RWC December 7, 2023 Luncheon featuring Doug Burroughs, The Flower Gallery
The December luncheon is always a favorite, and this year's did not disappoint! Members and guests arrived in holiday finery and spirit. Carol Bowen presented the Thought for the Day on behalf of Elena Daly. It is a quote from Anthony Hopkins that resonates with all of us: "None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an afterthought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else."— Anthony Hopkins, actor
Nancy Converse conducted the Business meeting and the Committee Chairs updated us on recent and upcoming activities.
Joan Hughes, VP Community Service Committee reported on the Holiday Toy Drive: Over 500 toys and gift cards totalling nearly $10,ooo were delivered to Northern Virginia Family Services. She thanked all the volunteers who supported the project, the Regency Community for their generosity.
Barbara O'Connor. VP Programs, announced the January Luncheon Program will feature our Chef Brian Baer.
Mary Jo Rigby, VP Fundraising, announced the upcoming Santa's Sweet Shoppe that will be held on Sunday, December 17, 2023, from 1 to 4pm.
Liz Coughlin, ByLaws Chair announced the 2024-2025 Nominating Committee. The following volunteers were elected by the members: Donna Maynard, Joan Hughes, Elaine Hughes, Liz Anderson, and Barbara O'Connor.
Barbara O'Connor introduced Doug Burroughs, owner of the Flower Gallery. Doug entertained in his usual witty style while creating four beautiful arrangements he donated to our monthly scholarship raffle. He recommended we have a floral first aid kit on hand to tend to and create our own flower arrangements: floral tape, wire, clippers, etc. Congratulations to our Dodi Myers Scholarship raffle winners: Sophie Burkat, Mary Ginty, Nancy Converse, Babara Bernard, Ethel Muter, Sandy Matukaitis, Hattie Thurman, and Patti Sommers! We couldn't do it without Flower Gallery's arrangements, and Mary Ginty's jams and jellies! Your ticket purchases support The Dodi Myers Scholarship Fund.
Photos by Gini Kelly and Lee Lipscomb
RWC November 2, 2023, Luncheon Honoring Lady Vets
The November luncheon welcomed Bethanie Pitsky, Founder of Lady Vets. And we honored six of Regency's Lady Vets: Barbara Gilchrist, Sheila Sax, Mary Hawkins, Gerri Sibbet, Debbie Stacy, and Fran Betzner. We also recognized Debby Moore's civilian service in Vietnam with the Special Services Program.
The Thought for the Day was composed from the thoughts of Carol Wilder, a resident of Regency, the words of Artificial Intelligence, and read by Mary Howell. Example: “Thursday Happy Hour, A time to Unwind, Laughter Echoes leaving worries behind. As we toast to life our spirits high, In the circle of trust, we touch the sky.”
Krista Todd introduced our speaker, Bethanie Pitsky. Bethanie, a Navy Veteran, acknowledged all the other women veterans in the room and thanked them for their service. Bethanie shared her personal story about how Lady Vets came to be. Lady Vets is for and about women veterans who are too often invisible. Bethany talked about how her service in the Navy changed her life by giving her structure and stability. After her honorable discharge from the Navy, she noticed a theme that women were not acknowledged as serving in the military, and people assume they were wearing their husband’s military shirt and telling them to thank him for his service. It was only 75 years ago that women were allowed to enlist in the military, and women were not granted veteran status until 43 years ago. The reality is that there are 22-year-old women disabled veterans. “It is time to show women the respect that they deserve for volunteering to stand up and serve their country.” These ideas are the reason Lady Vets was formed. The Lady Vets mission is to amplify the voice and visibility of women veterans. Their clothing line looks for clean classic looks that speak to the strength that women bring to the military. Women are encouraged to share something of their veteran identity. They are interviewed and articles written to show their service which appear on the Lady Vets’ website. They believe it is important to give women veterans more recognition because they are more likely to have PTSD, as well as Military Sexual Trauma (1 in 100 for men and 1 in 4 for women) and need help in these areas. It is important for all of us to be a part of changing the narrative of what a veteran looks like and be inclusive of all the millions of women veterans.
Our Committee VPs gave reports about past and future programs and projects. ~~~ The Toy Drive is scheduled for November 24 - December 3, 2023. A list of suggested gifts was provided and will be made available online shortly.
~~~The Sweet Shoppe will be held on Sunday, December 17, 2023. Details coming soon.
