Friendship Connections The Friendship Force of Oregon s Mid-Willamette Valley October, 2017 OCTOBER GATHERING BY KATHY BUTLER The October general meeting will be held on Sunday, October 15, at 2pm, at Salem Senior Living at Hidden Lakes, 400 Madrona Ave. SE, 97302. We met there at least a couple of times a few years ago. Members with last names starting with A through M, please bring finger foods. Coffee and tea will be available. OCTOBER BOARD MEETING BY KATHY BUTLER In October, our board meeting will be held on Thursday, October 12, at 1pm, at the main branch of the Albany Public Library, in the small conference room upstairs. The address is 2450 14 th Ave SE. All members are welcome to attend. 1 P a g e
C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S OCTOBER 10, 11:30AM, MEG LUNCHEON MCGRATH S FISH HOUSE, 3805 CENTER ST NE, SALEM OCTOBER 12, 1PM, OCTOBER BOARD MEETING ALBANY PUBLIC LIBRARY, 2450 14 TH AVE SE, ALBANY OCTOBER 15, 2PM, OCTOBER GATHERING SALEM SENIOR LIVING AT HIDDEN LAKES, 400 MADRONA AVE SE, SALEM OCTOBER 19, GEORGIA JOURNEY DEPARTS NOVEMBER 1, GEORGIA JOURNEY RETURNS S U N S H I N E N EWS Contact Sue Stein, 541-791-7144, with news. Dear Friends, PRESIDENT S MESSAGE BY JOHN WOLCOTT It s certainly a busy time for some of our members with Journeys in August, September and October. That s probably too close together for those who want to participate in each one. It s particularly a problem if someone picks up a bug during the trip or on the way home and needs time to recuperate after returning home. We should probably try to space things out a bit more. Some outbound trips to warm climates in January and February when it s cold and gray in Oregon would be a good idea, too. On both of the last two trips I have taken I came home with a bronchial condition that I picked up on the plane returning home. Both times it lasted a month or more. I m realizing that as I age my body takes longer to heal. There are pills such as Airborne, containing herbs and minerals that supposedly give your immune system a boost when exposed to germs while travelling. They may help and it is worth trying. For our upcoming Georgia trip, I have purchased a gadget called a Mini-mate Ionic Air Supply. It s a plastic pendant on a cord that you hang around your neck and turn on to ionize the air around your face, supposedly removing pollutants and germs. I don t know if it will help, but I ll give it a try and let you know how it works. Stay well! John Friendship Force Pledge As a member of the Friendship Force, I recognize that I can make a difference. I recognize that I have a mission. That mission is to be a friend to the people of the world. As I embark upon this adventure, I know that others will be watching me. I know that through my example to my fellow citizens and the people of other nations, the cause of friendship, love and peace can be furthered. I can make a difference. This Issue of Connections, and more information about our club, may be found on our website: http://www.fforegon.org Contact us at: fforegon@comcast.net or PO Box 1703, Albany, Oregon 97321 2 P a g e
40 TH ANNIVERSARY WORLD CONFERENCE BY MARILYN PETERSON In August, Nancy Hoecker and Marilyn Peterson attended the 40th Anniversary World Conference in Manchester, England. The conference will be the subject of the October 15 general meeting. Imagine celebrating Friendship Force s 40th Anniversary by dining under the Concorde, hearing Jeremi Snook s address on My Side of the Mountain and enjoying the hospitality of Manchester. 3 P a g e
FFOMWV GOES TO INDONESIA IN 2017 BY TED POWELL Our club was assigned Malang and Denpasar last year. After an "oh why not moment", Van and I stepped forward. We sorted a path over the months that allowed a "Journey" that took us to Hsinchu, Taiwan as a stop-over. Hsinchu club members were our club's guests last year and we had been their first inbound three years back. We knew this club and without hesitation they allowed us to stop in. Travel deep in Asia can stretch easily from 24 hours door to door to double that. Experience told us we would not be in good condition if we had gone straight through to Malang. We were 13 Ambassadors from MWVFF (including 2 in our club from Tucson) and 6 from Florida, Texas, England, Wisconsin and Canada. Yes, we were diverse but all experienced Ambassadors. Taiwan did not disappoint, three nights and four days of things we did not see before, rides into