO BAY AREA NEWSLETTER A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Are you taking time to enjoy the wonders of spring? I am assailed by the sight of flowers blooming ‘like crazy,’ of trees sharing their blossoms, of lovely sunny days (sometimes). I think we are so blessed living where we do. The trip to Manitoba is ‘on’ and Nina is working on this. There is still space available, so, if you would like to join us, give Nina a call (see following article). Our outbound trip to New Zealand is going in early September and we would really like a few more ambassadors to join us. The details have not been finalized as yet, but as soon as they are available, I will let you know. We will have 2 weeks of home hosting and, hopefully, a tour of the south island. At our visit to Santa Barbara for the leadership conference in March, we were inspired by George Brown and his vision for expanding Friendship Force all over the world. The Osaka, Japan incoming exchange group will arrive August 22. Additional hosts are needed; other opportunities to help are also available. Please call Exchange Director Darlene Boyanich to let her know how you’d like to participate. What a great job Colleen Scott did for our celebration of World Friendship Day! I think everyone had a good time, the food was superb, and a big thank-you to those who brought so many guests. Not only that, we raised $1,000 to help expand the Friendship Force! Well, some of us are off to Atlanta now and by the time you get this, we will be back with many stories to tell. In Friendship, —Joy Hewett, President@ffsfba.org COME JOIN US IN MANITOBA—EXCHANGE COST $220!!!! This is a great chance to experience the “friendliest club in Canada.” Our one-week exchange is June 6–13. Ambassadors are responsible for their own transportation to Winnipeg—use frequent flier miles, plan additional travel around this exchange, or just take a quick sample of a FF exchange. The Host Club has several events planned, as well as a selection of items of interest for individual host and ambassadors. We are closing in on the date, so if you are interested, please give me a call. I must have all checks and applications before May 1, in order to send the information to FFI and Manitoba. We will have a good time—I hope that you will be able to join us. —Nina J. Davidson, Exchange Director INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL MAY 7 Our club will again have an information booth at the International Festival at Stanford University on Saturday, May 7, from 12–5 p.m. If you would like to help staff the table, please give Dee Gustavson a call or email her. There will be 2 people on each shift, which will be for 1 or 2 hours. (The table will be in the shade.) —Dee Gustavson DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR SF TOUR! FFSFBA plans to tour 3 San Francisco sites (Davies Hall, Herbst Theater, and the Opera House) on Monday, May 2. The deadline has been extended, so you can still sign up if you call Janis Maurry by noon Friday, April 29. Meet at 9:45 a.m. in front of Davies Hall to tour the Opera House and Herbst Theater in the morning. We’ll eat lunch at a nearby restaurant, then tour Davies Hall at 1 p.m. The cost for the tours is $5 general and $3 for seniors. All Friendship Force members (and their guests) are invited to this activity, which was organized by Area 7. —Janis Maurry WORLD FRIENDSHIP DAY FUNDRAISER REPORT The event was held on March 1, 2005, at First Presbyterian Church in Newark. We had a total of 75 members and guests in attendance, and $1,000 was raised at this event for the Legacy Fund, which will be used to create new FF clubs around the world. Many thanks to those members who were unable to attend, but made a donation. Some of the members had such a good time that they would like to schedule a ‘Friendship Day’ every year!! I certainly had an enjoyable time, and would like to thank all those who supported the event. The food was indeed ‘international’ and in abundance, and delicious! I want to extend my sincere thanks to all who made donations, and to all who brought guests (30 total). Kudos to Steve Cooper and Mary Alice Van Doorn for bringing 10 guests!! Super special thanks to Gail Boyd for the ‘behind the scenes’ work; to Karen McCready for bringing the balloons; to Louise Heiduk and Katharine Kleinke for leading the closing song; to Rita Hammer for the reading of “Aunt Ethelberry’s Elderberry Wine” (poem from FF friend in Melbourne, Australia); to Nina Davidson, Wil Heiduk and Barry Rader for sharing “Who We Are and What We Do” for our visitors; and to Elizabeth Shumway and Joy Hillman for registration duties at the door. The check for $1,000 has been sent to FFI. —Colleen Scott, Chairperson
REGIONAL MEETINGS FFSFBA COORDINATORS MEETING The FFSFBA Coordinators gathered on April 6, 2005 at the home of Janis Maurry for a potluck and a sharing of past and present activities. Several of the Areas have been combined so that now there are 7 areas. Area 1 and 2 coordinators, Elizabeth Shumway and Joy Hillman, are planning a May activity which will include a brunch in Sausalito. Area 5/6 had a February gathering, which included slides from Dee Gustavson’s recent trip to India. Janis Maurry, Area 7, reported on a February gathering of nine people. They are planning a May trip to San Francisco (see article below). Ruth Edwards, Coordinator of Area 8, is hoping to work out a trip to Ohlone College for the next activity. They joined Area 9/10 for a trip to Ardenwood Park (see article below). Alice Needham, from the Publicity Committee, was a guest. She had attractive flyers telling about Friendship Force and gave suggestions on how to promote Friendship Force in our various areas. It was suggested that a person in each area be appointed to provide information to local papers. The next meeting of the Coordinators is set for July 21 at 11:30 a.m. at the home of Karen McCready. – June Cademartori, Coordinator
AREAS 1 AND 2 We have a date for our no-host brunch at Dipsea Restaurant in Mill Valley followed by a private art show on a houseboat in Sausalito.
