Our History
Regency Women’s Club History, By Dodi Myers
(Excerpts from an article that appeared in the Regency Review 10-year anniversary issue.)
The idea for the Regency Women's Club began at Dodi Myers' kitchen table in January, 2006. At least several times a week, Kathy Elder and Sherry Baer would join Dodi in her kitchen over pots of coffee and brochures of information from other clubs similar to the one we were envisioning for our community. We printed flyers and took the idea to “Ladies Night Out” at DVCC on January 17, 2006, to find out if there might be any interest.
There was, and we had our first organizational meeting in the Bayhill model home on March 7. Thirty three women attended that meeting. At the organizational meeting, the women brain-stormed areas and activities that they would like the club to become involved in. Those ideas would provide the basis for the club's service projects, general meeting speakers, and fundraising activities.
The women also had the opportunity to volunteer for five officer positions and a variety of working committees, including a nominating committee, which began work immediately to propose a slate of officers for presentation at the first General Meeting. Kathy Elder attended a luncheon at the Heritage Hunt Women's Group, and Sherry Baer and Dodi Myers attended the Haymarket Women's Club Luncheon. Dodi also brought ideas from Clifton Women's Club where she had recently been a member.
Our ideas began to take shape along with ways to raise funds to support the charitable endeavors to which we wanted to contribute in our new community. We wanted to have our first luncheon and business meeting to coincide with the Regency Club's grand opening in April of 2006, and we were ready on April 6th! It was the first large event in the new Clubhouse dining room with nearly 100 Regency women attending.
It was such an exciting time – Robert Robinette, General Manager, welcomed us, as well as Elle Wilson, President of the Haymarket Women's Club and Sue Ferris, President of the Heritage Women's Club accompanied by Patricia Wengert and Joyce Mack. They discussed their experiences in organizing and leading clubs in the area.
Also at that meeting, a slate of proposed officers and committee chair people were presented by the nominating committee for approval. The following were voted in by acclimation. Dodi Myers, President; Diane Hammond, Executive Vice President who later stepped down with Sandi McNickle replacing her; Kathy Elder, VP for Programming; Carol Fulton, VP for Community Service; Fran Gallagher, VP for Fund Raising; Piri Bailey, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer Lillian Coney– Piri also stepped down and Lillian Coney replaced her with Joann Clemenz as Assistant Treasurer; Marge Shane and Gail Baldauf, Recording Secretaries; Nancy Vuley, Correspondence Secretary; and Sherry Baer, Board Advisor. Kathy Elder was our “idea person”. Her ideas just tumbled out one after the other, so it was no surprise that she was VP of Programming. Sherry Baer came from a business background, and we needed the advice and structure she provided as Board Advisor. Dodi contributed with her know how, gained in previous women's club memberships, in putting the right people together. We were a very enthusiastic group!
When the members registered for that first luncheon, they were asked to bring community cookbooks to be used as examples for our first fund-raising activity, a Regency cookbook. Sue Reitzig gave us the name “Taste of Regency.” Other fund-raisers in that first year included a Haymarket bake sale in September, a fashion show in October featuring fashions by Coldwater Creek, a Holiday Home Tour in December, and preparations for our first “Seniors Gone Wild” variety show presented in the spring of 2008. For programming, a notable first was snagging Liz Crenshaw, NBC consumer reporter, for our September opener. We also heard the beautiful voices of the Battlefield Singers from Battlefield High School for a Christmas concert. Community service projects included support for SERVE and BARN (Transitional Housing), Fisher House Foundation, the Angel Giving Tree program, a blood drive with Inova Blood Donor Services, and many other services for Prince William County.
By the fall of 2006, we thought there might be enough interest for an evening division for ladies who were still working, but wanted to be a part of RWC. Terry Blake took on the chairmanship with 13 members signing on. Their contribution of quilts they made for the children of BARN were absolutely beautiful and surely will be treasured for many, many years. Another big undertaking that fall was the development of our bylaws. Sherry Baer stepped up as the chairperson and with assistance from five members hammered out our constitution and bylaws. They did an outstanding job. Several other committees of great importance were the Sunshine Committee and the Membership Committee both chaired by Karen McConkey; and the Publicity Committee, chaired by Sally Nunn and Arlene Giacomo. Karen still chairs the Sunshine Committee. Her focus on helping Regency residents to help each other has
assisted hundreds of residents with meals, visits and phone calls, transportation, cards, and medical equipment resources.
