Newsletter May 2023

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

From Meryl Mullane, Membership Committee Chair

There’s nothing better than a new friend—unless it’s a friend with chocolate.

We’re excited about the new members who might be joining and the Membership committee is looking forward to getting applications—no chocolate necessary. You’ll find the forms on the page “Forms & Bylaws” on our website. Please be sure to complete both the New Member Application and the Sponsor Packet for your applicant and email it all together. Send to merylmullane@gmail.com by June 1st.

Here’s a FAQ and if you have any other questions, please contact me by email or 336-312-3381.

Who can join WPF?

To be considered for membership in WPF, an applicant must:

• Be an upper-level management executive, licensed or degreed professional, business owner, or an elected or appointed public official who resides in Guilford County.

• Be employed full-time or work in a career where the content and professionalism of the work is the measure of eligibility and not the number of hours worked.

• Have a minimum of five years’ professional experience and a minimum of two years’ experience in the same or related field of work in which she is engaged at the time of her application.

What if my prospective member has only attended two luncheons with a sponsor by June 1? Will the June meeting count?

Your prospective new members must have attended a WPF luncheon meeting with each of their sponsors, a total of three meetings, within the twelve months prior to the application: June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023. If not, you have the next 12 months for her to attend at least three meetings and apply on June 1, 2024; she may attend additional meetings hosted by a WPF member.

When will new members be introduced?

This year, new member introductions will be at the August meeting, moved from September.

It’s Time for Small Group Dinners!

A note from Nicole Hayes & Jennifer Mencarini, Directors at Large

Join us for the opportunity to gather for a casual evening (or lunch) of fun! We hope you’ll leverage this chance to engage with current members and meet some new ones. Spring gatherings will begin on Monday, May 1st and run through Thursday, May 25th. Click here to register by April 30th for the date that best suits your schedule. Hostesses, be sure to register for your own dinner to ensure an accurate headcount.

Your Host will be in touch with details; contact her directly with any questions. Please select only one date so everyone has the chance to join a SGD. If your schedule changes, you can change your previously chosen date on SignUpGenius. We hope you enjoy a lovely time together.

4-Minute Special: Susan Fields Russell

When I was asked to write a “4-Minute Special” my immediate reaction was that I do not have a story to tell!  But I guess everyone has a unique story just as everyone has their own unique fingerprints.

I was born in Wilmington and spent my early years around Ocean Isle Beach. Once I hit school-age, we moved to a little town called Wadesboro, NC and that is where every memory of growing up is located.  I could draw a floorplan of the house I grew up in right now if I had to.  I had the best of both worlds.  One set of grandparents were farmers.  When spending summers with them, I would play with the animals on the farm, help grandma snap green beans, and take my spare change to the country store to buy penny candy and chewing gum which I would proudly carry back in a little paper sack.  My other set of grandparents lived here in Greensboro and owned a company.  Summers with them included ice skating lessons, shopping, and lunches at the Governor’s Mansion.  Obviously two very different worlds, but it was wonderful for me to be exposed to everything!

I went to UNC-Greensboro and majored in Apparel Arts and Design with a Minor in Communications.  (Yes…I like all things design and like running my mouth, so this combo was a good one for me!)  It was after my graduation that I was introduced to the world of Contract Furniture and Design and have been in this field for the last 29 years!  I recently accepted a new position and am using this forum as the formal announcement! On May 15th I will begin a new venture with Innvision Hospitality.  I will be the North Carolina Design Consultant for the company calling specifically on Hotel Developers.  We handle the design, furnishings, and procurement for every aspect of hotel/resort new construction and renovations.  We are brand experts serving Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Wyndham and IHG Brands among others.  So excited!

Life slightly changed for me in 2016 when my marriage of 23 years ended.  During the process of that transition, I bought a little “fixer upper” house and did much of the work myself. I kept a shower cap and work clothes at the house so that in between my appointments and when I could get away on the weekends, I could go over and paint, saw, clean, hammer, etc. without anyone knowing.  Throughout the renovation process (or therapy as I now call it!), I would find pennies in random places – always heads up.  I found them stuck in the floor molding, in back of closets, etc.  I started calling them my “pennies from heaven” and saw this as a sign of luck and joy to come.

Within a six-month time period, my divorce papers were signed and I lost my best friend, former WPF Member Anne Gundlach, to cancer.  It changed me in ways I did not recognize at first.  Suddenly I saw things differently.  Appreciated things more.  I also cried more for quite a while, too.  But through it all I discovered two things:  One, the need to reconnect with my friends and to bring more joy and people into my life; and Two, that this precious life can be very short.  One night I came across a quote, Author unknown, that said, “One day you will wake up and have no more time.  Do it now”!  Reading that jarred my soul and I immediately grabbed a pad of paper, a glass of wine, and started working on my Bucket List!  I have a list of places I want to visit within the US, places to visit overseas, and a long list of crazy things I just want to do or learn!  I have hiked through the Rainforest in Puerto Rico.  I have zip-lined though the jungles of Mexico.  I have climbed the Mayan ruins in Belize.  I have driven a race car at Lowes Motor Speedway (got up to 143 mph!)  And thanks to many of my soul sisters in WPF, recently took surfing lessons in Hawaii and climbed a volcano and crossed the crater!  We women have incredible, special powers that enable us – once we allow ourselves the permission to – accomplish anything we set our sights on.  Don’t forget that you have made it through 100% of your worst days and that you only hit the targets you aim for!

So that’s my story.  A girl who is a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n roll. A girl that is 100% in love with her life and who intends to keep working hard and knocking off those bucket list items!