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 Spring
2009
The RPCVw Board Members Trish, Corey and Jim celebrate at the Holiday Party
Save the Date(s):
Wreath Laying at JFK’s Grave
Wednesday, May 13th at 6pmArlington National Cemetary
Annual Summer Picnic & Board Elections
Saturday, July 11th from 12:30-4pmDC Yacht Club
Your 2008-09 RPCVw Board of Directors
President:
Jim Gore, Bolivia 03-05 
Vice President:
Molly Mattessich, Mali 02-04
Secretary:
  Joe Ford, Zambia 94-96
Treasure
r: Jeffrey Lovelace, Bolivia 95-97 
Membership:
 Bea Tijerina, Ghana 97-99 & Zambia06
New Members:
Vacant
Communications:
RaeJean Stokes, Ukraine 03-05 
Web:
Pei-Zei Lin, Burkina Faso, 04-06
Development:
Lindsey Johnson, Phillipines, 05-06
Special Events:
Tamar Schiffman, Uzbekistan 01 &Ukraine 01-03
Social:
Corey Taylor, Benin 97-99
Community Service:
  Jessica Benton Cooney, El Salva-dor 04-06
Programs:
Trish Calamari, Uzbekistan 04-05 
From the RPCVw President
...Dear RPCVs,
It has denitely been a long winter here in the DC area, and Iam sure that all of your are as excited as I am for Spring to nal
-ly overpower winter’s chill. However, in spite of the winter chill,RPCVw and its membership have enjoyed an active and excitingseries of programs and activities over these last few months.To begin with, the New Year brought with it the excitementof Barack Obama’s ascension to the Presidency. RPCVw andNPCA joined forces and led a group of 200 people from thePeace Corps Community on a march through the InauguralParade. It was an honor and privilege to celebrate Peace Corpsduring this parade, and for anyone who still doubts the powerof Peace Corps – the cheers and cries of support for Peace Corpsduring that parade was absolutely amazing.For those of you who stay up to speed on our website (www.rpcvw.org) and listserv, you may have noticed the wide array of programs and activities that we have developed in support of our membership. You will see a review of those successes in thefollowing pages of this newsletter.
On a nal note, our July annual membership picnic will bring
with it the election of new members of our Board of Directors.I encourage all of you to give serious thought to becoming amember of our Board. It is an amazing experience – one that
will bring you experience, friendships, and fulllment. As I am
now coming to the end of my third term as President of theBoard of Directors, I have decided to step down from this posi-tion and allow others to step in and guide the future of RPCVw.It has been a pleasure and honor to serve you, the membershipof RPCVw, in efforts to build a strong community here in the DCarea as well as empower each of you to live your 3rd goal fullerhere in your community. I have been endorsed by the RPCVwBoard of Directors in my campaign to become a Board Member
of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) and ll the now
vacant Mid-Atlantic/Nationwide NPCA Board Position. Forthose of you who are NPCA members, I respectfully request yourvote for that position in the upcoming elections, which will takeplace April 15 through May 15 (results will be announced by May26).I sincerely thank you all for your continued support of RPCVwand the greater Peace Corps Community. Kind Regards,
 James Gore
President – RPCVwBolivia 2003-2005
 
