hhhh Page 1 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE September 2020 Dear FFSB members, Some things remain the same for us as a club. We will continue to meet by Zoom only for planning, and program meetings for 2020. We will see how our socials go – we will probably continue Zoom socials until we are allowed to meet in a group. FFSB has a committee working to contact each of our members. Hopefully you have received a phone call or an email from one of us by now. We just want to check in with everyone to see how we are all doing since we cannot meet in person. In August, I attended a Zoom meeting with other Western Region FF Club presidents and our regional Reps. All of the clubs represented are having Zoom planning, program and social meetings with varying levels of success. We are all just doing the best we can at this time. Per FFI, we were told that we should go ahead and plan for FF Journeys in 2021 and 2022 but DO NOT put any money down on tickets to travel or events related to these visits because we do not know what will be possible regarding travel. FFI asks that that we do not push any of our travels out to 2023. If we have not accomplished a journey by then, we are asked to cancel it and request it again through FFI. That said, we as a club will begin to work with other clubs to decide whether to try to accomplish or cancel FF trips for 2021-2022. If you are looking for a way to stay connected with other Friendship Force Clubs, you can visit the FFI web site for Virtual experiences. That site is updated often and offers a variety o f ways we can connect with other clubs during these times. FRIENDSHIP FORCE OF SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 FRIENDSHIP FORCE NEWSLETTER
Transcript
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
September 2020
Dear FFSB members,
Some things remain the
same for us as a club. We
will continue to meet by
Zoom only for planning,
and program meetings for
2020. We will see how our
socials go – we will
probably continue Zoom
socials until we are
allowed to meet in a
group.
FFSB has a committee
working to contact each
of our members. Hopefully
you have received a
phone call or an email
from one of us by now.
We just want to check in
with everyone to see how
we are all doing since we
cannot meet in person.
In August, I attended a
Zoom meeting with other
Western Region FF Club
presidents and our
regional Reps.
All of the clubs
represented are having
Zoom planning, program
and social meetings with
varying levels of success.
We are all just doing the
best we can at this time.
Per FFI, we were told
that we should go ahead
and plan for FF Journeys in
2021 and 2022 but DO
NOT put any money down
on tickets to travel or
events related to these
visits because we do not
know what will be possible
regarding travel.
FFI asks that that we do
not push any of our travels
out to 2023. If we have
not accomplished a
journey by then, we are
asked to cancel it and
request it again through
FFI. That said, we as a
club will begin to work
with other clubs to decide
whether to try to
accomplish or cancel FF
trips for 2021-2022.
If you are looking for a
way to stay connected
with other Friendship Force
Clubs, you can visit the FFI
web site for Virtual
experiences. That site is
updated often and offers
a variety o f ways we can
connect with other clubs
during these times.
FRIENDSHIP FORCE OF SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
FRIENDSHIP FORCE NEWSLETTER
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F R I E N D S H I P F O R C E O F S A N T A B A R B A R A
O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0
President’s Message
Cont’d from Page 1
I would encourage you
to get you flu shot if that is
something you regularly
do.
They are available now.
Remember it takes two
weeks from the time you
get the immunization
before it becomes
effective.
I hope everyone is
doing well. If there is
anything someone in the
club can do to support
you during this time please
contact me.
Stay Well, Stay Safe,
Bonnie Dutton
Club President
2020 Governing Board of the Friendship Force of Santa Barbara
OFFICERS
President: Bonnie Dutton Vice President: Bill Boyd
Secretary: Terry Behrens
Co-Treasurers: Lori Lofstrom & David Jones
DIRECTORS
Past President: Linda Williams
JOURNEY COORDINATORS
Domestic Journey Coordinator:
Karolyn Hanna
Outbound Ambassador Coordinators (AC):
Karolyn Hanna and Terry Scrivner
Sarasota, Fl
Bill Boyd and George Lehtinen.
Milwaukee, WI and Quad Cities IA/IL
Linda Williams
Cleveland County, UK
Inbound Host Coordinators (HC):
Pam Vestal
Adelaide, Australia
Dave & Jan Inouye, Bill Dutton.