A few facts about RegencyWomen's Club: Our flower is the Dogwood and our color is pink. Those who have served on the board receive a Dogwood pin at the June meetings when we have the installations of new officers. Our mission statement is “Enriched by Friendship… Dedicated to Service.” Our focus was initially on women and children in Prince William County who needed our help. Our constitution states that our purpose shall be “to cultivate friendly association among its members; to provide opportunities to its members for participation in cultural, recreational, and intellectual activities; to promote community service projects for educational and philanthropic purposes; and to support the interests of the Regency in the Dominion Valley community.” We have done that by providing scholarships to Battlefield High School, to second year nursing students at Northern Virginia Community College, and with our involvement with Pace West, an alternative school for children in the area identified for special education. We have done that with our participation in the Hylton Performing Arts Center.
Some of today's Regency clubs started in RWC. The Performing Arts Center is one – Rosemary Callaghan invited Dean Reader from the Center for the Arts in Fairfax as a program speaker. Friends of the Hylton Performing Arts (FOHPAC) eventually separated from RWC to be chaired by Mary Postma, and the rest is history. Another is the Regency Players. Interest started growing for a separate theatre group after enormous success from RWC's variety shows.
We have received several awards – the SERVE 2009 Volunteer Group Award was given in October 2009. President Sherry Baer and VP of Community Service, Rosemary Callaghan, attended the Annual SERVE Volunteer Appreciation Evening. The proceeds ($15,000) from the silent auction were a huge contributing factor. This successful project was led by Kay Hefner and Carolyn Soderberg under the direction of VP of Fund-raising, Donna Caudill. And most recently president Pat Kunkel accepted on behalf of RWC, the Gainesville Heroes Award presented by Gainesville County Supervisor Peter Candland for our fund-raising efforts for Prince William County. We annually do the Back-to-School Supplies Drive and the Feed Their Minds book project. We used the cash from the budget to fund books and hand puppets for the Head Start Library at SERVE and have continued to use credits for McKay's Used Books from the Regency library as well as individual residents to provide books for the SERVE Head Start Library, the children served by the Haymarket Food Pantry; and large print books for the library at the Gainesville Health and Rehabilitation Center.
We also assist in Point of Hope Camp, a program for which we prepare lunch for children who have lost a parent or other close relative to cancer. Because of the strong presence of military residents in Regency, we have been proud to participate in AnySoldier.com parties, providing care packages to military personnel in war zones, and in recent years our successful fund-raisers have benefited one of our favorites, the Rainbow Center Therapeutic Riding Program for children, adults, and the Wounded Warriors program.
Each month select food items and cleaning supplies are collected at the luncheons for SERVE and the Haymarket Food Pantry. We also have monthly bingo parties for the residents at the Gainesville Health and Rehabilitation Center. Congratulations to Joann Clemenz, winner of our 2013 Chef's Table Raffle! Last year's winner reported the dinner was fabulous. The raffle proceeds benefit the Wounded Warriors Program. Our February luncheon speaker was Tracy Gillespie, the Historic Site Manager for Aldie Mill, Mt. Zion, and Gilbert's Corner Historical Parks. Her presentation about this historic local area and Charles Fenton Mercer who built the mill was extremely interesting. He was an abolitionist who believed that slavery was both morally wrong and economically unsound. He predicted that slavery would result in a Civil War, which it did. Just in time for a spring brightener, our March program featured Holly Sallade, image consultant, addressing our “Ageless Beauty.”
As the community has expanded, so has RWC. We started with 33 members and today we have a 233 membership roster. Sherry Baer, our second president, Kay Hefner, our third president and Pat Kunkel, our current president, have each brought in new ideas to enhance and encourage growth in RWC. Regency Women's Club congratulates Toll Brother's Regency on their 10th Anniversary! We are proud to be counted as one of your success stories, and we thank the entire community for your support these past seven years. We couldn't have done what we have without you!
