www.friendshipforce.org JANUARY, 2020

HIGHLIGHTS JANUARY PROGRAM . . . . . TUESDAY, JAN. 14 Presidents’ Letter Page 2 Exchange News Pages 3 -4 WHAT’S WITH THE AIRPORT? Social Activities Page 5 Calendar Page 11 Page 11

Facebook.com/friendshipforceof Denver

Facebook.com/friendshipforceofDenver

ABOUT THE CLUB Friendship Force Denver rents event

space and meets at Calvary Baptist Church, 6500 E. Girard Avenue, Denver 80224 at 6:45 pm the second Tuesday of Jan - May, and Sept - Nov, and also offers numerous social events throughout the year. See our website

for more information at

www.friendshipforcedenver.org

Come visit and bring your friends!

JOHN B. LEAVITT, executive communications specialist at Denver CLUB OFFICERS International Airport, will update us on the process of the terminal Co-Presidents renovation. Mike Tanner [email protected] Cecil Roberts [email protected] Join us to find out exactly what is going to be done. How will it Vice President Ilene Americus affect us? And, the big question, when will this happen? [email protected] Hear the real story from a real expert. Secretary Heidi McKelrath [email protected]

Treasurer Tuti Tierney [email protected] JANUARY REFRESHMENTS Newsletter Editor...... Carol Coriell LAST NAMES BEGINNING WITH S – Z [email protected] Those bringing refreshments Newsletter submittals are due on the 24th of the month. please arrive by 6:30 pm.

FROM THE CO-PRESIDENTS

Mike Tanner Cecil Roberts

Happy New Year to All!

It is our pleasure to serve as your co-presidents for the upcoming year. Thank you to John Giles for his excellent leadership over the past two years. As the immediate past president, he will continue as a board member for 2020. Welcome to Ilene Americus, our new vice-president, to Tuti Tierney, our new treasurer, and to Heidi McKelrath, our new secretary. In addition, thank you to those who have agreed to continue their service on the board. If anyone wishes to join the board, please let one of us know, as there are some openings. Our fabulous newsletter editor, Carol Coriell, is looking for help, too.

If you can’t serve on the board there are lots of other opportunities in which you can get involved. It is exciting to participate in some way and there are a variety of ways in which to do so. Along the way you learn more about the many things available to you in Denver as well as throughout the world. Most important, you develop new friendships.

There are numerous ways in which to help our Denver Club continue as a vibrant organization. Several journeys are being planned for 2020. The planning for these is extensive; please consider being a day host, small dinner host, or home host. You can also sign up to be a Journey Coordinator. Pat Kaplan and Jeannette Armbrustmacher are planning social activities for the enjoyment of club members and guests. Luree Miller continues to plan a monthly Lunch Bunch. Sign up for one of these social outings, and bring a guest. On meeting nights, consider helping out. The board is always looking for good program ideas; if you have an idea, or want to present a program, we would love to hear from you. Invite friends to attend meetings. As you can see, there are numerous ways to help our Denver Club continue as a vibrant organization.

With your participation and help, we can all look forward to an amazing year for the Denver Club.

Mike Tanner and Cecil Roberts

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

Jan 2020 page 2

JOURNEYS

2020 INBOUND Open World - March 27 - April 4, 2020. TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) teachers from Kazakhstan. Attendees will participate in a 2-day conference at the Convention Center as part of the trip. Willa Rose has volunteered to help. Contact Ilene Americus for more information.

Shizuoka, - early June. Irene Ludwig and Gerry Forney are working hard on the Shizuoka Inbound Journey. It looks as if we will have 10 Ambassadors from their club in early June. Contact Irene or Gerry to volunteer to host or help, details on page 4.

OUTBOUND Willamette Valley Oregon, July 13 – 18, 2020 has confirmed our inbound Journey. Yay!!! It’s a go. At this point we would like to plan a train ride from Oregon to San Francisco on the 18th. We will contact the San Francisco FF Club to make sure they can host us from July 18th until the 23rd or 24th. We will have more information at the January meeting on the 14th.

