Dear Friends:

Here we are again, and by the time you read this letter almost three quarters of the year, my presidential year, will be over. I have enjoyed the year, and I hope you, my friends, will have enjoyed our Friendship Force year as well.

Our next important event will be the inbound exchange from Oklahoma and Florida and I am happy to report that plans for this exchange are proceeding well under the capable hands of our ED, Walter and Ellen Lindenmann, and the home host organizer, Cheryl Kasper. We will be having our September meeting during the exchange and we hope to entertain our ambassadors for this event at the JAG school. The meeting will be preceded by dinner at Carmellos restaurant and you will be receiving notice of these events in due course.

At the meeting we will be receiving the report of the nominating committee chair, Rita Stoll, with the nominations for next year's officers and if there are any additional nominations they may be proposed from the floor at this meeting. Nominations will then be closed and the election will be held at our November meeting.

You will also be receiving the latest report on our Bylaws from our honorable Parliamentarian, Margaret Dryer.

Also annual dues should be paid at the November meeting.

As you all know, our exchanges for 2008 are an outbound to Calgary, Canada in early July (the exact dates have not yet been set) for which the ED is Bev. Hankins; and an inbound from Hamburg, Germany on September 18 through 25, 2008 with Bob Schwagerl as ED. Further details about these exchanges will be circulated.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all new members and to remind them that we are all FRIENDS and we are happy that they have joined our world-wide family.

Margaret and I recently visited Ann Farwell and she was delighted to see someone from the Friendship Force and we were very pleased to lighten up her day. If you have a chance visit her at Rosewood Village, 500 Greenbrier Drive or phone her at 964-4604.

And to everyone I wish you joy and friendship.

In friendship,

              Mark

Upcoming Exchange

As you all know by now, the Oklahoma-Sarasota Inbound Exchange begins on Saturday, Sept. 22 when the ambassadors arrive and runs until Saturday, Sept. 29 when they depart. We have 20 ambassadors arriving --- 11 from Oklahoma and 9 from Florida --- and we're looking forward to a great exchange.

You should have seen the itinerary/reservation form, but in case it has been misplaced it is repeated in the newsletter. If you are going to participate in any way --- as a home host, day host, small dinner party host or just as a participant at one or more of the events --- it is important that you fill out and return the form, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

As noted on the Reservation Form, your checks and your reservation form need to be mailed to Dee Schwagerl and arrive at her house by no later than Friday, September 7.

If you have questions, please contact us either by e-mail at lindenmann@cstone.net or by phone at 434-589-5822.

              Ellen and Walter Lindenmann
              Inbound Exchange Directors

Where to Next?

If you have been with Friendship Force for any time you know that we are asked what countries we would like to exchange to in the future. Our choice is coming up shortly for the year 2009 and so now is the time to be thinking of where you would like to go. We are asked to list our top 3 choices and these could be regions of the world, not just countries. Atlanta has stated that emphasis is going to be placed on the mission of Friendship Force early on, and ask that clubs consider our mission when responding and making their selections. In recent years there has been a sense that Friendship Force might be perceived as a travel club, which of course it is not. After our requests are sent to Atlanta they use a number of criteria to decide what exchanges are to be made. Some of these criteria include:

Exchange History: Clubs are most likely to be assigned exchanges to regions of the world where they have not traveled recently. Equally, your club will most likely not be assigned to a club or country which has hosted groups from your country recently or frequently.

Cooperative Exchanges: If your club's recent exchange history shows you are finding it difficult to recruit full outbound exchanges, you may be paired with another club in your region for your exchanges. If you are requesting to be paired with a specific club, we ask that both clubs submit the same travel months and country preferences.

Reciprocity: Whenever feasible, clubs are assigned the same number of outbound exchange weeks as they are willing to host in a calendar year.

Return Exchanges: FFI encourages requests from clubs who would like to visit a club they have hosted, or from clubs who would like to host a club they have visited. Please indicate this at the end of the form, in the comments section.

In the past clubs have had the opportunity to have two back-to-back exchanges with different clubs. This is going to be rarer and Atlanta prefers that clubs have an exchange in conjunction with a week private tour.

Get ready.

What's in a Name

              By Wayne Smith
              Former President

Periodically I receive inquiries from our members regarding the name of our organization. In particular, they ask about the use of two words that, in the English language, are not usually associated with each other: the universally acceptable and pleasing concept of friendship with the more aggressive word force. Since names are important to all of us, it is good to reflect on our name, The Friendship Force.

