Milí Přátele/Dear Friends,

Please accept this expression of deep sympathy from Rice Lake International Friendship Association and your friends in Rice Lake on the loss of your Former President Václav Havel.

In 1999 our small Rice Lake delegation with CZ exchange students was invited to attend the first Symposium Series on Civil Society in President Havel’s honor at Macalester College. We listened to his speech there and at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He was well respected and inspired many. I will always remember that day, and how important Vaclav Havel was to a new era for the Czech Republic and people we have come to know as friends.

Deb Neuheisel Smith/Mike Smith & RLIFA friends