by Lorie Bollig, President of Altrusa International Inc. of Montrose CO
First and foremost, I have to tell you that I could not be more proud to be affiliated with Altrusa International, Inc. of Montrose and its membership. It is truly an honor and privilege to be the current president of this wonderful organization.
This report is intended to provide a checkpoint of where we’ve been, what we’ve accomplished and where we are still going. When committee plans were turned in last summer, it was evident we were going to be “busy” to say the least . . . true to Altrusa form you’ve all come through with shining colors.
Our Communications Committees are truly outstanding. The Newsletter continues to be top notch, being published in a timely manner with interesting articles. Thank you to Betty Lundgren and her committee for keeping us informed on a monthly basis! Diane Winger, in addition to other duties, has taken on the role of “techie Guru” keeping our Website current with up to the minute information and has made access to it extremely easy with updates being automatically emailed to subscribers. She has helped our club to take advantage of technology in sharing information.
Under the leadership of Susan Woody, our Yearbook was published and distributed to our membership early last fall. Having this reference material available to the entire membership is of utmost importance – it not only helps new members to relate names and faces but the factual information it contains is a wonderful tool! Our club has also been the benefactor of great publicity via newspaper articles and special features via the efforts of Publicity chairperson Dorothy Causey.
Finance is another area of success for our club. The due diligence of Elaine Moore has rewarded us with a grant from the City of Montrose in the amount of $1000 to enhance our Buddy Bag Program and a $1000 bequest to start an endowment fund with the proceeds to be used for Environmental Programs.
Our Golf Tournament chaired by Alice Vest experienced an increased net profit and our recently held Holiday Festival chaired by Bobbi Brown was an outstanding success. Not only have these fundraisers increased the awareness of Altrusa in our community, we have gained financial support through corporate sponsorships for these events. Fundraiser activities still to come are a new Murder/Mystery Dinner scheduled for February 28, 2009 and our annual Spring Luncheon that will be held on March 21, 2009, both of which look very promising.
Service is the core activity of our club and to date we should all be proud of our accomplishments. ASTRA, led by Judy Snedeker and her team has kicked off their new year with lots of enthusiasm and projects including participation in the Bosom Buddy Walk/Run, highway cleanup, a scholarship fund for students to participate in school activities, selling wreaths as a fundraiser and still to come will be their annual “Flamingo Flocking”.
Salvation Army Bell-Ringing was organized by Lynda Wareham and Casey Wareham and the wonderful weather not only increased our spirits but it seemed to increase the number of people out and about and their generosity. Sally Senger and her team collected funds from our membership for our Christmas Basket that was given to a needy family in the area.
Environmental, with the expertise of Cheryl Gibson and Anita Johansen as co-chairs, has successfully completed the flower and bulb planting at Cerise Park as well as highway cleanup. Upcoming projects for 2009 include E-Waste Cleanup Event, Bike to School contest, Zero Waste Luncheon and Fashion Show, Highway Cleanup and Cerise Park Pond Planting.
Diane Winger from the International Relations committee helped to co-sponsor a four-part series entitled Building Hope in Central Asia. This series not only enlightened the community on issues relevant to central asia but it served as a local relationship builder with yet another avenue to show our community what Altrusa is all about. Alice Vest and her Lifeline committee continue to provide units and maintenance to the elderly or disabled who desire to stay in their homes.
Literacy under the direction of Joey Montoya Boese has continued to provide Buddy Bags to the less fortunate children of our community with distribution through Montrose Medical Mission and the Community Dental Clinic. Season’s Readings books were collected and distributed through Department of Social Services. A teacher is also recognized once per month through our Apple Teacher Award.
Love Hug Bears, chaired by Rose Price continues to provide comfort to children in the emergency room or same day surgery with a huggable teddy bear. Currently, the demand for bears is exceeding our current budget and Montrose Memorial Hospital has agreed to share the expense beginning January 2009.
Jeanne Kuchynka and the Members Issues Committee helped to start the school year off with a collection for school supplies for the less fortunate students of our school district. In all, $375 was spent on school supplies and $175 was set aside for scholarships to cover fees for extra-curricular activities. They also successfully helped to organize the food and volunteers for the Bosom Buddy Walk/Run. In addition, they started a new project creating a DVD library with players for the cancer patients to use while receiving treatment at the San Juan Cancer Center.
Susan Woody has introduced some new styles of hats and beanies for the Tender Touch Turbans Committee led by Joyce Loss. This committee provides hats, beanies and turbans to local cancer patients experiencing hair loss due to treatment.
And last but not least, our Membership committees have assumed their duties with dedication to our club. As First Vice-President in charge of Membership, Kaye Hotsenpiller has organized An Add an Altrusan After Hours Event that is scheduled for January 21, 2009 at Camelot Gardens. This will be an opportunity for potential members to visit informally with us and see what we are all about. It will also provide the needed time for current members to catch up with our club.
Our Christmas Party, organized by Marianne Cross was enjoyed by approximately 50% of our members. It provided precious time for fellowship among members – instead of a gift exchange members were urged to bring mittens, stockings and hats for children in addition to a canned food drive.
Initiation, organized by Natalie Frush is held every month that there is a fifth Tuesday. I am pleased that to date, we have had eligible new members to initiate at each of these times and candidates are waiting for the next opportunity. Likewise, Orientation has been completed in a timely manner for all new applicants prior to their initiation led by Marianne Cross.
In summary, we should be proud of our accomplishments and goals – As I said – I cannot think of any other club I would rather be associated with than Altrusa International Inc. of Montrose. Thank you to all for a job well done!
Believe and Achieve
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