THE FRIENDSHIP FORCE
OF
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
"A world of friends is a world of peace."
On March 1, 1977, President and Mrs. Carter hosted governors of the fifty states and their spouses at The White House. At a banquet, The President asked for their personal support in getting the Friendship Force organization off the ground. Response by the governors was so immediate and so positive that within six months the organization had directors for most of the fifty states and Wayne Smith had become its first President.
On March 17, 1977, The Friendship Force was officially chartered.
One of the first governors to respond to the President’s request for their personal support was Governor James Hunt of NC and his wife Carolyn. Carolyn later served on the Friendship Force board of Trustees and was the State Chairperson and they both became involved in hosting. Governor Hunt appointed Millie Schecter as state director for North Carolina and State Representatives became involved.
In 1979, State Representative Marie Colton approached Nancy Norris and Leslie Anderson about a cultural program she was interested in promoting in WNC. This program was called The Friendship Force. An exchange between Raleigh and Newcastle, England was being coordinated at the time, the departure date was nearing, and two plane seats were available so Nancy and Leslie found themselves on their first exchange.
Marie Colton, Nancy Norris Bauer, Marla Tugwell Adams and Lynn Winkel worked to make Asheville the third NC city to be selected for an international exchange program. Raleigh and Charlotte were also designed as exchange cities. Marie Colton also worked tirelessly to promote the new organization in her district.
Residents in Western NC were eligible to apply as hosts and ambassadors for Asheville’s first exchange scheduled for Oct. of 1980. “For this to be successful it will be necessary for us to involve hundreds of people,” said William Highsmith, chancellor at UNC Asheville. Nancy Norris Bauer was the Exchange Director for this first exchange. Under the exchange, a planeload of citizens from the area would fly to a city in another country to stay in private homes for 10 days. The same plane would bring an equal number of people from that city to stay in private homes here. There were many locations for the interviews for hosts and ambassadors and many people were disappointed that they were not picked. The foreign destination for this exchange was not announced until July; after all 102 participants had been selected by a local committee. There was great excitement when it was announced that they would be going to Quebec. After many cultural workshops and language classes, the group was told that this first exchange had been cancelled by Quebec. Instead, 35 Ambassadors traveled with a group of 250 from Atlanta to West Berlin.
“and I am from Hamburg.” With those words from Firtz Bauer, Friendship Force Exchange Director from Hamburg, West Germany, the destination of the October, 1981 exchange was disclosed. Fritz said, “You go to see people – not necessarily the weather and the city.” And when asked what the visiting West Germans expect from their WNC Host families. He said, “They expect nothing but open hearts – and smiles.” There was over 200 Ambassadors that went to Germany and a like number that came to Western NC.
During 1980, it had been decided that Friendship Force clubs would be organized within communities and provide support for program goals. And guidelines were established for licensing clubs through Friendship Force International headquarters. Clubs were authorized to use the trade name and the logo of hands clasped in friendship
In October 1981, FFWNC received its charter from the
Friendship Force International.
This charter was presented at the International Conference in Berlin.
Lynn Winkel received the Chapter
Charter from Wayne Smith for FFWNC.
In 1982, North Carolina’s very first club, the Friendship Force Club of Western NC was formed. In November of 1982, Nancy Norris was elected as the first President and a letter from the Friendship Force of North Carolina confirms that her election as president was to North Carolina very first club.
In 1982, Asheville welcomed more than 200 members from 26 states and 15 foreign countries to the sixth annual International Conference held at Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain. The official hosts of this conference were Governor Hunt and his wife Carolyn. Please read what Governor Hunt was quoted as saying in the Asheville paper
“Carolyn and I believe the Friendship Force is important because of the great need for nations to learn and understand each other better. Many times language is not the only barrier. We need to learn more about the cultures of other nations and how they live and work and play. Hunt said individual friendships can break down international barriers between nations and foster global peace. In a sense it’s the people getting ahead of their leaders. When diplomatic relations between countries have not succeeded in bringing about peace, perhaps this can.”
Previously, the conference had been held in West Berlin, England, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. and conference planners wondered what Asheville could do to compete with the big-city atmosphere. The members decided to do the obvious and to capitalize on the beauty and character of the mountains in theme and decorations.
In 1982, it was announced that the exchange would be with a country in the orient. Forty-eight ambassadors later discovered that Seoul, the capital of Korea would be the destination for the third exchange.
According to an
article in the Asheville paper,
the Koreans who came to our mountains enjoyed a potluck picnic at Hickory Nut
Farm in Fairview. In a letter written to the Asheville Citizen-Times, Dr.
Sanguine You said “The dream of a peaceful world can become a reality
only when true understanding is achieved among the people of all nations and
when true friendship comes out of this understanding. We have taken a
great step forward in this cause.
