Friendship Force International

Here’s the latest news & insights from Friendship Force IN THIS EDITION > Festival at Sea Makes a Splash > 2019 World Conference Updates > Check Out Our New Journey Page FESTIVAL AT SEA MAKES A SPLASH We recently wrapped up our Festival at Sea Transatlantic Cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Copenhagen, Denmark. The cruise took place over 18 days (April 22 to May 10) on a Holland America ship. Day excursions included Bermuda, two of the Azores Islands, England, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and disembarking in Denmark. Discover More 2019 WORLD CONFERENCE Please mark your calendars for our upcoming FFI World Conference – July 23rd-27th, 2019 in Boulder, Colorado. Learn More > QUARTERLY FEATURED CLUBS For the second quarter, we recognize the clubs that have hosted Open World Leadership Center delegations in 2018. Learn More > CHECK OUT THE LIST OF ALL UPCOMING JOURNEYS! Search through all Journeys using the new tool available on the Member Resources page of our website. EXPLORE NOW > IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… Congrats and thanks to the organizers, host clubs, and attendees of the Western Super Regional and Great Lakes, Midwest, and Southwest Super Regional Conferences in N. America this spring and the European Conference in Belgium next week! Send us info and photos on any other conferences for a 2018 conference compilation to editor@friendshipforce.org! FFI + RICK STEVES Renowned travel expert Rick Steves included us in the 3rd edition of his book Travel as a Political Act. Learn More > BOARD HIGHLIGHTS The FFI board of directors yearly meeting took place in the Smoky Mountains in March. Get Highlights > Our mailing address is: Friendship Force International 400 West Peachtree Street NW Suite #4 – 980 Atlanta, GA 30308

Greetings – Western Super-Regional Conference in Sacramento/Elk Grove, California In May, I had the pleasure of attending the first Western Super-Regional Conference hosted by the Sacramento California Friendship Force club. The conference was attended by 122 members from clubs from the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain, West Coast and Western Canada Regions including clubs in: Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The conference was kicked off with a “Welcome” from Steve Ly, mayor of Elk Grove. The keynote speaker was Joy Justus, outreach manager of World Relief Sacramento. She has been working with refugees through World Relief since 2012. Her presentation included a panel of refugees who gave firsthand accounts of their story. It was interesting and very “heartfelt”. The conference included workshops on travel insurance, domestic journeys, leadership, recruitment, global journeys, using google docs, and sharing club photography worldwide. There was plenty of time to socialize, take morning walks, enjoy meals together and a fun Cinco De Mayo Gala Dinner! Sacramento FF Club did a wonderful job planning and hosting. I ended my travels with a Mystery Mini Journey in Sacramento. 2019 WORLD CONFERENCE IN BOULDER, COLORADO The World Conference will be held July 23 through 27, 2019, on the CU campus. You might ask “Why CU in Boulder for the 2019 conference? Jeremi’s message: Using an academic backdrop for the venue will communicate our “Mission” and experience a new direction for the 2019 World Conference and future World Conferences. The goal is to train members and leaders and have a general feeling to inspire and excite attendees toward our mission. The conference agenda will include 2 days of education/sharing, general business; and 2 days of activities, socializing events. At a president’s meeting in April we discussed the details of the conference. Ideas and activities were suggested. Presidents will ask for volunteers from each club to serve on the planning committee. Coordinating pre- and post- conference homestays in the region was also discussed. Stayed tuned for more on the 2019 World Conference. In Friendship, Sue Palmer, Rocky Mountain Regional Field Rep  

Please send this out to all your members. Brazil canceled out on a journey to Sherbrooke, Quebec, scheduled for August 2nd through 8th, so they are looking for Friendship Force members to fill the vacancy. Fees are $315 total ($150 to Sherbrooke and $165 to Atlanta). We have been able to get 7 people to commit to a new journey, same dates. Sherbrooke will take no less than 10 and no more than 15 ambassadors. If anyone is interested, we need to know quickly so Sherbrooke can plan on hosting. Please call or email me ASAP so I can let the coordinators know. Thank you. Judi Smith, Field Rep from the Pacific North West