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Contents Atlanta Conference, Barry's article, photos, and Dee's article World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
Contents Atlanta Conference, and photos, and Dee's P. S. to Barry's Comments World Friendship Day and Media Opportunity Upcoming Exchanges: Wisconsin, New Zealand, Germany FFSFBA Annual Birthday Meeting Area Coordinators Meeting and Activities; Speaker's Bureau
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Vol.
24 No. 2 SAN
FRANCISCO BAY AREA NEWSLETTER PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Each day that goes by makes me more aware of the gift I have. I get up every morning free of pain, I have a wonderful wife sleeping on my right, and I have positive activities to do everyday. I am blessed, and by the way so are all the members of FFSFBA. They have a dedicated team of Board members working for them all the time. They plan, keep track of, and carry out wonderful meetings, tours, dinners and trips for the members of this organization. I am blessed and "dog gone it" so are all of you. Now that I have cleared the air on my feelings, I can get on with the business of information. Karen and I spent nine interesting and inspiring days in Atlanta (30th Annual FFI Conference) and Montgomery, Alabama (home stay). Read my other article about the conference, but this area is dedicated to giving a broad thumbs up to the folks of our South. The welcome was warm and sincere, the food fattening and tasty, the countryside inviting and attractive, and the club embracing. We stayed with a couple who had been married for less time than Karen and I, but were childhood sweethearts who found each other in their sixties. She lived on a plantation sixteen miles outside of town, much like Tara, from Gone with the Wind, and he was working and keeping up with his son, who was spinal damaged at birth. They found each other and rekindled their love from the first moment they sat down together. The stay was filled with family coming over for birthdays and good eating. We saw the Deep South with its beauty and some of its warts, but the charm and humor of the Southerners carried the day. A few words about future exchanges: in 2008 we are going to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, located between Toronto and Niagara Falls. We will be sharing this exchange with the folks in the Reno, Nevada club. I am working on domestic exchanges with San Antonio, Texas for 2009, Hudson Valley, New York in 2008 and a couple for Summer, 2007. I am excited about these exchanges because I met the people from the clubs, and you should be, too! In friendship, —Barry Rader, President ATLANTA CONFERENCE The 30th Annual Conference was held in Atlanta, Georgia, home of Friendship Force and the busiest, most screwed up airport in the United States. If you want to hear about the airport, ask me. Karen and I arrived a couple of days early to see the sights and eat at my nephew’s new French restaurant. We took a tour of the Jimmy Carter Center, which was more about American History than about Jimmy, and drank special brews at Coca Cola’s interesting center. We ate at Jeremy’s Trois twice and enjoyed it both times. O.K., so much for our personal life. You want to know about the Conference. The first day was taken up with training for leaders and new materials for EDs. We will share this material at a future general meeting. The evening was highlighted by a Gala Ball at the new Georgia Aquarium—good food, good company, and interesting speeches extolling the virtues of FFI. The Mayor of Atlanta and Andrew Young, former ambassador to the U.N. and a member of the FFI steering committee, spoke about their commitment to FFI and how the FFI ambassadors have changed the world—glorious words. George Brown, the man who inherited the leadership mantel from Dr. Smith, is an inspiring, intelligent, committed leader. I feel privileged to be working with him for the betterment of the planet. An aside to the ball was the Baluga whales swimming in their tank on one wall of the ballroom, and anytime the action dragged, I watched them cavorting. FUN. The next day was spent in specific meetings discussing, at least for me, how to attract more attention to our club and how to use the internet to make travel plans. I have shared with the Board some of the ways other clubs get recognition, but here are a few: raise money for a good cause, volunteer to work in your community, advertise on bulletin boards, i.e., library and Craigslist, have a public official become your patron, invite foreign students to your meetings to share their experiences on their nation and the U.S., create a three day exchange with a club near you, go to an ethnic restaurant near you, visit a Chinese market so you can buy food for a picnic, wear your badge to a public event, give out materials about the club if you are asked, and you will be asked. The next sessions had to do with using the internet to plan trips. A few of the excellent web sites that were suggested were: FlyteComm.com, Kayak.com, FareChange@yahoo.com, cnn.com/travel, and gateone.com. The Conference wound up the next day with a couple more sessions and I went to hear George Brown answer questions. The man is outstanding on his feet; he has a thorough understanding of FFI, and is willing to hear about other ways of doing activities without being defensive, and even accepts ideas that were suggested that may be a more successful way than the norm. The last gathering spotlighted our next year’s Conference, to take place October 2–5, 2008, at the Marriot Hotel on the Gold Coast of Australia, followed by home hosting by five Australian clubs. Also announced were Festivals in 2007, in Montana during August, a Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 10–16, a Festival in Cape Town, South Africa, November 5–9, and a special trip to Indonesia soon. To end the Conference we were blessed by the image of Gandhi and sent out to change the world. —Barry Rader, President
