FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
Confession: I am a lifetime Journal Keeper. There are boxes and boxes of Journals in our home, most of them are used, but there is also a box of unused Journals, gifts given to me by those that know I keep 3 Journals going at all times: Financial, Spiritual and then there is the Passion Journal that is my constant on a day to day basis.
They each serve their purpose: Financial is for my notes and questions because I am not a math whiz and must write it all down for later research; Spiritual to track my daily meditations of a 24-hour-day, (for I look at my Spiritual Journey in 24-hour-increments); and then there is my Passion Journal for the year. This is the Journal many of you have seen me with, for it goes with me everywhere when I visit or meet.
I want to share today my yearly Passion Planner tales. I have journaled ever since I can remember, keeping a calendar and schedule is a must for all of us, but what about keeping track of our goals, our memories, our notes of daily life? Well, these all go into my Passion Journal. I begin with a beautifully clean and bound tight book and by the end of December, the book has quadrupled in thickness and it contains the Journey I embarked upon for the year. It contains memories and lovely mementos, it contains a month by month health update, my hours of service to my club, district, and State Federation. It is a motive to create my life path and it is one of my many outlets to creativity.
Now, I know that some people color-code items in their Journals, they have meticulously kept between the lines on the paper and write so clearly…yeah, well, I am not like that! My journals have stickers, washi tape and moon phases and cards you have sent, I use colored pens and highlighters because they are pretty. I am a Journal Keeper that uses whatever means possible to get my thoughts down and into a form that works for me. I literally spend about an hour every Sunday putting the week together and writing down my thoughts on the week prior. By the end of the year, my Journal has become my Journey…this is why we’ve boxes and boxes of Journals…I cannot destroy my Journey, it has made me what I am today and I honor that.
I have spent this last week beginning the 2021 Journal I shall use; I went with a bigger size for this coming year because there is not enough room in my 2020 Journal: I need more room for my thoughts and schedule. I have never used such a big Journal before, but during covid, it appears I have so much to track. So far: Birthdays of loved ones, holidays, and monthly tabs are all in. Yesterday I got out my Sprocket printer and started printing stickers of memorable pictures to place in my 2021 Journal. A Sprocket is a small device that takes pictures from your phone and makes stickers out of them…fun!
I am not waiting to see the Trailer of 2021 before I begin my planning and I want to know that you are not either. Yes, 2020 did not turn out as we expected, but that will not keep me from planning for a lovely 2021! And, by the looks of my 2020 Planner, covid did not stop me.
I am always happy to show my Journal, for it is an accurate summary of who I am. I hope you are looking at writing down some notes about this year to set aside as well, these are stories that live forever! Happy Journaling.
Luv, Pam
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MEET THE CHAIRS RECAP:
Barbara Briley Beard, Sonja Hults, and I had a blast spending some time with each of our members attending and the CFWC Chairs during the November Tuesday afternoon sessions of Meet the Chairs. Thank you all! It was a fabulous way to meet the CFWC Chairs that are sharing of themselves and their knowledge with each of our members. The feedback has been incredibly positive, and I am so glad you enjoyed the events.
With covid still taking hold in parts of the State, I am looking at offering things as we can to help motivate and elevate our memberships at the club, district and State levels, keep looking for what is on the horizon! For instance, the Holiday Open Houses are available in December on the 7th and the 30th; there are Report Writing Workshops on Zoom offered by Barbara Briley Beard twice on December 4th.
I am looking at offering detailed Workshops each week in January too and will announce those as soon as I place the final touches on them.
Remember if you are interested in attending the Open Houses, send me an email. If you are interested in the Report Writing Workshops, send Barbara an email. We are here to serve in all times, including the challenging ones and hope that you will be joining us for the events as you can.
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UPDATE on HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSES ON ZOOM
It is time to gather and laugh! We have spent a lot of lovely time on Zoom for meetings and workshops, but now is the time to Zoom with our Gift for Gab!
I am happy to announce that are still 2 days set aside with 2-hour blocks where we can meet and have some fun just getting together online.
Scheduled during “Happy Hour”, I do hope you will join us for 5 – 7 pm on these dates to share with friends, have a laugh and smile! Bring a drink if you want, I am sure others will and let us just celebrate knowing that we each belong to sch a fabulous group of volunteers.
This is a time to reach out and be with one another, albeit electronically. Remember we can only hold up to 300 of you, so registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Invites will be sent bi-weekly in the order they are received.
For your invitation, just send me your name and email address with the date or dates you want to attend. I can be reached at:
Reservations must be requested 72 hours prior to the date you are requesting.
Holiday Open Houses are always from 5 – 7 pm and will be open on Zoom:
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December 7, 2020 reservations are CLOSED
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December 30, 2020 reservations are still OPEN
The only business is monkey business for these get-togethers; see you there.
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JANUARY WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENTS
I am trying to provide Zoom Sessions every month that our membership can enjoy and be part of! It is important to me that we stay in touch any way we can, and Zoom is a platform at our disposal for those members with access to a computer or phone with a speaker and a camera.
During the month of January, we will be offering to the GFWC California Membership 4 one-hour Workshops. Dates and times are being firmed as I type this out and will be announced in next week’s Quick Bytes with information on how to register as well.
The Workshops will be held in the following Categories, (in alphabetical order):
- Advocates for Children, with Carol Burkhardt, CFWC Chair
- Education, Libraries and ESO, with Shirley Lorraine, CFWC Chair
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Engaging Memberships, with Sonya Matthies, CFWC 2nd Vice President of Membership and Debbie Pietraszko, CFWC Zoom Chair
- Leadership, with Dori Kelsey, CFWC Chair
Look for how to sign up and be ready to join in the fun with these leaders as they delve into their subjects. Hosts will be Barbara Briley Beard, CFWC 1st Vice President/Dean, Sonja Hults, CFWC Communications Chair and myself: Pam Ament, CFWC President. See you all soon!
