Joni Kimoto-Reeves, a local Japanese-American who was incarcerated in an internment camp during WWII, invited us to hear her story about her experience.  Several members and some younger family members attended on November 7, 2021, 11am, at the St. James Lutheran Church at 1315 SW Park and Jefferson in downtown Portland.  Joni Kimoto told her very touching story, along with a power point presentation entitled Looking Like the enemy, A Child of the Camp.  Thank you Joni for inviting us, sharing your very personal experience, and helping shed light on this historical fact.

Our 2021 Annual Meeting will be held via Zoom at 10am, Saturday, November 13, 2021.  President Pat Stryker will be leading us again into the new year, along with her board who all have agreed to continue on for another year.  Thank you to all for your service.  Please join us to review what we have been doing this past year regardless of the Covid restrictions that have kept us home.  We are still learning and sharing culture and friendships across the world.  May your world be filled with peace, kindness, love and friendships of every variety!

Email Gwen if you wish to join.  She will then send you a zoom link.

FFCC and FF Seattle held a great virtual journey during the months of January and February courtesy of Zoom and some very special members with presentation skills.  Getting to know our own larger communities is especially delightful in these times of hunkering down at home.  Thank you to the Seattle club for suggesting this and making it happen.  If you are interested in learning more about this or participating after the fact, we did tape the events.  Check out both club newsletters for more information.  A special thank you to Mary Dickson and Joyce Frost for coordinating all the activities!  Job well done.

We continue to hold meetings via Zoom.  Please stay tuned for information coming soon on our annual meeting scheduled for November 14, 2020 at 11:30am.  Members will get an invitation to attend the Zoom meeting.  Please plan to attend!  See you there!

All members are invited to share in a Zoom meeting hosted by the Seattle FF club on Sunday, August 30th, 3pm.  Jeremi Shook, FFI CEO, and Bobbie Mulholland, FFI Board Chair will be featured conversation and there will be time for Q&A.   Way to go Seattle FF.  Come and join the fun exploring.

For more information contact Mary Dickson at mbdinor@gmail.com.

Our annual picnic is this week, Wednesday August 26, 11:00am at Frenchman’s Bar in Vancouver, Washington.  There is a parking fee.  Go west from I-5 onto Mill Plain which becomes Lower River Road.  Turn left rather than going to Lake Vancouver at the junction to Frenchman’s Bar.  We will be at the covered pavilion at the end of the parking lot on the Columbia River.  Bring your own chair, drink, food, and MASK!  All of us will be appropriately social distancing.  We intend to walk the trail.  Come join the fun and have a good time checking in on your friends!

Yes, Covid-19 has us all trying new things.  Our members are trying to stay home and be healthy.  We have converted our meetings to Zoom hosted electronic meetings and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  That does not mean that we aren’t active.  We are working on new ways to communicate and visit with one another.  For example, instead of visiting a local restaurant, we are zooming together while we eat at home.  And we are zooming together to make plans for upcoming journeys, hoping that 2021 will allow us some time to travel.

We will be watching the holiday boat parade from Donna’s vantage point in Vancouver Friday, December 13th from 6pm onward. Come join the fun watching boats, and singing carols while Donna serenades us with the piano! All are welcome! See calendar for details.

Saturday, November 16th our club held its annual meeting. Our slate of officers elected are:

• President: Georgie Buckler (2nd year of service)
• Vice President: Pat Stryker
• Secretary: Gwen White
• Treasurer: Pati Sluys
• Member at Large: Evelyn Wilson

Non-elected chair positions include:

• Activities: Mary Dickson
• Membership: Sharon Dawson
• Historian: Larry Spiegel
• Communications: Lori Reynolds
• Parliamentarian: Emily Smith
• Journey Coordinators: Pam Brown & Wayne Potter
• Journey Treasurer: Laural Engeman
• Newletter: Marty Muncie
• Email Coordinator: Dick Van Ingen

And our Grace White Award was presented to Gwen White for her years of continued service to the club. Thanks to all for your volunteer efforts to keep us sharing a world of peace and making new friends around the globe.