Woman’s Club of Panama City News

FEBRUARY 2019

RSVP TODAY for the

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP LUNCHEON Thursday, February 7, at 12 n oon

Hosted by Public Issues CSP

Our Club’s Arts & Crafts competition happens at this month’s luncheon! Don’t be shy! Bring your

handiwork to the Clubhouse Wednesday, Feb 6, 9AM-12PM or Thursday, Feb 7, 9-11AM. There

are dozens of categories - ask Bev Long for details. Judging precedes the luncheon. Winners

progress to the District competition. Winners there go on to the State level in April! Could be YOU!

Make your luncheon reservations and place $10 to-go orders with your Department Secretary or

Tami McNine by Monday, February 4th

If your lunch was prepaid for the year , please tell your Department

Phone Secretary or Tami McNine when you make your reservation.

Please bring clean plastic grocery or hardware store (bet you have a

few) shopping bags folded flat to the luncheon. Conservation is collect-

ing them to make all-weather sleeping matts for homeless veterans.

Our Program :

Nikki Kelly Director of GIRLS

INC. of Bay County

WOULD YOU LIKE TO

SERVE YOUR CLUB AS

A BOARD MEMBER?

A Nominating Committee

has been formed to fill key

positions on the Board: a

Director and several Com-

mittee Chairs. This is a

great way to learn more

about the inner workings of

our Club and contribute to

our cherished organization.

If you want to know more,

please reach out to Peggy

McLane, Becky Cochran or

Normandy Cooper. When

they call you, please say

YES! You will be surprised

what you get out of it!

From our President Stephanie Cantrell Down but not out. Our Club suffered a great deal of damage, and being

self-insured, we have had to shoulder the expense of cleaning up and

the repairs to come. The Small Business Administration loan will enable

us to rebuild. We may all be down at the moment, but we are resilient,

resourceful women. We will not be defined by what we have lost but by

what we can do. We must work hard on fundraising. We have already

started with the $100 Buy A Chair & A Tile campaign. Instead of droopy

flowers for Valentines Day, ask your loved ones to donate to our Club.

It’s calorie-free and tax deductible! We will have a gigantic yard sale on

Saturday, April 4. This is the perfect time to go through your cupboards

and closets and donate your pre-priced items and furniture. No clothes, please. One positive: so many

rental venues have been damaged and few are recoverable. Our clubhouse will be in high demand for

rentals this summer and the rest of the year. That income will be so important. Help spread the word!

Working together, we are truly living the volunteer spirit!

ARTS Meets 4th Thursday at 10:30 AM Contact: Lois Nuber Like everyone, we have been on hurricane break, but now we are preparing for the

annual/rescheduled Arts & Crafts Competition on Thursday, February 7. Everyone

in the club is encouraged to submit artwork and crafts projects made last year.

Bring them to the Clubhouse Wednesday, February 6, from 9am-12pm, or Thursday

from 9-11am. Judging will take place prior to the luncheon. Winners will progress to

the District 2 competition. / We are still collecting folded, flattened plastic shopping

bags to make mats for homeless veterans as our Club’s Community Improvement

Project (CIP). At our January luncheon, we demonstrated how to make the mats on a loom. / Knit-

ters, Hookers & Bookies will resume on the second Thursday of the each month. No pressure;

just good company. / Gloria Lovers is in charge of our Club scrapbook, another Arts CSP project.

Please share photos of your CSP activities with her and to Jamie Shepard for the newsletter.

HOME LIFE Meets 4th Wednesday at 10:00 AM Contact: Deborah Black or Verna Payne

Like many others, our CSP members have been focused on hurricane recovery. At our

meeting on February 27, we will refocus on CSP projects helping the Salvation Army’s

Bethel Village for domestic violence victims. / Planning for the annual spring Domes-

tic Violence First Responders’ appreciation luncheon is a huge undertaking for our

CSP but always so well received. Please join us as we serve others in need.

CONSERVATION Meets 3rd Thursday at 12 Noon Contact: Nancy Wyatt or Peggy McLane Arbor Day originated in Nebraska in 1872. This often overlooked event has

taken on new meaning for all of us. In January, FSU Panama Campus gave

away hundreds of saplings to help jumpstart the replanting of our landscape.

We plan to participate in GFWC Florida’s effort to plant 1000 trees in Florida.

We are planning a tree giveaway to celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day in April.

The General Membership Luncheon in March will feature a program by the

Audubon Society on planting trees. / We celebrate the life of Charmian Cretney, who passed away

January 30. Her funeral will be Saturday, February 9 at 12:30pm at First Methodist Church. A

great lady and long time member of our Club and the Conservation CSP.

EDUCATION Meets 4th Tuesday at 11:30 AM Contact: Allison Mizell In December, Education CSP member Allison Mizell read to 60 pre-K students

at Lynn Haven Elementary (LHE) for the rescheduled Read for the Record

Jumpstart. This annual campaign highlights the importance of building early

literacy. We donated 3 books with Club stickers to the pre-

K program. We also volunteered in the 2nd grade at LHE

and a great time helping them with blanket making. /

Just before Christmas we sponsored a great party with

pizza, fruit, and dessert for the kindergarteners at Patter-

son Elementary, now housed at Parker Elementary. Each

child received a huge stocking filled with toys, coloring

book, crayons, and holiday sweets. / For Celebrate Literacy Week, our

members returned to Patterson Elementary and donated books to both the

kindergarten and 2nd grade classrooms. We also read to 5th graders and donated more books.

INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH Meets 4th Thursday at 9:30AM - location TBD Contact: Dianne Hodges

Last fall, we were well on our way to a very good year, even without formal CSP

leadership. Our Club raised $147 for UNICEF. We collected and donated goods

valued at $440 to our local Family Services agency. / Hurricane Michael dealt a

lethal blow to our plans for the popular International Students’ Party as well as traditional projects

like Operation Christmas Child, a Samaritan’s Purse project that asks volunteers to fill shoe boxes

with toys and personal necessities for children abroad. / In January, our first meeting since Sep-

tember, we regrouped for lunch at My Thai to decide which charities among those assigned to our

CSP we will support this year and how much money we will designate for donations. / Our next

meeting is on February 28 - time and place to be determined. Please join us!

YOUTH Meets 3rd Thursday at 6 pm Contact: Jane Rigby or Kathy Mills Our department met in November for dinner, a welcomed break from the hurricane but a poor

substitute for our usual fun-filled Holiday Dinner & Auction. At our January dinner meeting, we

made plans for the upcoming March general membership luncheon which we will host. The loca-

tion is yet to be determined since the Clubhouse may be under reconstruction. / We commended

Sandy Wing for her willingness to help with the GFWC President’s Project, Operation Smile - truly

appropriate since she works for a dentist. / Three members have been added to the ranks of The

Ladies of The Evening: Hollee Hansen, Mary Rogers (Louise Clement’s daughter) and Luelle

Stubbs. / We are still committed to updating and improving the ladies room at the Clubhouse as

soon as the time is right. Jane Rigby and Gayle Paynter are eager to begin.

PUBLIC ISSUES Meets 2nd Wednesday at 11:30 am Contact: Tami McNine February is going to be a busy month for us. First, we will host the February

general membership luncheon. Jane Groom and her intrepid helpers will pre-

pare a delicious lunch for us. Then, on February 15, we will host World War II

and Korean War veterans for a Veterans’ Valentines Day luncheon at the

American Legion Hall on Oak Avenue. It is always such a heart-warming event

for them and for us. / Another heart-warming project we have undertaken is

presenting US flags that have flown across our skies, thanks to Vickie Ortiz, to

the youngest and the “wisest” new American citizens at the US Naturalization

ceremony. It is truly an honor to attend and witness this event. / For those of

you who bought Bunco tickets last fall, do not despair. We will schedule it as soon as we can. It’s

so much fun, plus we use the proceeds to fund our many projects throughout the year.

WELCOME OUR NEWEST MEMBER:

Luelle Stubbs, Youth CSP She will be pinned at the February

luncheon. Know someone who would

enjoy serving our communities with

our Club? Invite them to lunch and

your CSP meeting! If they join in

March, their dues will be paid through

May 2020!

KNITTERS, HOOKERS & BOOKIES If you knit, tat, crochet, read or just want a pleasant break from it all, this group’s for you! We meet on the 2nd Thursday at 10am every month. Contact Normandy Cooper for Peggy McLane for the location while the Clubhouse is under reconstruction

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR SATURDAY, APRIL

4: WAYS & MEANS’ WOMAN’S CLUB GARAGE

SALE! DETAILS AT LUNCHEON!

Designated An Historic Landmark 350 North Cove Boulevard Panama City, FL 32401 (850) 785-7125

G F W C W o m a n ’ s

C l u b o f P a n a m a C i t y

GFWC Woman’s Club of Panama City

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR GFWC WOMAN ’S CLUB EVENTS! All departments meet at the Clubhouse unless otherwise specified.

EVERY TUESDAY 1:30 PM SUNSHINE SINGERS Practice

THURS, FEB 7 12:00 PM FEBRUARY GENERAL MEMBERSHIP LUNCHEON, hosted by Public Issues - RSVP today!

CLUB ARTS & CRAFTS COMPETITION See page 1

THURS, FEB 14 10:00 AM KNITTERS, HOOKERS & BOOKIES See page 3

WED, FEB 13 11:30 AM PUBLIC ISSUES CSP See page 3

THURS, FEB 21

9:30 AM BOARD MEETING

12:00 PM CONSERVATION CSP - location to be determined See page 2

6:00 PM YOUTH CSP DINNER MEETING at O’Charley’s, 23rd St See page 3

TUES, FEB 26 11:30 AM EDUCATION CSP LUNCH MEETING at Olive Garden, Hwy 77 See page 2

WED, FEB 27 11:00 AM HOME LIFE CSP MEETING at O’Charley’s, 23rd St See page 2

9:30 AM INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH CSP - location to be determined See page 3 THURS, FEB 28

10:30 AM ARTS CSP - location to be determined See page 2

THURS, MARCH 7 12:00 PM MARCH GENERAL MEMBERSHIP LUNCHEON, hosted by Youth CSP

SAT, APRIL 4 7:00 AM WAYS & MEANS’ GIGANTIC WOMAN’S CLUB YARD SALE