Nov Newsletter

Altrusa International of Cowlitz County

Nov., 2009

Library Duty:

Virginia.............November Debbie............... December

From the President: Wow! Summer is gone and the holidays are fast approaching! The good news about that is we’ll be busy having good times raising funds, selling raffle tickets and poinsettias for our upcoming service projects! November is also a time of giving thanks and appreciating what we have. Besides my family, my thoughts immediately go to my Altrusa sisters. Every one of you has touched my life in some way that I am thankful for. Thank you for being such a great group!!! I will also enjoy planning and partaking in our annual Christmas gettogether in December! This is always a fun time of enjoying each other’s company, laughing and taking in what the holiday is all about…giving of ourselves and, this year, giving of silly socks! So start searching for that extra special pair perfect for our party! During this bustling holiday season, remember to slow down and think about all that is special in your lives. Take a good rest and a deep breath after the holidays, because come January, 2010, woohoo, it’ll be Spell-ebration and Bertie Bear time!!!! What fun!!!

Nov. 11........................Committee meetings Nov. 18............................. Program meeting Nov. 25................................. Board meeting Dec. 2...............................Business meeting Dec. 4, 11, 18................... Toy Wagon raffle Dec. 16..Christmas meeting/Sock exchange Dec. 19, ......................1:00 in Hotel Lobby, Toy wagon raffle drawing

Life outside of Altrusa: Betty won’t brag so we’ll do it for her - Betty has lost 40 pounds in her quest for good health and is still working at it. Eleanor says “hi”... We are having wonderful weather in Yuma. See you in December!! We go for our cruise on November 11th! Keep up the good work!! Eleanor Pictured left to right: Scholarship winner Melissa Cortes, Club President Lisa Allen and Committee Chair Adele Gowdy . See more on our scholarship winners on page 3.

Sincerely, Lisa

Important Dates

Birthdays:

Kimberly Smith.....Nov. 30 Joan Pendergast..... Dec. 3 Debbie Johnson...... Dec.10 Betty Trembley...... Dec. 15 Joanne Chess......... Dec. 18

All meetings are at 7:00 at The Monticello Hotel. If the local schools are closed or have a late start on Wednesdays due to weather, our meetings will be cancelled.

Make a Difference Day Made a Difference Darlene’s house was the site for collecting towels for our towel drive on Make a Difference Day on October 24th. As you can see, many towels were brought....many smiles were had. Here’s the final count: 94 total bath towels collected 28 for baskets 66 for Emergency Support Shelter 38 total hand towels collected 57 total wash cloths collected 20 for baskets 37 for Emergency Support Shelter 3 Humane Society Towels

Wagon Raffle Next project for Ways and Means will be the Toy Wagon Raffle. Sign up sheets will be at next meeting for selling at the Cowlitz Credit Union the first 3 Fridays in December. Edie is painting the wagon again this year. Debbie is shopping for toys and Gary Smith is working on the tickets. we hope to make piles of money! Lisa reported that Edie will have wagon decorated by November 18 so we can load and sell tickets. Tickets are $2.00 Dec. 4, 11 & 18th at Cowlitz Credit Union What a great way to support Altrusa - and get a ton of toys for your favorite boy or girl!!

Christmas Party Sock Exchange We’ll celebrate Christmas in our offbeat Breakfast Bunch way with a sock exchange on December 16th. Bring a pair of fun socks to exchange amongst each other. Lisa will give the details at the Dec. business meeting.

Scholarships - by Adele Gowdy We will be meeting and hearing from our scholarship recipients Halleigh Yaden and Melissa Cortes and Maggie Miollis Nursing scholarship recipient, Rustee Sanders at our November 18th. program meeting. Lisa and I represented our “Breakfast Bunch” at LCC’s Ice Cream Social, an event to bring recipients and donors together. We met Halleigh and Melissa and both are interesting women and very appreciative of our help. Halleigh, who was laid off in June of 2008, is on the Dean’s and President’s list and cares for her mother. She will graduate in June of 2010. Melissa, who has four children between 1 and 11 years, also cares for two of her siblings, works as a Teachers Assistant at Headstart and attends LCC! How does she fit it all in and maintain a 3.62 GPA? We’ll have to ask her. By the way, she is a Wallace parent! Since Rustee’s scholarship wasn’t handled through LCC’s Stars program, she did not get to attend the Social. We will all have a chance to meet Rustee at our meeting. I hope you are able to attend and get to know our sponsored recipients.

