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Welcomed a record twenty-one new members to our Club, a direct result of an extremely successful membership drive in September 2007. Several women became honorary members based on their 40 years of membership or special contributions to our club. Our current membership stands at 91, with 14 honorary members. Unfortunately, we lost some members during the past year due to conflicting schedules, personal obligations, or relocation out of the area.
The General Federation of Women’s Clubs awarded our Club a Citation for the Most New Members of all clubs in MA. A year earlier, a similar citation was received for the Most New Members in the Northern District of the GFWC of MA.
Awarded a $1,000 Scholarship to a deserving high school graduate to help with college education costs. Most of the scholarship monies ($812) were raised through a raffle of a Nahant scene painting donated by local artist and NWC member Carolyn Jundzilo-Comer and a boat in a bottle crafted by Maurice Poulin. The Nahant Holiday Fair bake sale also contributed to the scholarship fund.
$25 scholarship donations were made in memory of Lois Dobbins’ husband William and Cay Cusack’s husband Frank who passed away in 2008.
Following our membership drive at the Nahant Dory Club, we joined the Nahant Garden Club in late September for plantings at the Sears Pavilion at Bailey’s Hill Park, named in honor of Past President Calantha Sears. Thanks to the efforts of 1st Vice President Linda Jenkins, a permanent marker and plaque were placed outside the pavilion. The official unveiling took place during this joint Garden/Woman’s Club event.
In late September several members went to a play in Boston produced by our 2nd Vice President, Wendy Payne.
Each year, our Club tries to address a medical issue that confronts women. In October, we focused on Diabetes with a presentation by Joan Sampson, Diabetes Nurse Educator.
As part of our American Home Day celebration and traditional chowder luncheon, we learned about the mission and work of the Chelsea Soldier’s Home from John David, Director of Therapeutic Recreation and Volunteer Services. Socks and toiletry items were collected for the Soldier’s Home, and a monetary collection was taken. The Home received $300 from our members and the Club.
In November, we participated in the Nahant Holiday Fair and received the proceeds of table rentals and a Silent Auction—a very welcome boost to our Club’s finances. We acknowledge with gratitude the organizer of this year’s Fair—NWC Member Linda Tanfani. Our bake sale raised $316 for our scholarship fund.
We rang in the holiday season with a luncheon at the Johnson Elementary School, featuring holiday music performed by 5th and 6th graders at the school. Donations were made to the Daily Item Santa and 112 hats, mittens and scarves were brought by members for needy adults and children. Items were brought to the North Shore Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
In January, our Club sponsored a Living Harmony Seminar given by Erika Salloux, entitled “Taking You From Chaos To Calm.” The event was very well attended.
In February, Library Director Dan deStefano gave a presentation entitled “Lies in A Field of Color.” He talked about how to look at a painting and some of the tricks artists use to tell a story, or to tell a lie on canvas or on paper. He used examples from the library’s collection of over 100 works of art. The scholarship raffles were drawn. The lucky winners were: Christine Alexander (Jundzilo-Comer Painting), and Cay Cusack who generously redonated her winning Poulin boat in the bottle for a second drawing wom by Polly Bradley.
In March, we featured a mother-daughter experience at a potluck supper. Featured were Wendy Payne and Holly Payne Strange who told us about their once in a lifetime trip to Tanzania. They got acquainted with a local school and a collection was taken for supplies for the school. Our Club made a $50 donation to the cause to help defray shipping expenses.
At the April annual meeting, we were honored to feature several spectacular members of our Club who told us about their background, how they got to Nahant, and the things they are currently doing. The presenters were Margie Parisi, Lynne Spencer, Trudy Joyce, and Marrit Nauta Hastings. The latter two focused on their journeys to the United States. The event was extremely interesting and a great way for people to get to know each other better. We voted to accept the proposed slate of nominees for the 2008-09 program year and to amend our by-laws to increase our annual dues from $20 to $30. This increase was necessitated by a jump in Woman’s Club Federation dues to $20 per member in 2008.
We are proud of all that we did this
past year, and we look forward to
doing even more nxt year