Liz Coughlin announced that there here is an election for the RWC Board of Directors in May. She is looking for members to serve on the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is a small group who comes up with the slate of officers to serve for the 2024-25 year. She asked those who need time to think about it to contact her by email if they want to serve on the committee. Congratulations to our Dodi Myers Scholarship Fund Raffle Winners: Debbie Stacy, Janet McGrath, Mary Pat Ubelhart, Mary Hawkins, and Elaine Hughes
We couldn't do it without Flower Gallery's arrangements and wreath Donna Maynard's gift basket, and Mary Ginty's jams and jellies! Your ticket purchases support The Dodi Myers Scholarship Fund.
October 5, 2023 RWC Luncheon
Let's talk about Details!
The October luncheon set the stage for eight of RWC stylish members as they strutted the runway in fabulous fall fashions from Details of Haymarket. Many thanks to Details Owner, Candy Murphy, and her fashion guru Sandy Holland for bringing us such a wonderful program and dressing our models so perfectly. Our models Leslie Mitchell, Kathie Hodum, Anne Pedersen, Lynn Miller, Florence Byrne, Sandy Darne, Paulette Nedrow, and Theresa Peck stole the show, and left us wanting more!
Our Committee VPs gave reports about past and future programs and projects. We will sponsor a Blood Drive on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at the Clubhouse. And, we will have our annual Coats for Kids Drive October 23-30, 2023. The Wild West Jamboree is Friday, November 3, 2023
Hattie Thurman and Joyce Eliassen were the lucky winners in the Membership drawing for Firebirds gift cards.
Congratulations to our Dodi Myers Scholarship Fund Raffle Winners: Gini Kelly, Lee Lipscomb, Hattie Thurman, Teresa Sein, Donna Jerome, Paula Street, Mary Eichelberger, Janice MacDonald, and Sharon Berry.
We couldn't do it without Flower Gallery's arrangements, Donna Maynard's gift basket, and Mary Ginty's jams and jellies! And, Details wonderful Spa basket Big thanks to them! Your ticket purchases support The Dodi Myers Scholarship Fund.
Photos by Gini Kelly and Lee Lipscomb
September 7, 2023 RWC Luncheon
We kicked off the new season in our usual style at the September Luncheon. The Clubhouse was filled with anticipation and the happy sounds of greeting old and new friends!
Karen Nizialek gave the Thought for the Day emphasizing the impact of helping others.
"Unity is strength. When there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." Mattie Stepanek
"Those who are happiest are those who do th most for others.." Booker T. Washington
"You don't have to move mountains. Simply fall in love with life. Be a tornado of happiness, gratitude and acceptance. You will change the world just by being a warm, kind-hearted human being." Anita Krizzan
"To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone." Reba McEntire
Our speakers representing our charities Crossroads Connection and Willing Warriors gave us clear and moving insight into their missions and goals for the coming year.
We have so many fun and fulfilling programs, pr0jects and fundraisers to support this year. October is filled to the brim with events and projects: 5th - RWC Luncheon featuring a fashion show by Details of Haymarket 19th - Regency Club Fair 24th - Inova Blook Drive 23-30th - Coats for Kids Drive
Thanks to you, we collected a car full of items to fill the Kids Snack Bags we're donating to the Haymarket Regional Food Pantry. You can click here to see the latest News from the Pantry.
Congratulations to our Dodi Myers Scholarship Fund Raffle Winners: Connie Mayhugh, Lynn Miller, Faye Graul, Ruth Nagy, and Mary Eichelberger!
We couldn't do it without Flower Gallery's arrangements, Donna Maynard's gift basket, and Mary Ginty's jams and jellies! Big thanks to them! Your ticket purchases support The Dodi Myers Scholarship Fund
2023 Back2School Community Drive for NVFS Is in the Books!
Thanks to everyone in our Regency community for their generous support of this important project!
Members of the Regency Women's Club, along with Joe Hughes, delivered your donations of Back 2 School supplies today to Northern Virginia Family Services. Thank you to Sarah & George Rudy for offering their home as the central collection point. We collected $8,332.00 in school supplies and $2,100.00 in checks to help area children start their school year off with the tools they need to succeed. And, special thanks to Nora Blau, Nancy Macks, Elaine Hughes, Donna Maynard, Liz Anderson, Mary Howell, Anne Pederson, and the condo captains, as well as Cheryl Ravenscraft for helping to pull this together, put a bin on their porches and get the word out. As usual, the neighborhood responded to the needs of the community. Thanks to George Rudy for helping sort and count! Thanks to our generous Regency Community for the continued support.