(Excerpts from an article that appeared in the Regency Review 10-year anniversary issue.)
The idea for the Regency Women's Club began at Dodi Myers' kitchen table in January, 2006. At least several times a week, Kathy Elder and Sherry Baer would join Dodi in her kitchen over pots of coffee and brochures of information from other clubs similar to the one we were envisioning for our community. We printed flyers and took the idea to “Ladies Night Out” at DVCC on January 17, 2006, to find out if there might be any interest.
There was, and we had our first organizational meeting in the Bayhill model home on March 7. Thirty three women attended that meeting. At the organizational meeting, the women brain-stormed areas and activities that they would like the club to become involved in. Those ideas would provide the basis for the club's service projects, general meeting speakers, and fundraising activities.
The women also had the opportunity to volunteer for five officer positions and a variety of working committees, including a nominating committee, which began work immediately to propose a slate of officers for presentation at the first General Meeting. Kathy Elder attended a luncheon at the Heritage Hunt Women's Group, and Sherry Baer and Dodi Myers attended the Haymarket Women's Club Luncheon. Dodi also brought ideas from Clifton Women's Club where she had recently been a member.
Our ideas began to take shape along with ways to raise funds to support the charitable endeavors to which we wanted to contribute in our new community. We wanted to have our first luncheon and business meeting to coincide with the Regency Club's grand opening in April of 2006, and we were ready on April 6th! It was the first large event in the new Clubhouse dining room with nearly 100 Regency women attending.
It was such an exciting time – Robert Robinette, General Manager, welcomed us, as well as Elle Wilson, President of the Haymarket Women's Club and Sue Ferris, President of the Heritage Women's Club accompanied by Patricia Wengert and Joyce Mack. They discussed their experiences in organizing and leading clubs in the area.
Also at that meeting, a slate of proposed officers and committee chair people were presented by the nominating committee for approval. The following were voted in by acclimation. Dodi Myers, President; Diane Hammond, Executive Vice President who later stepped down with Sandi McNickle replacing her; Kathy Elder, VP for Programming; Carol Fulton, VP for Community Service; Fran Gallagher, VP for Fund Raising; Piri Bailey, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer Lillian Coney– Piri also stepped down and Lillian Coney replaced her with Joann Clemenz as Assistant Treasurer; Marge Shane and Gail Baldauf, Recording Secretaries; Nancy Vuley, Correspondence Secretary; and Sherry Baer, Board Advisor. Kathy Elder was our “idea person”. Her ideas just tumbled out one after the other, so it was no surprise that she was VP of Programming. Sherry Baer came from a business background, and we needed the advice and structure she provided as Board Advisor. Dodi contributed with her know how, gained in previous women's club memberships, in putting the right people together. We were a very enthusiastic group!
When the members registered for that first luncheon, they were asked to bring community cookbooks to be used as examples for our first fund-raising activity, a Regency cookbook. Sue Reitzig gave us the name “Taste of Regency.” Other fund-raisers in that first year included a Haymarket bake sale in September, a fashion show in October featuring fashions by Coldwater Creek, a Holiday Home Tour in December, and preparations for our first “Seniors Gone Wild” variety show presented in the spring of 2008. For programming, a notable first was snagging Liz Crenshaw, NBC consumer reporter, for our September opener. We also heard the beautiful voices of the Battlefield Singers from Battlefield High School for a Christmas concert. Community service projects included support for SERVE and BARN (Transitional Housing), Fisher House Foundation, the Angel Giving Tree program, a blood drive with Inova Blood Donor Services, and many other services for Prince William County.
By the fall of 2006, we thought there might be enough interest for an evening division for ladies who were still working, but wanted to be a part of RWC. Terry Blake took on the chairmanship with 13 members signing on. Their contribution of quilts they made for the children of BARN were absolutely beautiful and surely will be treasured for many, many years. Another big undertaking that fall was the development of our bylaws. Sherry Baer stepped up as the chairperson and with assistance from five members hammered out our constitution and bylaws. They did an outstanding job. Several other committees of great importance were the Sunshine Committee and the Membership Committee both chaired by Karen McConkey; and the Publicity Committee, chaired by Sally Nunn and Arlene Giacomo. Karen still chairs the Sunshine Committee. Her focus on helping Regency residents to help each other has
assisted hundreds of residents with meals, visits and phone calls, transportation, cards, and medical equipment resources.