Moscow, Russia and Astana, Kazakhstan, tentatively scheduled for October, 2020. Tuti Tierney has volunteered to be Journey Coordinator, pending confirmation by the board. Contact Ilene Americus if you are interested in participating.

Future plans: Willamette Valley wants to visit us in return for hosting us. We do not yet have a date set or a Coordinator for this trip.

At the September 10, 2019 monthly meeting, members were asked to vote on their 2021 outbound Journey request. The top votes went to and Australia. This request will be sent to Friendship Force International and all Journey assignments will be made by mid-February 2020.

MAKE FRIENDS ACROSS THE WORLD

Friendship Force International provides opportunities to explore new countries and cultures from the inside by bringing people together at the personal level. Through the signature program of home hospitality, local hosts welcome international visitors into their culture, sharing with them meals, conversation, and the best sights and experiences of their region.

Visit www.friendshipforce.org to see the featured worldwide journeys which are available to all Friendship Force members.

Jan 2020 page 3

SHIZUOKA, JAPAN INBOUND JOURNEY JUNE 17-22, 2020

Shizuoka is a town on the east coast of Japan, about 120 miles south of Tokyo. In September of 2016, a group from Friendship Force Denver spent a week as guests of the Friendship Force of Shizuoka. Nine of the ambassadors were members of the Denver Club. They included Ilene Americus, Carl and Lynn Dawson, Les Eckstat, Gerry Forney, Irene Ludwig, and Tuti Tierney. Two of the ambassadors (Rona Baer and Phyllis Scott) were from the Northern Colorado Club.

The Denver group had a wonderful week of hospitality in Shizuoka, including visits to Mount Fuji, a famous pine grove, a tuna port, and several groups of traditional houses. We learned about Japanese culture and traditions such as calligraphy, ikebana, kimono, origami, and tai chi. And of course, we sampled and enjoyed delicious Japanese meals and snacks.

Friendship Force is truly an exchange program, and now is the time to pay back some of the exceptional hospitality that we received three years ago in Japan. The incoming ambassadors include the people who hosted Ilene Americus and Tuti Tierney, along with the woman who hosted the two people from Northern Colorado. We are looking forward to meeting old friends and making new acquaintances.

We have been chosen as the Host Coordinators, and we are currently in the process of recruiting the volunteers that will make this exchange a success. We need day hosts, home hosts, small dinner hosts, and help with planning and organizing. Please let us know if you would like to help.

Irene Ludwig ireneludfor @ gmail.com 303-562-5657

Gerry Forney gerald.forney @ gmail.com 303-653-3475

Denver club visiting Shizuoka in 2016

Jan 2020 page 4

SOCIAL NEWS

JANUARY SOCIAL Jeannette Armbrustmacher is coordinating a social event for a visit to the Denver Art Museum’s Monet Exhibit on Friday, January 24, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Reservations have already closed, but if you are interested, give Jeannette a call; there may be an opening. Lunch before the exhibit is optional, see article below.

Pat Kaplan is coordinating lunch for that day. We will meet at 12:00 noon at Parsley, at the corner of 11th and Cherokee, 303 W. 11th Avenue. parsleyandbailey.com There are several people who have already seen the Monet exhibit. If you would like to join us for lunch but not the Monet tour, you are welcome. Please consider it and RSVP no later than Monday, Jan. 20, to Pat Kaplan 303-242-4376 or [email protected].

MUNCH LUNCH BUNCH returns in January with a chance to explore one of LoHi’s elegant new Thai restaurants. This is the golden child of Citizen Thai Bistro in Golden – hence its clever name! Let’s start 2020 off with a Thai bang! My mouth is already watering…how about yours?

