NEWSLETTER FRIENDSHIP FORCE OF DAYTON, OHIO. President s Letter Dear Friends,

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1 DAYTON OFFICERS Joan Lambert, President Steve Birt, Vice President Joe Scullion, Treasurer Gary Mitchner, Secretary DAYTON DIRECTORS Jeanne Comer, Founding Director (Dec.) Sue Cramer Rick Birt Lucette Fogel Peg Crutchfield James Dillon Julie Vann Nancy Roach Dick Graf, Past President FRIENDSHIP FORCE OF DAYTON, OHIO NEWSLETTER President s Letter Dear Friends, November 30, 2014 Issue 11 The Holiday Season has arrived. Thanksgiving is over and I am sure most of us have much to be thankful for. I am thankful for my family, my health, and Friendship Force to mention a few things. Other than my family, Friendship Force has played a big part in my life. I have enjoyed the many new friends that I met both in the world and in the Dayton Club. We just finished an exchange to Turkey. What wonderful friends we met there! We are so happy that the Guzelbache Club will be visiting Dayton in late June or July. We will have big shoes to fill if we come close to the hospitality that hosts showed to us. We explored some of the historic sights that were built eight thousand years ago. It was a thrill to actually see places that we read about over the years. Some of the places were still functional and used today. As we think about the many wonderful places that we have visited and the many new friends that we have made over the years, I think it is time that we rethink some of the goals of Friendship Force. Joan exchanging gifts with the mayor of Guzelbache. The slogan is Changing the way we see the world! We need to remember that the world is also seeing us. When looking for an ambassador one looks for a person with a sense of humor (to laugh at the unexpected); to be flexible and adaptable to cope with new situations and keep judgmental behavior to a minimum. We need to express warmth, empathy, respect and positive regard for others both verbally and non-verbally. To quote from the Ambassador and Host Exchange Director s Manual, Those who travel as Friendship Force ambassadors go not just for their own personal goals but also to represent their home community and their country.. They go prepared to be a true ambassador, reflecting the best of their country. This extends to tours after the Friendship Force Exchange. You are still representing Friendship Force and its values. With that said, I wish for a healthy, happy and joyous holiday season for all. ON THE WEB (Dayton FF web site) (FFI web site) In friendship, Joan

2 FRIENDSHIP FORCE OF DAYTON NEWSLETTER E page 2 XCHANGE NEWS: OUTBOUND EXCHANGE TO Güzelbahçe, TURKEY. Before embarking on this exchange, I wondered was it safe to travel to this unknown land, would we face danger from the political unrest, would ISIS turn our exchange into a news headline with tragic consequences for all of us? The Dayton ambassadors gather outside Cesme Castle around the statue of What our sixteen Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha who led the Turkish forces in the Battle of Cesme durambassadors experiing the Russo-Turkish war of enced during our three weeks in this amazing country was as far removed from my fears as one could imagine. The exchange with the Guzelbahce Club was one of the most enjoyable we have experienced since our first exchange in The members of the Guzelbahce Club were warm, welcoming and eager to share their lives with us. We quickly learned they are more like us than different from us. They, too, wanted us to experience the beauty and the modernity of their country. They were eager to share their amazing historical sights dating back to biblical times, to show us the ruins of places such as Pergamom and Hadrian s Temple, to take us to their bazaars with an abundance of all kinds of goods, to have us note the tangerines and pomegranates ripening on trees along the highways, to see rows and rows of olive trees ready for harvest, to dine on freshly-caught sardines and to look out the front window of their homes and see the Aegean Sea a short walk away. We were treated like honored guests and awed by the beauty of this country. We all fell in love with these wonderful people, so much so that we are encouraging them visit us next summer so we can renew our friendship and share our lives in Dayton, Ohio, with them. Most of all, our exchange was another affirmation of the value in Friendship Force exchanges. Through them, we form friendships all over the world, we sense how alike we all are deep down in our core, and we believe, once again, that surely a world of friends could become a world of peace. Mary Ellen Graham

