A Brief History of the Friendship Force

The Friendship Force was founded by Wayne Smith and introduced on March 1, 1977, by President Jimmy Carter at a White House gathering of state governors. At that time, President Carter asked the governors to return to their states and identify a volunteer leader who would serve as State Director for the Friendship Force in their state. Rosalyn Carter served as Honorary Chairperson until 2002.

FF originally involved groups ranging from 150 to 400 private citizens, known as friendship ambassadors, traveling via chartered aircraft to the partner city where a group of the same size boarded to return to the original city, hence the terminology “Exchange,” the word we use still to refer to our travel programs. The visiting ambassadors were hosted in the homes of volunteer host families for a week, sharing everyday experiences and getting to know each other on a personal basis. The first FF experience involved 762 Ambassadors in a simultaneous exchange between Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England and Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

During its first five years, a few large two-way exchanges were conducted each year. In 1982, Friendship Force travel arrangements changed from charters to one-way “exchanges” on regularly scheduled airlines, allowing greater flexibility and a reduction of group size—first to 40-80 and later to 20-25. The change in format permitted a great expansion of the program worldwide. Instead of a few large exchanges each year, there are now 250-300 smaller exchanges.

While the size and number of exchanges has changed dramatically since 1977, the basic Friendship Force formula is the same, with visiting ambassadors spending a week in the home of a host family. While each exchange is now in just one direction, the participating ambassadors and hosts develop a shared understanding of each other’s culture so that a true cultural exchange takes place. In many cases, the friendships established during an exchange continue for many years, with follow-up visits through later Friendship Force exchanges or through private visits.

Mr. Ryoichi Sasakawa, President of The Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation, played an important role in the organization’s history. After being introduced to the Friendship Force, Mr. Sasakawa became convinced of the worthy goals of the program. Thanks to Mr. Sasakawa’s financial gifts in the mid 1980s, The Friendship Force was able to grow into a global network of independent chapters, which are called Friendship Force clubs. The clubs are organized and led by volunteers in more than 350 communities on six continents.

In 1985, the A.R.M.S. (American Russian Mutual Survival) program was implemented under the auspices of The Friendship Force. The endeavor encouraged the use of arms that embrace rather than arms that destroy. In May of that year a group of 10 Soviet citizens traveled to the U.S. to extend arms of friendship in Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia and Washington D.C. This was followed by a series of exchanges between the USA and the USSR, with thousands of Americans and Soviets participating. The success of the ARMS program demonstrated that the Friendship Force can be a powerful force for good in the world.

As a result of its initiatives between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Friendship Force was nominated in 1992 for The Nobel Peace Prize.

In addition to its annual series of exchanges between established Friendship Force clubs, Friendship Force International (FFI) conducts a variety of specialized programs. These include the “discover” series designed to introduce Friendship Force members to new countries and cultures, humanitarian and educational exchanges, and Friendship Festivals that include participants from many countries.

Since its founding in 1977, The Friendship Force has brought together millions of people. Today we are active in more than 50 countries, promoting friendship and goodwill through an extensive program of home hosting, or exchanges. In 2007 alone, 5763 friendship ambassadors traveled between 58 countries, with thousands more serving as hosts.

Friendship Force International is supported by membership, exchange fees, donations, and foundation grants.

FFI Mission

Mission

To promote global understanding across the barriers that separate people

Values
Mutual Respect • Cultural Diversity • Cultural Exploration • Service

Vision
Each individual will make a contribution to global goodwill.
The Friendship Force worldwide network of clubs and individuals will overcome differences among people and nations.
By connecting the world, one friend at a time, we will create a world of friends that becomes a world of peace.

Slogan
Changing the Way You See the World

Tagline
Explore • Understand • Serve

Explore: We explore new countries and regions. We explore new cultures and new ways to connect across the barriers that separate us.

Understand: By sharing a home, meals, conversation and everyday experiences, people become friends, seeing beyond governments and borders into the heart of a country and its people. By combining home hospitality with cultural exploration, we reach a new level of understanding.

Serve: Exploration leads to understanding. Understanding leads to an acceptance of our common humanity and the desire to serve our global village—with words and actions.