RPCVw Marches in Inaugural Parade
Commemorate historic election 
On January 21, nearly 200 RPCVs andhonored guests marched in the parade tohonor the inauguration of the 44th Presi-dent of the United States, Barack Obama.Despite the long lines, long waits, and bit-ter temperatures, it was a memorable dayfor all.If you missed it, or would just like to see itagain, be sure to check out this clip fromMSNBC:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/29898390#29898249.
Ticket to History
Volunteer’s Kenya service paved path to InaugurationBy: Jessica Benton CooneyWhen the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced the “Ticket to History” contest, James Riviere wrote a quick essay overa lunch break, using his Peace Corps service as fodder to describe what the inauguration meant to him and the nation. Little did
he imagine that he would be one of ten nalists to receive tickets to the opening concert at the Lincoln Memorial, the swearing-in,
the Inaugural Parade, and the Neighborhood Ball.Riviere, who was assigned to the home province of President Barack Obama’s father during his Peace Corps service in Kenya,said it was an honor to attend the inauguration of the man Kenyans hailed a potential presidential winner even before he of-
cially declared his White House intentions.
The Washington, D.C. native arrived in Kenya in early 2007, but his time there was cut short when the disputed presidentialelection in December 2007 unleashed chaos, destruction and looting.
Riviere was 20 miles from the border of Tanzania, inside the walls of a friend’s secure compound, when ofcials announced
that the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki, was the declared winner despite opposition leader Raila Odinga’s claims of victory.An eerie silence descended, which Riviere said proved to be the quiet before the storm.In the distance plumes of smoke began to rise, matching news reports that violent activity was starting a kilometer away. Heremained holed up, with his friend’s armed military guards keeping watch, but after a few days the group was forced to make atrek to the closest town to buy food supplies. From his perch in the back of the truck, he saw burning vehicles, stores and housesdestroyed by looters, machete wounds and even witnessed a man receive a gun shot to the head.Within a few days he evacuated to Dar es Salaam,Tanzania and was reunited with other Kenya Volunteers. He returned tothe U.S. in February 2008. While Peace Corps has reopened its post in Kenya and Volunteers have since gone back, Riviere optedto stay in the U.S. and accept a job with Management Sciences for Health in Arlington, Virginia.
Riviere said that he had work to nish in Kenya. “But I wanted to go back in a greater capacity. In those nine months at that
skill level I realized it would be about myself…it was better to go home.”Because of heavy security, Riviere arrived to his seat two minutes before the swearing-in ceremony started, and althoughObama was a mere speck on the horizon, Riviere said he was overcome by a sense of peace. Despite the crowds and security
frustrations, being able to witness the historical moment “nixed out everything else.” He was condent that Kenyans were also
proudly watching the ceremony, given their penchant for bringing in generators to watch soccer in “even the tiniest villages thathad no running water.” He added that, “even in the slums of Nairobi, they probably watched it projected on the side of a build-ing.”During the inauguration, Riviere stayed at the Capital Hill Suites along with Hollywood and music stars, such as Alicia Keys,Tiger Woods, Steve Carell, and George Lopez. He also attended the bi-partisan dinner for Vice-President Joseph Biden at UnionStation. “As blessed as I am,” Riviere said, “bless those that had patience…for coming at 4 a.m. just to look at the back of people’sheads.”
Jessica Benton Cooney is a production editor and staff writer for the Congressional Quarterly, in Washington, D.C. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Sal-vador from 2004 to 2006. This article is also appearing in the spring issue of WorldView magazine. Learn more at www.peacecorpsconnect.org.
 
*NEW* RPCVw Partner-ship Award Program
 
This year, RPCVw will award one Returned PeaceCorps Volunteer with $1,000 to start or continuea third goal initiative project. Our award will besimilar to the Peace Corps Partnership program,but this year instead of granting an award to acurrent volunteer, we will select a worthy projectfrom an RPCVw Member who continues to beinvolved in his or her community post-Peace Corpsservice. The award winner will be recognized at areception in the spring. Please stay tuned for moreinformation and for nomination criteria. If youhave any questions please contact Molly Mattessichat vicepresident@rpcvw.org.
50 x 50 campaign
RPCVw’s exciting three-year membership plan went into effect in September and will run until the 50th anniversary of thePeace Corps in 2011. The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington D.C. has launched a “50 by 50” membership cam-paign to increase our membership by 50 new members each year between now and the 50th anniversary in September, 2011. By the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, RPCVw hopes to play a leading role with Peace Corps and the National PeaceCorps Association in the effort to celebrate the incredible legacy of the Peace Corps. We can only do so with an active, motivat-ed member base. Please recruit your friends and group-mates living in the D.C. area, and be part of a monumental initiative!
For more information about becoming a member, contact Bea at membership@rpcvw.org, or sign up online at www.rpcv.org.
Board Members on theMove...
Are you CONNECTED?
What are you waiting for? The Peace Corps online community is up
and running – are you a member yet? You can create your prole in
a few minutes.
Already created a prole? Take advantage of all the community has
to offer!Now there are country pages to facilitate communication with yourfellow volunteers:* Pose questions about Post-Peace Corps jobs in Para guay* Find out if it’s going to be rainy during your vacation to Senegal* Discuss the economic challenges of your town in Kazakhstan* Add your photos to pages like Peace Corps MalawiHOW: Simply click on the Resources section and go to the Discussionforums for your country!We’re one of the largest and most active RPCV groups in the world!Let’s make RPCVw the group with the MOST members on PeaceCorps Connect. Join our group here!The goals of the new online community for Peace Corps Volunteersare to:Engage all of the voices of the Peace Corps Community and be thevirtual umbrella under which Peace Corps stories are exchanged andlinks are built.Provide current and insightful information about Peace Corps coun-tries and cultures.Help Returned Peace Corps Volunteers make the Third Goal of Peace Corps a reality.Present career, educational, and service resources to Returned PeaceCorps Volunteers.You can join this community now by visiting www.peacecorpscon-nect.org .
Elizabeth Olsen, the RPCVwNew Members Director has re-signed from her position on theRPCVw Board to accept a posi-
 
tion in the Obama Administration. We areall very sad to see Elizabeth leave; however,we are absolutely excited and supportive of her new position. Elizabeth has been a truechampion of Peace Corps’ third goal andher work has inspired many of us to con-tinue our own commitment to service. Wewish Elizabeth the best of luck in her newadventure, and hope you all will join us inthanking her for the amazing work she didfor the RPCVw community.
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