The Friendship Force of Ottawa

The Friendship Force of Ottawa

General Meeting: January 21, 2014 – DRAFT Minutes

Location: St Basil’s Hall, 940 Rex Ave, Ottawa

Potluck & Social 5:45, Meeting 7:30 P.M.

Present: Guests – 11, Members - 91

Chair: Donna Nicholson

Call to Order: 7:35 P. M.Adjourned: 9:05 P.M.

1)Introduction of New Members & GuestsDonna Nicholson

• A sincere thank-you to Jessica Sullivan and team for organizing a wonderfully successful pot-luck social this evening.
• 2 New Members were introduced: Leonard Bonnet, Bob Elliott.
• 11 Guests were introduced: Bill Collins, Marian Carriere, Suzanne Hudon and Roberto Alvadez, Heather and Wayne Bennett, Judy Brooks, Susan Novak and Peter Hanley, Gaye and Dennis Fournier.

2 ) AgendaDonna Nicholson
Donna advised that item 3, Approval of Minutes October 16, should have read September 23, 2013 Moved by Claire Fortin that the agenda be adopted as amended. Seconded by Eileen Howell. CARRIED.

3)Approval of Minutes: General Meeting, September 23, 2013Janet Wilkinson

Moved by Barb Smith, Seconded by Merve Sullivan, that the minutes be approved. Carried.

4)President’s Report: Donna Nicholson

4.1 APPENDIX A. Presentation of the Wayne Smith Medal

APPENDIX B. Letter from FFI President, Joy DiBenedetto

4.2 APPENDIX C. Report on FFI World Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana

5)VP Membership Report:Jean Farrell

APPENDIX D

Jean extended thanks to Gail Nevraumont for her outstanding work and coaching to help her get started. We currently have 163 members and reminded everyone to be sure to provide (or update) a short bio and photo for our FFO Directory.

Carolyn Maslek raised the question: what is the maximum number for membership efficiency and effectiveness of our programs? Jean’s response: there is no ‘magic number’. We have been in the 180s for quite a few years, and it is important to continually renew the membership for new ideas, richness of interests and diversity.

6)Treasurer’s ReportUlysse Nevraumont

APPENDIX E

Jim Frances will present the 2013 Financial Review at the June Meeting. Significant recommendations to note:

• All exchange Treasurer’s Reports must be submitted by year end (end of November)
• Event activities should avoid cash transactions since they provide no audit trail. (Bring your cheque books everyone.)

7)Social Activities ReportMary Cajka

APPENDIX F

8)VP Exchanges Report Kathy Hatherill

APPENDIX G

9)Adjournment: Moved by Pierrette Benoit, seconded by Jan Sterling that the meeting be adjourned. CARRIED. The meeting adjourned at 9:05.

NEXT GENERAL MEETING: MONDAY, APRIL 14. TOM BROWN ARENA. 7:00 SOCIAL 7:30 – 9:30 MEETING.

Submitted: 2014 01 29

Janet Wilkinson, Secretary

APPENDICES

A Awarding of the FFI Wayne Smith Medal to our FFO founders – David and Kathryn Williams

B Letter from FFI President, Joy Di Benedetto

C President’s Report to GM Jan 21, 2014: Highlights of the FFI International Conference, known as NOLA, held Nov. 23-25, 2013, New Orleans

D Membership Report

E Treasurer’s Report

F Social Activities Report

G VP Exchanges Report

Appendix A.Awarding of the FFI Wayne Smith Medal to our FFO founders –
David and Kathryn Williams

• The FF Ottawa club was launched in September 1994 by New Zealander, Gerald Weekes, Friendship Force's Regional Representative for the South Pacific when he visited his American cousin, David Williams, in Ottawa. Gerald was on an expansion draft tour for Friendship Force International to initiate clubs in Canada; three days of intense discussion and salesmanship resulted in a commitment to “give it [their] best effort”. After Ottawa, he launched the Lethbridge, Alberta club as well. Gerald passed away in 2000 and is fondly remembered for his dedication to starting the Friendship Force in Canada.
  
• Shortly after Kathryn and David Williams began trying to figure out how to attract club members, they received a (somewhat surprising) fax from another New Zealander, Doug Dean, thanking them for agreeing to host an exchange with his club. As a result, a brand new club of 31 Ottawa members hosted 21 members of The Friendship Force of Blenheim, New Zealand in May 1995. We sent 14 ambassadors on an outbound exchange to New Zealand seven months later.

• In the 19 years since then, our club has successfully hosted many inbound exchanges and participated in many outbound exchanges. We can proudly take credit for the launch of many new Canadian clubs. More important, we have made so many new friends, friends with whom we have shared cultures, hard work, generosity, brotherhood and peace and a lot of fun.

The FFO Board and FFO membership believe that David and Kathryn, as founders of our club, are most deserving of this award – their leadership and dedication to FF and to our Club, their many contributions over the years have made our Club a success. David and Kathryn announced they were leaving Ottawa and our Club at our September GM, indicating that they would be doing their best to start a FF club in Boston which attests to their continued dedication and leadership.

