Each year, usually in February, members from the Friendship Force clubs in New Zealand gather for a National Conference hosted by one of the clubs. As well as being a time of fellowship and friendship, it provides an opportunity for clubs to swap ideas about issues that they may be facing. To this end, a number of workshops are organized and discussion forums are conducted. Time is allowed for entertainment and socializing which are important to our organization.
The conference is usually attended by one or two staff from FFI international headquarters in Atlanta. Because of that, to reduce travel costs, the New Zealand and Australian conference dates are often arranged to be close together.
At every conference, some annual awards and trophies are presented. Perhaps the most important of these are the Communication Awards because the only way we can survive and grow is to get our message out there in the wider world. In addition there is the Field Reps Challenge, the Bone Trophy and the Overlander Trophy. Details for all of these are given below.
2013 - Conference will be hosted by the Otago Club in Mosgiel.
The Friendship Force New Zealand 29th National Conference
will be held
Friday 15 February – Sunday 17 February 2013
The theme is "Heritage"
Venue: Mosgiel Presbyterian Church Complex,
11 Church Street, Mosgiel 9024
Full Registration: $150 registration if paid by 30 November; $160 afterwards, registrations close 15 December.
** Transport from and to Dunedin airport should be booked (at a cost)
** An optional 2 hour bus tour will be available on Friday afternoon (at a cost)
Registration forms can be downloaded from the website - send to Mrs C Blackler, 36 Elwyn Crescent, Green Island, Dunedin 9018 .
For further information, contact:
Convenor: Rona Potiki 03.454.6355 or 021 0638 199
or Jane Holgate 03.484.7007 or 027 3355 548
or Anne Dougherty 03.449.3239 or 027.2356.687 (away until mid September)
"Effective communication is the primary factor in the success of the Friendship Force programme".
To acknowlege this, two Communication Awards are presented each year - Speaking Achievements and Editorial Content. Entries for both categories must be received by 31 December before the February conference.
The requirements for each are:
Speaking Achievements:
Clubs present information of occasions that club members have spoken about Friendship Force to other organisations. These include any kind of community meeing and such groups as service clubs, church groups, school groups, U3A, sporting or hobbies groups.
Editorial Content:
Clubs compile a written report of all publicity gained about the club in local and other media during the year. The list should include all appearances of the club or club members in newspapers, on TV or radio, all posters, advertisements, promotional displays, and meetings.
This trophy will be awarded to the club that has had the greatest percentage increase in membership in the last year. This percentage will be calculated on the number of members for which FFI affiliation fees have been paid to FFI on the annual returns. In the event of a tie, the trophy will be shared for the year ahead The Field Reps Coordinator will make the award.
The trophy is awarded to the club at conference that does best in a competition the conditions of which are set by the host club.
This trohy is warded to the club that has accumulated the largest number of kilometres in coming to that year's conference. It is calculated by multiplying the number of each club's members at conference by the distance that they have had to travel to get to the conference by the most direct route.
Updated 17 October 2011