 June 2008
Update
Dear Diplomat Members,
Enrique was off on a vacation immediately following the last of the Community Connections Turkmen getting on the plane back to their homeland! Since he spent nearly every day all day with them at meetings, and multiple trips to WalMart, (and did two of these programs nearly back to back), he needed a break. As I write, he is renewing himself with family in Mexico.
We have now done four Community Connections programs. (3 weeks/home stays). We love them. The truth is though, they tax us all to the max.
It’s always something. This time it wasn’t a visitor in intensive care, or one with a needed tooth extraction, but rather one who lost her passport somewhere between Chicago and San Diego. OY. So for three weeks while they were out at meetings, we in the office found our way through the replace-a-passport maze. Not as easy as it looks. How to get out of US legally AND be allowed back into Turkmenistan?!!
But between Omar at the Turkmenistan Embassy in Washington DC and Eric Corens our contact at World Learning and Kirt Edwards who knows the Ambassador to the US from Turkmenistan and Olga our interpreter walking the visitor through security at Lindbergh, we are proud to say Keyik is once again on Turkmen soil. Whew. Another team effort ends in success.
Our next Community Connections program does not arrive until September. Good.
But in the meantime, our usual work goes. The usual State Dept. visitors keep coming and coming thanks to Courtney. Mel arranges more Dinner Hospitality than usual. The Annual Meeting/Asian Celebration is happening next week. Member renewal notices are due in the mail late June. And we need to close out this fiscal year (with our budget in dark black ink) and take a breath.
Despite the intensity of this work at times, what I love about it is meeting the world. And I love how all the pieces and people come together to make it happen. I would once again like to thank Sally Baldus for bringing me into this work, Patty Cowen, Mike Grisdale, Tonya Chongchit and Billy Colestock <
/strong>for coaching me through the first phase of figuring out what I was doing, and Ed Meara who let me run with it after my first year. It has been like a day-to-day doctorate in diplomacy—Dr. Diplomacy. Ha!
Thanks for being a part of this crazy wonderful effort,
Cath DeStefano
Executive Director
Contents
1. Thank you x 10,000
2. Never Doubt our Work Makes a Difference
3. CDCSD Annual Meeting/Asian Celebration
4. Welcome New Summer Interns
5. Dinner Hospitality
6. Help!
1. Thank You x 10,000
►Thanks to member Curtis Koch for taking the time to set up a matching grant with his employer that resulted in extra $$ added to our bottom line.
Is this something you could do too?
►Thank you Barbara Metz of Metz PR for all the press coverage for our Turkmen Tourism visitors in May. SD Business Journal, SD Daily Transcript, SD Metropolitan, and the Coronado Journal all had articles on our visitors.
►Thank you Advisory Board member Hugh Constant for making my attendance at World Trade Center’s Business and Peace conference at Joan Kroc Center possible. It was fascinating to look at how business sees its role in world peace. My eyes were opened.
►Thanks to Alan Ziter, Executive Director of NTC Foundation at Liberty Station for our May 27th combined Advisiory and CDCSD Board meeting space. Our most-likely- new-home at Liberty Station (Commander home on Rosecrans) will be ready by December 2009 and so will we. (Naming rights to our new House of Diplomacy are available.)
►Thanks to photographer Janis Foley for taking our staff and board members photos to update our website presence. She was fun to work with and quite possibly is making us look better than we might appear in person. Photos up on our site by June’s end.
JANIS FOLEY PHOTOGRAPHY, LLC
http://www.janisfoley.com/
janis@janisfoley.com
(619) 723-7677
2. Never Doubt Our Work Makes a Difference
  
Laura Bush greeted them at the White House and then we greeted them in San Diego. The Breast Cancer Awareness delegation. Because of it, we bring you news that they are marching in Damascus! This is especially powerful when you read some of what their thinking has been in these countries in the Middle East around breast cancer.
Sheron C. Patterson article
A Change of Perspective
Dallas Morning News
Many of them are denied the luxury of talking about breast cancer in their countries because it is a stigma like AIDS. I was told, “Women don’t talk about it. They have breast cancer and they choose to die quietly because the culture says, they did something wrong to get it. When women die of it, their obituaries say, they died of a long illness.”
Breast cancer survivor Lamia Al Hussari, 52 is of Syria offered a story of activism. Once her doctor discovered her breast cancer, and she had a mastectomy, she went on to organize mobile mammograms in her country.
Dr. Wiam Al Sheck, of the Al Fatah University in Libya, told a story of pain, “there is a social stigma in my country. Women deny breast cancer until it is too late. Breast cancer is a scary disease; there is no advocacy or media. There are no breast care centers and there is a shortage of medicine. We are lagging behind and we should give a hand to women.”