the beautiful hills to visit fish trails and an indigenous tribe that predated the migration from the mainland in 1950. Hunters and dancers, they were, and keepers of knowledge and nature. Most of us got face-painted with smudges and drank some awful tasting rice wine. I had to link arms and drink with the Chief nose to nose from the same cup -- I hope we are not married now. Arrows were shot and we all got on the bus with no blood spilled. School kids performed a tea ceremony. Zumba dancing at the farewell party warmed us up. Chinese food in Taiwan is a notch above in my opinion. We ate our way to the end of our stay and off to the airport we went having dodged an incoming typhoon. Taipei to Singapore to Surabaya East Java: The FF club in Surabaya greeted us at the airport with a bus and took us to our hotel. We met more of their members and President in the morning, great folks! Tom came with a bus from Malang to collect his new flock of chickens. Several hours later we arrived in Malang and met our hosts at "My Little Farm" the house and hectare of Tom the Host Coordinator and his wife Tedja, club President. Sadly, just 40 days prior to our being in Malang, Tedja passed away unexpectedly in the night. Tom was brave, supported by daughter Tia and sister-in-law Kira who is club Secretary. We are Friendship Force and the week was dedicated to Tedja and indeed she smiled upon us. We had visits to an English language school for underprivileged that took students from primary through to college age. Their methods were games in English and other non-conventional ways to get English 4 P a g e
embedded as a way out of poverty. We saw a school for traditional dance with mask-making. Some of us painted wood masks that the experts "touched up". 5 P a g e
The days passed and we had to be up one morning and on the bus at 1 AM! Off to Bromo! no not seltzer, the volcano, so we could experience sunrise. We transferred from our bus to Toyota Land Cruisers from a bygone era that took us up and up in the dark. Then we got out, and went on by foot up and down the hills and shivered as the sun jacked itself up over the horizon line revealing a land filled with volcanic ash in the valley around many cinder cones including Bromo. Just for us, Bromo puffed a little cloud or two. Back in the Land Cruisers we went out on the ash and had bite of breakfast, like being on the salt flats. Naps that afternoon. We went to Merdeka University and spoke to students and to teachers about our life in the USA, I noted differences in Oregon from other states and Karen from Florida helped reinforce the contrasts. We visited a big zoo before saying goodbye. FYI: all of Java is 1/2 the size of Oregon, yet has 240 million people compared to our 4.1 million. We arrived in Denpasar the capitol city of Bali, 4 million folks in an area 2% of the land size of Oregon, are you getting a picture of density? This is a new club so FF mentors were on hand for the welcome. Bali is majority Hindu yet many Muslim households were hosting. We saw temples, a university with IT and Culture co-majors, Balinese dance, Kuta Beach, open air museums, natural hot springs, a princess at a resort that seemed perfect for honeymooners and many sunsets. This is a club that is learning and we had Ambassadors that needed to be adaptive as hosting homes were not in big supply. I can see a great club in the making. 6 P a g e
We flew out before the volcano let loose, it was 36 miles from Denpasar. Boom, we were in Hong Kong at a hotel for two nights. We visited the HK Museum of History and the Science Museum and moved to the "Island" to visit "The Peak" via tram. Looked short on the map but indeed it was up and down and took us into the underground through many layers of subway tunnels and escalators. Hot and humid we made it to the top. Nobody complained on our last morning when the HK Museum of Art was closed for renovation, we deserved a day off. Van and I want to thank our Ambassadors who made this a great Journey and to our great Hosts and Hosting Clubs that make the Friendship Force experience memorable. Terima Kasih, Ted Powell Co-Journey Coordinator 7 P a g e
