I’ve Got Your Back
A message from WPF President, Amy Baradell
Hello WPF sisters! It’s 2022! I am so thankful to be moving into the new year with all of you. There is so much to be mindful of as we look back at 2021. It was a year where WPF sisters had to be intentional about staying connected. We did this through Zoom meetings, wearing masks, and gathering outside. Sometimes bundled up; sometimes burning up. This desire for connection was the catalyst for WPF when it was launched in 1977. Those who began this group had a goal to provide support to professional women by having a place to exchange information, ideas, and experiences. In WPF, I have seen this connection grow into great care for one another. The joys and heartaches of life we share. I have been amazed and encouraged at the care I have received from my WPF sisters. Serving on various committees through the years, I have felt that same care and encouragement. I know that you have my back and I have yours. We are a team. Each of us has different talents and skills and we have learned from those who have gone before us to toss the ball to each other. As we are each running through different seasons in our lives, we take on different roles and different levels of responsibility. This is a group of women that is for each other. For this I am very thankful.
There are many ways in WPF we can connect in order to have each other’s backs. We have our Luncheon Meetings on the second Wednesday of the month. Making available a regular time for us to be together, these meetings also provide speakers on various topics. News of Our Sisters highlights members’ triumphs and challenges. I have found this an indispensable source to stay connected. As I write this article there are twelve Special Interest Groups (SIGS).
Each group is based on a special interest and provides email communication about their events. Contact the leader of the group to get on their email list. Trying out a new restaurant, discussing a book, learning about opportunities for diversity, traveling to the mountains, attending a concert, gaining understanding about investments, supporting other working moms, broadening our knowledge of wine, enjoying fun and themed spirited evenings, running a 5k, and serving at various local nonprofits are all available through our SIGS. Being a part of these groups builds connection.
As we head into the New Year, let’s continue to connect. Come to our lunch meetings, read your newsletter, use News of Our Sisters to celebrate and encourage, and try a new SIG.
Let’s have each other’s backs.
WPF January Meeting … Wednesday, January 12, 2022
Initiatives to Grow Our Workforce in the Triad with Ann Flynt
Ann is the Director – Eastern Triad Workforce Initiative and Guilford Apprenticeship Partners, Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro
Ann is from Wyckoff, New Jersey and received her B.S in Business from Wake Forest University and her MSA in School Administration from UNC Greensboro. She began her nonprofit career 3 years ago with CFGG as the four-county Youth Apprenticeship Coordinator with the Eastern Triad Workforce Initiative.
Ann has spent over 20 years in Education including being an elementary school teacher at Greensboro Day School and principal at St. Pius X Catholic School. In her free time, Ann enjoys hiking on all of the beautiful trails here in Greensboro, walking, gardening, reading, and spending time with her son and daughter.
Fun Fact: Ann is an avid sports fan. She loves watching all college sports and her favorite team is (of course) Wake Forest.
WPF FOUNDATION NEWS
A Message from Jean Pudlo, WPFF President Jean Pudlo
A Note from Jean
A message from WPF Foundation President, Jean Pudlo
The WPF Foundation will be starting the 2022 grants cycle soon. In the past several months, the grants committee and WPF Foundation board, with the help of our WPF sister, Tara Sandercock, worked to refresh our purpose statement and streamline the application process.
WPFF Grants empower Women and Girls by supporting:
• Opportunities for women and girls to aspire to or further their careers;
• Education and leadership development of women and girls;
• Education of the public on the status and rights of women; and
• Recognition of achievements and contributions of women
The streamlined application will be available online in early January 2022. In the meantime, please help us spread the word to agencies in our community and if you have any questions, please reach out to our grants chair, Robin Hager, rhager@triadbusinessbank.com.
In 2021, the WPF Foundation distributed $24,000 in local grants. Four organizations were recipients of WPF Foundation grants to support their programs: Communities in Schools of Greater Greensboro ($5,600), Nussbaum Center ($2,400), New Arrivals Institute ($6,000), and UNCG Center for New North Carolinians ($10,000).
The Foundation has a rich history going back to 1984 when a group of women of the Women’s Professional Forum set up the Foundation. The Foundation Board is grateful for the generosity of our WPF members. Over the past 37 years, because of the generosity of our members, we now have over $500,000 in assets in the fund allowing us to make a difference to so may well deserving agencies.
Special Interest Group Upcoming Events
DEVOTED TO DIVERSITY
Seeking a New Chair … and significant January events
We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be the first leaders of this SIG and help create a forum for the discussion of such critical issues. We started in February 2020, just before the COVID-19 shutdown. We think that two years as committee chairs is the perfect term, so we are looking for new leadership for this SIG. There is much work to be done on a micro level to make WPF more welcoming to members of all backgrounds, faiths, and cultures, and on a macro level in our world as well. We invite you to help move WPF and this SIG forward.
