News & Notes – September 6, 2018

Plan Your Veteran’s Day Observance

Now that Labor Day has passed, it is time to begin thinking about club Veteran’s Day observances. Because of social ideas about the female experience, women have often been written out of U.S. military history. Yet their patriotic duty has inspired women to support their country during our times of need. The bravery of countless women since the establishment of our country gives us a legacy of strength and persistence from our early wars when women played a supportive role as water bearers, cooks, and laundresses to present day when women serve in active duty roles as nurses, combat field commanders, and officers.

Make November 11 a day to be remembered for military women in your communities! And don’t forget retired women veterans by contacting your local VFW’s or American Legion Posts for possible assistance.

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Cares & Concerns

Our deepest condolences to Past International President Mary Ellen Laister, whose younger brother, Robert Taylor Duncan, passed away on August 26.

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Where in the World is GFWC? 

Where do you take your GFWC volunteer spirit? Snap a picture of this “flat GFWC” with you, post the picture on your Instagram or Facebook, and tag it using #GFWC1820. The GFWC Juniors will be awarding winners for most creative, funniest, and furthest distance. We can’t wait to see where in the world GFWC goes this administration!

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International Literacy Day

International Literacy Day is on September 8. Promote literacy locally and globally with some of these ideas:

• Donate books.
• Volunteer for before and after-school reading programs.
• Tutor illiterate adults.
• Tutor refugees or immigrants.

Check out the Education Community Service Program in the GFWC Club Manual to get more ideas on how you can make a difference through books and education.

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Alabama is a LEADS Success Story

GFWC Alabama LEADS chartered as a federated club in 2012 and currently has 13 members. The 2018-2020 Alabama Federation of Women’s Clubs Officers, for the first time, are all LEADS graduates. President Christine Steele 2008, President-elect Randy Matthews 2009, 1st Vice President Jan Greer 2007, 2nd Vice President Becky Vansant 2010, Secretary Caroline Hollowell 2014, and Treasurer Karol Kapustka 2013. Six other graduates are serving on the Board of Directors. This year the club established an annual scholarship of $200 for the GFWC Alabama LEADS representative attending convention, was a sponsor for the Juniorette Jamboree in June chaired by Jennifer Robertson LEADS 2015, and assisted with the Leadership Workshop, chaired by Alicia Beam LEADS 2012.

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MLK Day of Service Ideas

Take notes on ideas you’d like to present at your club meeting for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, one of the 2018-2020 Administration’s Seven Grand Initiatives! This week’s service idea is:

Bunny Workshop

The GFWC Florentine Evening Club (Missouri) partnered with the Florence Juniorettes (Mississippi) to create bunnies from washcloths, ribbons, googly eyes, and pompoms. The project was listed in the GFWC Top 10 Projects. The club realized children in shelters might not have someone to read to, so they donated books and bunnies to a local children’s facility. Reading to their stuffed animals allowed children to enhance their reading fluency, expression, and comprehension. On MLK Day, have a bunny workshop of your own so children in shelters in your community have a reading buddy.

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GFWC App

GFWC is looking into the various app performance issues over the next few weeks and will keep you informed of any important updates. Thank you for your patience.

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The Annual August Board of Directors Meeting

Richmond, VA

More than 170 GFWC leaders gathered for the 2018 Board of Directors meeting August 23-26 in Richmond, Virginia. The event granted board members the opportunity to participate in a variety of tour options as part of Friday’s activities.

The first group toured Monticello, the house that Jefferson designed and built for himself and his family. In fact, it is the only U.S. presidential and private home on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Another group of adventurous members went on a white water rafting adventure on the James River. These 24 brave souls came back with a renewed spirit and energy to tackle challenges as a team.

The third tour was a “Day in Richmond”, where members viewed the largest museum collection in the Southeast at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, toured the grounds of Maymont and the Virginia State Capitol, the nation’s second-oldest working capitol, and visited St. John’s Church, site of Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech.