FRIENDSHIP CONNECTIONS NEEDS A J O U R N E Y S A N D C O N F E R E N C E S 2017 INBOUND: June: Big Canoe/North Georgia USA August: Solar Eclipse Global Journey 2017 OUTBOUND September: Indonesia October: Big Canoe/North Georgia USA Deadline for November Friendship Connections is October 25. Send copy to duval15@comcast.net Thanks! Chris Duval, Editor NEW EDITOR! BY CHRIS DUVAL In order to focus on her new role as club President, Chris Duval will need to find another club member to take on editing the monthly newsletter. The newsletter is done in Word currently, and is not difficult for a Word user to put together. And it could be done in another software program if you are more familiar with another. The newsletter editor is a member of the board and as such, attends the board meetings each month. The newsletter itself takes a few hours over two or three days to put together at the end of each month. Chris indicates that she can provide the new editor with all the training needed! If you think you might want to take this role on, please let Chris know. She is willing to continue through December, but then needs to retire to focus on presidential matters. She says she likes doing the newsletter so much, though, that she ll gladly take it back on in the future when she is no longer serving as an officer. Chris Duval can be reached at 971-218-0361. Give her a call if you have questions or think you might be a good fit for this role. Thanks! Our club is on Facebook. Please LIKE us at: The Friendship Force of Oregon s Mid-Willamette Valley. Membership Application or Renewal Please complete one form for each member. Annual dues cover the cost of the monthly newsletter and expenses for Journeys and activities of the Friendship Force of Oregon s Mid-Willamette Valley, as well as membership in Friendship Force International, which provides discounted prices on Journey travel and other benefits. Memberships expire on December 31, 2017. Please PRINT clearly. Annual dues: Individual: $30.00 This is a NEW or RENEWAL application. Name: (one person per form, please) Address: City: State: Zip: Phone: Cell: Email: Mail to: Friendship Force, P.O. Box 1703, Albany, OR 97321 8 P a g e
MEG MEET, EAT, GREET (GET ACQUAINTED) LUNCHEONS BY JANE RAKONCZAY The fall kick-off for our MEG luncheons will be held on Tuesday, October 10 th at 11:30am, at McGrath s Fish House, 3805 Center St NE, Salem. This is an opportunity for new members to get to know others, as well as for longer term members to deepen their friendships with each other. We will have an opportunity to discuss past experiences that broadened our cultural understanding, as well as ideas for future journeys. Please let Jane know by Saturday, October 7 th if you plan to come to the luncheon, so that she can ensure we have enough places reserved at the table. Jane can be reached at 503-559-2294, or jrakonczay@aol.com. Hope to see you there! Board of Directors 2017 Elected Officers: President: John Wolcott, Corvallis 541-230-5336 johnwolcott@mail.com Vice President: Kathy Butler, Albany 541-926-9897 4192butlerkw@comcast.net Secretary: Nancye Ballard, Corvallis 541-752-4441 ballardjn@gmail.com Treasurer: Van Nichols, Salem 503-581-1414 vpncheer@comcast.net Appointed Chairpersons: Newsletter Editor Chris Duval, Salem 971-218-0361 duval15@comcast.net Membership: Currently unfilled. If you would like to volunteer, contact John Wolcott. Journey Coordinator: Pat Byers, Shedd 541-738-7000 pmac@proaxis.com Journey Treasurer: Peter Harr, Corvallis 541-752-0990 harrhaus3@comcast.net Journey Coordinators: Inbound: June, 2017 Big Canoe/North Georgia Journey Coordinators Rita Powell and Chris Duval August, 2017 Solar Eclipse Global JCs Marilyn Peterson, Interns Dennis Murphy and Mary Ellen Lind Outbound: September, 2017 Indonesia JCs Ted Powell and Van Nichols October, 2017 Big Canoe, GA JCs John Wolcott and Gail Wolcott ===================================================================================== Other Leadership Positions: Website: Marilyn Peterson, Albany 541-926-7431 peterson.marilyn@comcast.net Membership Outreach: Caye Poe, Dayton 503-864-3933 johnfrancis4444@comcast.net John Francis, Dayton 503-864-3933 ladycaye001@comcast.net Inventory & Merchandise Rita Powell, Dallas 503-831-3755 deerpathrita@gmail.com Sunshine: Sue Stein, Albany 541-791-7144 sstein12345@comcast.net Historian: Kathy Butler, Albany 541-926-9897 4192butlerkw@comcast.net Archivist: Rosella Workinger, Albany 541-926-4105 rworkinger@comcast.net Friendship Shared: Van Nichols, Salem 503-581-1414 vpncheer@comcast.net Navigators Barb Callner, Albany 541-928-5550 smilecall@hotmail.com Meet, Eat & Get Acquainted: Jane Rakonczay, Salem 503-559-2294 jrakonczay@aol.com 9 P a g e