We are proud to present the Wayne Smith Medal to you, David and to your wife Kathy who is unable to be here tonight, as our FFO Founding members. You have both been strong mentors for FFO and you will be greatly missed. We look forward to being the first club to visit your newly established FF Boston Club in the near future! Don’t forget us because we will not be forgetting you!

APPENDIX B

APPENDIX C. President’s Report to GM Jan 21, 2014: Highlights of the FFI International Conference, known as NOLA, held Nov. 23-25, 2013, New Orleans

• What words do I think of when trying to describe my NOLA experience?
• Excitement (700 delegates), surprise (much better than I anticipated), richness of information (amazing workshops), music & culture (Wow, the cradle of jazz!), friendship (past and new), fabulous food (Cajun cuisine), enthusiasm (to bring back everything learned), international connections (35 countries represented in one room!), global peace (singing of ‘Let there be peace with 700 other like-minded individuals), inspiration (witnessing new ground being forged by award-winners from around the globe), gratitude (to FFO for providing the opportunity and encouragement for me to attend as your representative).
• I cannot begin to tell you all I have learned but will attempt to share a few of the highlights of the conference, trusting that you have confidence that much of what we learned will be incorporated into our thinking for FFO’s coming year. There were 2 full days of informative workshops touching on membership, hosting and matching exchanges, using social media, issues facing clubs, partnering, etc. and I can only share a few of the things I was able to take away. All of the presentations can be found on the FFI website under the ‘Photos and Presentations’ tab beside the FFI logo on the FFI home page.
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• A Social Media workshop was presented by FFI showcasing the FFI Website, Facebook page, Twitter hash tag and Instagram functions of the Internet. I was delighted to be asked to be one of the ‘friends of FFI’ who demonstrated how to set up a Club Facebook page to the conference delgates. As a result, FFO now has a Facebook presence where we will be posting news and current, up-to-date information as well as photos of our events and exchanges. We already have some lovely photos of the walking club’s Christmas outing and some very famous ballerinas who made a special guest appearance at our Christmas party. Please consider setting up your own personal Facebook page so that you can access all the information that will be posted on our club page. Just type “Facebook” into your web browser and the Facebook home page will appear. There you’ll see a button labeled ‘sign up’. Click on that and follow the instructions. Once you are signed up, you can access any Facebook account, including FFO’s. If you’re already a Facebook user, just type Friendship Force Ottawa in your Facebook Search box. It’s a great way to keep in touch with your FF contacts around the world that may also be on Facebook and a means for them as well as our community to see what our club is doing. There is a link to FFI so you can see what breaking news FFI is sharing. We will be live-demonstrating how you can set up your page at a GM in the near future. FFI also has instructions on their website at Club Members Resources/Leadership Tool Kit/Using Social Media.
  
• “It’s a Match!” A very informative and valuable workshop was presented by Pallie Savoie, the FFI person responsible for matching exchanges internationally. She showcased her ‘Exchange Request Analysis’ which gives great insight into how the process is managed and gave me a much better idea how we should be developing and submitting our requests to FFI. Clubs are matched based on all requests received – inbound and outbound, availability of the exchange, time period requested, hosting capacity of club, club’s past exchange history (# who typically travel per exchange – i.e. are you successful filling your exchanges, any cancellations, # exchanges hosted, exchange history back to 2003).

Tips shared included:

• easy matches – NZ, Australia, USA – you usually get what you request with these and often multiple weeks; then Latin America (e.g. Mexico) which are matched by region rather than a specific club initially; then more difficult matches – most popular destinations – Sweden, Ireland, anywhere in Europe. So you can see that Ottawa has a good reputation for almost always filling their exchanges, almost never cancels, hosts 4 inbound exchanges a year, and is willing to negotiate a change of location (e.g. Thailand last year) so most often gets what is requested – example is getting Sweden and Ireland in 2012. Don’t stop asking just because you are refused – on the 3rd request, you are given priority.
• Ask for reciprocal exchanges. FFI likes to make a match to visit someone who has visited your club. Mutual exchanges can be requested but no guarantees.
• Stand Out. Plan a themed exchange or mention how your exchange will be used for club recruitment.
  

• How to Grow Your Club; How to attract Younger Members. Two excellent presentations with practical tips on strategies and planning methods that we will be discussing at the board and with our new VP Membership, Jean Farrell. Main message is ‘We are not a travel club but rather a club that travels”. We are hoping to invite one of the presenters, who is an FFI Board Member and member of our sister club, the Force Amite Region Canadiene Capitale to a future GM as a guest speaker. She has much to offer regarding unique strategies for engaging new members.
  
