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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Betsy Krentzman, Polly Thayer, and I welcome you to the 2024-2025 Westborough Women’s Club meeting year! We are honored to be your first Tri-Presidents. We are also grateful to have the opportunity to work together with you.

First, we thank our past President, Reene Hatherley, for her outstanding work with the Club. Reene has been a great President! She has also guided Betsy, Polly, and me during the past year in preparation to become your Tri-Presidents. Thank you also to our
remarkable Treasurer Diana Michel, who continues to work diligently in her position on our behalf, and as we complete our transition from GFWC.

With now more than 110 members strong, WWC consists of many interesting women who enjoy being part of the Club, and many engaged women who enjoy executing the Mission of the Club. We are fortunate to have a dedicated Board, dynamic Committee Chairs and members who are invaluable for leading or supporting our Club.
Together, we all are welcoming and working for the betterment of our community! Love our Mission, our work, the people, and our conversations!

In the past year, members selflessly stepped up to make a difference. Two new Standing Committees, Food Insecurity and Sunshine Committees, were created. Another group of members spontaneously initiated a book collection for CASA Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for the best interest of children in foster care.
Many volunteers also returned to participate in the Community Harvest Project, annual Holiday House Tour, Town Meeting Bake Sales, and Family & Friends BINGO Night. Others volunteered to support Westborough Connects events. Under the leadership of our dedicated Outreach and Community Improvement Committees, WWC continued to help meet the needs of our community. The Monthly Meeting Committees’ time and effort
produced many interesting monthly programs, including our fabulous first English Tea. Since this year’s programs (listed in this Handbook) were booked months ago, if you have any recommendations for next year, please share them with the Program Committee. New ideas and suggestions are always welcome. Members are also still talking about the very enjoyable May Annual Luncheon gala. Thank you Chairs,
Elaine Moore and Kathie Wong, for your many years leading this Committee. Again, groups of WWC women producing amazing results.

During the past year, Westborough Women’s Club was the fortunate recipient of a very generous donation to further support our Mission. Reene, Polly, Betsy and I have taken on the responsibility to make several thoughtful decisions on how to best share these special funds with our community. Each decision is aligned with our WWC Mission, such as increasing the Club’s donation to each month’s Outreach charity (Listed in Handbook), donating to Westborough Interfaith Association (Thanksgiving Meals and Giving Tree), Project Graduation, Friends of the Library to fund Museum Passes, Hundredth Town Chorus, Westborough Farmer’s Market, and WWC Member Activities. In addition, the WWC funded eighteen recommended Mill Pond students to attend Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School’s Summer Career Discovery Experience and
sponsored two Westborough Little League Softball teams. In partnership with Avidia Bank, two Westborough High School seniors were given the opportunity to attend MassStar’s Leadership Conference this summer. WWC also supported local Rotary and
Westborough Connects projects during the year.

Westborough Women’s Club is honored, and appreciative beyond words, to partner with the Jim and Janet Harvey Family Charitable Foundation to recognize seven graduating Westborough High School seniors. This year, students were each awarded a $3,000 scholarship to continue the pursuit of their career paths. Thank you, Jim and Janet
Harvey Family! We are also grateful to our dedicated Scholarship Committee: Kay Hurley, Karen Hong, Deb Lamothe, Elaine Halford, Karen Lindsay, who worked tirelessly to help make this selection happen.

Now that we are beginning a new year…Betsy, Polly, and I plan to continue to closely follow our Mission and several successful past practices. Member input from April’s Member Survey has been carefully studied and shared with the Board. Confirmed by 92% of members, we are doing an excellent job following the WWC Mission.
As we all know, there are always new ways of doing things, and we welcome your ideas and involvement! We are just 3 of our many members.

The Survey also highlighted WWC members’ desire for more special events and more opportunities to socialize. As a result, this summer we split the Field Trips/Special Activities Committee into two committees with separate goals. The list of monthly Social Events and Field Trips can be found in this Handbook.

In closing, we want to respectfully remember three dear members of our Westborough Women’s Club – Joyce Gallinagh, Carmel Sandock, and Irene Bellerose, who sadly passed away during this past year. We will miss them.

Lastly, Betsy, Polly, and I look forward to the upcoming year working with each and every one of you. Reene has left us in a wonderful place. We have a large membership, a strong WWC financial position, and an impactful presence in the community. We also enjoy time being together and sharing our stories and experiences with each other. WWC is a great place to be!

We look forward to seeing you at our Tuesday, September 10 meeting at 6:00 PM.

Sincerely,
Terry Petrucelli, Betsy Krentzman, Polly Thayer, WWC Presidents
August 2024