This is my last column as President of Friendship Force of Charlottesville. It has truly been a pleasure to serve the club in this capacity for the past year and as an officer for the previous two years. What has made it such a pleasure is the willingness of most club members to accept responsibilities and carry them out. Many of you don't seem to have the word "No!" on your vocabularies.
The Costa Rica Fiesta at the North Side Library was a big success. Thanks go to Rita Stoll and Arlene Bandy for organizing it and to the many others who contributed. We already have one new member and several more prospects as a result. They have been invited to join us at our next general meeting in January.
The Christmas Party was an enjoyable event and special thanks to our Social Chairman, Joan Sours. The gifts were unique as always. Mine was a brass water faucet with the handle in the form of a frog. I can even put that to good use so thanks to the giver whoever you were.
There were some significant actions taken at the December Board of Directors meeting. The Board formally adopted the policies on Outbound Exchange Director's Compensation and Physical Fitness Requirements for Ambassadors.
The Board also addressed the problem of the accumulation of gifts received from other clubs over the past years. While these include some very nice objects, we have no permanent place to display them and for the past years, they have been out of sight in someone's basement or garage. It was decided that we dispose of these gifts by means of a silent auction at our "World Friendship Day" event on March 1, 2005.
So think back to that exchange you enjoyed with the club in Australia, Brazil, Germany or elsewhere and come prepared to bid on a nice article of memorabilia.
Friendship Force International is embarking on a program to develop new clubs especially in areas of the world where there are few or none. For example, currently there is not a single club in Spain, Portugal or Greece, only two each in Italy and France and only three in all of Scandinavia. It is an expensive process to start clubs in countries where there are none or few, requiring publicity, visits by staff or members from other countries, printing, postage, phone and e-mail etc.
FFI is embarking on a new program called Legacy Drive intended to create 30 new clubs around the world with emphasis on countries where we have little or no presence currently. They are soliciting contributions from existing clubs in the form of pledges over the next three years to support this effort. The Board voted to contribute $500 for 2005 with the intention of continuing support in the years following if our circumstances permit. You will be hearing more about this program as it develops in 2005.
Your 2005 dues notice is being sent with this issue of The Ambassador. New Treasurer Dave Ahearn will be most happy to receive you checks either in the mail or at the meeting at the Ponderosa on January 4.
Again, I want to thank everyone for making 2004 such a good year for Friendship Force of Charlottesville and wish everyone a very Happy 2005.
Next General Meeting, January 4 The next general meeting of Friendship Force of Charlottesville will be held at the Ponderosa Restaurant on Tuesday, January 4. Our speaker will be the irrepressible Mark Dryer whose topic will be "English Pubs". Dinner (optional) will be at 5:45 and the meeting will start at 6:45.
We wrapped up (pun intended) the 2004 fund raising activities with the Barnes & Noble gift wrapping. It was a very successful endeavor. The Club's volunteers wrapped six days from 9 AM until 4 PM. The effort yielded some $457.
The return on our efforts was better this year because we had more days to wrap and the wrapping location was much more conspicuous this year. Many thanks go to the 25 members that volunteered to wrap.
As I prepare to assume the role of president, I have become aware of the work, effort and care that Chuck Johnson has extended on behalf of the club, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him sincerely for all his hard work.
With the New Year rapidly approaching, it looks as if we are going to have another busy and exciting time ahead in 2005.
On March 1st 1977, President Jimmy Carter announced the formation of The Friendship Force. Friendship Force International has selected this day as "Friendship Day Around the World" and is establishing this as the official anniversary date for the entire organization.
In 2005, Friendship Force members around the globe will prove that the sun never sets on friendship. On that day, 300-plus Friendship Force clubs will each hold a party honoring the legacy of Friendship Force founder, Wayne Smith. Starting at 6pm local time in New Zealand, new parties will begin hourly for the next 24 hours as the sun makes its way around the globe.
The entire event will be linked by the internet. There will be a special website dedicated to the event, so clubs can log-on, record participation and also track the progress of the global party.
Therefore, in place of our regular March meeting we are planning a special event, at a venue to be determined, with advance publicity and media coverage, and probably open to the general public, with the objectives of raising funds for FFI, initiating a drive for new members, and celebrating the occasion. The silent auction of exchange gifts will be held at this gathering.
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference will be held in Harrisburg, PA from April 8th to 10th, with an optional home stay at Harrisburg or Lancaster available from the 10th - 14th. If you are interested in attending, please contact me for an application form. Further details will be available at the next meeting.
Congratulations to Ann Farwell and the gift-wrappers at Barnes and Noble, who have raised a very respectable $ 457, for their efforts.
We have been offered an opportunity for an outbound Exchange in conjunction with the Charlotte club to Varel in Northern Germany, from April 25 to May 9th. This can include a week of touring in East Germany. This follows immediately after our inbound exchange from Great Falls, MT during Garden Week, but it may be a good chance for some of us to get abroad.
A college student at a recent USC football game challenged a senior citizen sitting next to him, saying it was impossible for their generation to understand his. "You grew up in a different world," the student said loud enough for the whole crowd to hear.
"Today we have television, jet planes, space travel, man has walked on the Moon, our spaceships have visited Mars, we even have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light-speed processing ... and uh…."
Taking advantage of a pause in the student's litany, the geezer said, "You're right. We didn't have those things when we were young; so we invented them, you little twit! What the hell are you doing for the next generation??"
Sarah Litchfield, 13 Leisure Court
Palmyra, VA 22963
(434) 589-1843 shadtowtab@aol.com
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The Ambassador Friendship Force of Charlottesville, Virginia Kenneth G. Smith, Editor 9 Leisure Court Lake Monticello, VA 22963