Quick Facts

333 exchanges were conducted in 2012 with 5,443 ambassadors traveling. Thousands more families served as hosts.

377 chartered clubs and programs in 56 countries on 6 continents with more than 18,000 members worldwide.

Friendship Force is a volunteer-driven organization. More than 1,500 volunteer leaders work more than 30,000 hours each year to promote the Friendship Force mission.

225,000 ambassadors and 750,000 hosts have participated in Friendship Force programs since 1977.

Laura Romero

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Laura was born in Bogota, Colombia and moved with her family to Atlanta, Georgia, when she was six years old. She graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in International Economics and Modern Language. While in school, she studied abroad in Granada, Spain and traveled to Paris, France. Her love of traveling and cultural understanding is what drew her to the Friendship Force. She is fluent in English and Spanish, and she enjoys getting to use both languages as she works with Latin American club leaders to help them share their culture with the world.

Jillian Walters

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Jillian graduated from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, with a degree in English. She studied abroad in both Guatemala and England, where she spent three months studying at Oxford University. She is excited to join FFI in a position that combines her passions for good communication and intercultural understanding.

Matthew Nidek

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Matthew was born in Toledo, Ohio, USA, and moved with his family to Ludlow, Vermont, when he was nine years old.  He graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in music education.  He taught and performed music in New York City and Portland, Oregon, before moving to Australia and New Zealand in 2004.  Matthew became a permanent resident of New Zealand in 2006 and earned a postgraduate certificate in public policy from Victoria University of Wellington in 2010.  He has traveled extensively throughout the South Pacific as well as Europe, China and North America.  Matthew returned to the US early in 2011 and is thrilled to be at FFI to share his passions for travel, cultural understanding and community service.

Pallie Savoie

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Pallie attended the University of Georgia and earned bachelor’s degrees in speech communication and Spanish. As a student, she participated in study abroad programs to Granada, Spain and Oaxaca, Mexico, where she realized her love for experiencing different cultures through homestays with local families. Upon completing her education at the University of Georgia, she attended Vanderbilt University where she earned a master’s degree in community development action.

Laurie Ann Scott

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“This organization is even better than sliced bread!” This is the way Laurie Ann Scott describes the Friendship Force. And she should know. Laurie Ann has 27 years of ‘being in the kitchen!’

Laurie Ann Scott is currently the U.S. Club and Field Representative Coordinator, meaning that she is a link between FFI and everyone else. Her FFI career began in 1981 when the Scott family served as hosts for a Nebraska-Korea exchange. “No longer were we residents of a small city in Nebraska, but we were citizens of the world! The next year found me applying with our ten-year-old daughter to take an exchange to we-knew-not-where!” That mystery trip was to Hildesheim, Germany, where they met the Doerpmund family. For the Scotts, that was the beginning of the magic so typical of the organization. “The friendship with Helmut and Ines has been a lifelong gift as we have shared our lives together from chicken pox to grandchildren… and two of our daughters learned to speak German.”

It was only a matter of time before the Scott family extended the Friendship Force legacy to the next generation. Grandson Burkett went with Laurie Ann and Larry to Mexico City to celebrate his 11th birthday and is now an enthusiastic student of Spanish.

“The Friendship Force of Lincoln has been my home club where I served on Exchange and other committees, as social chairman, vice president and president as well as hosting and being inbound and outbound ED and helping with the Open World program.”

But there was life before Friendship Force! Laurie Ann was born in and grew up in Kansas City, where her early jobs were in television and theatre – in summer stock. She majored in Psychology and English, went to Iowa State for a master’s in counseling psychology and worked as a school psychologist for county systems in Iowa.

Larry and Laurie Ann met in college and married when Laurie Ann graduated. She retired from her academic career to help Larry run their business, a station on Interstate 80, and raise three daughters. Ever entrepreneurial, they bought and sold real estate; bought a food court, which they named “Great Scotts”; operated Baskin-Robbins, a Quizno’s, a taco place, a pizza place; and then decided that “the food business is the worst” and “we knew we wanted out. So what did we do? Sold everything we owned…the station, the food court, and the apartments, which were to have been our ‘retirement’ about ten years ago and re-invested in something more passive and retired early. Then we could Friendship Force (new verb) with vigor!”