DEE'S
P. S. TO BARRY'S COMMENTS ON I had a fantastic time at the FF International Conference in Atlanta. I learned a lot from the workshops, especially the one that introduced the new manual for exchange directors. I think EVERYONE should attend a conference. It’s SO exciting to meet people from all over the world, I always get recharged there! Why not start now to save your money and plan to attend the 2008 conference in Gold Coast, Australia! Let’s have a group from our club go together! I guarantee that you will have a blast, and you’ll come away inspired to spread the news about Friendship Force in your club, in the U.S., and in the world! Try it! You’ll love meeting people from many different countries. Put it on your calendar—October 2-5, 2008, which is a month into their spring. It will be at the Marriott Hotel in Gold Coast City, which they described as “beautiful one day, perfect the next.” They claim the average temperature there is 25 degrees C. year round (that’s 77 degrees F.). There are 55 kms of unspoiled, white sandy beaches. One night will be an Aussie Outback spectacular (meal, drinks, and entertainment!) Plus, home-hosting will be offered afterward by 5 Australian clubs. Are you ready to sign up, Mate? I agree with Barry that the homehosting in Montgomery, Alabama, was outstanding! That Southern Hospitality is truly spectacular! The home I stayed in also hosted a couple from Wisconsin. We discovered that we already knew each other, because we were all on an F.F. exchange together to Nashik, India three years ago, with the St. Louis, MO club. Neither of us knew ahead of time we were going to Atlanta or Montgomery, so obviously we didn’t request to be together. Needless to say, we enjoyed meeting again. What a small world we live in! They’re already tentatively planning to come to California on the Madison, Wisconsin, exchange next September, so perhaps Dave and I can host them! We had a chance to visit the new FFI offices. It was fun to be able to connect the faces with their spaces. They’ve only been at that address a short time, but have already decorated the walls with artifacts that were presented by many clubs around the world. The offices have a great view, from the 25th floor! I was proud to see that our club (FFSFBA) is listed on the large plaque for the Legacy Fund (on display at the conference.) We donated to FFI the past two years, and are listed as a Guiding Star! Congratulations to us! —Dee Gustavson, Delegate to FFI Conference WORLD
FRIENDSHIP DAY AND Fifty of our members and guests gathered on Sunday, February 25, to celebrate World Friendship Day. The gold-toned walls and the new oak woodland mural of Fremont’s Christ the King Lutheran social hall provided a lovely setting for a lively event. With the emphasis on our recent exchange to the Philippines, we fulfilled the Filipinos’ “four F” requirements with fun, food, flowers, and fiesta. As always, members brought an enticing array of international foods, and several were decked out in native costumes. We were honored to have Fremont’s Mayor Bob Wasserman and City Councilmember Steve Cho as our special guests. It was especially fitting to have the mayor there as Karen read a copy of one of the proclamations that he composed for our visits to the mayoral offices of our host cities in the Philippines. As a result of Barry’s conversation with the mayor that day, we have been invited to present the gifts from the Philippine mayors’ offices at a Fremont City Council meeting (which, by the way, will be shown on local cable) and promote Friendship Force at the same time. These gifts will be displayed in the foyer of City Hall, alongside gifts from Fremont’s Sister Cities, where everyone who gathers for Council meetings is likely to see them. The highlight of the Philippine Exchange report was a video composed by Dave Gustavson and Ed Shannon. Images of Cambodian temples, Manila jeepneys, happy party scenes brought back memories of an unforgettable visit. Several of the ambassadors shared anecdotes of their experiences, running the gamut from frustrating to comic. Thank you to those members who brought guests to share a fun time and to learn about the exchange experience. —Karen L. McCready INVITATION, MAY 26 Returning an exchange for an exchange is a great way of saying, “thank you” to another club for being such great hosts. Block out these important dates, September 18–24, when FFSFBA will be hosting the Madison, Wisconsin club. Many of our club members have either hosted or have been hosted by Madison in the past two years. Hopefully, you will be available to participate in some capacity. Although it may seem early, I will be holding the first committee meeting at my home on May 26, 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. A “bag lunch,” dessert and drinks will be provided. “Wanted!” any and all ideas of things to do for/with our ambassadors. Please share ideas either via e-mail or at our meeting on May 26. In addition, if you are able to attend the lunch portion, deadline for reservations is May 23. Please check Mapquest for directions, or use your “GPS”! I look forward to hearing or seeing you soon. —Gail Boyd, Inbound Exchange Director
