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The logo seen here has an
interesting history. The first Peace Corps Director, Sarge
Shriver, sent small lapel pins to those PCVs who served during his
directorship. The stylized hands in the design we have used were inspired by
that pin. C Leigh (Purvis) Gerber designed the logo on this website from the
original Shriver pin. |
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Bill and Annelise
Schroeder designed our new website. |
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5/30/2013 [1/27/08] 10/27/09 |
9/2/2010 |
FON News
FON Biennial
Meeting
Thursday, Oct. 17 to Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013
On the beach at Asilomar
in beautiful Pacific Grove, Calif.
Please sign up early to help
us plan the best event possible
The focus of our
meeting this year is on fellowship. What better place to do that than a
knockout gorgeous resort on the California Coast? Asilomar
is the grounds of a California State Park on Monterey Bay in the historic town
of Pacific Grove.
A dinner Saturday night
is included along with surprise treats at a cocktail reception Thursday night
in the lodge’s Julia Morgan-designed reception hall, a plethora of scheduled
walks, and talks. There will be optional
field trips to such destinations as Central Coast wineries, Point Lobos, the
Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the beach just below our rooms. Our meetings will
focus on FON’s ongoing and innovative philanthropy, the future of Peace Corps
and Nigeria, including programs with which to become involved. President Greg
Jones plans discussions on the future directions of FON.
You should make hotel
reservations, which include a FULL BREAKFAST, as early as possible to ensure
the best rates and the best rooms. TO RESERVE A ROOM, CALL ASILOMAR AT
888-635-5310, PROMPT 2. PLEASE TELL THE RESERVATIONIST THAT YOU’D LIKE YOUR
RESERVATION KEYED TO INDIVIDUAL ITINERARY 8000218X0 (zeroes, not letter “o”).
Meetings will be
scheduled Friday and Saturday to ensure plenty of opportunity to enjoy the
activities and tranquility of Asilomar, and the entire
Monterey Bay Peninsula. We are beyond the summer tourist season, but October is
usually the warmest, sunniest time of year to visit California’s Central Coast.
Transportation: shuttle
buses connect San Jose (SJC), San Francisco (SFO) and Monterey (MRY) airports with
the front door of Asilomar. Driving time from SJC is
about 75 minutes. Rail and bus are also available.
Contact us at: FONAsilomar@gmail.com.
Name(s)_____________________________________________________#
of persons_________
Address________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone_____________________________________________________
Email_____________________________________________________
FON member: ____Yes, ____No, but let me know how to sign up.
FON affiliation: RPCV? ____Yes, group number______
Other____________________
____ I am coming to the October FON events. Enclosed is a check for $135
per person.*
____ I am interested in a training group reunion during the weekend.
____ I would be interested in sharing a hotel room.
Please mail check and the completed form to:
Mary-Ann Palmieri
149 West St.,
New Salem, MA 1355
For further information, contact Mary-Ann at the above address or use
our email hotline, FONAsilomar@gmail.com.
(We’ll be happy phone back).
MEETING DETAILS WILL BE UPDATED ON THE FON WEBSITE:
www.friendsofnigeria.org or
join a discussion at the FONmembers GoogleGroup site: http://groups.google.com/group/FONmembers
*A portion of any unspent funds may be used to fund FON’s charitable
activities in Nigeria.
WikiFON
Friends of Nigeria is launching
a project using the same tool that has changed encyclopedias from musty volumes
in the library to the interactive, reader driven tool called Wikipedia. Browse
to www.wikifon.org and see what a test
group of users have recorded. The sign up for a userid and record the
history of your own group. Translate
the lore of our Peace Corps experiences many years ago into a narrative that
can be read by ourselves, our families, our kids,
grandkids, historians….
This new effort started as a history project suggested by Peter Hansen:
‘I envision the chapters as containing not
only "the facts" -- places, names, dates, etc. -- but also the
delightful anecdotes and Peace Corps lore that we re-tell whenever we come
together at reunions and other gatherings.’
Ultimately, we would like to
have the project result in a book. But
before we have a book, we need stories, information, and we need some smart
eyes to fill in blanks, sharpen facts, and bundle the project into a cohesive
narrative. Various people suggested
using a wiki as this first step, a community information collection tool. We have tested the concept using a free site,
and we are rolling WikiFON out on a professional
site.
What is a wiki, and what do
we want to collect on our wiki? Here is
how Wikipedia describes a wiki:
‘A wiki is software
that allows users to create, edit, and link web
pages easily. Wikis are often used to create collaborative
websites and
to power community websites. They are being installed by businesses to provide
affordable and effective Intranets and for Knowledge Management. Ward
Cunningham, developer of the first wiki, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the
simplest online database that could possibly work". One of the best known wikis is Wikipedia.’