When The Friendship Force was established in 1977, the name was carefully selected. Friendship, rather than peace, would be the primary concept. As individuals, we may not be able to create peace single-handedly, but we certainly know how to make friends. Furthermore, the underlying philosophy of our organization is that friendships across international barriers can be a powerful force in creating a more peaceful world. Hence our motto, "a world of friends is a world of peace."

Think about it: the force of friendship. Over the centuries, people of the world have dealt with their enemies by conquering or killing them - using what we call in English "armed forces." We in The Friendship Force know that it is possible to deal with strangers and their differences - not through arms that shoot and kill, but through the arms of friends that embrace. Can we live in each other's homes, share each other's meals, play with each other's children, and still be enemies?

Therefore, one reason for using force in our name is to convey the power of friendship. But there is another reason. Force, in English, is also used as a synonym for army. Here again the association is accurate. Don't we want to be a friendship army . . . a friendship force? When thought of in these terms, we see that the use of the word force can help convey that what we do as individuals does not stand in isolation but is part of a worldwide movement ... an army or force for friendship whose goal is to use friendship as the means to achieve a better world.

So you see, I like the second word in our name, force, almost as much as I do the first one, friendship. By combining the two, we are able to create the image, and the reality, of the power of friendship - the force of friendship - but only if we are willing to be part of a global army, or force for friendship. We call it The Friendship Force.

Reprinted from the January/February, 1997 issue of Friendship magazine.

General Meeting Minutes - July 14, 2007

The bi-monthly meeting at Bob & Dee Schwagerl's home was called to order at 3:30 p. m. by President Mark Dryer. The Friendship Force Pledge was dispensed with. Mark welcomed two guests, Patsy Sclater and Colleen Harmon. Colleen Harmon was the guest of Tom Spraggins.

Minutes of the May 1, 2007 meeting were approved after corrections.

There was no treasurer's report.

Cheryl Kasper of the Fund Raising Committee reported that all the volunteer slots and backups are in place for the remaining "Friday after 5" Charlottesville Friendship Force 2007 commitments. Cookbooks, Pins and Tee-shirts are available for purchase.

Dee Schwagerl of the Social Chair thanked everyone for coming to the picnic. She said that everyone should be thinking about a site for the Holiday dinner. Time is getting short for finding a suitable place for the event.

Chuck Johnson gave a report on the JAG School students. There are three international students here now and they will leave early in October. Five new international students will be coming at the end of July.

Mark asked Chuck to secure a meeting room at the JAG School on September 24, 2007.

Chuck will get back to Mark to confirm the room at the JAG School. The plan is for the Friendship Force to meet at "Camello's of Charlottesville" for a meal and then go the JAG School for the meeting.

Mark said that the nomination committee should have a slate of officers for the coming year at the next meeting.

Margaret Dryer of the By-Laws committee said that by the September meeting a draft of the new By-Laws should be complete. The Secretary and Treasurer are allowed only to service two consecutive terms.

ED Walter Lindenmann, inbound exchange for Oklahoma and Sarasota, gave a report on the program of events that he and Ellen are planning for the exchange. There will be twenty people coming on the inbound Oklahoma/Sarasota exchange - eleven from Oklahoma and nine from Sarasota. They will be here from September 22 - 29, 2007.

Cheryl Kasper, home host Coordinator, has the list of inbound exchange people and encouraged members to sign up to host them. There was also a signup sheet asking for day hosting and small dinner parties.

There was no report on the outbound exchange to Calgary, Canada.

ED Bob Schwagerl, inbound exchange director for Hamburg, Germany, reported that they will arrive around the 18th or 20th of September 2008. The group will spent six days with us and then continue to Raleigh, North Carolina Friendship Force Club.

Bob Schwagerl reported that you can find information about the International Conference, Gold Coast, Australia (October) on the internet. He said it would nice to have a good representation from the Charlottesville Friendship Force.

Bob Schwagerl said that a special workshop for Exchange Director was held on June 10, 2007. The duties of an exchange director were explained to the fourteen participants.

It was decided the next meeting will be on September 24, 2007.

The presentation of Honorary Life Membership awards were presented by Bob Schwagerl. The Charlottesville Friendship Force has been in existence for about seventeen years. The Charter members that received the award were:

       Peggy & Kenneth Smith
       Pat & Chuck Barbour
       Marilyn Posten

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p. m.

Respectfully submitted,

              David Lea, Secretary