3 F R I E N D S H I P F O R C E O F D A Y T O N N E W S L E T T E R p a g e 3 A few of the sights we saw in Turkey At Gallipoli The sun bleached the horizon rendering it a sharp icicle when suddenly from the Hellespont hundreds of diamonds spoke out on the surface, as though the ANZAC boys were singing in the Dardanelles. A single fisherman must have witnessed something strange: tourists without a knowledge of war death. Gary Mitchner Recreation of scene at Gallipoli in WWI Celsus Library at Ephesus. 135 AD The Blue Mosque, Istanbul

4 F R I E N D S H I P F O R C E O F D A Y T O N N E W S L E T T E R p a g e 4 F reiburg, Germany, Inbound June 21-17,2015 Look for host signups for the twelve German Ambassadors at the Dec. 7th FF-Dayton Holiday Party. J ack Darst had a stroke on November 5th. The stroke affected one side. He is receiving therapy and is able to speak. I'm sure he would appreciate cards and notes. His address is: Jack Darst Trinity Community, Room Indian Ripple Rd. Beavercreek, Ohio A ttention, Members. Our charter with Friendship Force International requires us to renew our charter annually by January 15. We are required to pay our annual dues to FFI based on our membership at that time. Therefore, we are asking everyone to pay their 2015 dues to the Dayton Friendship Force club before January 15 so that we can make our payment to FFI on January 15, The annual dues are: for Single Membership, $35, for Family Membership, $40. If you have questions, please contact Joe Scullion, Treasurer, at , or jfscullion@gmail.com, or one of the other board members. R aleigh, North Carolina WANTED: InBound Exchange Director for Sept 10-14, 2015 for Raleigh, NC to Dayton, OH. WANTED: OutBound Exchange Director for mid April 2016, Dayton, OH to Raleigh, NC Skyline of downtown Raleigh, NC Phone or Julie Vann if you want to be an Exchange Director! or vannjulie@att.net Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina and located in the center of the state, in the Piedmont region between the Appalachian Mts. and the coastal plain. Raleigh is a blend of cutting-edge technologies, museums (including a Living Conservatory filled with hummingbirds & butterflies) and home of top attractions for nature lovers. They even have a historical district called Oakwood. The month of April was chosen, so we can a tour of gardens filled with blooming azaleas and tulips. Once in North Carolina, maybe we will also schedule a visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and the exquisite gardens in Winston Salem: Guessing it will be a 8 or 9 day trip!

5 FRIENDSHIP FORCE OF DAYTON NEWSLETTER page 5 More scenes from the Turkey exchange Icons being restored, Chosa church, Istanbul Busy day at Ephesus with Joan, Vicki and Dick Two of the hosts, Hilmi and Tulin, at the Healing Center at at Pergammon A bustling market REMINDER: Holiday Party Hope Hotel Chidlaw Rd. Bldg. 823 Area A WPAFB Sunday, December 7, 2014 Times: 4 PM-Registration/COD bar 5 PM -dinner Cost: $30.00 per person Send to: Connie Amos CHOICES FOR DINNER-MARK ON 9313 Sweet Shrub Circle CHECK your choice Centerville OH Portabella Napoleon, Chicken Supreme Phone: Boneless Breast of Chicken, Prime Rib of Beef Check payable to FRIENDSHIP FORCE OF DAYTON

6 P.O. Box Dayton, Ohio FIRST CLASS UPCOMING EVENTS DEC HOLIDAY PARTY, HOPE HOTEL JUNE 21-27,2015 INBOUND, FREIBURG GERMANY JULY 2015 TENTATIVE INBOUND Güzelbahçe SEPT , 2015 INBOUND, RALEIGH, NC 2015 OUTBOUND, TBD APRIL 2016 INBOUND, RAYLEIGH, NC