Friendship Force World Conference
July 23-25, 2019
This year’s World Conference was held at the Williams Village Campus at the University of Colorado at Boulder. After being greeted by the Mayor of Boulder, Susanne Jones, Jeremi Snook, the President and CEO of Friendship Force International, opened the Conference. He shared with us that currently there are 360 Friendship Force Clubs in 60 countries! FFI's goals for the next 5 years are to bring technology up to date, to have more clubs in the Middle East, Africa, and South America, and to double our international membership.
Conference attendees were able to relive their college days when they spent 3 nights in the campus dormitories and ate in the cafeteria. FFI members attended 5 to 6 workshop sessions a day with at least 16 topics to choose from. Topics included how matching for international journeys are done, packing tips, club development, retention and recruitment of members, and how FF Regional Support Managers and Field Representatives could help a club.
Members from the Baton Rouge FF Club were invited to a social hour by Karen Vingiello, our Regional Support Manager. It was a great experience to meet others members in our area and to share common problems and concerns.
The Conference was concluded with a “Bluegrass in Boulder” Barbeque Dinner. The music and food were enjoyed by all. Attending the Conference was truly an educational, inspirational, and fun experience
Conference attendees were able to relive their college days when they spent 3 nights in the campus dormitories and ate in the cafeteria. FFI members attended 5 to 6 workshop sessions a day with at least 16 topics to choose from. Topics included how matching for international journeys are done, packing tips, club development, retention and recruitment of members, and how FF Regional Support Managers and Field Representatives could help a club.
Members from the Baton Rouge FF Club were invited to a social hour by Karen Vingiello, our Regional Support Manager. It was a great experience to meet others members in our area and to share common problems and concerns.
The Conference was concluded with a “Bluegrass in Boulder” Barbeque Dinner. The music and food were enjoyed by all. Attending the Conference was truly an educational, inspirational, and fun experience
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Christmas Party 2019 at Village Charmant Club House
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Hot August Nights 2019
The evening was clear and not misty, almost perfect for South Louisiana. As we drove up to the site of Friendship Force’s 14th Hot August Night Festivities at Bob and Gayle’s home a mirage of food, drink, and fun games floating above the roof top could be seen.
It seems like what we like do in Friendship Force Baton Rouge is eat, drink, and play games and not necessarily in that order. Plenty of food and drink although all the photos of the drink table came out fuzzy, don’t know why. The food was outstanding as usual. Main course was BBQ pork loin, pork ribs and sausage preceded, of course, by oysters on the half shell. Couple the main course with a cornucopia of side dishes brought by members such as corn on the cob, assorted bean plates, assorted salads, deviled eggs, and breads you have a sit-down meal that is hard to get up from, particularly for the next event. Anticipating the next event to be brownies, cookies, and the variety of ice creams and topping we were disappointed but we were led far away to something much more entertaining.
You guessed it. We were introduced to a series of 4 contests in which Bob announced that the overall winner will not receive a medal or a flag but a one carat diamond inlaid in a 19 carat gold ring (maybe I got that part about the one carat wrong but it was part of a carat and maybe the ring was not really 19 carats but it was a shiny like gold- nobody is perfect). Carolyn Adams, who used to work with Bob was selected as an impartial judge and official score keeper.
The first game was the familiar bottle ring toss. Some of the non-participants thought they noticed that some of the rings had smaller holes than the bottle necks. However, we were assured that was impossible since the rings were bought at 3 different stores by Bob to ensure they were all the same diameter.
Our next game was the Rabbit Hole Toss also called the bean bag toss by the older members of our group. Some members claimed of seeing double holes side by side and asked Judge Carolyn Adams to physically determine which were the real holes. She said that she couldn’t help one person without helping all the players. Some players then complained that some of the bean bags were heavier than others and again Bob explained that he bought them from 3 different stores to insure they all weighted the same.