Other little known facts about Laurie Ann: “I enjoy reading, playing bridge, running (two marathons) and weight-lifting. My main hobby, though, is keeping in touch with Friendship Force friends via e-mail.”

Most EVERYBODY knows Laurie Ann. But for those who haven’t met her, she’s the one who, when asked to do something, always enthusiastically says, “Yes!”

Allison Lindsey

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By the time she was seven years old, Allison Lindsey had lived in seven states – making her a perfect candidate for Friendship Force International! At age seven, Allison’s family decided to call the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn home. Later, she attended Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in family and child development. During her senior year of college she studied abroad at Nottingham Trent University in Nottingham, England. That was her first experience traveling and living abroad, one that has turned out to be the first of many! She has now visited 22 countries and 31 states within the United States.

Allison first came to work at the Friendship Force in 1996 as a program coordinator, shortly after returning from Berlin, Germany, where she lived with a family and went to language school. She left the Friendship Force in 2000 to pursue work at a faith-based organization and worked there until her son was born in 2005. Even though she wasn’t working for the Friendship Force, the goals of the organization remained close to her heart.

In the fall of 2007, Allison returned to work at the Friendship Force, working part-time as the Educational Project Coordinator. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, participating in activities at her church and in her community, nurturing her budding interest in growing a vegetable garden and playing tennis.

Ebony Rogers

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Ebony joined the Friendship Force International team in January 2013. She is an accounting graduate of Oglethorpe University.

Elena McCarty

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Elena McCarty was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. When she was 10 years old, she fell in love with the English language while reading the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – especially the novels featuring Sherlock Holmes. She says her life path was decided the moment she discovered the famous detective: she attended the English magnet school and Moscow University of Foreign Languages, and she worked as an English teacher, as an Intourist interpreter for Greek- and English-speaking visitors, and as an English instructor in college. During the tumultuous years of the fall of the Soviet Union, she was hired to interpret and later to work in Sales and Marketing in the first Soviet-American joint venture in the hotel business. “I felt like a character in an adventure book.”  This undertaking was fascinating for Elena, as well as for other people working there, both Russian and American.  One of the latter became her husband, resulting in Elena’s relocation to the United States where she has lived for the past 17 years. 

Elena loves to explore and learn new things.  This desire for knowledge took Elena back to school in the Twin Cities, where she got her MBA in marketing.

Aside from studying she enjoys knitting, sewing, cooking, and playing golf. Her favorite pass time is to curl up with a book and one of her two black cats.

Mary Mwambay

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Mary Mwambay comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a daughter of a Methodist minister, Mary first came to America as a baby with her parents who came as missionaries. After seven years, they returned to Congo where she grew up and completed her education with a degree in accounting and business administration.

Mary’s ability to speak English, French and Swahili on top of four African languages landed her a job with the airlines: she worked as an administrative assistant and ground hostess at Zambia Airways in Lubumbashi, Congo, and at Air Zaire in Johannesburg, South Africa. Later, Mary accepted the position of sales manager for Shabair, a private airline.

Mary has always lived in Atlanta since moving to the United States in 1994 with her husband and four daughters. She has been actively involved in community activities, first as an event coordinator for Nouvelle Jerusalem Church of God, one of the local African French speaking churches, then as a member of the organizing committee for the Congolese Community of Atlanta (COCOMATL). This association was recently founded with the purpose of addressing the needs of the Congolese living in Atlanta. Mary also participates in the children’s council meetings at Winter Chapel United Methodist Church, her home church.

Mary comes to FFI after 5 years with Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest healthcare organizations, where she worked in the claims department as a support service technician. Mary sees Friendship Force as the ultimate opportunity to put her cross-cultural, international and interpersonal skills to good use.

Maryam Jordan

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Maryam Jordan graduated from the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She majored in humanities in international affairs with a focus on Arab studies. During her time at the university she did a study abroad program at the American University in Cairo in Egypt. After graduating, she moved to Osaka, Japan, to participate in the Japan Exchange Teaching (JET) Program teaching English as a Second Language to Japanese high school students. She remained there for three years traveling in the region and learning a lot about the peoples and cultures of Asia.

