The 40th Planners are saddened by the terrible events of yesterday and hope that you and your loved ones are safe.

The 40th Anniversary events (the conference and the gala) are little more than a week away and many of you may be getting calls from people asking about the status of the 40th.

Please do not speculate on what you think the 40th planners and the NPCA might do or how this might be handled.

Please let them know the following:

1. As of right now, there are no plans to cancel the 40th.

2. The NPCA 40th planners will be meeting at 1 pm today to discuss the situation.

3. We will put something out on our website as soon as we can with more information.

Please do not discuss cancellation policies or speculate on possible changes to it with the people who contact you. We may have to rethink our current policy for the conference. That is just one of the discussion topics today.

Thanks.

Cori

Cori Welbourn Bassett
Executive Coordinator, 40th Anniversary
National Peace Corps Association
1900 L St. NW, Suite 205
Washington, DC 20036
P. 202-293-7728 ext. 20 F. 202-293-7554
E. cori@rpcv.org W. www.rpcv.org

By Admin1 (admin) on Thursday, September 13, 2001 - 7:19 pm: Edit Post

At this point, this message has been superceded and is posted for archival purposes only.

Admin1

By Admin1 (admin) on Wednesday, September 12, 2001 - 6:09 pm: Edit Post

This message just received from the NPCA Advocacy listserv:

The Returned Peace Corps community is deeply shocked and saddened by yesterday's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. We mourn the terrible loss of life and grieve with the families who have suffered the death or injury of loved ones or terrible uncertainty about their fate.

With these events coming little more than a week before the opening of the National Peace Corps Association's national conference, which celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Peace Corps, many are asking about the impact on our plans. We wish to emphasize that we have determined to go ahead with our Conference. The celebration of peace and international outreach which our Conference stands for is even more important now than it was before these tragic events. Even as our government seeks to determine responsibility for the attacks and an appropriate response, Return Peace Corps Volunteers, present and former staff and friends of the Peace Corps will stand together to convey their message of peace and positive American involvement in the developing countries..

As one of our members convalescing after cancer surgery wrote yesterday,

My gut reaction to today's events and the 40th celebration is to affirm how important the Peace Corps is in building understanding among people, people who may start out thinking they have absolutely nothing in common, learn otherwise, and are completely changed. How lucky we have been to have such rich life experiences.

We are examining with city and federal authorities any adjustments to our 40th Anniversary program which may be necessary because of security and will communicate those changes to you on our website and through our listservs.

Dane Smith, President, NPCA
September 12, 2001

By JERR BOSCHEE on Thursday, September 13, 2001 - 1:34 am: Edit Post

Dear Dane,

I support your decision to carry on with the 40th anniversary celebration one hundred per cent . . . if ever there were a time for us to band together and let the world see into our hearts, then this is that time . . . if ever there were a moment for us to reach out to like-minded men, women and children the world over, then this is that moment . . . and if ever there were a way to let the world know that thousands upon thousands of us will re-commit ourselves to the paths of peace, then this is the most powerful way I could imagine . . .

JERR BOSCHEE (India-54)