LOWC Starts the Season with a Bang!!

Letter from the President

What a busy month September has been! I would like to share who has been hard at work, just in case you didn’t know:

• Lori Malone, our Online Communications Chair. We have moved, well not physically, only virtually to our new web site! Lori has been hard at work designing, updating, writing, emailing, and planning training. Please take a moment to let us what you think of your new web site if you have not done so already.
• Johanna McCormick, our Directory Chair, has been organizing our information to complete the 2012-13 LOWC directory.  She has given a lot of thought, preparation and time in directing the many hands that go into making our directory.  Thank you board members that have worked hard to make the deadline to submit your information too! 
• Lisa Rainer, our Vice President, has been busy helping me with 2012-13 membership committee choices. An email will be sent to you listing which committee you have been assigned BUT, if you would like to now visit our new web site membership directory and check out your updated information. 
• Lauren Retzlaff and her Membership Committee hasve successfully increased our membership and I am happy to report to welcome 14 provisional members this year! Well done Membership! 
• Galina Kaesche and her Fashion Show Committee, you ROCK!  I am so proud of everyone that helped in even the smallest way toward producing this year’s fashion show. To all of the LOWC Members that volunteered just for the day, and most of all to the Fashion show committee, Thank you for a perfect show. We also were featured in the LO Review and West Linn Tidings, thanks to Deanna Phillips our PR chair! Please also take time to congratulate Mary Jo Avery for being our first recipient of the LOWC Appreciation Award.  Mary Jo has been very supportive of our club, thank you again. 

And lastly I would like to remind you to save the date for the following:

Shauna Lugar (Children's Center) and Mary Jo Avery (Sustainer)

• General meeting at Children’s Center
  Thursday October 18 at 7:00 pm social and meeting to start at 7:30 pm
• Annual LOWC Potluck Luncheon
  Thursday, November 15 at 9:30 am social and 10 am general meeting
• LOWC Holiday Party
  Thursday, December 6, details to come later! 

Thank you for all you do!

Denise Smith

LOWC 2012-13 President 

General Meeting October 18th
at Children's Center

The October 18th General Meeting will be held at The Children’s Center in Oregon City.
Please join us at 7:00 pm for the social featuring wine and appetizers followed by the meeting at 7:30 pm. If you can stay for a bit, Shauna Lugar will offer a short tour of the facility following the meeting. The Children’s Center is a private, non-profit medical assessment center that
supports children and families throughout Clackamas County in cases of suspected physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, drug endangerment and witness to violence. Our 5 year, $25,000 philanthropic commitment to The Children’s Center is indeed an accomplishment and something to be proud of. The Children’s Center is located at 1713 Penn Lane in Oregon City. (Click address for map.)

Printed Directories Available at the Next General Meeting

There are many reasons to come to the next General Meeting on October 18. One, it will be held at the Children's Center in Oregon City and whether you've been there or not, it's a fabulous time to check out the facilities of a major grant recipient and meet some of their team to learn more about the Center. Two, come because it's a good time to connect with your old LOWC friends and meet the new provisionals!

And three, this will be the first opportunity to receive your hard-copy Directory for the 2012-12 year! Full of information like meeting dates, Happy Hours, committee assignments, and much more, including contact information for all our members.

After the General Meeting, remaining copies will be handed over to committee chairs to distribute to their own staffs according to when they are schedule to next meet. Sustainers will have their copies mailed directly to them. If this schedule will not work for you or if you have any questions, please contact the Directory Chair, Johanna McCormick, at directory@lowomensclub.org for tailored arrangements.

Johanna McCormick
Directory Chair

LOWC Membership News

New Member , Carolyn Fisher, enjoying the fashion show

A big, warm welcome goes out to our fourteen new LOWC members!  They are: Amy Bartley, Mary Bicknell, Chana Coleman, Maureen Dunham, Carolyn Fisher, Judy Jacobs, Theresa Koppie, Chanda Kurland, Becky Nicoli, Megan O’Toole, Nessa Sander, Deloris Scherschligt, Garlinn Story, and Esther Tice.  Welcome!

New members, mark your calendars for some October events!  First, on Thursday, 10/11, the LOWC Book Club will meet at 7 PM at Susan Ziegler’s house to discuss Running For My Life by Lopez Lomong.  You are all welcome and encouraged to come.  This is a wonderful way to meet other members, read a good book, and have a fun night out.  Second, make sure to come to the October General Meeting on Thursday, 10/18 at Children’s Center.  Especially for new members, attending this meeting will be a great way to learn about the special relationship that LOWC has with this remarkable charity.  Finally, we plan to have a new members' get-together in October; we'll let you know as soon as we pin down a date,  place, and time!  This will be a good opportunity to get to know each other better and to start feeling connected to the club.