Having always been fascinated by foreign cultures and travel, she enjoys learning foreign languages and speaks some Japanese and Arabic. Over the years, she has lived and traveled overseas and made meaningful and long-lasting friendships. She was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, in the USA and has traveled to other countries including Jordan, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Bahamas, Australia and New Zealand. In her spare time Maryam enjoys biking, hiking and traveling with her family.

Kathy Thomas

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Kathy Thomas started with Friendship Force International in the travel department in 1992. In January of 2003 she became the program coordinator for Europe, working with clubs and exchange directors in that region. In 2004 she became Manager of Program Services and in 2012 she became Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the program services department as well as the communications and educational projects coordinators. A native of Atlanta, Kathy spent a year in 1981 living with a family in Tours, France, and traveling around Europe. It was this experience where Kathy learned the thrill of travel and the excitement of a home stay. After graduation from university with a degree in psychology and French, Kathy worked for several major airlines including Swissair and Austrian Airlines. Kathy enjoys reading, working puzzles and doing work in her yard.

George Brown

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Dr. George T. Brown, Jr., returns to Friendship Force International after serving as Executive Director of the Georgia Council for International Visitors (GCIV). George Brown has 25 years experience working with international programs in Atlanta. Prior to GCIV he was Executive Director of the Friendship Force. He was instrumental in establishing the Atlanta-Tbilisi Sister City connection and led the Georgia-to-Georgia citizen exchange to Tbilisi in April 1990.

George Brown also served as Director of the Global Awareness Program for Agnes Scott College and as Executive Director of Villa International Atlanta. In 1996 he was project manager for the AT&T Family-to-Family program that provided home-stay programs for 2,500 family members of the Olympic athletes.

In addition to working with international visitors to the United States, Brown has traveled extensively to West and East Europe, Russia, the Middle East, East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. He has organized and led student and adult delegations to various international destinations.

Before moving to Atlanta in 1978, George Brown was a professor of international relations at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and before that he served as a foreign liaison officer in the U.S. Army. He received his Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Virginia. George was raised in Korea as the son of Presbyterian missionaries. He is married and has four children and three grandchildren. He is active in community affairs and currently serves as an elder at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

Debbie Powell

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Languages spoken: English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish

Debbie comes to us from Southeast England and has been with Friendship Force International since January 2000. She has a degree in German and Japanese from the University of Cardiff in Wales and also had the opportunity to study at universities in Paris, Bavaria and Tokyo. After graduation, Debbie moved to Japan where she lived and worked for four years, firstly in rural Japan as a teacher and then in central Tokyo as a consultant for Japanese companies. Debbie has traveled to 35 countries and currently lives in Germany. Her loves are dance, foreign languages and, unfortunately for her friends, karaoke.

Barbara Stonebrink-Martin

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Born and raised in Munich, Germany, Barbara’s first intercultural challenge was the communication with the family of her Dutch father. After 10th grade she took the opportunity to go on a high school exchange to the U.S., where she met her future husband.

With him she moved to Atlanta in 2007 after finishing a bachelor’s degree in business with a major in human resources and intercultural communication and cooperation at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich, Germany. While in college she had the opportunity to travel around the UK, the Czech Republic, Poland, Egypt and China.

Besides seeing the world she enjoys spending time with people, the outdoors and the environment. She is a passionate gardener and a cook with a passion for exotic flavors.

Ana Smulski

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Ana is originally from Brazil where she earned a B.S. in computer science. As a systems analyst, she worked for a supermarket chain and a credit card company. She then began working as a lieutenant for the Brazilian Army where she thought she was at the peak of her career; however, Ana came to the US in 2001 to participate in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at Georgia Tech. She became fascinated with the diversity of cultures, languages, faces and ideas she encountered. Enchanted by the country, Ana has been living here since then. In her spare time, she likes hiking with her dog, enjoying nature, reading, movies and being with her family.

Francois Shih