Walnut Creek Sister Cities International
To promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation.
President’s Corner
and introduction to our organization. If you are a long
time member of WCSCI, seek
them out and give them a
warm welcome!
YAE!! Student
Representatives
Student Representative is a
new opportunity within our
Walnut Creek Sister Cities
YAE!! organization. As conceived, the Representatives
will gain experience within
several aspects of the YAE!!
As we prepare to greet the
program. They will help plan
YAE!! ambassadors from
for the reception of the NoItaly and Hungary this week,
ceto and Siófok Ambassait is nice to see the process for
dors, help in the interview
next year’s program making
process for our 2016-17 Amsuch wonderful progress.
bassadors, mentor the new
Over twenty students applied
Ambassadors, plan and parthis year and the twenty best
Finally, I want to let every- ticipate in the orientation
have been selected to go to one in the organization know
Siófok and Noceto later this that our mayor, Loella meetings. It is expected that
year after being paired with Haskew, and our organization their time in helping the
YAE!! program will be acfamilies there.
has invited the mayor of cepted for volunteer experiI hope you can all come to Siófok, Dr. Robert Lengyel, ence which most of our High
our next big event, the dinner to visit Walnut Creek and we Schools require or encourage.
honoring our exchange am- await his reply!
Also the Representatives will
bassadors from Italy and HunI want to close this column help sustain the future of one
gary next month. Do you with a heartfelt “Thank You” of Walnut Creek’s most imhave it on your calendar? The to the Rotary Club of Walnut portant youth programs –
ambassadors start arriving on Creek – my club – who, YAE!!
the 8th of April and the dinner through their foundation, has
Carol Hoy, a recently rein their honor is the evening given our YAE!! program a
tired
teacher at Walnut Creek
th
of the 13 . You should have grant of $2,500! Our YAE!!
Intermediate
and a chaperone
received your invitation al- program has truly come of
to
our
first
Ambassador
class,
ready, and I look forward to age and is being recognized
has
volunteered
to
coordinate
greeting both our members for the value it is bringing to
this new opportunity. She and
and the ambassadors at this the youth of our community!
our Board of Directors welevent! Next year’s ambassacome our first Student Repredors are also being invited to
sentatives: Laura Boyle,
this event so this will be their
Maddy Blair, Josie Boswell,
first exposure to this program
Maddie Bulotta, Keoka
Chung, Jack Dogget t,
2016/17 YAE!! Ambassadors
Mariella Floum, Caroline
Francois, Kirsten Hexemer,
we
think
it
really
helped
add
We interviewed 24 candidates and have just an- something the experience for Rylie Lawrence, Sydney
nounced the all new 20 the interviewee, plus it gave Lloyd, Nathan Stanley, and
YAE!! ambassadors for the the new Student Representa- Charlotte Till.
2016-17 year! We conducted tives some great experience!
Selection of the new reprethe interviews with a new and
The chaperones will be Sara sentatives was through an
improved process this year Perez, science teacher at Foot- application process. Our Repwhich included a panel inter- hill, and Kandi Lancaster, resentative candidates are of
view with 4 adults and one retiring Core teacher from the highest caliber – grades,
student representative. We WCI. Parent chaperone appli- activities, participation, and
had 6 student representatives
cations will be accepted and interest. We are proud of all
participate in the process and processed in the next month.
for volunteering.
I have signed up to attend
the International Sister Cities
conference in Washington this
summer… any other members
interested in attending, give
me a buzz. It would be great
to have some company and
we can plan some events
around this conference. We
also have a student representative going back to participate in the youth conference!
April 2016
Upcoming Events
YAE!! Students arrive
4/8
YAE!! Dinner
4/13
Board Meeting
6/6
Annual Meeting
6/26
Elected Board/Officers
The slate of Board members and
officers was presented and
elected at our annual “Spring
Fling” and these board members
began their two-year term on
July 1, 2015.