Please let me know by May 15 if you plan to attend. F.F. Members and guests from all Areas are invited. —Elizabeth Shumway
AREAS 5 AND 6 On February 11, thirteen members from Areas 5 and 6 met at Dave and Dee Gustavsons’ for a Valentine’s Party. Attendees shared thoughts of love and memories of past Valentine’s Days, including Dave, who read a poem he wrote to Dee 43 years ago. Attendees were: June & John Cademartori, Diane & Burt Demo, Louise & Wil Heiduk, Lois and Perry Williams, Katharine Kleinke, Joy Hewett, hosts Dee and Dave, and Martha Steiner. Dee showed slides of her September Friendship Force exchange trip to Nashik, India. The evening ended with a discussion of future events and exchanges while enjoying delicious desserts. —Dee Gustavson
GREATER EAST BAY AREA GROUPS ACTIVITY: On Saturday, April 2, several lads and lasses of the Greater East Bay area groups met at Fremont’s Ardenwood Historic Farm for the ninth annual Tartan Day Family Gathering. Showing our Friendship Force colors were Rita and Dick Hammer, Loretta and Dick Wales, Ruth Edwards, Steve Cooper and Mary Alice Van Doorn, Margaret Kingery, Alice Needham, Karen Mitchell, and Barry Rader and Karen McCready. Did you know that in 1998 the United States Senate officially proclaimed April 6 as “National Tartan Day?” We learned this and other pertinent facts about the united Celtic cultures as we strolled past the family displays, listened to the pipe and drum band and fiddlers, and sampled the culinary fare. (My Scots-Irish grandmother never told me about deep-fried Twinkies!) Ardenwood, being an historic farm, has many barnyard charms to add to the ambiance: a royal blue peacock, not to be outdone by the pageantry and trooping of colors, addressed us raucously from atop the aviary. Visitors could choose the horse-drawn trolley for a leisurely ride around the property.With its elegant Victorian house and heritage gardens, Ardenwood is worth a visit on any day, especially such a lovely spring day. Join us on our next group outing! —Karen L. McCready MEMBERSHIP NEWS SMALLER AND SMALLER I am writing this article in mid-April and am having mixed feelings about our organization. Today our membership stands at 92, with four new members. Our ending total last year was 111, which indicates nineteen of our members have gone AWOL. The leadership is calling all of those who have not renewed, to find out why they have chosen to leave. So far the leading reason is the feeling of being unconnected from the organization. The next reason is our choices of travel; the third reason is Friendship Force no longer meets their personal needs, i.e. they are no longer traveling. These reasons are significant challenges for an organization that wants to share its culture and build peace in the world. The first step is for each of us to reach out to our friends and family to become members. Next, attend meetings and become active in the leadership of the group. And last, share your ideas with Joy Hewett, Bernice Batchelder, Karen McCready, Joy Hillman, or any other leader in the Force. Call your fellow members, email them, share a ride to the meetings with them, attend the local group gatherings, travel with our club, and lastly, bring peace to yourself and others. Our ideals are worth saving, but without a viable membership, we will disappear. —Barry Rader, Membership Chair
START SPREADING THE NEWS! One day in the very near future, you will walk into your local library, bookstore, coffeehouse, or other favorite haunt and see a bright spring green flyer inviting people to join Friendship Force. One morning soon, you will open up your local paper and see a calendar listing for an upcoming Friendship Force event or read an article about a Friendship Force friend. At the next general meeting in May, you will be seeing many new faces and learning some new names. These happenings will occur if you and other FFSFBA members distribute these flyers around your area. With everyone’s help, we can target all of those public places where prospective members—as all of us once were—congregate. Please pick up a few copies at the next area event or general meeting. Besides asking you to be the “Johnny Appleseeds” of our Bay Area club, we need your information and advice about all of those media resources that exist in your area. We need contact names, phone numbers, and emails to post community calendar listings in your local newspapers and public newsletters. Also, we need such information for any special club listings