The meetings were hosted at the Martinitkcy Palace. There I met some old friends whom I had met through Summerfest and also many new friends. There wereabout 160 delegates from 36 countries.
Delegates pictured (below) including Carmen Padilla, Philippines, who is President of IOV. She is in the front row in wearning a traditional orange dress from the Philippines.
My husband, Guy Dugal was elected Treasurer of IOV. This job is very involved and keeps him busy. George Frandsen was elected Secretary General. He is pictured here with Emma Chen Hoefler, China and Mahkfusa Salimova, Ukbekistan. George has worked tirelessly for IOV for many, many years. He has certainly made it what it is today.
We didn't get much down time but the last day we were there, a few of us went shopping. We walked for hours and were very tired so we hailed a cab to get back to our hotel. When we arrived, Sanjay Mehandiratta, India, was there to greet us. Suddenly to my horror I realized I had left my purse in the cab that had just pulled away. Without hestitation, Sanjay gallantly ran after the cab (he's very athletic) as we anxiously watched until he was out of sight. At last he came into view, triumphantly holding the purse I thought was lost forever, high above his head . I will always be indebted to Sanjay for this heroic gesture of friendship.
Sanjay and me holding the 'rescued' purse.
Parting shot taken from the Charles bridge.
This wa an incredible experience that I shall never forget. I was able to do two presentations including a report on the 1st IOV World Youth Congress that was held in Bountiful in 2008 in conjunction with Summerfest. I enjoy serving in this way and meeting wonderful people from all over the world who are busily engaged in preserving traditional cultural heritage and making the world better by promoting peace and goodwill.
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