friendship force florida suncoast
Newsletter -  May 2013
scot bagpiper
Meeting & Program
Sat, May 18
at 2:30 pm
St. Pete College
Clearwater Campus,
Room 102
in ES building
2465 Drew St, Clearwater 34337 (map)
 

Scotland the Brave!

 

Dunedin High School's Scottish Bagpipe Band and Highland Scottish Dancers will perform their special magic for us. You won't want to miss this performance; no reservations required.

 

The award-winning Highland Pipe Band and Highland Dancers will perform a 30-minute program of traditional music and dance to begin the meeting followed by a brief question-and-answer period about Scottish culture.

 

The noted bagpipers have won Highland Games competitions against adult bands in several Florida cities, and will just have returned from a repeat appearance at Walt Disney World over Mothers Day weekend.

 

Friendship Force Florida Suncoast officers for 2013-2014 will be elected after a brief organizational meeting following the performance.

 

Ample parking is available on the south side of the campus at 2465 Drew Street, at the northwest corner of Old Coachman Rd. Signs will point to the conference room.   

 
 

Election for Officers at May 18 Meeting

 

We will be electing officers who will serve on our board for our next club year, Sept 1, 2013-Aug 30, 2014. We are pleased to announce the members who have accepted to be nominated at the May 18 membership meeting.   Unless additional nominations are made from the floor, the Nominating Committee will propose unanimous approval and election of the members who have graciously agreed to provide leadership in the coming club year.  They are:

President - Sandy Hoover

Treasurer - Mair Murphy

Secretary - Ed Evan

VP/Programs - Catherine Conover

VP/Membership - Judy Ritter

 
Planning for Our Ukraine Visitors
Sponsored by Open World Leadership Center 
June 1-9, 2013

We will be hosting a delegation of five visitors from Ukraine (not Russia as we originally thought).  They are all female, ages 29-44, and they all work in village and city governments, and are considered emerging leaders due to their accomplishments and creativity in serving their fellow citizens.   They will spend two days in Washington DC before arriving at TIA on June 1 and they will depart on June 9.   Only two speak conversational English and three speak no English, but they arrive with a translator aOpen World logond facilitator who both speak fluent English.

 

Our planning committee has crafted a week of professional development meetings and workshops for them to meet with city, county, state and national leaders as well as university and college professors and numerous community leaders from the business and nonprofit sectors.  As soon as the Open World Leadership Center approves our program activities, you will receive a special email notice with their schedule and opportunities for you to meet them.

 

There will be a Welcome Party for all members on Sunday June 2, from 5-8 pm, hosted by Ruth Samuel at her condo club house. 
You will receive the details at a later date, but we hope you will mark your calendar as it's our first summer social. Meeting our Ukrainian guests will be an added bonus!

 

The delegates will be very busy every weekday but we are now planning weekend social activities for them and will let you know the details.

 

Let Sandy Hoover know if you are willing to be a Day Host or a back-up Home Host.  You can email Sandy by clicking here or calling her at (727)398-9639.

 

 

  

German Friendship Force Members come for a Visit

 

Oma & German Visitors  

Margrit Kulicke, Ed & Adrien Helm. Oma Pantridge,

Manfred Bosse, and Michael Kulicke  

 

Dr. Michael Kulicke and his wife Margrit came to visit Oma Pantridge March 10th, 11th and 12th of this year.   Michael and Margrit were Oma's home hosts when she was an ambassador on the All Florida Hamburg Exchange following the FFI Conference in the fall of 2011. It was wonderful to see them and show them our Florida Suncoast while they were here.   Ed and Adrien Helm were also on the All Florida Exchange to Hamburg. Oma invited the Helms to join her, Michael, Margrit and two other Friendship Force members from another German club to have dinner on March 12th.  Manfred and Renate Bosse from Schwuelper, Germany came to stay overnight as Michael and Margrit were leaving to travel to the home of another FFI member they knew in Florida.

 

At dinner there was spirited talk of the wonderful experiences provided by Friendship Force and the importance of our organization in developing lasting friendships that develop a bond and peace between people of different cultures.  Manfred is the President of Friendship Force Braunschweig - Peine and shared a hope that our clubs could participate in mutual exchanges in the future.

 

 

April's happenings

Wonderful Food and Friendship at the Habanna Caf�

Habana Cafe  

 

Our club had a very good turnout for the luncheon at the Habanna Caf� in Gulfport on April 20th. The food was delicious with a buffet of savory pork, black beans, rice, dill chicken and a wonderful Cuban salad. The manager who had planned to speak with us about Cuba and her customs, was unable to, due to laryngitis. Fortunately, Ken and Ginny Weiss were able to discuss their two trips to Cuba.   Ken and Ginny traveled with the League of Women Voters to Cuba and were able to share many details about the country and the people. Thank you Ken and Ginny for stepping in and providing us with such great information. 


A Beautiful Day at Taylor Park

 

We were fortunate to have a warm, sunny day on Sunday April 28th with a cool breeze to keep us comfortable when we held our picnic in the park. Forty-two members came out to enjoy the sun, fresh air and fellowship.   We were lucky to have two wonderful chefs at the grill cooking chicken. Terry Gourdine and Jerry Seeber provided delicious chicken to accompany the many wonderful salads, vegetable dishes and desserts that were brought by our members. John Taylor Park is beautiful and welcoming. Everyone had a good time once they found the shelter we had reserved. Our thanks go to Catherine Conover and her committee for coordinating this great picnic.     

(Due to technical difficulties I wasn't able to include the photographs from the picnic.  They may be available on the web-site at a later date.)

 

 
CHANGING THE WAY
Y
OU SEE THE WORLD

Upcoming Club 
 Events 

Meeting & Program  
Sat, May 18  at 2:30 pm 
in Room 104 in ES building on St. Pete College Clearwater Campus

Incoming Exchange of  
Ukrainian Visitors
June 1-9  

Board Meeting 
Tues, June (to be
announced)  at 6:00 pm 
Community Room
at Royal Palms
200 Lake Ave NE, Largo 33771

Outgoing Exchange to 
Denver, Colorado 
July 11-18

Incoming Exchange of
German Visitors
 
October 22-28



Upcoming Community 
 Events
 
Spectacular & Colorful 
Serbian Pearl Folk
Dance Group Annual Concert  
 
May 11, 2013 -  5 pm at  
St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church 530 77 Avenue N   
St. Petersburg 33702 
Admission:  $10

To see other SPIFFS
upcoming events

Please click on the
 link  below for their Newsletter.

SPIFFS May Newsletter 



2011-2012 Board

Oma Pantridge
President

Catherine Conover
1st VP Programs

John & Sandy Hoover
2nd VP Membership

John Hayner
Secretary

Bill Lee
Treasurer

Committee Chairs

Mair Murphy
Newsletter

Jean Keir Choong
 & John Hoover
Website Coordinators

Ed & Adrien Helm
Germany Exchange
 (Incoming Oct 2013)

Friendship Force

Mission
 
To promote global
understanding across
the barriers that
separate people

Vision
Each individual will
 make a
 contribution
to global goodwill

#
The Friendship Force
worldwide network of
clubs and individuals
 will overcome differences
 among people and nations.
#
By connecting the world,
one friend at a time,
we will create a world
 of friends that becomes
 a world of peace.