Looking back on this month, the Membership Committee hosted its third and final “friend-raiser” on a beautiful Saturday evening in early September at Kathleen Ellman’s home.  We had a fantastic turn-out and welcomed many wonderful women to the club.  The guys who came had a great time as well, relaxing on the lake-side deck with good food, drinks, and company.  It was agreed by all that sometime again this year, our club should have another event to which men are also invited (hint, hint, Social Committee!).  Thanks again to all who came.

Now that the Fashion Show has passed, our committee is officially wrapping up its membership drive.  That said, it’s never too early to start thinking of friends who may want to join for the following year!  Please remember that you are always welcome to bring a friend to a meeting or a social event.   Truly, the more the merrier.

Membership Committee
Lauren Retzlaff - Chair
Ingrid Smith - CoChair
Kathleen Ellman - CoChair

LOWC Training for Provisionals and Board Members

During the last 5 years or so, LOWC has moved firmly into the digital age! We use a variety of online services to coordinate our activities, manage our events, and share news. With these advancements in mind, I'm very excited about a new benefit for Lake Oswego Women's Club Provisionals and Board members! For the first time ever, we are offering free training sessions to Provisionals and Board members. (True, the training is REQUIRED, but honestly, I think you're going to find it very beneficial.) Please consider it a PERK. I'm going to do my best to make the training fun and informative. I plan to throw in a few door prizes and we might even work in a "happy hour" after we complete our training session!!

You'll learn some important information that will help you and your committee save time and complete your LOWC tasks more efficiently. Most training sessions will take place at the Adult Community Center in Lake Oswego. I will announce the available dates and times for training in the next few days. Please watch for the email with details about the registration process. I'm looking forward to seeing you in class!!

Lori Malone

Online Communications Chair

Saying "Thank You" is Always in Style!

We had a great turn-out for the 12th Annual Fall Fashion Show!  A great deal of hard work and planning was required prior to the event. This “Thank You” is to everyone that helped (even the tiniest bit) with making that day an absolute success. We are so very proud of what we all accomplished!

Thank you! Thank you so much to our entire committee for being on task.  The Fashion Show committee consisted of Heather Broderick, Becky Campbell, Denise Kowslowski, and Rhonda Webber.  The camaraderie of the group made it a fun adventure.

Robin Tremayne and Lisa Rainer at the Fashion Show

In particular, we want to express special gratitude to our president, Denise Smith and our treasurer, Robin Tremayne.  Denise provided fresh insights and important twists that were the catalyst to elevate our Fashion Show to the winning fundraiser that we hoped it would be.  Robin helped us with the careful handling of all the checks for the Fashion Show.  Thanks to Robin for keeping us up-to-date on the numbers for the Oswego Lake Country Club.  It was so important to have the financial matters handled smoothly and professionally.

Then there were the rest of you!  Thank you all for each individual task you were involved in to help with the day.  We both know that there are so many that provided support to us.  We wish we could thank everyone in person.

• This is a short list of special “thanks” for those who helped make the fashion show a success:
• Lisa Rainer - for helping us with credit card transactions
• Tracey Freeman and Johanna McCormick - for taking pictures throughout the show
• Lori Malone - for assistance with computer related tasks
• Rhonda Webber, Scottie Johnson, Becky Campbell, Heather Broderick, Joni Powell, Julie Lester and Traci Greenberg - for selling “golden leaf” cupcakes and raffle tickets
• We wish to thank Kathleen Ellman for once again being such an outstanding mistress of ceremonies. She was so charismatic and engaging!  
• We also wish to thank Mary Gregoire, who displayed the Silpada jewelry so wonderfully.

Denise Kozlowski, Caren Korabek, Becky Campbell

Finally, special big thanks to all members of LOWC for being supportive and making this event so much fun! We both know that this is the start of something MORE for the future Fashion Shows. We must not forget to let you know that all the raffle baskets came together because of the hard work of securing procurements and/or our members making personal donations. We want to express our gratitude and appreciation to all of the members who assisted in big and small ways. The Fashion Show was a success because of a wonderful group effort!

Finally…(drum-roll, please)…We are thrilled to announce that the 2012 Fashion Show made the largest profit of any LOWC Fashion Show to date. Robin is still waiting for a few checks to clear, but it looks like our net proceeds from the event are very close to $2000.00.

What a great way to start year!!!

Galina Kaesche
Fashion show Committee Chair

Scottie Johnson
Co-Chair

(More Fashion Show Photos at the end of the blog!!)