In evaluating the goals of this group and our monthly meetings thus far, we also are inclined to recommend to the next chairs that the Devoted to Diversity SIG be less about having a monthly meeting and more about special events and opportunities to make an impact. Please contact one of us as soon as possible if you are interested in serving as co-chair for 2022-23. Rebecca Ben Gideon rbengideon@gmail.com | Terri Harris terriharris1800@gmail.com | Nicole Hayes nicole.hayes92@yahoo.com
1/1 Emancipation Proclamation (on this day in 1863, President Lincoln declared all persons held as slaves would be free)
1/4 Birthday of Louis Braille
1/6 Feast of the Epiphany
1/7 Orthodox Christmas
1/10 Bodhi Day (Mahãyãna Buddhists celebrate the Buddha’s enlightenment)
1/14 Makar Sankranti (a Hindu festival dedicated to the Hindu religious sun god Surya)
1/14 Orthodox New Year
1/16 World Religion Day (Baha’i faith celebrates common themes for faiths across the world)
1/16 Tu B’Shevat (New Year for the Trees)
1/17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day
1/27 International Day of Commemoration in Memory of Victims of the Holocaust
SERVICE TO OTHERS Update
We are off to a good start! At our organizational meeting in December, we brainstormed service projects and we have lots of good options for 2022. Have an idea or want to be on our e-mail list? Email Jody Susong jsusong@triad.rr.com or Amy Baradell amyb@windowworksstudio.com. New projects for the year will be communicated by e-mail, in the newsletter and at our WPF meetings. We look forward to serving with you.
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BOOKS & ARTS
Time for our annual planning!
Books and Arts will hold its annual planning meeting sometime soon and will send out notice to our e-mail list. If you are not on the mailing list and want to be, please notify Kris Landrum at klandrum@tuggleduggins.com or Pat Arnett admin@wpforum.org.
In the meantime, give some thought to activities you’d like to see on next year’s calendar…and that you would be willing to plan for the group! We’ll establish a 2022 calendar at the planning meeting and will be looking for input from the SIG members.
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WOW
Women of Wall Street
Thursday, Jan 13, 6pm @ Margie Streck’s
It’s our annual holiday party! For those of you who feel comfortable meeting in person, please join us. Margie has a spacious home. Please bring a bottle of wine or whatever you would like to drink and either an appetizer or dessert. Should be great fun! On 2/17, we’ll hold our first business meeting of the year.
SIPPIN’ SISTERS
Winter Cocktails!
Tuesday, January 20 @ 6 PM at Mebane Ham’s Home
Have you ever noticed that what tastes great in the heat of summer (like a gin and tonic or vodka and lemonade) isn’t necessarily great in winter time? Mebane & Janice, with the help of some local bartenders, will offer some great “Winter Drinks” to include Manhattans! RSVP: Mebane Ham – mebane@mebaneham.com. Space is limited to 15.
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WhINE DIVAS
Thursday, January 20 @ 6:30 PM at Dee Blake’s Home
Kick off the New Year with Whine Divas by sampling Spanish wines at the home of Dee Blake. The wine tastings, education program and hors d’oeuvres are provided at a cost of $25 per person. This event is limited to the first 12 ladies who RSVP as it will likely be held indoors due to cooler temperatures. Please RSVP to Dee by email or text: uhmanoa1@gmail.com or 919-395-0959.
Note: Whine Divas meets the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
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DINING OUT
Wednesday, January 26 @ 6:30 PM at Lucky 32, 1421 Westover Terrace
Join us for our first event in the New Year and bring ideas for Dining Out locations for 2022. I will be looking for 9 hosts for the year. Please RSVP to Amy Meinecke at diningout@wpforum.org
WILD WOMEN IN THE MOUNTAINS!
We’re Back!! March 25-27, 2022
We are so excited to announce that Wild women in the Mountains will be returning in 2022. The date has been set – March 25-27, 2022, housing has been confirmed (well most of it) and Sarah Shoffner is ready to take your check. Pricing will stay the same at $125. That includes a 2-night stay at one of the best and most entertaining homes in the Rock, appetizers Friday night, breakfast Saturday and Sunday and the most delicious dinner on Saturday. You will also be in the company of the best Wild Women in WPF!! More details to follow. No matter what, we can promise you a great time!! Contact Mebane Ham (mebane@mebaneham.com) for more information.
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BOOKS & ARTS
Save the Date! Chetola Symphony By the Lake Concert in Blowing Rock
July 21-24, 2022
Books and Arts annual July Blowing Rock trip (not to be confused with the always fantastic Wild Women in the Mountains spring trip) will be July 21st to 24th. Preliminarily, we think we will be able to book the Springhaven Inn on Main Street and a condo at Chetola. We have stayed in the Springhaven Inn before and it is a charming old house without updated amenities but it has a great location. The Chetola condo will give us an outpost for the Chetola symphony concert on the 22nd. Details as to whether the annual Blowing Rock home tour will take place are not yet available.
The weekend is always loads of fun with activities including shopping, hiking, socializing with friends, the concert and other possibilities to be determined. Current projected cost is $210/person for the 3- night stay. We anticipate having 14 spots initially available and might add a few more if there is demand. If you want to be part of this trip, contact Kris Landrum at klandrum@tuggleduggins.com to reserve your space ASAP.