Happy International Womenâs Day and Happy St. Patrickâs Day! March is the time when we start to think about Spring, flowers and the warm days ahead. For us in the Womanâs Club of West Deptford, we are thinking about what we might enter in the Arts Creative and Conservation exhibits at the Garden District Spring Conference. Also, many of us are adding our names to the signup sheet so we can attend convention in May. The theme for this year is âCelebrating the Stars of a Shining Future.â What a perfect theme for the anniversary of the 100th year of the Womenâs Suffrage Movement.
âThe world needs strong women, women who lift and build others, who will love and be loved. Women who live bravely, both tender and fierce. Women of indomitable will.â
Amy Tenney
As we celebrate International Womenâs Day on March 8th, I wanted to take the time to highlight and honor the women of the WCWD. Each one of you brings a uniqueness and talent that makes us what we are and contributes to our success. I asked you each to tell me something special about yourself. See the list of your responses, attached to the end of this newsletter. Many of you had a hard time seeing yourself as uniqueâŚthat is one of the things that makes you so special. Many of you shared feelings that were so personal that my heart truly went out to you. Some of you asked family members to describe you, and those responses were some of my favorites.
SoâŚI asked my daughter Aimeeâ what makes me unique. She had two comments for me and responded quickly to my question. First, she said that I show confidence. Stepping into a family of teenagers when I married my husband and making a home shows confidence. Any project I undertake, I do with confidence. She then said I show complete commitment to varied service. When I take on something, I do it with full commitment, strong work ethics, a respect for the rules and do my best in what I am tasked to do. This is not what I wrote as my addition to our International Womenâs Day list, but this was a strong message to me, and it also reflects all of you. We are part of this amazing organization because we have the confidence and ability to do the best that we know how to do. To all 52 members of the Womanâs Club of West Deptford, whether you responded or notâŚI want to say congratulations on all of your achievements and that each of you are amazing.
As we enter March, we are working on more fundraisers for our Operating Budget. I want to thank Sue N. who willingly has been working with Linda J. to find different ways to increase funds in our Operating Budget. Sue is as organized and number savvy as Linda. Great job,
ladies! I want to also recognize Linda J. for our successful pie sale. I hear we are planning another one for the beginning of NovemberâŚYum! Perfect for Thanksgiving dessert!
We have been keeping our 2nd VP, Kim VZC busy with many new members. As I mentioned above, we are now at 52 members!!!! This is fantastic, and most of our new members have already signed up for club committees. Welcome and thank you ladies! There is still time to let me know if you are interested in serving on a committee. At our March General Meeting, I will be announcing our Nominating Committee who will receive the names of the ladies that signed up for a Board Position for the 2020/2022 Club years. All positions were open and the nominating committee is committed to putting together a cohesive and hard-working team. The only position that is an appointment is the position of Parliamentarian. That position is appointed by the Club President and is not up for a vote. The nominating committee will present our new slate of officers at our April meeting. Our installation will be in June and the new board will take over on July 1st. Committees will be put together in the next couple of months and will be shared at our June meeting.
As per our vote at our February meeting, we will be going out to a restaurant for our June meeting and Board Installation. Our hospitality team, Sherry W. and Agnes K. have been tasked with the job of finding a great place for dinner and our meeting. They should have information for all of us at our April meeting.
Speaking of new membersâŚI am not sure how many of you read our Club Yearbook but there is a lot of great information in there. One item of interest is that one of our new members is really a veteran of the club. Cheryl F. was the first President of the Womanâs Club of West Deptford from 1993 â 1996. She served again as Co-President with Clara C. from 2002 â 2003. Although Cheryl took a short break from the club because of family and increased career responsibilities, we are so happy to have Cheryl return and bring with her the expertise that she had shown when starting the WCWD.
GCI held their interviews with six high school students on February 13th to pick candidates to attend Douglass College and experience the Girls Career Institute. The committee did a fantastic job and I know we are looking forward to hearing all about the GCI experience. Just a note, the chosen girls will be attending an Orientation in May before heading to Douglass College in June so this is quite a commitment from the girls. Thank you ladies for all your hard work and making the WD Junior WC representative feel like part of your committee.
Our Womenâs Suffrage Project is in its final stages. I am so excited to see everything fall into place. Our WDHS Principal was very receptive to our project and is working with us to make this experience for our graduating seniors a great one. Look for the article on the Womenâs Suffrage Project in this monthâs Tidbits to see all that will be happening on April 9th. Also, along with our celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Womenâs Suffrage Movement, Cynthia H-B. and Peg S. have scheduled an interesting trip to the Alice Paul Institute on April 7th. I am looking forward to going and learning about this woman who helped make a difference for all future generations.
March is a busy month for us but one of the greatest projects we will be involved in is reading to the Kindergarten and First Grade Students at Oakview Elementary School. Linda J. has reached out to the schoolâs reading specialist and we are booked for four days! This CIP âAdopt a Schoolâ Project has given our ladies the chance to get involved in the community and share the love of reading with our students. Thank you to everyone who signed up, and I know we are going to have a fantastic time!!!!!
I will be sending in our reservations for attendance to the NJSFWC Convention in May this week. The dates are May 4th through the 6th. We have ten ladies attending on Wednesday, May 6th and Denise H. and Robin E. will be in attendance for all three days. Our reservations need to be in by the middle of March so I thank all of you for signing up so quickly. I am looking forward to seeing some of our ladies honored for all the hard work they have done for our club.
Our speaker for last month, Lt. Mike Franks of the WD Police Dept. K9 Unit did reach out to me to extend his apologies for not being able to attend our meeting. He was in the middle of a case and could not get away. He asked if we would reschedule him and I said that we certainly would. I do know that we have a special speaker for March. Our own Holly R. will be presenting on a topic of interest. She will be sharing important information on âOutsmarting the Scammers.â Iâm looking forward to her presentation and am sure we will learn a lot from her.
SoâŚletâs wear green for St. Patrickâs Day at our March 10th meeting and I will be thinking of all of you on Sunday, March 8th. Donât forget your Secret Pal gift and pack up your purple bag. We have another full agenda in March!
Keep making a difference ladies!
Warmly,
April