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Loudoun Lady Newsletter GFWC – Virginia, Northern District January 2007, Newsletter Volume S, Issue 1 Next Meeting: Tuesday, January 16th 7:30 pmRefreshments for the 1/16 meeting will be provided by: Sweets - Hope Snack - Rosalyn Drinks – Rosalyn Paper Goods - Rebecca Meeting Location: 215 Depot Court, located down the street from the Tuscarora Mill Restaurant, on the left side, just past the Morningside Assisted Living House. Our meeting will be in the multi-purpose room. The phone number there is 703-777-0257.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE, MICHELLE
Hi Ladies, I hope you don’t mind me standing in for Pam in this month’s newsletter. I haven’t had a chance to write in awhile and I thought I take this opportunity while Pam is enjoying her new little bundle of sweetness to share some thoughts with you guys! Thanks for indulging me. After coming off the holiday rush I am sure that everyone is enjoying the opportunity to reflect and refocus that comes with a new year. Of course if you are like me that opportunity brings with it a feeling of responsibility…this is the year that I will finally conquer my life! January brings with it new energy, but the other side is it also brings up all those nagging truths of life that I have been trying to ignore. I can find myself feeling a bit melancholy – another year gone, another Christmas while my children are little that has passed and now all this quiet (well not that quiet!) in which to reflect on my life. I have had many friends express to me in the past week that they are taking stock in their lives…they are trying to find a focus for the future. All that reflecting made me take a second to look in the mirror myself this morning…and when I did, do you know what I saw? Well since I can’t focus on one thing very long – a side affect of trying to mother three small children – my attention quickly refocused on the television set. A commercial was playing about the problem of high heating oil prices. The high cost forces many families to turn their thermostats so low that they end up using their ovens to heat their homes. For a second I was taken out of my busy life, and I had to pause to give thanks that my life is so easy. How often in our busy lives do we stop to think how easy our lives are? I admit it; I spend more time complaining about things than counting my blessings. I spend more time wondering what my purpose is and “what I want to be when I grown up” then I spend enjoying each day. This morning I was reminded that in the global scheme of things I am blessed, my life is easy, even the things I have to complain about could be blessings for other people. The reminder of those blessings was a gift, a gift which renewed my commitment to community service. It may not be easy, it may not be convenient, at times it may not even be exciting or interesting - but I have not only a responsibility but a personal need to give back to my community in order to honor the gift of my “easy life.” I so appreciate the opportunity that JWCL provides me – the ability to build personal relationships while at the same time performing community service. I look forward to trying my hand at some new volunteer activities this year and at participating in some that I have enjoyed for years. I hope that as you reflect on your life and your plans for 2007 that you will also feel very blessed and that as a result of those blessings you will continue to find time to make JWCL and the work that we do part of your busy schedules. Happy New Year! - Fondly, Michelle – Board Member at Large
**************************************************************************************** A MESSAGE FROM RONNA, 2nd VICE PRESIDENT / MEMBERSHIP CHAIR Hi ladies, It's a new year and we have lots to accomplish this year! Of course, we should reflect for a moment on all that we have accomplished this past year first. We have done so many great things as a club and individually for our community. We have so much of which to be proud! On the membership front alone, we have celebrated the magnificent job our previous leadership did to inspire and encourage us continue to build our community. We have installed new leadership that has encouraged us to traverse new paths to community service and to enjoy the journey along the way as we grow as a club and as individuals. We have supported wonderful community outreach programs such as Meals on Wheels, Holiday Coalition, and Interfaith Relief. We have supported our club by helping to increase our membership numbers and getting our club name out within the community through events like the Make a Difference Volunteer Day, Leesburg Holiday Parade, and the Adopt-A-Spot campaign. Lastly, we have supported each other through dinners for our members, social events, and of course, our Ladies Nights Out and after meeting social hour(s) at Tuskies that allow us to catch up with each others' lives. Our commitment to our community and to each other is evident in the fact that we have so many new members who have decided to join us in our journey. We initiated 10 women into the club last year, including Sarah, who joined us in December. Welcome, Sarah! We are so happy to have these new members. It proves that our club truly is made up of amazing women who seek opportunities for bettering the world and rise to that challenge. We have really done so much in 2006! As we look forward to 2007, we can see lots of fun membership events on the horizon. We will begin our informal get-togethers to find ways for us to build our camaraderie within the club. We will have the Silent Auction, which is a great way to introduce our friends and family to the club and the good that we do while raising money for charity. We will have the Fairy Tale Closet and numerous opportunities to walk for charities, like the March of Dimes walk, Meagan's Walk, Relay for Life, and others. These are great events and, as a bonus, we can work them together to give us some time to catch up with each other. We will have our June Ladies Night Out to thank those of us who served in leadership roles this year and recognize those that will serve next year. We will begin planning our recruiting event to be held in January 2008 with Liz Crenshaw as the speaker. As you can see, we are constantly moving forward and trying to better serve our needs and those in our community. I'm very excited and proud of all that we accomplished last year and look forward to another astounding year with you marvelous women in 2007! Ronna
**************************************************************************************** A MESSAGE FROM JEN ABOUT MEALS ON WHEELS Hi there, Please look at the attached sign up sheet and if there are any Wednesday’s that you can volunteer to deliver meals, please let me know. If we don’t get more volunteers, we will have to cut back our time from helping out. Also, if you sign up….please remember to show up. The past two Wednesdays, no one has showed up from club. Please e-mail or call me directly. If you haven’t done it before or are new to club and want more info, please don’t hesitate to ask. It is a quick 30 minutes to volunteer and we are proving tremendous help to the community. Thank you, Jen **************************************************************************************** A NOTE FROM REBECCA, 1st VICE PRESIDENT / REPORTING CHAIR Reporting season is in full swing! By the time our January meeting rolls around, we will be about a week away from our reporting deadline of January 25th. Thank you to ALL the department chairs and project leads who are working so diligently to get our reporting in great shape. If you have a report due, please make sure to email it to me by JANUARY 20th. Thank you! ****************************************************************************************
Happy Birthday to all of you!!! Happy Anniversary to all of you!!!
**************************************************************************************** Reminders & Announcements
January 2007 Meals on Wheels – Every Wednesday 1/16 JWCL Club Meeting @ 7:30pm 1/22 Interfaith Relief 1/25 Reports Due
February 2007 Meals on Wheels – Every Wednesday 2/20 JWCL Club Meeting @ 7:30pm
March 2007 3/24 Fairy Tale Closet
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January 2007