• FFI Survey of Canadian and US Clubs – Results were delivered at the conference and will be posted on FFI website soon.
• Background: Comments were gleaned from interviews with 117 club presidents across the US and Canada as to the leading issues facing clubs.
• Findings: The biggest comment was about the loss of membership and how to increase numbers. There was no sense of despair, but and overwhelming enthusiasm with many "recipes" for success for gaining new members which ranged from handing food baskets to vets, to working with local groups within the community.
• Examples of recipesfor success:
• Sherbrooke, Quebec: celebrated World Friendship Day by holding a festival and invited the immigrant community;
• Birmingham, Alabama: held a mystery exchange (lots showed up!);
• Haliburton, held an urban/ country mix-up exchange;
• Las Vegas: set up a singles club, held wine tasting and potluck events, established links with churches;
• Big Canoe, North Georgia: asked how and why members joined, documented how and why things are done in their manual and kept it up to date, and used ads in local papers that are free;
• Switzerland: holds club meetings online through Skype;
• Hawaii: Involves non members to host exchange ambassadors;
• Quebec City: Increased its membership from 50 to 80 by organizing local activities to draw people in.
• Additional ideas:
• generate funds by working in theme parks, shuttling people from the airport, this also provides additional contact with potential new members
• hold neighborhood information nights all over in various communities
• feature speakers at your meetings and hold themed meetings
• increase your ethnic diversity by inviting groups to events

• NOLA - Not just about the workshops. Meeting face to face with friends from past and new exchanges. I was able to meet all the FFI staff and connect with the EDs from Brazil, Argentina, Vietnam, Baton Rouge, Suncoast Florida. I met EDs from past exchanges and people I have hosted during FFO inbound exchanges. I brought greetings from those who know some of you – a bag of Austrian Chocolate from a Viennese lady who hosted the Gregoires; a personal greeting from Nancy Pierson of Santa Barbara to Mary Cajka; a CD from a Cornwall lady to Rosemary Breseau; greetings from Cuikie of the Bogota, Colombia club to those who were on that exchange in 2010; Greetings from Eileen and Mikie of Cape Town, SA to those they met during our 2012 Global Winter Exchange.
  
• Culture. So you see it wasn’t all work and no play. The New Orleans culture was up front and centre as we tasted Cajun cooking (even had a workshop on how to prepare gumbo and crawfish), learned Cajun dancing, were entertained by several instrumental and vocal jazz performances, had a gala mardi gras banquet and a cruise on the Mississippi River. All this in only 2 and a half days!

I’m sure all 9 FFO members who attended the conference will agree that it was a very full and rich experience not to be missed. Maybe those who attended could stand so everyone can see who you are, allowing people to ask you about your experience later.

APPENDIX D.

Membership Report For General Meeting 2014 01 21

1 info session was held Jan 7. Another info session is planned for mid Feb if enough names.

9 guests were invited and confirmed for the Potluck GM for January 21.

Badges will be ordered for the new members and anyone else.

Anyone who has not submitted a short bio and/or a photo see me.

Need everyone to recruit new members.

I will be at a table after to answer questions.

APPENDIX F

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES REPORT FOR GENERAL MEETING JANUARY 2014

CHRISTMAS PARTY

You had to be there. Once in a lifetime opportunity to see the friendship force ballerinas!

Food was great, location excellent, and price was right $42 all inclusive. A real bargain and lots of fun.

Still need volunteers for 2014. Band and hall are booked, but format not set in stone. In fact since just over half our members attended, maybe a change of direction is required.

However, I have been at every Christmas party since it started as a potluck at a member's house, complete with a singsong around the piano, very low key, lots of fun. I think we have evolved to a classy affair but still lots of fun. In fact the last few years have in my opinion been the best ever. We have to be careful as the expression goes, "don't fix it if it ain't broken"

That being said, should you decide to change the format, there are no lost deposits.

So please forward your ideas and opinions to me. I particularly want to hear from those of you who do not attend and tell us what it takes to make you participant.

2 things to remember

1. Think about getting a group together to plan the party

2. Give me feedback and suggestions as to format, location. etc

FRIENDSHIP FORCE DAY PARTY

Last year’s get together was a big success lot of excitement. The format is essentially the same: munchies, salad, pizza, soft drinks, tea and coffee, and dessert. Bring your own wine or beer if you so desire.

The location is Legare’s party room, near Lincoln Fields, right next to McEwans gas station.

Games will be provided but if you have a special one you want to play, bring it along, Again Lucy ad John Nelms are the games masters.

The theme this year is Italian. We encourage you to dress in the colours of the Italian flag red white and green , or as a famous Italian,Tony Soprano, Pavarotti, Julius Caesar , Galileo, , the Pope , you get the idea. Not so many famous Italian women, Madonna? Sophia Loren? But I am sure you will think up something. Dressing up is not required, but it is a lot of fun and there are bottles of semi-expensive wine as prizes. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased to night at the table from Lucy Nelms or Kay Knobel, or by mail from Maureen Sly. We are limited to 60 people so get your tickets early, like tonight.

FRIENDLY WANDERERS

A reminder that the friendly wanderers are sharing their recent travel experiences to Norway on Wednesday, Jan 29 at the Citizen community room. Bring along a friend as the Sullivans and Nicholsons showcase their exciting pictures. Time is 7 pm.

WALKING CLUB

Also a reminder that the walking club is arranging a Winterlude outing in conjunction with our winter exchange. Friday, February 7 is the date. Meet in the foyer of the NAC at 10:30 am. Contact Fay McNeil or Jane Rau for further details.