I am especially happy to be able to send you this note about our winter and spring plans ... but first a prefatory comment.  As many of you have heard, I recently experienced a serious cardiac challenge.  But I am now at home and looking forward to a slow but steady recovery.  The physical therapist came out this morning and left a bunch of exercises for me to do twice a day.  She warned me not to become a couch potato and I suggested that she contact some of the peope who joined me for the Nara day trip last October for insight on my couch potato tendencies.  I am taking a positive approach -- since I have no recollection of 8 days I now consider myself 8 days younger.  As I move forward, I may have to determine the extent to which I should restrict future travel -- which of course goes against my grain.  I still consider it my greatest personal failure that I have not yet made it to Timbuktu.  If any of you have had to consider the impact of health issues on travel plans, and would be comfortable discussing them with me, I would very much appreciate such a conversation.

While I was down, others were moving forward on FFNCA events.  Priscilla Landers has put together a wonderful lunch and textile museum tour for this Saturday, February 7th.  Details were provided in an earlier message from Claire and Paul.

On March 1st, we will hold our annual International Friendship Day event.  Details of the March 1st event will be sent out soon.  We want to use March 1st as an opportunity for everyone to get up to speed on -- and volunteer to participate in -- the May 23rd-30th inbound exchange from Bogota, Colombia.  The Colombians plan to send 25-28 ambassadors to southeatern Connecticut and then to NCA.  We will need help from everyone to make sure we once again host a successful inbound exchange.  Kathryn Tatko and Jack Richards, our in-bound exchange directors, are actively coordinating both with the outbound exchange directors from Bogota and the in-bound exchange directors from Connecticut -- they already are getting personal information on the interests and needs of our incoming visitors.  BUT THE SUCCESS OF THIS EXCHANGE DEPENDS ON ALL OF US GETTING INVOLVED.  It is extremely important that members commit to be home-hosts, day hosts, dinner hosts, and drivers.  The earlier we know whom we can rely upon, the easier it will be to match ambassadors with hosts, and to coordinate sub-groups who live near one another, so we can minimize travel across our large metropolitan area.  If you have not yet contacted Kathryn and Jack to vounteer, please do so ... and join us on March 1st.

I will not be able to attend the museum tour this Saturday, but I look forward to seeing all of you on March 1st.

In Friendship,

Chuck Goldfarb

There also will be a weekend retreat for all the mid-Atlantic chapters in a New Jersey beach town April 3-5.  This should be a great opportunity to meet other Friendship Force people, get some ideas for our chapter, and take long walks on the beach.

One of my new year's resolutions is to send out a "president's note" like this one each month.  Claire, who is managing our website, and I are exploring making this monthy note a blog, so that anyone could go to the website and have access to all the monthly notes.  Those of you who are familiar with my computer illiteracy know that this is not a project that I could lead.

Let me end by again encouraging each of you to get involved with our chapter planning and activities.  I recognize that we are spread out across a large geographic area.  But many projects can be performed from the comfort of your home.  We are an incredibly talented group of people, and many of us (alas, not including me) have the luxury of free time that comes with retirement.  Please consider volunteering to take the lead on a specific event, such as a dinner or lunch or walking tour.  Or perhaps you have an hour or two per month that you can spend tending to one of our on-going administrative tasks that, singly, is not burdensome, but becomes a chore when an officer has to take it on in addition to other responsibilities.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions or would like to volunteer your time and talents.  But be warned,  If you call me, I will surely ask how you can best contribute to FFNCA.

In Friendship,

Chuck Goldfarb

Fortunately for the chapter -- and especially for me -- our most recent chapter presidents, Claire and Paul Gesalman, will continue to be active on our executive board and are mentoring me.  The other officers -- vice president Sandy Farmer, secretary JoAnn Thacker, and treasurer Barbara Macken -- all are very experienced and also will provide lots of guidance.  We all hope that many of you will step forward and join us in planning and leading the chapter activities.  Those of us who recently returned from the exchange to Japan experienced first-hand what a chapter with pretty much the same number of members as we have can accomplish when 50 members actively contribute to an exchange as home-stay hosts, day hosts, dinner hosts, drivers, and organizers of and participants in individual events and performances.  

We have an exciting line-up of events planned for 2009.  From May 23rd to 30th, we will host 25 members of the Bogota, Colombia chapter.  They are an active chapter, typically having two inbound and two outbound exchanges per year, often with more than 30 ambassadors.  Our inbound exchange directors, Kathryn Tatko and Jack Richards, already are communicating with the Bogota exchange director.  Please check your calendars -- the exchange coincides with Memorial Day weekend -- and let Kathryn and Jack know how you can participate.  We are open to creative new ideas.

Barbara Macken is the exchange director for our outbound exchange to Australia in October -- one week in Hobart, on the island of Tasmania, and one week in Casterton, a small town in south central Australia.  Some of us may get to spend a week on a sheep farm!  Paul Gesalman is exploring the possibility of leading an optional extension to New Zealand; other ambassadors may choose to wander more widely through Australia.

Barbara, Claire, and I met in December with George Brown, president of Friendship Force International.  FFI will hold its International Conference here in DC in October 2010, and we are helping them with the hotel search.  George expects 400-500 people to attend the conference and we will have an opportunity to make friends from all over the world.  Fortunately, FFI will take responsiblity for the conference planning and operations, but George has asked us to be his local contacts and to help welcome and advise participants.  Approximately 20 people, from all continents, will stay on for a short home-stay here in DC.

We also will have our full schedule of local events this year, including the annual International Friendship dinner on March 1st.  One possibility is dinner at a Colombian restaurant/night club in Silver Spring, to get us in the mood for our May visitors.  Details will follow.  

See Part 2....

In Friendship,

Chuck Goldfarb