IFC November pg. 1
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Al Ward
Tel: 223-259l (or) 228-0050
Email: yvonneal@pvnet.com.mx
FAX: 228-0458
Welcome home to those members now here, and to those of you who will soon be arriving. We hope your summer months away were pleasant and we expect that your months here will prove even more so. A busy season has been planned and we'll all have to roll up our sleeves and make the 2004-05 period a prosperous one for our goals to serve the less fortunate.
The summer months here have not been an idle time for the IFC. As your President, I was invited by our city's Mayor, Gustavo Gonzales, and the Regency Council to participate in its two Informes. This is a township meeting where the Mayor and Council inform Vallartens and foreign residents of what has been accomplished since taking office and what to expect in the near future, such as expansion of services, new services, road repairs, education, etc. This Informe is useful to us, particularly when the IFC is asked for assistance in some dire situation. The Mayor is anxious that his administration and the IFC work hand in hand for the betterment of the community. We received a formal "Thank You" for the wonderful contributions made by IFC members to this fine city. I firmly believe that this current administration is endeavoring to do as much as possible to elevate the living and working conditions of Vallarta's inhabitants. Thank you Mayor Gonzales.
CAFIN--For Children and Families-in-Need Foundation--our U.S. support under the 501(c)(3) regulation, which provides tax deductibility for all donations for United States income tax purposes, is now taking donations (which can be other than funds--can also be goods and services). The purpose of the Foundation is to support the International Friendship Club of Puerto Vallarta in its activities to solicit and distribute funds and materials in response to humanitarian needs.
If you have any questions please do contact us. You can reach the foundation at P.O. Box 30484, Raleigh, NC 27622. Tel: (919) 889-2055. Email: cafininf@hotmail.com. Our website for this organization is about to be launched; we'll pass that on to you shortly and you can take a look at your leisure. Our thanks to the team that achieved this--Yvonne Ward, Allan Badner, Rebecca Arce and Jennifer Slepin (Raleigh, NC), and Sudy Coy for her direction and support.
Our hats off and tremendous thanks to our energetic and so-knowledgeable support system , namely one Kirsten Reinking. She does a superb job in producing our NEWSLETTER, and has now designed a logo and is producing the website material for CAFIN. Kirsten, whose primary role is wife and mother, still manages to squeeze in an abundant number of outside activities; she's a bundle of energy and generous with her time for work for the IFC causes. Many, many thanks to you, Kirsten. You provide a wonderful service and we're sincerely grateful for your help.
Another new service has been brought to our attention, which some of you might already be aware of. A new directory of residents and businesses patterned after a like one in San Miguel Alende--called "Direct PV"--is offering a free listing to residents (telephone, along with email and/or address [if desired]). The printing deadline is November 15. Register online at registry@directpv.info; or email us at pvifc@prodigy.net.mx or call us at 222-5466 and we'll pass your request on to them. "Direct PV" is also including an ad space for the IFC gratis (which Kirsten has also designed). Thank you Krystal Frost, the Marketing Director.
A reminder: Be sure to review our calendar list of IFC scheduled activities in this issue. Anyone wanting to take advantage of the lst Aid Course should call and make reservations; also for the Flu Vaccine (we understand that in the US in certain areas shots are only being made available to pregnant women and seniors 65 years, plus). Contact Pamela Thompson at email (PMT15@hotmail.com) (tel: 226-1014) or IFC at 222-5466.
A new IFC event being added for this season is an art lecture by our member, Ruth Miller. She has an exciting lecture designed for us--THE WORLD OF ART--THE PASSION, THE BEAUTY, THE HISTORY. We've set the date of Wednesday, January 19, for this special presentation. This is going to be a rare treat for us, as it would be anywhere. We'll have more for you on this in our next issue. PUT THIS DATE ON YOUR CALENDARS NOW!
CALENDAR CHANGES: The Casino Night will be Saturday, January 15 (instead of Nov. 27), that should be great fun.
RESTAURANTS: At the November 9 General Meeting please pick up copies of our restaurant agreement letter for those owners/managers willing to provide a discount of 10-20% for our members. Any restaurant should be pleased for this kind of recognition by our members, and will be listed monthly in this "Newsletter".
A new addition as of this writing is Los Xitomates (see listing for details).
HEARING AID CLINIC: As a service to members who suspect they have a problem, you might be interested in meeting Leopoldo Gonzales (English speaking) who is a trained technician in audiology to determine hearing loss. He has been trained in computerized digital aids, including general-type hearing aids. Mr. Gonzales can provide every type of aid appliance to meet an individual's needs. I am currently wearing the computerized digital aids and am very pleased with the results. Mr Gonzales is located in Guadalajara, but has agreed to be available at the Clubhouse on Monday and Tuesday, November 8 and 9, from 12 noon to 3 pm for consultation (you can call for an appointment at 222-5466 or 228-0050 or just stop by the clubhouse).
Please make a special effort to join us at the first General Meeting, November 9--bring some of your tasty dishes for the potluck; if not, that's okay too. We want to renew friendships and meet our new members. It will prove to be a very enjoyable evening.
You won't ever be bored as a member; especially if you look into ways to enhance efforts and work in an area of interest--YOU REPRESENT WHO WE ARE--Stand up and offer your talents--there will be something to do that will contribute to our success in the community (for instance, who of you can offer an hour or two daily at the clubhouse; or one day a week? We need to cover Monday through Friday. Please call us).
Thank you.