President
Vice President &
YAE!! Co-Chair
Secretary
Treasurer
Emeritus
Membership
Events
YAE!! Co-Chair
Clint Collier
Donna Benson
Cindy Silva
Jerry Hicks
Carmen Deness
Pat Eich
Cathy Boyle
Publicity
Webmaster
WC City Liaison
Julie Connolly
Wyman Yu
Rick Carlston
Fran Doggett
YAE!! Host Week
Schedule 4/8-16
Friday/Saturday/Sunday
Welcome & Family Days
Monday
Google/Stanford University
Tuesday
San Francisco/Santa Cruz
Wednesday
School day
WCSCI dinner/reception
Thursday
San Francisco/Santa Cruz
Friday
Walnut Creek Day
Meet the Mayor
Farewell Dinners
Page 2
Walnut Creek Sister Cities International
Sister Cities Interna tional’s 60th Annual Confer ence
Peace through People is the theme of
SCI’s 60th Anniversary Celebration.
Sister Cities was founded in 1956 by
President Dwight D. Eisenhower and we
celebrate his original vision of fostering
world peace through global people-topeople relationships. SCI’s 60th anniversary will include several amazing opportunities to get involved throughout 2016,
including our Annual Conference, Diplomatic Gala, Youth Leadership Summit, and more.
Our Sister Cities President, Clint Collier, will be attending the conference and
would like to have several interested and
enthusiastic members accompany him.
Think of an historic east coast vacation
this summer, seeing the sites of our nation’s capital, with side trip possibilities
of the Civil or Revolutionary War sites,
Williamsburg, Annapolis or the many
other eastern locations. Combine this
with the Sister Cities conference and
you will have a very interesting, educational, and busy vacation.
The conference will be held July 13th 17th at the historic Mayflower hotel in
the center of Washington D.C., less
than a half mile from the White House
and a mile from the Washington monument and a few metro stops from the
Smithsonian. The Mayflower has special rates for the conference but you
must book early. Go to http://sistercities.org/annual-conference for the
conference costs, agenda and details.
Read article below for more information on how previous YAE!! Ambassadors can attend for free through our
WCSCI scholarship program. Deadline
is rapidly approaching, so apply now!
YAE!! Ambassadors: Apply Now for Free Trip
to Sister Cities Annual Confer ence
A very important part of the National
Conference is the Youth Leadership
Summit. Students (must be ages 14-18 at
the time of the conference) participate in
several of the Conference luncheon and
dinner presentations, the headliner entertainment, a City tour, a simulation of the
US Diplomacy Center, and the Parade of
you have misplaced the application, send
an email to [email protected].
The reviews from the past two years’
attendees have been very positive and
most definitely an important experience in
their lives.
“Win a Scholarship to the
Youth Leadership Summit!”
Can you attend without the scholarship?
Yes, and that is encouraged! The registration fee is $600 for members and this includes the stay at George Washington U.
There is reduced pricing listed on Sister
Cities website for portions of the Summit.
Annual Membership Dues
Flags. The delegates will be staying at a
dorms at George Washington University,
just a short distance from the conference
center and the National Mall.
One “scholarship” is offered by our
WCSCI Board, a scholarship that pays
for the conference fee and airfare to
Washington D.C. This has a value of
well over $1,000 and it is a once in a
lifetime learning experience. The Board
offers this opportunity to our Ambassadors of all four years through an application process. The application has been
sent to all Ambassadors and must be
submitted no later than April 17th. If
Annual Membership fees for the 20162017 year are due by July 15th. Our organization, especially the YAE!! program
is gaining considerable attention and
growth. Please consider elevating your
membership level and inviting friends to
join WCSCI, so that we can continue to
offer these amazing opportunities to our
members and youth ambassadors. For information email: [email protected]
or download an application at:
ww.wcsci.org/contacts/applicationform.pdf
All donations and dues are tax deductible
to the extent of the law. See next page for
different sponsorship levels.
WCSCI Needs Your
Help
Development Director needed! As we
continue to grow, so do our opportunities!
WCSCI is in need of a volunteer to
serve on the board to help lead fundraising efforts for the organization, including soliciting sponsorships and
grant writing. Board meetings are held
once every two months and previous
fundraising experience a plus.
Please email Clint Collier at [email protected] if interested and to
learn more.
YAE !! Alu mni or
WCSCI members please
consider volunteering to
help manage the Facebook page for WCSCI.
We would like to grow our social
media presence and need someone who
can be in charge of posting current
events and photos and information
online via our Facebook page. Minimal
time commitment required. This would
be a great opportunity for a student
needing experience or who has a special knack for posting photos.