that your local papers may publish. For example, our local Argus, part of the East Bay ANG group, publishes a list of club meetings in the Friday edition. Even though we may be able to look up this information in a Bay Area media guide, prospective members are most likely to notice the same news features that you read. Email this information or clip and send the contact information to Barry Rader. The infusion of energy that you may have noticed lately is coming from Alice Needham, the newly appointed publicity director, a new board position. So far, her committee consists of Roger Riffenburgh, Barry Rader, Karen McCready, and Louise Heiduk. Contact Alice if you would like to help write press releases and assemble the publicity database. Each area group will be seeking a representative to coordinate contacts with the media within their areas. These reps will depend upon all of us to provide the sorts of information listed above. Together we can spread the word to all those like minded folks out there who are just waiting for an invitation. Start spreading the news! Thanks for your help! —Karen McCready
SUBSCRIBE TO THE FRIENDSHIP FORCE MAGAZINE Your membership fee does not include a subscription to the Friendship Force magazine, but you can subscribe for $15/year (4 issues). You may call the Friendship Force International office in Atlanta at (404)522-9490, or email them at: info@friendshipforce.org . You may also write to them at Friendship Force International, 34 Peachtree St., Suite 900, Atlanta, GA 30303. WESTERN STATES LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Joy Hewett, and Wil and Louise Heiduk attended the Western States Leadership Conference in Santa Barbara in March. George Brown spoke about the Legacy program for creating new clubs and the progress that is being made. We were given information about upcoming exchange assignments and how they will be assigned. We also attended some interesting workshops on publicity, cultural awareness and effective packing. It was an enjoyable conference. —Louise Heiduk GENERAL MEETING MAY 15 It’s time to celebrate the 21st Birthday of our Friendship Force club, on Sunday, May 15, at 2 p.m. at Contempo-Marin Mobile Park recreational facility (clubhouse), in San Rafael (north of the Golden Gate Bridge). We will be carrying on the traditions of finding out more about the achievements of Friendship Force and our own club’s future goals. There will be special presentations by club members and other speakers, and we’ll see a new FFI movie. A Silent Auction will also be held, with proceeds going to the FF Legacy Fund. This is a great opportunity to bring friends to introduce them to Friendship Force and club members. Please do not bring the calorie counter: sweet treats are planned for dessert! Directions for the May 15 General Meeting: From the East Bay, take I-880 N toward Oakland, until it turns into I-580W at the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Stay straight to go onto I-101 N: then see below for ** Smith Ranch Rd. From the South Bay, take I-101 N toward San Francisco, Hwy-1 N toward
19th Avenue/Golden Gate Bridge, merge onto I-101 N via the exit (on the
left) toward Golden Gate Bridge. Once over the bridge, stay on I-101 N:
then see below for ** Smith Ranch Rd. ** When you reach San Rafael, take the Smith Ranch Rd. exit toward Lucas Valley Rd., stay to the right to take the Smith Ranch Rd. ramp. Stay straight to go onto Smith Ranch Rd. (in effect you’ve turned right exiting the freeway), then turn right onto Yosemite Rd. Continue until you come to Contempo-Marin Mobile Park at 400 Yosemite Rd. Watch for signs to the Clubhouse, and look for green balloons. Do not use Mapquest directions! If in doubt, please call Gail Boyd.
SILENT AUCTION AT THE MAY 15 MEETING The proceeds from the Silent Auction will be donated to the Legacy Campaign, in honor of Friendship Force founder Wayne Smith. The funds will be used to establish new Friendship Force Clubs in new areas of the world. We have some lovely items donated so far:
We can still use more items. No item is too small, because several articles can be combined into a nice package. If you have items to donate, please contact Dee Gustavson. Be sure to come to the meeting to have the fun of buying an item or two! —Dee Gustavson 2005 FFSFBA COMMITTEES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE STANDING COMMITTEES EXCHANGE DIRECTORS SUPPORT COMMITTEES 2005 CALENDAR
Return to Newsletters Home. Return to FFSFBA Home.
|