The first cultural exchanges with the Soviet Union began in 1982. This type of exchange did not involve home exchange and the Russians were not allowed to visit the US in a two-way exchange program. Carolyn Hunt led one of these groups in 1982 of 101 North Carolinians who visited the Soviet Union for 12 days.
There were 6 people
from FFWNC on this
one-way exchange. Linda Dunlop of Weaverville was one of these
Ambassadors “They have a stolid look when you see them on the street,”
she said. “But once you got through their façade, they were very
open. They do not want war. They asked us, “Why does the U. S. have
to be No.1? Why can’t we co-exist? Go back and tell your people we
want peace.”
In 1983, FFI asked Lynn Winkel of Asheville to be exchange director of an exchange with Russia involving Ambassadors from across the USA.
On
May 9th, 1983, with festivity, flair and flash the mystery was
revealed. 80 Ambassadors from FFWNC were
going to England and ambassadors from England would visit FFWNC.
In 1984 ambassadors exchanged to Italy and
Holland and in 1985 the club had two exchanges to Brazil and Ireland.
In 1989 the club was incorporated as The
Friendship Force of Western North Carolina, Inc. In that same year the
club also received their tax-exempt status from the IRS
In the early years, Gay Grimsley went to China and Brazil. She is quoted in an article in the Asheville newspaper in Aug 1985. “You get to know a lot more about the country, about how they do things. In just one week, and in spite of any language difficulties, you form an incredible bond with the family you stay with and with those involved in the exchange as well. You go and become a part of these people’s families.”
Jack and Jean Strong
went to Ireland in 1985 and several years later their hosts came to Western NC
to visit. They weren’t interested in seeing Biltmore House because they
have older castles over there but were most impressed by a drive on the Blue
Ridge Parkway.
In 1987, seventeen
Irish Ambassadors visited Western NC. One of the three ambassadors who
were visiting Irene Spencer said they were curious to see if the life of an
American typified on television shows such as Dallas and Dynasty was true and
if the boisterous and unfriendly reputation of the typical American was for
real. They found that most Americans live somewhat like the Irish, and
they’re very friendly, hospitable people.
In 1987 their host at the Asheville airport greeted a New Zealand ambassador.
FFWNC was named club of the year for 1993 at the International Conference Mexico. The commendation accompanying the award reads in part:
From their first shared charter to Berlin in 1980, this club has achieved the reputation of dependability – always meeting their commitment for at least two outbound and two inbound exchanges each year. Their success may come from the community life of their 244 members – who are active, energetic participants in civic clubs and in community volunteer efforts ranging from the homeless to art instruction and manning the Friendship office.
Members come from two states and 8 Western North Carolina counties. They maintain a scholarship program, which enabled two students to visit England and Japan last year.
Perhaps their finest hour came last fall. Just before their inbound exchange from New Zealand was to end, the visiting Exchange Director from New Zealand suffered an aneurysm and was not expected to live. Happily, special air arrangements eventually allowed her to return home, but not before the club rallied around her and her husband with constant care and attention for several weeks.
We are pleased to present the Beverlie J. Reilman Club of the Year award to this longtime, dependable club which gave us many happy memories when they hosted the annual Conference in Asheville in 1982.
When Moldova visited
in 1994 they presented Mayor Russ Martin with a rug from his country as a token
of friendship from the people of the Republic of Moldova.
Helen Cable was an ambassador with a statewide exchange to China and liked the country so well that she decided to return and teach for 6 months.
“We may not share the same language, but the
power of friendship overcomes differences,” said Helen in an article printed in
the Asheville newspaper in
2000. She also said “If we see people in their own homes, we’re not
judging them by their race, religion or their politics. Friendship is
friendship.”
Beginning in 2002, Jerry Morrison was Exchange Director for four years
to a group of Russians leaders. The
program, presently called Open World grew out of the 1999 and 2001 successful
Russian Leadership Program administered by the Library of Congress. The program is now implemented by the Open
World Leadership Center, an independent entity housed in the U.S. legislative
branch. Judy and Bill Wilkes have taken over as the Exchange Directors for the
Open World program.
The organizational framework of Friendship
Force International has evolved over
the years from a few large back-to-back charters each year where the
destinations were not immediately known to
small, more flexible exchanges using scheduled airlines, carried out by
a global network of clubs. The organization
now has 350 clubs in 56 Countries.
Since our
local club’s first exchange in 1980, there have been many exchanges to and from
Western NC. FFWNC has traveled to many
countries several times, which include Germany, England, Brazil, Ireland, New
Zealand, Belgium, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Italy,
Turkey, Russia, Chile, Peru and Hungary. The
club has received ambassadors from