Pictured left to right: Adele Gowdy, Lisa Allen and scholarship recipient Halleigh Yoden

Governor Visits: by Debbie Johnson

Julie Hysmith, Governor of Altrusa district 12 spoke about how great our small group was doing and how impressed she was. She encouraged us to share more with District about what we are doing, how we are doing, and ask for input. She emphasized confidentiality if need be to send complaints or concerns to her. She enthusiastically encouraged us to attend the wonderful conference May 21 in Canyonville, Oregon. It should be a lovely location with outstanding speakers. Julie distributed bookmarks and brochures with the new branding symbols and philosophies. She discussed “branding” Altrusa as more than a group of old ladies getting together to gab and raise money. She also asked what she could do for us to keep us strong and active and ensure new members.

Poinsettia Sales You’ve probably heard from our marketing guru that our poinsettia sales are going like...no recession here. We are selling poinsettias as a fund raiser to for the Emergency Support Shelter projects. We’re talking about the Christmas baskets, and scholarships for local students. Jan has it set so that people can go to our blog or on Facebook to order before November 30, 2009. They’re 6” plants for only $12.00 Red, White, Pink or Marble. Aren’t we lucky we have members who know what will sell.

OTHER FUNDRAISERS: Pottery Sales - by Desta Richards

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Mystery Bruncher Who is it?

Rita Bauman, brought a nice variety and selection of her stoneware and raku pottery. Most of her raku pieces are made to hang or display as decorative pieces. On the other hand, her stoneware is dishwasher, oven and microwave safe. Thanks to several neighbors and friends, the trip to Longview was worthwhile for Rita. The club enjoyed a chance to visit with Rita, drool longingly over many pieces, purchase a few selections and enjoy some delicious snacks.

What you may not know:

Desta dropped off Rita’s donation for Altrusa with Lisa last Friday. We can be appreciative of Rita’s work plus her very generous check to Altrusa.

Need more hints? Here’s what you probably know:

BUNCO - Does anyone remember if you had fun?

If anyone in the Breakfast Bunch has googled “cheap childrens books” it’s her.

Our September 29th BUNCO party must have been a success. Our hostess Darlene Little apologized for not taking pictures “I was having too much fun.” She said According to our ruff calendar that was put together at our retreat, we will probably have another BUNCO party in January.

Wrapping paper - by Robbie Oldemar We placed an order November 6th for 77 items. Way to go Altrusans! Should receive around Thanksgiving. We’ll get started earlier next year so catalogs have papers in them to touch and ponder!

Coming Soon Service Project: Shop with a Cop You may have been hearing this term at some of the meetings. Stay tuned to find out what it’s about.

She can twirl a baton.

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She likes to cook, bake, decorate cakes, read, play piano, and walk for exercise. She was once “Miss Pullman/ Junior Miss runner-up.

She sparkles

She comes to meetings with the largest notebook of anyone and everyone wants to look in it to see what was done. She understands the effectiveness of the old fashioned hand written note over email. She once received an award from a past president for putting the “fun” in Altrusa. Here’s the rest of her story: She met her husband of 24 years on a blind date and he has his own portable welding business. She began her teaching career as a substitute in Olympia and after teaching at various capacities, she found her niche as the Librarian at Wallace Elementary. After 13 years, it’s clear this is where she wants to be. “All kids love a story.” she says with a smile. They are almost ready to launch their 21-year old son into the career world. Brandon is currently attending WSU to study Law Enforcement “We were hoping for a lawyer” she has said in the past. “It’s safer.” Now, if you don’t know who it is...well, that’s tough.