A few facts about RegencyWomen's Club: Our flower is the Dogwood and our color is pink. Those who have served on the board receive a Dogwood pin at the June meetings when we have the installations of new officers. Our mission statement is “Enriched by Friendship… Dedicated to Service.” Our focus was initially on women and children in Prince William County who needed our help. Our constitution states that our purpose shall be “to cultivate friendly association among its members; to provide opportunities to its members for participation in cultural, recreational, and intellectual activities; to promote community service projects for educational and philanthropic purposes; and to support the interests of the Regency in the Dominion Valley community.” We have done that by providing scholarships to Battlefield High School, to second year nursing students at Northern Virginia Community College, and with our involvement with Pace West, an alternative school for children in the area identified for special education. We have done that with our participation in the Hylton Performing Arts Center.
Some of today's Regency clubs started in RWC. The Performing Arts Center is one – Rosemary Callaghan invited Dean Reader from the Center for the Arts in Fairfax as a program speaker. Friends of the Hylton Performing Arts (FOHPAC) eventually separated from RWC to be chaired by Mary Postma, and the rest is history. Another is the Regency Players. Interest started growing for a separate theatre group after enormous success from RWC's variety shows.
We have received several awards – the SERVE 2009 Volunteer Group Award was given in October 2009. President Sherry Baer and VP of Community Service, Rosemary Callaghan, attended the Annual SERVE Volunteer Appreciation Evening. The proceeds ($15,000) from the silent auction were a huge contributing factor. This successful project was led by Kay Hefner and Carolyn Soderberg under the direction of VP of Fund-raising, Donna Caudill. And most recently president Pat Kunkel accepted on behalf of RWC, the Gainesville Heroes Award presented by Gainesville County Supervisor Peter Candland for our fund-raising efforts for Prince William County. We annually do the Back-to-School Supplies Drive and the Feed Their Minds book project. We used the cash from the budget to fund books and hand puppets for the Head Start Library at SERVE and have continued to use credits for McKay's Used Books from the Regency library as well as individual residents to provide books for the SERVE Head Start Library, the children served by the Haymarket Food Pantry; and large print books for the library at the Gainesville Health and Rehabilitation Center.
We also assist in Point of Hope Camp, a program for which we prepare lunch for children who have lost a parent or other close relative to cancer. Because of the strong presence of military residents in Regency, we have been proud to participate in AnySoldier.com parties, providing care packages to military personnel in war zones, and in recent years our successful fund-raisers have benefited one of our favorites, the Rainbow Center Therapeutic Riding Program for children, adults, and the Wounded Warriors program.
Each month select food items and cleaning supplies are collected at the luncheons for SERVE and the Haymarket Food Pantry. We also have monthly bingo parties for the residents at the Gainesville Health and Rehabilitation Center. Congratulations to Joann Clemenz, winner of our 2013 Chef's Table Raffle! Last year's winner reported the dinner was fabulous. The raffle proceeds benefit the Wounded Warriors Program. Our February luncheon speaker was Tracy Gillespie, the Historic Site Manager for Aldie Mill, Mt. Zion, and Gilbert's Corner Historical Parks. Her presentation about this historic local area and Charles Fenton Mercer who built the mill was extremely interesting. He was an abolitionist who believed that slavery was both morally wrong and economically unsound. He predicted that slavery would result in a Civil War, which it did. Just in time for a spring brightener, our March program featured Holly Sallade, image consultant, addressing our “Ageless Beauty.”
As the community has expanded, so has RWC. We started with 33 members and today we have a 233 membership roster. Sherry Baer, our second president, Kay Hefner, our third president and Pat Kunkel, our current president, have each brought in new ideas to enhance and encourage growth in RWC. Regency Women's Club congratulates Toll Brother's Regency on their 10th Anniversary! We are proud to be counted as one of your success stories, and we thank the entire community for your support these past seven years. We couldn't have done what we have without you!