Letter from your President

This is my first formal communication, as President, to the members of the Friendship Force Club of Charlottesville (FFC) and I would like to wish you all a very happy and joyful New Year and, with your help, I hope that our club goes from strength to strength.

With the latter in mind, our next meeting, to be held at Jefferson Heights, 1550 Pantops Mountain Place, on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 (from 6.30pm), will be not only a 30th Anniversary celebration (for FFI) but also a special membership drive. Members are invited to bring guests and international desserts and there will be international folk-dancing introduced by Elias and Jane Plaza-Meyer. For more details please see our advertisement on the event. We are looking forward to a bumper turn-out for the Meeting.

I also wish to draw your attention to the 30th Anniversary Celebration and Conference in Atlanta on March 1 - 3. Our Club will be represented at the Conference and I hope to present a full report at our March Meeting.

I further wish to mention The Mid Atlantic Conference hosted by Friendship Force of Western North Carolina to be held at Asheville, North Carolina on April 27 - 29, 2007. Again our Club will be represented and I hope to report on this Conference at our May meeting.

As most of you are aware, our Club has an outbound exchange to Leicestershire, England from May 15 to May 22 with an add-on (optional) trip to York and Scotland. The Exchange Director is Helen Ida Moyer. At the time of this writing we have a sufficient number for the exchange to be a "GO" but anyone who has not yet signed up and is still interested should contact Helen Ida.

I am still endeavoring to arrange an inbound exchange for 2007, but have no news so far. Watch this space for future bulletins!

I have great news for next year. In July 2008 we have an Outbound Exchange to Calgary, Canada. Many of you will have fond memories of the inbound from Calgary some years ago and this exchange will provide a great opportunity to greet old friends. The Exchange Director for the Calgary outbound is Beverly A. Hankins and she will provide more details later. In 2008 we also have an Inbound Exchange from Hamburg, Germany and in this case the Exchange Director will be Brian Bouton who also will provide more details later.

And now, I again wish you all a wonderful year.

In friendship, Mark Dryer.

Big Celebration Event

As Friendship Force International celebrates its 30th Anniversary, clubs around the world will be joining in this historic celebration. Our Charlottesville Club has chosen this night for an important membership drive with delicious international desserts and an opportunity to learn and enjoy international dances. As we did in the Fall of 2005, we will have ads in the local paper advertising the event. We are inviting the Charlottesville community to join us and discover the adventure of being a member of Friendship Force.

Dear members, WE NEED YOUR HELP MOST OF ALL! This evening will be a spectacular of delicious desserts. We ask each member to search through their recipe box and prepare a dessert to serve 8 to 12 people. The range of desserts may include: cakes, pies, or cookies from your ethnic heritage, or perhaps your Mom or Grandma. Please call Dee Schwagerl @ 434-984-1490, by February 26 and say "Yes! I'll bring __________!" Dee will be making follow-up calls if you haven't been able to contact her. For those who are not bakers, there are many markets that have excellent prepared international desserts. If you are planning to be out of town on this evening we can arrange to pick up and store your contribution. This early response is required to enable us to plan towards the estimated number of attendees. (Note: dinner will not be catered this evening as has been done in the past.)

We hope to see all our members and hope that you will make every effort not only to bring a dessert, but also to invite your friends to join with us and learn about this wonderful world of Friendship Force!

JAG School International Student Update

Friendship Force members have been active as hosts for the International students at the JAG School again this year.

Hal and Barb Kelshaw are hosting Major Youn Suh Kee from Korea. In fact, Major Kee's ceremony of promotion from captain was held at the JAG School and Kelshaws were invited guests. Major Lee's wife, Heeseon Koh, 2-year old son Young Suh and niece Hyun Ju Kee, a junior in high school, flew from Korea to be with the Major for the ceremony.

The Kelshaws found themselves to be the center of attention when JAG school commandant Gen Butch Tate heaped praise on Friendship Force for the hosting program for the international students.

The Kelshaws have hosted Major Kee and his family on several occasions including Thanksgiving dinner, a basketball game, shopping, and a weekend at Lake Monticello which included attending church. They are looking forward to some golf this spring when the weather turns warm.

Major Kee hopes to land a position either at the International Court of Justice in The Hague or at the United Nations.

Jack and Sonia Davis are hosting Captain Ella Varytska from the Ukraine. She is here with he son, Vlad, who is attending school in Charlottesville. Cpt.Varytska's husband, Gemma, joined them for the Christmas holidays.

The Davis's took the Varytska family to visit Monticello and then hosted them for dinner on the day after Christmas. The exchange of gifts included a sweatshirt from Old Navy for Mr. Varystka who is a retired naval officer and a bottles of specially flavored Ukrainian vodka for the Jack and Sonia.

Lt. Alina Damian from Romania would have spent a very lonely Christmas were it not for Brian and Maryan Bouton who invited her to join them for the holiday. Brian says that she is a very fine person and was glad to have had the opportunity to have her in their home.