INCOMING
EXCHANGE JUNE 6–JUNE 12 We are currently expecting 7 people from Dunedin. There will be ample opportunities for Club members and friends to participate in the parties and potluck dinners. Watch this space or Club email for further details. —Katharine Kleinke, Inbound Exchange Director
GERMANY
EXCHANGE Six months from now, 13 of us will have learned many German phrases, and be ready to depart for Berlin, Germany. From there we’ll take a train to Chemnitz, where we’ll participate in our first week of homestay, September 30–October 6. The Chemnitz club will show us sights in Leipzig, Dresden, and the Erz Mountains. Then we’re heading back to Berlin, via train, to stay in a hotel and sightsee there for 3 days. From Berlin we’ll travel to Hannover, where we’ll be homehosted by the Hannover F.F. Club, October 9–16. They are taking us to visit a castle, giving us a city tour of Celle, and a tour of Goslar in the Harz Mountains. We’re sharing part of the exchange with the Rocky Mountain Club of Colorado, so we’ll meet them in Hannover. Following our week together in Hannover, the Colorado Club will travel on to be homehosted for a week in Gelsenkirchen, while most of our club will fly back to San Francisco. —Dee Gustavson, Exchange Director SUNDAY,
APRIL 22 Program: “Germany Today” with a special guest speaker at Stanford’s Bechtel International Center on the Stanford University campus, 584 Capistrano Way, Stanford, CA Several of our members anticipate an exchange to Germany in October, and all of us will have the opportunity to hear about Germany in the 16 years since it reunified. We are honored to have Karsten Tietz, Consul for Cultural Affairs at San Francisco’s German Consulate, speak to us. He plans to touch upon the role of Germany in the world, its increasing international responsibilities, the United States’ view of Germany, and Germany’s role in European integration, especially now that Germany’s president is also serving as the president of the European Union. Mr. Tietz has had a distinguished career in law, in the Hamburg state legislature, in insurance administration, in foreign service, and in university teaching. Because of the broad range of his topic, he invites our questions in order to focus on the areas that most interest us. What better setting for this special cultural event than Stanford’s Bechtel International Center? We are hosting this event in collaboration with the International Center and hope that many of that academic community, as well as the general public, will come out to hear this distinguished speaker on this important topic. In other words, it’s a wonderful opportunity to invite guests for a rich cultural experience along with a festive celebration of our club’s 23 year history. Come share some birthday cake and, as always, lively conversation with your world traveling friends! Directions
from Interstate 101: Directions
from Interstate 280: AREA COORDINATORS The Area Coordinators Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 26, 2007 at Dee Gustavson’s home at 10:30 a.m. (Note the date change!) I’ll send out notices to the coordinators. —June Cademartori, Area Group Coordinator
CENTRAL PENINSULA & SOUTH BAY AREAS Thirty excited, energetic, and enthusiastic Friendship Force members and guests from the Central Peninsula and South Bay areas met for breakfast at Buck’s Restaurant in Woodside on January 25. They were a lively bunch, absorbed in reading and studying the various artifacts and antiques surrounding them in the ‘museum’ that were collected by owner Jamis McNiven. Faye Ebner brought friends Pat Cuendet and Catherine McCollom, who arrived as guests but departed as members. What a great way to start out the day! —Dee Gustavson, Central Peninsula Coordinator
SPEAKER'S
BUREAU STILL HAS You may have read my recent excited email about the success of our first speaking engagement. Barry Rader and I spoke at Allen Shelton’s Kiwanis Club at Coyote Point in San Mateo on March 13. We were pleased to use a new 6-minute DVD introducing Friendship Force—just released at the 30th Anniversary FFI Conference. It’s a thoroughly professional, upbeat production that concisely defines our unique homestay concept. We followed that up with a 15-minute flip chart presentation and then entertained questions. It works out to a 30-minute presentation. We hope to acquire a projector for PowerPoint presentations soon to accommodate larger audiences. To be specific, we expect a large crowd at the Fremont Elks’ Lodge on April 18, when we will address a chapter of the California Retired Teachers’ Association. We have two smaller groups lined up for the near future. As busy as this may sound, we can make room on our calendars for bookings on both sides of the Bay! We need to get our West Bay speakers involved, too. Go ahead—fill us up! —Karen L. McCready 2006 FFSFBA COMMITTEES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President:
Barry Rader President@ffsfba.org STANDING COMMITTEES Activities
Chair: Darlene
Boyanich Activities@ffsfba.org EXCHANGE DIRECTORS Inbound Outbound Domestic SUPPORT COMMITTEES Exchange
Banker: Herb
Clough ExchangeBanker@ffsfba.org 2006 CALENDAR
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