With COVID-19 causing such a huge impact on everyone we want to take a minute to tell you what we are going to be working on to keep you informed on how this has impacted the life of our future and past visitors.
We are sending out emails to our previous visitors and asking them to share with us their experiences in their respective countries. We are not alone in this horrid disease.
Hopefully you are all staying home, as we are, and staying healthy.
Since we are unable to hold our Annual Meeting, which was to be held this month, we wanted to give you a quick recap of some of the things that happened last year.
We had just 68 visitors from the IVLP program and 6 from the Open World Program. Although this number is lower than we hoped for it still was a great opportunity to meet people from around the world between the home hosting and the mixers, the opportunity to make friends was shared! Don’t miss out on the home hosting experience when the program gets back on track. We have been notified by State that all programs through June have been postponed. Hopefully we will get swamped when this terror is over.
We presented a STEM program for 15 girls from Nogales, Sonora Mexico in June. It was a huge success and we thank Consul General Staab for giving us the opportunity. We had superior presenters and the girls learned a great deal. They met every Saturday for 5 weeks. It was a great volunteer opportunity for the board.
We have the speaker’s program and will be getting that back in place when we resume “normal†life and will inform you of those we will be having come to speak on subjects of interest to you.
We always have the election to the board at the annual meeting and since we can’t do that live I have listed those that are on the board and ask that you approve of them continuing and if you have any suggestions for additions to the board. We would like to add at least 3 new board members this year so if you so inclined, either tell me you would like to visit a meeting or suggest someone you believe would be a benefit to the board
President: Weston Brown (Pima Community College International Division)
Vice President: Patricia Houston (Retired from PCC)
Secretary: Abbi Gold (Copygraphix, Inc.)
Treasurer: Maria Vianey Valdez-Cardenas (US Census)
Justin Allred (Law office in Willcox)
Gina Swift (Diversity Printing)
Rose Rojas (University of Arizona)
Peter Becskehazy (PCC and University of Arizona)
Please let me know if you approve of the board and any suggestions you have for new members.
So far this year we have hosted 43 visitors (that includes the interpreters) and are scheduled for 2 (confirmed) more programs that were postponed along with the Open World Program which was also postponed. The number of visitors for those programs are pending so won’t know for sure until they are reset.
We could have a much better year this year than we had last year IF the visits get rescheduled before year end.
Of course, the majority of our funding comes from the Community Partnership Grant from the Department of State which is based on the number of visitors we host. This is pretty scary since we just don’t know how it will be affected due to COVID-19.
That being said, it is time to renew your membership. It’s easy to do, go to www.cdalliance.us and go to the membership page and click on “Squareâ€. You will be taken to the donation/membership page. As you know, we have not changed our membership for years, it’s still $25 for one, $50 for a family and $100 and more for corporate. Thank you for taking care of this, every penny will help us.
We are looking forward to another year of interesting people, both the visitors and you! You make what we do possible. Please give what you can.
We also want to thank Catalina Transportation, The Residence Inn and Suites, The Courtyard by Marriott and The TownPlace Suites for working with us. Please keep them in your thoughts too, due to the stoppage of the visitors they are all impacted financially too.
To all those that present meetings for the visitors, a huge thank you!! Tucson has a great reputation due to the wonderful programs you provide for the visitors. Your willingness to share your knowledge is amazing!
As soon as I (Pat) hear from our visitors with the situation in their region I will send an update.
Please remember to go to www.cdalliance.us and the membership page and pay your dues. We are counting on your support and assistance!!
Sincerely,
Pat Watson, Executive Director
Citizen Diplomacy Alliance
6615 S Lantana Vista Dr.
Tucson, Arizona 85756
520-668-6073
Patwatson@patwatson.com