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CALLING FOR YOUR IDEAS
Do you have an idea for something you would like to see us offer on Zoom for March? Please send a note to: ament.pam5@gmail.com
Let me know what you think may be fun and informative to offer to the GFWC California Members. Share your thoughts and let us find out together what you may be thinking at the club and district levels to be of immediate service to us all.
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Report writing can be fun!
Barbara Briley Beard, CFWC First Vice-President/Dean
Once you get the ideas in place, the words flow easily.
What makes a good report?
Just tell your story, and pretend you are the judge. If your report is easy to understand, informative, factual and interesting, the judge will like it too.
Your report needs to be clear and well-constructed. Divide your report into sections, (paragraphs) with headings and sub headings. Have a beginning, a body and a conclusion.
Limit yourself to one idea per sentence.
Short sentences are best, they begin with a noun, grammar is kept simple, no more than three commas per sentence.
This is not an essay, blog post or journalistic article.
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DEADLINE to remit for inclusion in reporting for 2020 is
DECEMBER 15, 2020
Just a friendly reminder from your Financial Secretary that dues for new and late paying members should be sent to me.
I also want to encourage our members, clubs and districts to consider donations to our funds (Art, Disaster, etc.).
Jill Drescher, CFWC Financial Secretary,
1001 Poplar Avenue, Wasco, CA 93280.
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News from the "HIVE"
We thank Cindy Sanders, CFWC Area A Vice President for sending the following:
Drive Ins, Drive Ups or A Drive Thru
How to plan a virtual membership event
As we enter a more stringent phase of lockdown because of the pandemic, there are ways that Clubs and Districts can plan successful events to promote membership. Creativity is key and the success of the event requires a bit of planning to create a safe celebration. Drive By parties are a lot of fun and easy to do. To ensure that everyone involved will have a great uninterrupted drive by please make sure that you check your local ordinances and HOA for any required permits. A drive by is basically a car parade and you may need permission for the day of your party. Cars are decorated, drivers dress up and gifts or donations can be delivered. This concept is good for a Club Anniversary, a milestone Birthday of a Club member or a visit to a Skilled Nursing Facility.
The GFWC Fountineers are planning a Christmas Drive by celebration at a Turlock Nursing Home to spread some cheer to the residents there. They have been in lockdown since March and are looking forward to a drive by! Members of the Club coordinated with the Activities Director at the facility to plan this event. Family and friends of the residents will be participating by decorating their cars, wearing Christmas hats and delivering donations. The residents will be able to “attend” the event by watching through their windows and those that are able will have the opportunity to be outside and wave to family and friends as they drive through the parking lot. A donation station will be set up to collect new socks, warm hats and gloves that will then be gifted to the homeless by Club members. Donations will be in ziplock bags and will be handed through the window to a Club member wearing PPE. The donors will receive a ziplock bag containing a membership brochure, a CFWC trifold and candy canes.
The GFWC Woman’s Club of Lodi, Inc. is using a drive through concept for their Club meetings. Emails are sent out to all Club members prior to their monthly meeting giving details about raffles and the lunch menu for that day. The lunches are prepared at their Clubhouse and packaged for pickup. Members drive through the parking lot and get their lunch and pay for raffle tickets. Later in the day the raffle drawing is held virtually and the raffle prizes are delivered. This drive through idea allows the membership to continue to support the Club financially and gives the members the opportunity to get out and see other members, even if it is from the safety of their car. This is a great time to invite potential new members!
A drive in idea could be used for a club meeting or event, also. Remember the days of tailgate parties? Find a parking lot, bring your own food and refreshments, park your vehicle and enjoy some fun! Social distancing can be obtained by either staying in your car with the windows down or bringing your own chair to sit in set up six feet apart.
A detailed invitation with precise instructions will help to ensure the success of your event. So if it is a drive by, a drive thru or a drive in that you are planning just get creative and have fun!
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CFWC Health and Wellness Program, Myrna Binford, Chairman
Since we are nearing the end of the year, I thought I would update you on a couple of Health and Wellness programs. I know quite a few clubs support these programs and there is still time to do so before the end of the year GOAL!
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Military & Veterans – Yolanda Petroski
Today is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor which led us into WWII. In 1994, Congress designated December 7 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day to honor the 2,403 service members and civilians who were killed as well as the 1,178 injured in the attack. Remembrance ceremonies will be held today on Battlefield O’ahu. In order to protect the Pearl Harbor Survivors and WWII Veterans in attendance, this year’s ceremony will be closed to the public but will be streamed live for public viewing via their Facebook page and www.pearlharborevents.com. Following are three suggestions on how to observe the National Pearl Harbor Day of Remembrance that you may wish to note for next year:
§ Send a care package to a member of the Armed Forces overseas. We are all familiar with support groups doing this.
§ Loved ones staying at home need comfort also. Small acts of kindness can help keep ease the pain of separation.
§ Treat yourself well, too. The life you are living today would not be possible without all the wars we have been involved in. Honor the memory of those lost by living the best life you can, and work to make life better for those coming after you.
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Editor's Note: There will be no QuickBytes on December 21st nor December 28th. Any information that needs to be sent by Year-End should be included next week in the December 14th Issue. Thank You |
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Dori's Leadership Library
These booklets are in .pdf format,
when printed they are ready to assemble into booklets
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Just a thought ......
Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts. -
Arnold Bennett
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