From our Council Leader, Sue Moyer 2014 WC FF Calendar May 2-3 SLC Regional Conf. May 8, 2014, 6:15pm Meeting at Community Hospital June 12, 2014 6:15pm Meeting at Community Hospital Oct. 14-16, 2014 World Conference in Auckland, NZ Sept. 11-14, 2015 World Conference in Vancouver, Canada I am writing this on a rainy April morning when I feel like spring is really here. My tulips are blooming and the birds are singing. May is going to be a busy month for us at Friendship Force. Several of our members are heading to Salt Lake City for our Regional meeting May 2-4. It should be a great meeting, especially because Joy DiBenedetto will be present to tell us about all the new ideas coming from Atlanta and other clubs. The German American Club s Maifest is on May 4 th at Country Inns on Horizon Drive (the same place as Fasching was). The party starts at 2 pm and goes to 5 pm. There will be food available for purchase. The Moscow exchange is from May 27 to June 3. We have a number of events that will require reservations and some require prepayment so we can pay as a group. In the exchange news section, we will have a list of these activities and the cost associated with them. We will need the money at the May 8 th meeting to reserve your spot. Our May 8 th meeting will focus on the Moscow exchange. Please try to attend and you will learn all the ins and outs of the exchange. We will also have sign-up sheets for the side dishes for our Thanksgiving Welcome Party. As I promised last meeting, as soon as the agenda is finalized, I ll email it out. If your email isn t in the club membership booklet, please send it to me.
Western Colorado Chapter s Leadership Council Council Coordinator Sue Moyer 242-5999 stmoyer@bresnan.net Secretary/Historian Carol DeAngelis 250-6280 caroldeangelis@bresnan.net Treasurer Claudia Waterman 243-2160 cjh2oman@yahoo.com Events Coordinator Kathy Nielsen 245-7965 knielsen101@msn.com Membership Sue Palmer 241-9122 alfshouse12@hotmail.com Publicity Jim Witt/Sue Palmer 242-2657 jkwitt811@aol.com Newsletter Holly Mattson 773-3518 epeya2@gmail.com On Sale now! Water Bottles for $5.00, Ball Caps for $18.00, & nametags $10.50. Cross Orchards Historic Site Spring Day May 3, Heritage Day -June 7 Picnic at the Western Colorado Botanical May 1 5-7:30 PM free tours available Call 244-5526 Pickleball Clinics 5/17, 6/21, 7/12 Parks & Rec. Hike: Devil s Canyon McInnis Canyon May 30 Parks & Rec. Beginning Line Dance 6/2-6/23 $12. Parks & Rec Senior Games August 23-29, 2014 Parks & Recreation Other Bingo Opportunities are: GJ Senior Recreation Center: Tuesday 1:30 pm & Saturday 1:00 pm Moose Lodge: Tuesday 7:00 pm & Sunday 1:30 pm Jo Ring May 12 Shirley Schult May 13 Kathleen Davis May 26 Shirley Powell May 30
. MOSCOW INBOUND MAY 27 to JUNE 3 2014 ED s - SUE MOYER CINDY BECKAGE We are firming up the home host list and will be scheduling the Farewell Party as soon as we get flight times from the Russians. Some extra activities which cost extra or we need a head count have been planned and we will be taking reservations and checks at the May 8 th meeting. Wednesday, May 28, 11:30 am - Lunch at the Rockslide during our downtown visit. We will be making reservations and need to know if you plan to attend. We order off the menu and pay separately. We will also have a sign up sheet for the Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday evening at the meeting. Thursday, May 29, leave at 8:15 am Trip to Glenwood Hot Springs with box lunch from Berna B s. Cost is $35 for pool admission and lunch. If you just want to drive ambassadors and have lunch and spend the time in Glenwood, rather than doing the Hot Springs, you can opt out of the $35 cost. Thursday evening we are planning to go to the evening JUCO game. Claudia has arranged to get us tickets at no cost. If you want to go, we need to know by the meeting, so we can get the right number of tickets. Friday, May 30, 9:30 am A float trip on Colorado River and lunch at Rim Rock Adventures is $40. Lunch will be followed with a trip to Colorado National Monument. Drivers for the afternoon do not need to go on the float trip. Saturday, May 31, 5 pm Dinner at Varaison Vinyards and Winery, Palisade. This will be a western style dinner with wine, a presentation on wines and the vineyards and entertainment. The cost is $30 for club members. We need to prepay this, so need your money at the meeting. We will also be spending the afternoon in Palisade visiting downtown. Monday, June 2, 8:15 am Trip to Arches. Visit the Movie Museum at Redcliff Lodge, have lunch at Adrift Adventures in Moab, visit Arches in a bus with a guide. Cost for lunch and guided bus trip is $64. If you want to go drive ambassadors to Moab and not participate in the prepaid lunch and park trip, you can have lunch on your own and spend time in Moab, meeting back up with us at about 3-3:30 pm to drive home. If you are interested in participating in any of these activities but won t be at the May Meeting, please contact either Sue Moyer 242-5999 or Cindy Beckage 4240419 no later than May 8 th. Drivers! If you haven t already given your vehicle and insurance information to Barbara Sundermeier, please bring it to the May meeting. OREGON OUTBOUND JULY 8 14 2014 No local ED required now We are joining Baton Rouge in this exchange to Oregon. Five members of our club and two members of Front Range clubs are going on this exchange in addition to the ambassadors from Baton Rouge. Exchange news continues on page 6.
MAIFEST A CELEBRATION OF SPRING PLACE: Country Inns of America, 718 Horizon DR DATE: SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2014 TIME: 2 TO 5 PM MUSIC: ALPINE ECHO FEE: $5 COVER CHARGE for the Band & Snacks DRINKS: AVAILABLE FROM THE BAR & Popcorn Maifest 2011 Alpine Echo with Charlotte Zangerle, Hans Rieger and Alpine Echo Band Members L-R Joe Pologar, Johny Pataky and Gerhard Rill in the Background! Sponsored by the German American Club of Western Colorado and Country Inns of America; both on Facebook!
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS I have more introductions of 2 great new members joining us. Carol DeAngelis, who was referred by Sue Moyer, is a great addition to the club. She s getting involved right away. She agreed to be Council Secretary; plus Carol and her husband are going to home host one of our Russian women visitors. Please take time to introduce yourself to Carol and make her feel WELCOME at our next meeting. Thank you. Sue Palmer MEET Carol DeAngelis: Carol was raised as a coal miner s daughter from Trinidad, Colorado. She lived there through junior college. Occasionally she would go to the Big City of Pueblo to shop and go to the state fair! She attended Colorado State University and graduated as a Civil Engineer. Carol worked for the Bureau of Reclamation for 34 years in Denver, Salt Lake City and GJ. She held several occupations during her career; designed structures; inspected dams; managed people. She worked as an Area Manager for Western Colorado and part of New Mexico for 18 years. Italy is #1 on her Bucket List (because she s Italian and had relatives that live in Italy); she would like to travel to Spain and the entire Mediterranean (Loves wine!!) Carol enjoys traveling and visited Mazatlán; Jamaica; St. Maarten; St. Croix; Rum Cay; Bahamas; Cabo San Lucas. She also loved traveling to San Diego, Washington DC, New Orleans, San Antonio and the Pacific Northwest.. Carol likes the concept of Friendship Force Clubs fostering friendships, which inspires closer relationships with people you are visiting or hosting rather than being a tourist. Carol volunteers at the Literacy Center of the Library to help folks learn English. She loves to entertain and cook. She enjoys hiking, playing the piano, singing, gardening and making wine. She looks forward to being part of Friendship Force of Western Colorado. She is willing to home host, drive and dinner parties. She can enhance our club with her excellent organizational skills!