The third game was the old familiar water balloon toss. You know the one where we select a partner and we throw the water balloon to each other at increasing distances and as the water balloons burst the couple is eliminated. Well that game went fairly well until Thornton missed a line drive from his beloved and burst the water balloon right over her purse. He didn’t know the purse was there but then it didn’t help when he stepped on it. Well she became upset and somehow the Hammond police showed up. When they discovered it was a Friendship Force Event they calmed down and suggested the guilty parties cool off in the pool.
And that brings us to the tie-breaker for who wins the one carat diamond ring. Barbara, Lin, and Margaret were in a face off in the pool to win the coveted diamond ring. Barbara, however, was not really one of the top 3 scorers but everyone thought she should have a chance since she provided the extra entertainment (well Thornton provided the entertainment but everyone thought her husband was a handicap for her so that was how she qualified).
The swim meet took place in Bob and Gayle’s pool and was overseen by the trusty judge and score keeper. Everyone was given an additional 10 minutes to find their way to the pool and then the meet was on. It was a tough race and some contestants were just 10-15 feet apart. You could see the glint of ice in the winner’s eyes as she made her way to the finish line. The winner was Lin Ashton and you can see the ring on her left hand in the photo below.
It seems like what we like do in Friendship Force Baton Rouge is eat, drink, and play games and not necessarily in that order. Plenty of food and drink although all the photos of the drink table came out fuzzy, don’t know why. The food was outstanding as usual. Main course was BBQ pork loin, pork ribs and sausage preceded, of course, by oysters on the half shell. Couple the main course with a cornucopia of side dishes brought by members such as corn on the cob, assorted bean plates, assorted salads, deviled eggs, and breads you have a sit-down meal that is hard to get up from, particularly for the next event. Anticipating the next event to be brownies, cookies, and the variety of ice creams and topping we were disappointed but we were led far away to something much more entertaining.
You guessed it. We were introduced to a series of 4 contests in which Bob announced that the overall winner will not receive a medal or a flag but a one carat diamond inlaid in a 19 carat gold ring (maybe I got that part about the one carat wrong but it was part of a carat and maybe the ring was not really 19 carats but it was a shiny like gold- nobody is perfect). Carolyn Adams, who used to work with Bob was selected as an impartial judge and official score keeper.
The first game was the familiar bottle ring toss. Some of the non-participants thought they noticed that some of the rings had smaller holes than the bottle necks. However, we were assured that was impossible since the rings were bought at 3 different stores by Bob to ensure they were all the same diameter.
Our next game was the Rabbit Hole Toss also called the bean bag toss by the older members of our group. Some members claimed of seeing double holes side by side and asked Judge Carolyn Adams to physically determine which were the real holes. She said that she couldn’t help one person without helping all the players. Some players then complained that some of the bean bags were heavier than others and again Bob explained that he bought them from 3 different stores to insure they all weighted the same.
The third game was the old familiar water balloon toss. You know the one where we select a partner and we throw the water balloon to each other at increasing distances and as the water balloons burst the couple is eliminated. Well that game went fairly well until Thornton missed a line drive from his beloved and burst the water balloon right over her purse. He didn’t know the purse was there but then it didn’t help when he stepped on it. Well she became upset and somehow the Hammond police showed up. When they discovered it was a Friendship Force Event they calmed down and suggested the guilty parties cool off in the pool.
And that brings us to the tie-breaker for who wins the one carat diamond ring. Barbara, Lin, and Margaret were in a face off in the pool to win the coveted diamond ring. Barbara, however, was not really one of the top 3 scorers but everyone thought she should have a chance since she provided the extra entertainment (well Thornton provided the entertainment but everyone thought her husband was a handicap for her so that was how she qualified).
The swim meet took place in Bob and Gayle’s pool and was overseen by the trusty judge and score keeper. Everyone was given an additional 10 minutes to find their way to the pool and then the meet was on. It was a tough race and some contestants were just 10-15 feet apart. You could see the glint of ice in the winner’s eyes as she made her way to the finish line. The winner was Lin Ashton and you can see the ring on her left hand in the photo below.