Chuck Johnson

Outbound Exchange to Leicestershire

We now have twelve FF members bound for Leicestershire on May 15: joining Lee and I are Mark and Margaret, Pat and her sister Lauretta, Dale, Dave, Mary from Orlando, Florida, Becky from Charlotte, NC and Vickie and Don from Harrisburg, PA. Many of us will be arriving a few days early in London to enjoy some sightseeing and visiting. On May 15 we shall be getting together at the St. Pancras (High Tower) Train Station in London to take the 1:55 pm train to Leicester arriving there around 3:15 pm. After our home stay in Leicester, Dale will be joining the US Gardeners Tour in Somerset while the rest of us will take a train on May 22 to York where we shall spend two days exploring this wonderful medieval city. Finally, on May 24 we take a train to Glasgow to begin our seven-day Globus bus tour of Scotland. On Thursday May 31, our journey together comes to an end as most of us will head back to the USA. We look forward to sharing the highlights of our exchange with you at our picnic in July!

30th Anniversary Celebration in Atlanta

In March 2007, Friendship Force International will mark 30 years of friend making and peace building! The worldwide celebration of this milestone will be held in over 350 communities around the globe throughout March, while the global celebration will be held in Atlanta, GA on March 1, 2007 at the new Georgia Aquarium. Friendship Force delegations from over 30 countries are expected to attend the Gala in Atlanta. This special celebration will include dinner, dancing, and entertainment. Over 350 delegates from various chapters are expected to join about 200 local area members and honored guests Mayor Shirley Franklin, Sen. Sam Nunn, and Ambassador Andy Young. Another exciting piece to the 30th Anniversary Celebration is the silent and online auction. The theme is "Discover the World" and all of the items in the auction will be travel related.

Following the celebration, on March 2 and 3, there will be an international conference. During the conference there will be seminars and city tours available. It will also be possible to arrange a Homestays in the Southeast: Georgia, Tennessee, North & South Carolina, and Alabama following the conference from March 3 to the 7.

General Meeting Minutes - January 2, 2007

The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by President Mark Dryer, who then led the group in one minute of silence to mark the passing of President Gerald R. Ford. Recitation of the Friendship Force pledge followed.

On behalf of the Club, Mark thanked all chairpersons who had served in the past year with special thanks extended to Doni Ahearn and Shirley Webster for making the Christmas party a great success. He also welcomed new member Linda Vargas.

The November 7, 2006 minutes as printed in the January 2007 newsletter were approved.

The Treasurer's Report was unavailable but will be presented at the March meeting. Collection of 2007 membership dues ($27/single; $50/couple) is underway.

In Committee reports:

• Fund Raising …Cheryl Kasper will again work on Friday After Five events but needs a co-chair to help with scheduling. Ann Farwell offered to assist.
• Social …Shirley Webster wishes to be replaced as co-chair. Dee Schwagerl volunteered on condition that Doni Ahearn continues.
• Jag School …Seven new students will arrive in May. At a promotion ceremony in December for Major Kee of South Korea, General Tate praised FFC for the support it gives JAG's international students. Barbara and Harold Kelshaw represented the Club at the ceremony.

The May 2007 Outbound Exchange to Leicester, England was discussed by EDs Helen Ida and LeRoy Moyer. The home stay portion of the trip runs from May 15-22, followed by a Globus bus tour of Scotland, ending May 31. Total cost is $2000 plus airfare. We must guarantee 10 ambassadors; so far seven have signed on. The additional three or more are needed by the deposit deadline of January 16. Final payment is due February 24.

Bob Schwagerl described another exchange opportunity: a trip to Norway, announced through Atlanta with Bob as ED. It consists of a day-hosted (not home-hosted) week in Bergen, a one-week cruise to Kirkenes followed by a flight to Oslo. Dates are June 8 to June 22. Cost is $3600, which covers hotels, cruise and plane but not transatlantic fare.

The Mid-Atlantic Conference in Asheville, N.C. will take place April 27-29. Total cost, which includes meals and stay, is $200. Deadline for deposits is January 15.

Bob also reminded the group of the January 5 registration deadline for the 30th anniversary conference to be held in Atlanta on March 1. For information, email www.friendshipforce.org/atlanta2007.htm

Outgoing President Rita Stoll was honored with a gift from the Club in appreciation for all her efforts on behalf of FFC in 2006.

Gary Ziemer proposed that a motion be made to move only the January meeting to the second Tuesday in order to ensure increased participation. Since a quorum was not present, it was proposed that a vote take place at the March meeting. Notice of the upcoming vote will appear in the next newsletter.

It was also proposed that the March meeting be changed to March 13 in order to give the people attending the Atlanta conference opportunity to participate. The meeting will again be held at Jefferson Heights at Pantops. The Club's 30th anniversary celebration will also be moved to that date. Maryam and Brian Bouton volunteered to organize the entertainment, which will include folk dancing. John Webster noted that corrections should be made to the previously approved November 7, 2006 minutes, which list dates in March that are no longer applicable.

It was also decided to incorporate the Club's annual membership drive into the March 13 celebration. Membership Chair Brian Bouton will head the effort.

Pat Travers and Frank Saurman will each host a guest from Besancon, France during Garden Week, starting April 21. Pat has invited anyone who took part in the Besancon exchange to get involved.

John Webster asked if any inbound exchanges have been assigned this year. Mark has had no word of any; Bob Schwagerl will make inquiries when in contact with Atlanta.

Peter Almonte won the cash drawing.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Kelshaw
Secretary