WHEN: Thursday, January 16th, at 11:30 a.m. WHERE: Daughter Thai Kitchen and Bar, 1700 Platte Street, Denver

• Deadline to reserve is Tuesday, January 14th, at the club meeting • They can accommodate up to 12 of us with a reservation, so don’t wait until it’s too late to be one of a dozen Friendship Force friends! • Check out the menu at: daughterthaikitchenandbar.com • This is an urban setting, so parking can be a challenge. There is metered street parking, but there is also a garage next to the restaurant; however, the restaurant does not validate parking. • Questions or to RSVP – call Luree Miller at 415-215-3770 or email her at [email protected]

Jan 2020 page 5

WELCOME TO THE FRIENDSHIP FORCE DENVER 2020 BOARD

Co-President Mike Tanner

I joined FF in 2004, after member Pat LaMoe introduced me and my wife Cindy to the organization. Cindy’s first trip to Germany and the Czech Republic sold us on FF. Since then we have hosted small group dinners, summer picnics, a New Year’s party, and domestic and international exchange guests.

In 2012 I served as the president of the Denver club and had the opportunity to attend the international conference in Hiroshima. In addition, I have gone on memorable exchanges to England, Uganda, Kenya, and Russia. Last summer Cindy and I hosted a Japanese and a Russian-American guest after the international conference in Boulder. I feel that FF is an organization that offers many opportunities to expand our knowledge of the world around us.

Co-President Cecil Roberts

After a time in the Army and over 30 years as a natural resource manager, I retired. Dave Bentzin introduced my wife and me to Friendship Force in the summer of 1991. Our first exchange was to Japan in November of that year. Japan remains my favorite place to visit, and I have been there at least six additional times.

Since 1991 I have held several assignments in the club. Program chair, secretary a few times, exchange director a few times, board member several times, and president twice. I have always had a good time doing worthwhile things with worthwhile people. I have been pretty dormant the last few years but have decided to resume a more active profile.

Vice-President Ilene Americus

I have been a member of Friendship Force since 2012 when I joined friends in the DC club on a trip to Azerbaijan. The experience was so much fun that I joined the Denver club. Traveling has always been a big part of my life both for business and pleasure, but I am at the point where it wouldn’t bother me never to see another church, cathedral, temple, stupa, or shrine.

The beauty of FF is that you truly get to know the people who live in the cities and countries we visit and see their homes through their eyes. They introduce us to their culture and the places and people that they consider to be unique or important. I enjoy hosting Ambassadors and have participated in and led several Journeys. I previously served on the Board as Secretary, and am looking forward to working with a great group in 2020.

Jan 2020 page 6

Secretary, Heidi McKelrath

I am a world traveler with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado in International Affairs and a master’s degree in Global Management from the University of Phoenix. I am currently employed as the Tax Administrator for the City of Sheridan, Colorado. Starting in middle school, I chose to study Russian rather than the traditional French or Spanish. I also studied German in high school and college. My family has hosted many international students over the years. My own travels have included both western and eastern Europe, South America, , and . I had attended Friendship Force meetings with my friend and former co-worker, Cindy Tanner, so I was familiar with FF and how it operates. When Cindy showed me a trip she was taking to Moscow and St Petersburg this year (2019), I knew it was time to join! I took my first FF journey with the San Francisco Bay Area Club to Russia. It was an amazing experience and I look forward to taking more journeys.

Treasurer, Tuti Tierney

I was born in the East Java province of Indonesia, and both my parents are Indonesian, of Javanese ethnicity. I received my Civil Engineering degree from Gajah Mada University in Central Java Indonesia and have worked as a civil engineer in West Java and Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia.). My husband and I kept moving west to Dacca, Bangladesh; Cairo, Egypt, then to the United States. We spent a few months in Iowa, then Phoenix, and two years in Santa Maria, California. We love traveling; we have visited more than 20 countries and all 50 states of the U.S. In 1983, I went back to school and received an MS degree in Geotechnical/ Civil Engineering from CSU in Fort Collins. I worked as a Geotechnical Engineer with the US Bureau of Reclamation in Denver and retired in 2015. I have been a member of FF Denver since June 2016. My hobbies, besides travelling, are gardening, and reading nonfiction such as engineering, history, biography, and travel books.