If you have a couple hours a month
to help out, please email Fran Doggett
at: [email protected].
Walnut Creek Sister Cities International
Page 3
Once in a Lifetime
by Sydney Lloyd
In October 2015, I went to Siófok, Hungary. This trip was an extremely enlightening experience and a trip I will remember for the rest of my life. Before embarking on this trip, I was extremely nervous
for numerous reasons. One, I am an only
child and I have never been over 6000
miles away from my parents. Two, I was
nervous about the language difference.
And three, I’m a vegetarian (Hungary is
usually described as a meat and potatoes
country). Once we arrived in Hungary,
however, and I finally met “my” student
and her family – ”my” family – all of my
fears disappeared.
On multiple occasions, I went over to
other students’ houses. Evi and I became
very
c lo se
“Every minute I spent
with
N a t e with Evi and the other exa n d change students and the
Akos,
American students was a
a n d
w
e moment to remember.”
went
over to their house 4 of the 8 days. I also
became very good friends with Akos’s
older brother, Balazs, and I have stayed
in close contact with both of the brothers.
The first night while we were in Hungary, I moved into my room and had my
first meal with my family. My student
Evi, was one of the nicest and kindest
people I think that I have ever met. I feel
blessed to know her and her family. Her
Something everyone always asks is,
what was your favorite day? I can honestly say that there wasn’t one. Every
minute I spent with Evi and the other
exchange students and the American students was a moment to remember. When
I went on this trip I wasn’t expecting to make as
many friends as I did.
Before this trip I only
knew the female students
and Evi but when we got
to Hungary I made so
many lasting relationships with not only my
student but all the other
students as well.
younger brother gave up his room and
moved into his parents’ room so I could
have my own space. My family was so
welcoming and they tried extremely hard
to speak English. Evi and her mother
spoke beautiful English. My family also
accommodated my eating habits by feeding me traditional Hungarian food and
made it without meat so that I could enjoy
a meal with them. Over the next few days,
waking up and sitting at the breakfast
table felt so normal and I really felt as
though I was a member of their family.
On our family days at the beginning of
our trip we toured the city and went to a
castle with other members of YAE!! and
Evi and I went horseback riding. We also
celebrated a birthday and played Americans vs. Hungarians soccer. During the
week we went to Budapest, a horse show
and castle, a pool and one day at school.
I learned a lot about myself through this trip. I
learned that I am stronger
than I ever thought I was
and that if I set my mind to doing something I will get it done. One thing that I
would tell other students is be open
minded, this trip is not only a learning
experience but it is also a way to make
friends that go to your school or other
schools and people that live half way
across the world. I keep in contact with
all of the Hungarian through an app
called Viber, a free messaging app where
you can text, call, and video chat. In
April, the Hungarian students will be
coming and staying with our families.
What I am most looking forward to host
week is getting to show Evi and the other
students around California but also something as simple as getting to see all of the
Hungarians one more time. This trip is a
once in a life time opportunity and I’m so
glad that I was a part of it.
Annual
Membership
Meeting
Make sure you have Sunday, June 26th
on your calendar! Please join us for
WCSCI’s annual membership meeting,
summer gathering and wine auction. Lots
of fun, good food, wine to buy and just a
dash of business. Please donate a bottle or
two of wine for this event – one of our
largest fundraisers. Contact Clint Collier
at [email protected] if you have wine
to donate. Location and time to be
confirmed still.
Walt Schick
Memorial Fund
Thank you to the many and
generous contributors to the
Walt Schick Memorial Fund.
To date we have received
nearly $900 which help funds
the YAE!! Program. YAE!! is
the brain child of Walt’s passion and perseverance which
has allowed many young students enjoy an
experience of a lifetime. Please consider contributing toward this fund to help keep this
wonderful program affordable to our Walnut
Creek students. Checks can be mailed to: Walt
Schick Memorial Fund, PO Box 30387,
Walnut Creek CA 94598-9387. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of
the law.
Membership
Options
WCSCI offers many levels of sponsorship/membership. Please take a look at
the various options and invite someone to
join our group and enjoy the benefits of
this multicultural exchange program.
Student
$15
Friend
$75
Senior (62+)
$25
Sponsor
$125
Individual
$35
Patron
$500
Family
$45
Benefactor
$1000