Kumamoto, Japan
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Directory: Paula Gregoire-Jones
E-mail Notifications: Dawn McGrew
Historian: Dick and Joyce Falk
Membership: JoAnn Magistad & Joanie Sullivan
Newsletter Editor: Patrick Wade
Newsletter Publisher: Dawn McGrew
Programs: Bill Boyd
Refreshments: Jane Gorbet & Barbara Rose
Setup: Sherman and Julie Vincent
Social Events: Terry Scrivner & Roberta Lehtinen
Sunshine: Claire Magee
Telephone: Sandy Hartley
Webmaster: Paula Gregoire-Jones
Welcome: Agris and Elza Petersons
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FRIENDSHIP FORCE of SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
July 18, 2020
Program Meeting
Tuxtla-Gutierrez Friendship Force Journey
November 14-23, 2020
Written by Bill Boyd
Our July 18, 2020 FFSB Program Meeting featured Bruce Arnheim presenting a narrated slide
show on ZOOM illustrating the highlights of our November 2020 journey to Tuxtla-Gutierrez, Chiapas
State, Mexico. Bruce and his wife Sumi are members of the Los Angeles FF Club. They joined Karolyn
Hanna, Gail and Don Gillies, Joe Magistad and her daughter Ellen McDonald, Jill Wilk, Bill Boyd and
Sandy Grasso-Boyd on the Tuxtla Journey. Sandy Grasso-Boyd also presented short videos from the trip,
highlighting the elegant dancers and the marimba music. Myrna Sanchez, a member of the Tuxtla
Club, who was also their interpreter during our visit, joined us in the ZOOM meeting. About 25 members
of our club attended the ZOOM meeting. Following our slide presentation at the Program meeting,
members of the Journey answered questions from those who were unable to attend the fun time in
Tuxtla.
Bruce Arnheim is a recently retired engineer from the Aerospace Corporation. He became
familiar with Friendship Force through his mother, who was active for decades and visited 85 countries in
her lifetime, mostly with Friendship Force. Bruce and his wife Sumi have gone on one previous outbound
journey to Canada, including the clubs in Vancouver, Victoria, and Penticton/Oliver and then to Tuxtla.
Sumi is now active on the leadership team of FFLA. They previously helped host inbound journeys from
Japan, Brazil and Tuxtla-Gutierrez where they met Mirna and Mirnita, a mother daughter pair who
stayed with them. Mirna said the Santa Barbara FF club was coming to see them in a couple of months
and they didn’t have an ambassador staying with them, why don’t they join them. So they did. Bruce
and Sumi did a pre-journey trip with their hosts to Comitan and Las Nubes and celebrated the birthday
of Mirna’s daughter at their home in Turtla. Bruce likes to travel, cook, scuba dive and enjoys
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FRIENDSHIP FORCE of SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
photography, especially underwater. They have a second home in Avalon, on Santa Catalina Island,
so he gets a lot of diving opportunities.
For a detailed description of our journey, please refer to the 1st Quarter FFSB Newsletter
LOOKING DOWN ON SUMERO CANYON MARIMBA PARK IN TUXTLA WELCOME
Our journey hosts gather with us at the
Santo Domingo Convent in Chiapa de Corzo
Our final visit to the Mayan Ruins in
Palenque
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FRIENDSHIP FORCE of SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
August Social
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Via Zoom 5:00 p.m.
“MASK” ARADE
Organized by Roberta Lehtinen and Terry Scrivner
There were twenty-three participants in this no rules creative venture to
show masks from members’ travels, or home designed, or of clever
construction to make the group laugh
Dee Willkerson had a mask with pins from her various travels.
George, with his Covid beard, and Roberta Lehtinen managed to
look like themselves. Roberta told him to smile with his eyes.
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FRIENDSHIP FORCE of SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
Jan & Dave Inouye were Raggedy Ann & Andy The Gorbets displayed Marti Gras masks
NURSING BRA BILL BOYD AT TIMES DISAPPEARED FROM US.
Terry Scrivner said she couldn’t see the
forest and Stan Scrivener was the ghost of
Christmas pat.
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FRIENDSHIP FORCE of SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
Pam Vestal was clever with the cat mask she made.
Dawn McGrew was a little scary while the Vincents were royal.
The Duttons displayed masks that
they made when working with
preschool children in Guatemala
where they work with the Mayan
people through an organization-
Mayan Families. Bill has worked
with this organization for 7 years -
leading a service trip the
Guatemala each year.
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FRIENDSHIP FORCE of SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
Jo Magistad use to teach 1st graders who were
terrified of Halloween. She used paper plates to
have them make masks so they were no longer
afraid.
Karolyn Hana had
a mask from the
Venetian in Las
Vegas.
The Zoom host had many emotions during the “Mask”erade
Many thanks to Terry Scrivner for being the Moderator.
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FRIENDSHIP FORCE of SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
Program Meeting
Guest Speaker
Monday, September 21, 2020
Unity Shop’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic
Presented By
Thomas D. Reed
Executive Director of Unity Shoppe, Santa Barbara.
Tom Reed joined Unity Shoppe in 2002 as Director of
Development and became Executive Director in 2004. He
has served the community service agency through
challenging times: numerous wildfires, the Montecito
mudslide and the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Tom gave a very personable presentation that was
interesting to the FFSB 18 participants. Even those who are
longtime residents of Santa Barbara learned some new
things about the history of Unity Shoppe.