Director, Jeannette Armbrustmacher

I have been a FFD member since 2014. The New Zealand exchange and the Australian Outback Exchange cemented my commitment to membership in FFD. I coordinated the Orlando Journey (and home hosted 2 Ambassadors), home hosted for the Canadian Journey, and have day hosted every Journey incoming to our club. I taught music in American schools in Maracaibo, Venezuela (2 years) and Berlin (1 year). My Austrian "sister" (my family hosted an ICYE high school exchange student) and I have maintained our friendship. In October I attended her 50th wedding anniversary in Tulln (near Vienna), . We subsequently travelled to Innsbruck for a week. It's enlightening to gain increased awareness of the refugee crisis by being with people who are personally affected by world decisions. This is why Friendship Force is critical to world understanding.

Director, Carol Coriell

I moved to Denver from Santa Barbara in 1978, when my husband was transferred. I became the Denver representative for a Los Angeles company specializing in commercial window coverings. For fun we traveled the U.S. and Canada in our motorhome, and also entertained exchange visitors and traveled overseas. We joined FF Denver in 2010, and were delighted to find an exchange to Santa Barbara in the planning stage. We joined the outbound group, had an incredible experience with very friendly hosts, and were sold on the concept. I have been editor and producer of the newsletter for eight years, and have served on the Board since 2013. I am looking forward to continuing my work with FFD, and was delighted to be able to participate in the FFI Festival at Sea last February, and the World Conference in Boulder in July.

Director, Steve Crocker

I grew up in Denver after living as a child in Japan and , where my father was a colonel in the US Air Force. In 2009 I retired from Qwest, where I’d worked as a technical writer. Before that, I taught English in private schools in New Hampshire and Colorado and reviewed books for the Denver Post. I’m on the board of directors of the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado and have served on the board of our local homeowners’ organization.

My wife Nancy and I are keen travelers and have been Friendship Force members for four years. We’ve hosted ambassadors from France, Australia, Canada, North Carolina and California, as well as visitors from Turkmenistan and the Ukraine. We’ve been hosted by Friendship Force members in France, Peru, Germany, and Belgium. We feel fortunate to have made so many friends, thanks to this wonderful association.

Director, Pat Kaplan

I heard about Friendship Force from my friend, Tuti Tierney, and joined about a year and a half ago. I have not yet been on any Journeys, but I am looking forward to being able to join in and learn about Journeys as a board member. My dad worked for the state department, and I grew up in Bermuda, 3 different cities in France, and graduated from high school in Rio de Janeiro. One happy result is that I speak English, French, and Portuguese. After finishing college in Arizona, I moved to Denver in 1979, where I have lived happily ever since. I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 20 years, and am now enjoying retirement. My husband, Jamie, and I are outdoors people, and love to travel. We have two daughters, one in Denver and one in New York City. We have been happy to be able to share our garden twice for the annual picnic. I have volunteered to be Co-Chair for the social committee, and Jeanette Armbrustmacher will also be Co-Chair. We would love to have suggestions from members for activities.

Past President, John Giles

I am a retired engineering consultant. I currently work as a Tax Specialist in the tax season. I am a “southern boy” raised in Tennessee, and went to college at Georgia Tech. My wife, Linda, and I enjoy traveling and joined Friendship Force Denver in September, 2011. We have traveled outbound to Costa Rica, Australia, France, Spain and Florida. We have hosted numerous ambassadors, small dinner events and “Happy Hours” for inbound groups. We are avid bridge players and you can find us on the dance floor at local clubs. We enjoy the lasting friendships made throughout the world. You really do get to know real people by sharing real life, and the friendships that are formed last a lifetime. I enjoy working with the other Board members and serving the Denver club.