Children's Center Gala a Success

LOWC provided nine volunteers to work at the Children's Center Healing Garden Gala event on Thursday, September 27th.  The event was attended by 200 people and raised over $175,000!  Funds raised go toward providing child abuse assessment services to children throughout Clackamas County.  "It feels right.  I'm really glad I was able to help," commented one volunteer when thanked for her work that evening.  "Rewarding and fun," said another.

The Healing Garden Gala was magical.

This was the first fundraising event actually held at the Center as opposed to an offsite venue.  They opened their doors to attendees who were offered a selection of appetizers and beverages and could tour through the facility and converse with actual service providers such as medical examiners, child interviewers and other staff members.  Dessert was served during a program which highlighted services provided, the dramatic need for services in our county and a heartfelt presentation from one of the Center's Fund Development Committee members, a former victim of abuse herself.

I received a big "thank you" from the Children's Center to pass along to all our great volunteers who helped make the evening possible:  Carolyn Fisher, Johanna McCormick, Chandra Terry, Robin Tremayne, Caren Korabek, Denise Smith, Lori Faris, Lauren Retzlaff, Susan Ziegler. You are so appreciated. Also a huge "thank you" to our members who were attendees and helped the Center get to that $175,000 total!

In 2011, LOWC signed an agreement with the Children's Center to provide a total of $25,000 in support over 5 years.  They are currently LOWC's top "partner" charity and greatly appreciate our partnership at all levels.  Here is an excerpt from their Annual Report to give you a picture of their services:

"The Children's Center is the sole organization in Clackamas County providing medical assessments, forensic interviews, and family support services to children who are suspected victims of child abuse.  We see children from Sandy to Wilsonville, Lake Oswego to Estacada, and Milwaukee to Molalla.  We served 665 children and families in 2011, 428 of which received a medical assessment and/or interview with specially trained Medical Examiners and Child Interviewers, as well as support for non-offending family members."

Children's Center Service Demographics

Come see the Children's Center for yourself and learn more during our General Meeting, October 18th at the Children's Center.  

Golf With Lisa!

After winning the golf raffle package at the Children's Center luncheon last Spring, Lisa Rainer hosted Lauren Barnes (blue shirt) and Robin Tremayne (white shirt) for some golf at the Creekside Golf Club in Salem in September. They had a great day, a tasty lunch and enjoyed the sun even when their balls were not going where they were supposed to! Lisa will host 3 ladies at the Oregon Golf Club for 9 holes....to the first 3 who contact her at vicepresident@lowomensclub.org.

Lisa Rainer
Vice President

Lauren Barnes-Garr (sustainer), Lisa Rainer (vice president), Robin Tremayne (treasurer)

Something New
LOWC's First Op/Ed!By guest writer, Ella Smith

Attending the fashion show was my first encounter with Lake Oswego Women’s Club. Being a Lake Oswego resident, I was well aware of the image that accompanies the local "female-hood" and wasn't quite sure what to expect.

My trepidation vanished as soon as I stepped into the foyer of the Country Club. I had a very good feeling upon seeing how happy and thankful the greeters were at my presence. I learned that the event was a benefit for a great cause—it was supporting Children’s Center and other local charities. As fate would have it, I signed up to volunteer at Children’s Center as a result of attending the fashion show.

As I was listening to the presenters, I could not help but have a feeling that this group of women was actually a large family that really enjoys being together as well as caring about those in need. There was nothing fake or pompous about this gathering. Even the pinnacle of the event, the Fashion Show, was elegant and yet low-key—in a good sense.

The models looked and carried themselves beautifully (of course, the male models received extra attention). They were not cold and distant but rather warm, personal and very much alive! There was a concerted connection between the performers and the spectators. A variety of styles were presented by various vendors, addressing the veritable range of taste and ages occupying the audience. I personally loved the ensembles by Silkwood and Margaret O’Leary. Jewelry, accessories, make-up and hair-do’s were in unison with the clothing. The Mistress of Ceremony did a wonderful job pointing out details that were worth noting.

If asked to describe this fashion show, I would say it was classy with some elements of playfulness. It clearly was a reflection of the star conductor behind the scene, Galina, who apparently worked hard and passionately putting the show together. And it was nothing less than fabulous!

In closing, the event ended too soon. I wanted more of this treat!
I guess I will just have to look forward to next year.
Thank you, Galina and thank you, LOWC!

Ella Smith
Lake Oswego Resident
2012 Fashion Show Guest

More Photos!

Cupcakes? Yum!

Fabulous Fashion

Lauren Retzlaff and Megan O'Toole

Kris Coder and Darlene LeBlanc

Shauna Lugar and Mary Jo Avery

Dianna Harrell, Veronica Hamstreet, Lauren Retzlaff, Babs Hamachek,
Leslie Pirotta, Chandra Terry, Susan Ziegler