One
of the key ideas about a wiki is that any authorized user can contribute to any
topic. So, if someone says your group
trained in Kalamazoo, and you know for a fact that your group trained in Ann
Arbor, you can make the correction and provide additional information as
appropriate. Generally, there is an
overall editor to prevent disputes from getting out of hand or users with an ax
to grind disrupting the information collection process. The editor can also strive to provide
consistent formatting and style. We have several excellent professional editors
in our FON community who have volunteered to help us sharpen our narrative,
culminating, perhaps, in an actual printed book we can sit by the fire and
read. Authors Bob Veatch (05) and Sarah Medvitz (27)
have already volunteered, but if you would like to add your editing skills,
please feel free to volunteer.
The
goal of WikiFON is twofold. First, we would like to gather information
about individual training groups. Where they trained, if there were in-country gatherings, any recent
reunions. Second, each of us has anecdotes or recollections that could
capture the flavor of Peace Corps service in Nigeria. That box of letters and photos up in the
attic your mother saved 40 years ago could be the source of some great
stories. As each of us presents our
stories, they may spark recollections by others and evoke material none of us
knew was there.
We
have chosen to make WikiFON updateable only by people
to whom we have assigned user IDs and a password. This way we can track the usage and prevent
malicious entries. But what we create
can be viewed by anybody on the internet.
Please sign up to be a WikiFON
contributor. Then you can review what
other people have entered already, enter your own material, and interact with
others on the site. We hope to hear from
you soon.
Access wikifon at www.wikifon.org. Contact Greg Jones at gregory.j@comcast.net or Chris Collman at chris.collman@gmail.com to get a user ID. Then you are good to go! Thanks in advance for your efforts.
FON Google Group
Many of you
automatically receive messages posted to the FON GoogleGroup.
If you are a member you should, in addition to receiving messages, be able to
seamlessly send messages to our more than 100 members. If you are a FON member,
but not a member of the FON GoogleGroup, email me (Mike Goodkind)
for membership.
Some of you are
aware that you can also use the broader resources of our FONmember
website, where among other things, past postings are available. In order to
access the website, you must register with Google. This
requires a Google password and presumably the use of the same email address
which you used to sign up for the FON group. Registering with Google is
available via links from our site, and will by the way allow you to join other
Google Groups if you wish.
(Please do
not be put off by Google's seemingly rude message that "you are not a
member of this group." You easily can be)
Use of the GoogleGroup is a fundamental perk of your FON membership, a
great way to keep in touch between newsletters, and we really want you to
become an active participant. So if you have had any difficulties getting on to
the site or receiving emails, I or a designate would be really glad to help.
Email me directly.
Detail: most of
the trouble people have encountered going to the site has occurred because the
email address used on the site is different from your current email address. In
many cases the easiest thing to do is to reregister you in the group using your
current address. Contact me if you wish to change emails. Please allow a couple
of days.
Also, you will
not be able to contact the "owner of the group," namely me from the
website, until you have registered with Google. So ... to receive emails,
you can join the group but to access the website you must have a Google
"account."
General Announcements
[All general announcements were deemed obsolete
as of 6/9/09. If you have any general
announcements, please send them to Greg Jones
Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Washington,
D.C., the National Peace Corps Association is the
nation’s leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization supporting Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and the Peace Corps
community through networking and mentoring to help guide former volunteers through
their continued service back home. The organization encompasses a network of
over 30,000 individuals and more than 140 member groups. It is also the
longest-standing advocate for an independent and robust Peace Corps and its
values. It is not a part of the United States Peace Corps, which is a federal
agency. To
learn more, visit http://www.PeaceCorpsConnect.org
What We Do
NETWORKING AND SUPPORT
The National Peace Corps Association
(NPCA) provides Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) and the Peace Corps
Community with opportunities for networking, including mentoring support for
RPCVs
transitioning from their Peace Corps
service.
NEWS AND ADVOCACY
NPCA provides the latest news on the
Peace Corps and former Volunteers so that interested members can stay informed.
Through meetings on Capitol Hill with key congressional members and staffers,
NPCA advocates for an independent and robust Peace Corps and supports issues
most important to its members. The organization is spearheading many
initiatives to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps in 2011.
With more resources and relationships
with Peace Corps member groups than any other organization of its kind, NPCA is
leading the way in helping Returned Peace Corps Volunteers continue making a
difference and helping others.
As the leading nonprofit supporting
former Volunteers and the Peace Corps community, NPCA is helping to extend the
values and legacy of the Peace Corps.
When you join NPCA, you’ll start
receiving WorldView magazine and stay current on
events and accomplishments happening in the Peace Corps community. You’ll also
be connected to and a part of the largest group of RPCVs in the world.
There are different levels of membership
and ways to get involved and we invite everyone (not just RPCVs) to join us and
our member groups.
How to Join NPCA
Visit http://www.PeaceCorpsConnect.org
and click on “Join Now”