I m pleased to introduce Bev Campos, a new member, who also has lots to offer. Please give her a warm WELCOME at the next meeting. MEET Bev Campos: Bev grew up in Madison, Wisconsin till the age of 12. Her family moved to St. Petersburg Florida where she graduated from high school. She also lived in Kansas for several years. She moved to Grand Junction in 1965. Bev s has been a RN for over 40 years. During her career she taught nursing to students, some of them were RN s and Doctors. She has done Home Health care in the valley for several years. Her priority Bucket List is Australia and Germany. Throughout her busy career she s had the opportunity to travel to Machu Picchu, Peru, Mexico, China, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Canada. Bev likes the friendliness of club members and is looking forward to meeting new people. She has a good knowledge of the grand valley and is willing to drive, day host, home host, and help with dinners and potlucks. As the saying goes ---- Once a nurse always a nurse. Bev has also offered her expertise in health care for any medical emergency that may occur. (Heaven forbid!) Exchange News Continued: CONNECTICUT OUTBOUND 3 rd WK of OCTOBER 2014 ED s SUE PALMER & NANCY GALBRAITH We ve gotten a great response on this Connecticut Exchange with an optional week in New York City. We currently have only ONE spot left for this exchange. ED s are working together to set up an exciting exchange in beautiful Connecticut with lots of activity options being planned by the Hartford Connecticut FF club. Second Optional week in New York City - October 12 through 18 Six days in New York City-tours every day and a matinee Broadway Play on Saturday, October 18 is being arranged to end the week in this exciting city! If interested -- contact Sue Palmer 260-4653 or 241-9122. To reserve this FINAL spot please fill out Ambassador s Form and include a Deposit of $100. Make check payable to: FF of Western Colorado and mail to: Sue Palmer 2402 Applewood Circle, Grand Jct., CO 81506 Questions and requests please contact Sue Palmer 260-4653 or e-mail: alfshouse12@hotmail.com.
Haps and Mishaps By Alyse Wade When one our members suggested that I write about some past highlights of Ambassador stays, I immediately recalled the last time we had Russian Ambassadors. When they arrived in Denver all flights to Grand Junction had been cancelled due to weather problems. When the flights were continued, we waited at the airport for the first flight to come in. Only about half the group arrived, and they told us that the next group would follow. We waited and the next flight had no Russians. Phil Smith, our ED, starting calling Denver to find out what had happened. We eliminated kidnapping as there were no Moscow billionaires in the Ambassadors. Evidently, they had missed the flight and were not in the boarding area when it was called. They finally arrived safely on the next plane, but the gift bags had disappeared at the airport. Another mishap occurred when one of the drivers took a little detour to show off a sight not on the itinerary. The home hosts were waiting at Albertsons to pick up their guests. When they did not arrive an hour after the meeting time, we became concerned. No one in the car had a cell phone and we even called the sheriff to see if any wrecks had been called in. He finally showed up and thought it was no big deal. The lessons learned from these two incidents were: give out the gift bags at the Welcome Party and require each driver to have someone in the car with a cell phone and stick to the agenda. Now I keep thinking about mishaps that happened while traveling with Friendship Force, but that would make another article. I ve always been told to start with the mishaps and finish with the upbeat news. Many of our members go beyond the call of duty to give our visitors a rewarding experience. The home hosts the planners, the members who provide dinners, the drivers, and of course the ED S work hard to give our Ambassadors a feeling of welcome. Some-times a member goes beyond just offering the hand of friendship. There are so many, but here are a few. When the Japanese Ambassadors came a few years ago, we made a point not to mention World War 2. To my surprise three young male students brought it up. They talked openly to me about the atomic bomb and their conclusion was that in war you have to save lives in the long run and do what is necessary to end the hostilities. Kit Haddow was impressed with the young men and took them on a fishing trip up in the mountains. I bet they still remember the trip. Also, Kit with another member took a group of men from a Canadian stay on a rafting trip around Glenwood Springs. Ambassadors often entertain us with skits, costumes and dances. Do you remember the German skit about the hole in the bucket? In return we encourage presentations like the young high school boy who played his guitar at a picnic in the park, the members who dress western style, the pilgrim lady, the frontier lady, and others too many to mention. Many good things happen on Ambassador stays. Let s start looking forward to them.
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 own fellow citizens and the people of other nations, The cause of friendship, love, and peace will be furthered. I can make a difference Friendship Force International Western Colorado Chapter P.O. Box 3665 Grand Junction, CO 81502 www.ffwcolo.com