The Friendship-Book

This is a slightly adjusted and updated reprint from the 2010 student issue of the Bulletin. Because it is not only of interest for the student dancers we repeat this report in the regular Bulletin
The Editor

Dear Friends,

with the entrance into life as graduated dancers you will also make acquaintance with the Friendship Book. You will find an operating instruction for it further down. First I would like to report briefly on its sense and origin. This booklet was brought into being in order to promote friendship among the dancers. You will be given a signature in this book each time you visit a Square Dance club on its regular club evening for the first time. The accumulation of a certain number of signatures is then rewarded with a Friendship Badge. This is the most visible but also the most insignificant reward you will receive. As the name implies, the greatest reward you will receive for your club attendance is to meet new dancers and so have the opportunity to make new friends. Thus, keep the words said at your Graduation in your memory for a long time and always regard yourselves as an ambassador of this friendship idea when you visit other clubs and collect your signatures. It depends on you just how great your reward is; whether it remains with just the signature and the badge or whether you become a part of the friendship which constitutes the value of our hobby. Now we come to the promised operating instruction:

Part I Acquisition of the signatures

1. Be a member in an EAASDC member association.
    
2. Visit a Square Dance club somewhere in the world on its regular club evening. Only dances on a normal club evening count, a graduation on a normal club evening will be accepted. You can visit only one club on one evening, but the visit of a club in the afternoon and another club in the evening is possible. Special Dances, Jamboree und Round Up will not be accepted.
    
3. Dance as often as possible, at least half of the dances.
    
4. Stay until the end of the club evening.
    
5. If you are visiting the club for the first time then give your Friendship Book to someone on the club board or the club caller for the signature.
    
6. Reclaim your book after it has been signed.
    
7. You need the signatures for the following badges:
   - White/Gold 26 different clubs
   - Black/Silver 52 different clubs in at least 3 different countries
   - Black/Gold 104 different clubs in at least 5 different countries
   - Blue/Silver 208 different clubs in at least 5 different countries
   - Red/Gold 416 different clubs in at least 5 different countries
    
8. Mark the countries on the margin of your book, it would save us some work. Furthermore we need your actual club and for further enquiry a phone number or an emailadress.
    
9. If you have collected enough signatures, proceed to part II, otherwise go back to point 2.

Part II Acquisition of the Badges

There is a Friendship Badge in different colors for 26, 52, 104, 208 and 416 signatures. In order to receive it proceed as follows:

1. Check whether you have correctly collected enough signatures.
    
2. With regard to the white-golden and the black-silver badge ask your club president to sign the friendship book. Starting with the blackgolden badge the friendship book is to be signed by Member at Large Support for Members, now: Silke Wilhelm support4members@eaasdc.eu
   compare www.eaasdc.eu/werwas.htm
    
3. Address an envelope to yourself.
    
4. Make sure that this envelope can be sealed properly, so that it doesn’t lose its contents in the post. A standard envelope is usually adequate for this. Paper that is too thin, however, is not to be recommended.
    
5. Please do NOT seal the return envelope!
    
6. Put a stamp with the correct value on the envelope. Please consider the fact that along with the book there will also be the badge in the envelope in the return post. A book with badge can be posted in a standard envelope in Germany for 0,55 Euro and to Europe for 0,70 Euro. For up to three books with one badge each it costs 0,90 Euro in Germany and 1,00 Euro to Europe in a normal envelope. Every-thing else requires more postage. Please pay attention to this in order to avoid having to pay extra postage on receipt.
    
7. Put your book with the free envelope into another envelope and send it for the white-gold and the black-silver badges together with 2 Euro in stamps (only for white-gold and black-silver) for every badge to Weidich´s Badge & Record Service and for every other badge compare above item 2
    
8. Place an appropriate stamp on this envelope and put it in the post. You will then soon receive your book with the badge by post.
    
9. Would you like to have your name and the earned badge to be published in the Bulletin, please inform the current Bulletin Editor (now: Klaus Rohrbach). He will take care of the publication. This can be done by letter or email, you will however also find such a form in the download-area of the homepage.

Silke Wilhelm
EAASDC MaL Support for Members
Originaltext: Karin Heinze-Briesemeister