Jan 2020 page 8

THE FRIENDSHIP FORCE OF DENVER

www.FriendshipForceDenver.org Membership 2020 Renewal Due 12/15/19

Membership dues (includes FFI dues and one free name badge for each new member)

PLEASE FILL OUT BOTH SIDES OF THIS APPLICATION

Date: ______

Membership $35 per person $______

Replacement Badge $12 each $______

Total Enclosed $______Payable to Friendship Force Denver

Members: Last Name First Name Middle Name Email Address

Last Name First Name Middle Name Email Address

Please list additional household members on the back of this form and check this box

Home Address

City, State, Zip

Home Phone (_____) Cell Phone (_____) Cell Phone (_____)

I agree to have my personal information published in our club directory, newsletter and/or website. Please circle one: Yes No

Please bring your completed form and check made out to FFD to a meeting, or mail them to:

Jim Robinson 9251 West Chatfield Place, Littleton, CO 80128 [email protected] ______

NAME BADGES: One free for each New Member. All others are $12 each.

The name on your FFD name badge will appear exactly as you PRINT is below: ______Magnet Back or Pin Back First Name or Nickname Last Name ______Magnet Back or Pin Back First Name or Nickname Last Name

Please list additional name badge request on the back of this form and check this box

(Continue on Reverse Side)

Listing of Additional Family Members______Badge Name______

______

In order for FFD to be successful, we need many volunteers. Please check all the areas below where

you are willing to participate.

__Inbound Journey Coordinator __Outbound Journey Coordinator __ Journey Home Host

__ FFD Board Member __Journey Day Host __ Social Committee

__Membership Committee __Newsletter Committee __ Program Committee

__Refreshments Committee __Facilities & A/V Committee __ Website Committee

__ Marketing Committee __Journey Committee __ Journey Dinner Host

A social event that I would like our club to have ______

Hobbies or talents that I would be willing to share are ______

Second Languages that I speak are ______

Facilities that could accommodate Journey events ______

I am on Facebook. I am aware of the FFD Website.

Organizations that might want to invite FFD to come to speak are ______

A speaker that I would recommend for our FFD meetings is ______

Ideas that would help market our club ______

An activity that I would like our club to start having ______

Suggestions I have for our club are ______

I heard about Friendship Force Denver from ______

Someone I recommend that might be interested in FFD is ______

Thank You for Your Information

Jan 2020 page 10

CALENDAR 2020 Please use forms on pages 9 and 10

NEW YEAR’S DAY OPEN HOUSE JAN 1 Wednesday, 2:00 – 5:00 pm Mary Lou Bennington’s 7464 S. Milwaukee Ct.

BOARD MEETING* JAN 7 Tuesday, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

JANUARY PROGRAM* JAN 14 Tuesday, 6:45 - 9:00 pm John B. Leavitt, executive communications specialist at Denver International Airport.

MUNCH LUNCH BUNCH JAN 16 Thursday, 11:30 am, details page 5 Daughter Thai Kitchen and Bar

JANUARY SOCIAL JAN 24 Monet exhibit, Denver Art Museum Lunch, 12:00 N, exhibit, 2:00 pm Details page 5 .

BOARD MEETING* FEB 4 Tuesday, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

FEBRUARY PROGRAM* FEB 11 Tuesday, 6:45 - 9:00 pm

WORLD FRIENDSHIP DAY MAR 1

BOARD MEETING* MAR 3 Tuesday, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

MARCH PROGRAM* MAR 10 Tuesday, 6:45 - 9:00 pm

BOARD MEETING* APR 7 Tuesday, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

APRIL PROGRAM* APR 14 Tuesday, 6:45 - 9:00 pm

BOARD MEETING* MAY 5 Tuesday, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

MAY PROGRAM* MAY 12 Tuesday, 6:45 - 9:00 pm

* Board meetings and monthly meetings are held at 6500 E. Girard Avenue, Denver 80224.