Dr. Jamila Mohamed A. Al Qasmi of The Sultanate of Oman is a survivor and a member of the National Cancer Association. Her’s is a story of denial and eventual acceptance.
“Years ago, I was not aware of what breast cancer was. I was examined and breast cancer was found, but I told the doctor that I was not sick and I left the hospital. They came for me and took me back to the hospital. Eventually I had a double mastectomy. Women are not afraid of dying,” she said. “They are afraid of losing their breasts. Unless you have a good system of friends and family you will feel bad during this time. Being a woman without breasts is a terrible life.”
3.CDCSD Annual Meeting
June 12th, Marina Village (1936 Quivira Way) 5:45 to 6:15 PM
AGENDA
▪ Welcome by outgoing Board President Ed Meara
▪ State of the Diplomacy Council by Cath DeStefano, Executive Director
▪ Introduction of New Board by Ileana Ovalle, Board President 2008-2009
Asian Celebration
June 12th, Marina Village 6:15 to 9:00 PM
Citizen Diplomat Awards (formerly Spirit of IVC) to be presented! Who? Not telling until the 12th…
Guest Speaker Dr. Lilly Cheng, Director, Chinese Studies Institute, San Diego State University
We thank our sponsors for helping make this a successful fundraiser.
Gold Sponsor
Silver Sponsor
Honorary Sponsors
Carol Costarakis
Rolf Haas
Lew Silverberg
Alice Silverberg
Kenneth and JoAnne Abrams
Dolores Puig
Lucy Killea
James Ellis
Carol Bentley Ellis
Ed and Gigi Cramer
4. Welcome New Summer Interns
Because of CDCSD’s excellent reputation at San Diego’s universities, we get to choose the best from a plethora of students who want to intern with us. This summer is no exception.
Erika Wooler is an International Security and Conflict Resolution student at SDSU. She has volunteered in Africa and has plans to study in Argentina. She jumped right in and is creating marketing pieces for Courtney’s July trip to DC.
Nolan LaBarge is a graduate student at IRPS UCSD. He comes with a family and seven years of work experience already. Nolan will assist with Community Connections coming in September and other areas of our Programming.
Lindsey Alacorn is a business/marketing major at SDSU. With her e-marketing/internet experience she will help tune-up our website and build our Outreach data base.
5. Dinner Hospitality
The brave and hospitable among us are to be thanked for their ‘dinner table diplomacy’! IF you are a member who would like to host visitors in your home but are hesitant, let us connect you with the pros on this and maybe they will invite you to their next hosting! Contact Mel@CDCSD.org to help this happen.
Our 2008 (so far) deep thanks to:
Mrs. Doris and Mr. Peter Ellsworth
Mrs. Delsee and Mr. Jeff Altman
Ms. Janis Ricards
Mr. Ken and Mrs. JoAnne Abrams
Mr. Joel Marx and Mrs. Tiziana Lancedelli
Drs. Ann and Don Cottrell x2
Ms. Dotty Turner
Dr. Harriet and Mr. George Marois
Mrs. Nancy and Mr. Curt Koch
Mrs. Marilyn and Mr. Gene Marx x 2
Mr. Todd Blakesley
Ms. Sharon Corrigan
Mr. Eric Donovan
Ms. Faye Girsh and Mr. Walter Munk
Mr. Rolf Haas and Mrs. Carol Costarakis
Mr. Salim and Mrs. Francoise Shah
Mr. Jared Levinson
Our Dinner with the Russians
 
We decided to do a little BBQing on the patio so the Russians could have a real American hamburger! We have a nice view overlooking La Costa and they seemed to enjoy that. Best of all was the "musical tribute." It seems both Russians, Yuriy the anti-terrorism chief in Khabarovsk, and Aleksey the TV newsman in Kurgan, are big jazz fans. My husband, George, leads a band called the Big Easy Jazz Band.
After playing his band's music for a while, George showed our guests his trumpet which had been played by Louis Armstrong, whom George had known. Each visitor, wanted his photo taken, first holding the trumpet, and then playing it (or at least pretending to). George gave them his band’s CD to take home to Russia. Our excellent and charming interpreter, Mila who was born and raised in Siberia, took one home to Washington, D.C.
It was a memorable evening for all,
Harriet Marois
6. HELP!
Can You Drive Visitors to Appointments?
Contact Courtney Giordano, CDCSD Manager for U.S. State Department IVLP visitors, if you can be on our list of drivers who can take visitors to their professional appointments. Usually one to three visitors. We can reimburse mileage if you need us to. Courtney@CDCSD.org
Do You Think Data Entry is Fun?
Need data input help. Contact Mel@CDCSD.org
Most grateful,
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