The Unity Shoppe mission and purpose for being remains as relevant today as it
was over 100 years ago: to provide critical support services to the underserved and
help them get back on their feet as quickly as possible, creating positive and
transformative results in the lives of those residents who often feel marginalized or
disregarded.
Unity’s essential services include nutritious food, school clothing and supplies,
senior care and disabled resource center, long-term disaster services, Santa Toy
Shoppe and volunteerism programs, and job training for youth and adults.
The recipients choose their own food and retain dignity. There have been 1,700
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FRIENDSHIP FORCE of SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
volunteers with a $2 million budget serving 60 to 70 thousand clients.
These are extraordinarily difficult times for many in our Santa Barbara
Community. With Unity’s organizational mission and purpose as their guide, they have
streamlined operationally by focusing their efforts entirely on providing free food in a
safe and accessible manner.
Since March 13, 2020, Unity has been serving three times the number of clients
they saw in January and February of this year, anticipating that over the next six to 12
months those numbers will grow, and their services will be utilized to capacity -- much
like they were during the Thomas Fires and Montecito Debris Flow.
Unity has had to combine its varied
offerings down to one -- food distribution.
They have consolidated their staff to keep
them safe and dispersed, and to ensure
compliance with state and federal
regulations. Food acquisition by clients is
now streamlined -- displayed on shelves
and in baskets throughout the former
waiting area only; clients point to or ask for
the specific food items they want, Unity staff packages them swiftly while wearing
mask and gloves and maintaining physical separation.
Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, with sufficient time for daily disinfection
and next day preparation. Unity offers groceries with choice as well as other necessary
essentials and support services all under one roof at 1401 Chapala Street or via their
streamlined delivery service of client-selected, custom-bagged groceries to those
residents who are non-ambulatory or immune-compromised.
Today, while the majority of the population Unity serves continues to be Hispanic
(66%) or Caucasian (28%), since March 10th, they observed a dramatic shift in their
demographic profile, with 85% of the daily intakes being first-time clients. In addition to
vulnerable seniors, Unity is seeing the newly jobless struggling to meet the most basic
demands of food acquisition due to this crisis.
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FRIENDSHIP FORCE of SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
Officers For 2021
At the September 14th Zoom planning meeting a nominating committee was
formed to select officers for the 2021 year. Pam Vestal, Karolyn Hanna and Barbara
Rose volunteered to be on the committee. Pam Vestal asked the current officers if
they were willing to serve another year and guess what all said yes! If anyone else is
interested in being an officer, contact a Nominating Committee member. Members
will vote at the November 16th program meeting for the slate of officers. Current
nominees are: President Bonnie Dutton, Vice President Bill Boyd, Secretary Terry
Behrens and Treasurer Lori Lofstrom for the year 2021.
FFSB Sunshine Team Report Sept 2020
Submitted by Bonnie Dutton
FFSB has expanded the sunshine team to five
members: Clair Magee, Roberta Lehtinen, Terry
Scrivner, Pat Burkard and Bonnie Dutton.
We have done our best to make a check in call
to each of our members in a two-week period in
September. We enjoyed talking to everyone we
were able to reach.
A Club Report:
Some of us are feeling isolated. Some are busy with distance visiting and
Zoom meetings. Some are catching up on cleaning, organizing and
gardening. A few are coping with health issues. Some are getting out
and about for exercise – walking, playing tennis or golf. A few are
cautiously planning future trips.
If there is someone you are missing, be sure to look him or her up in the FFSB
directory and call him or her or send him or her an email. Let’s keep as connected as
we can.
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FRIENDSHIP FORCE of SANTA BARBARA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
Planning and Program Meetings
Planning Meetings: Monday, November 9, 2020 via Zoom
Program Meetings: Monday, November 16, 2020 7:00 p.m. George and Roberta Lehtinen — “Sarasota, Florida Journey” via Zoom.
Social Programs
October TBD: Dotty Iverson’s Pot Luck; either Welcome or Farewell Dinner for the Japanese Ambassadors from Kumamoto.
Sunday, October 11th Zoom at 5 PM. Extending and keeping friendships with hosts and ambassadors.
December TBD: – Annual Holiday Dinner Party at Mulligans
AC = Ambassador Coordinator Outbound
HC = Host Coordinator Inbound
October 26 – November 2, 2020 - TBD
Inbound International, Kumamoto, Japan. Dave & Jan Inouye, and Bill Dutton are HCs.
October 2021 Santa Barbara International Outbound to South Island, New Zealand. Anne