While Friday’s activities gave our leaders the opportunity to learn valuable information and form unending bonds, it was just one part of the Board of Directors meeting. Board members spent an additional two days discussing the Federation’s goals, planning for the administration, and listening to influential speakers. Thursday’s dinner included guided training by yoga instructors Tia Platte and Heather Zimmerman, of Yoga Source in Richmond. At Friday’s dinner, Dr. Charlie Sydnor, Senior Historian for the Virginia Holocaust Museum, spoke of his admirable life work as an expert witness in court cases involving former SS concentration camp guard and Nazi death camp collaborators.

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GFWC Juniors Volun-Tour Punta Cana

GFWC Director of Junior Clubs Trisha Schafer invites you, your family, and your friends to Punta Cana from February 2-6, 2019 for an experience of a lifetime! Join GFWC Juniors at the Riu Palace Punta Cana, a newly refurbished resort with swimming pools, a gorgeous beach front, and an on-site waterpark! There will be daily entertainment and activities that you won’t want to miss, plus a service project to show we’re “Living the Volunteer Spirit!”

Deposits are due by October 1 and full Payment is due November 1. It’ll be four nights of fun, but you can register for three nights instead if you call Diania at Abora Travel at 813-563-2404. Check out www.gfwcjuniortour.com for more information.

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A Woman’s Journey Conference

There’s still time to register for the 24th annual Johns Hopkins Medicine’s A Woman’s Journey conference.

Date: Saturday, November 10

Time: 8:15 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 

Location: Baltimore Hilton Hotel

Attend two keynote speakers, select 4 out of 32 seminars all featuring Johns Hopkins Medicine experts, and attend Ask the Experts, which provides access to additional Hopkins physicians.

Lectures include:

• Coping with the News Cycle
• Foods to Enhance Your Immune System
• The Implication of Inflammation
• Finding Your Voice
• Kidney Disease in Women of Color
• Fatigue and Sleep
• Having your Chocolate and Eating It Too
• The Rise of Lung Cancer in Non-Smoking Women
• The Impact of Stress in Women
• Home Diagnostic Tests
• Strategies to Treat Pain without Addiction
• Thrive to Survive

Registration is $145, which includes two meals, educational handouts, and option to earn Continuing Education Credits from eight professional health organizations like Nursing, Social Work, Health Educators, Counselors and Therapists and more.

For more information, please call: 410-955-8660 or visit: www.hopkinsmedicine.org/awomansjourney/Baltimore

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Parliamentary Pointers

By GFWC Parliamentarian Deen J. Meloro

Standing Rules

Standing Rules are rules which are related to the details of the administration of an organization, rather than parliamentary procedure. These rules can usually be adopted or changed the same way as almost any action taken by the club, unless the bylaws state otherwise.

Standing Rules would include specifics such as the time and place of meetings, who maintains the guest book, who hostesses which meetings, or what the financial arrangement are for delegates attending a state convention. These can all easily be changed and/or added to, while it should not be easy to amend bylaws.

All club members should have a copy of the club’s bylaws as well as the club’s standing rules. It gives newer members a better understanding of the club and gives all members the tools necessary to be active in the club.

Standing rules should not be confused with “rules of order” which are the rules in the Parliamentary authority chosen by the club. Standing rules are also different than ”convention standing rules” which apply only to the procedures to be followed during those few days.

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Volunteers in Action

This week’s Volunteer in Action photo is from the GFWC Sokico Woman’s Club. To learn about their event, check out their new club profile on the GFWC website!

Have a story you want to share? Send your photos and a description of the project to PR@GFWC.org to be considered for our next Volunteers in Action member profile.

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GFWC Marketplace: GFWC Ceremonies Guide

The GFWC Ceremonies Guide features select new club charter, new member initiation, installation, memorial, and anniversary ceremonies from GFWC State Federations and clubs across the country. Get your full-color, spiral bound copy today for $8 at the GFWC Marketplace.

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Fundraising

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