Kelly Garrett - Speaker on January 21, 2025

Kelly Garrett serves as the Community Partnership Specialist for Empath Health | Tidewell Hospice in Sarasota and Manatee County. She is a graduate of Florida State University with a Bachelor's in Family and Child Sciences. She is an active member of the Cancer Resource Network Board, Co-Chair of the Veteran Partnership Council, and board member of the Manasota Healthcare Network. Her dedication to the well-being of others is rooted in her personal and professional experiences, particularly her profound empathy for individuals and families navigating the hospice journey. She is an immense advocate for promoting dignity in end-of-life care, guided by Empath Health’s mission, vision, and values.

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January 2025 - President's Report

I hope everyone had a joyous holiday season. It is hard to believe that we are in the Year 2025. Our meeting for January will be Tuesday, January 21st after the Wine Tasting Fundraiser on Friday, January 17th.

If you have any other donations for the Wine-Tasting event, please contact Deb Straw or Irene Slattery. Irene will be putting the baskets together. If you can help in any way, such as check-in at the event, selling tickets for the wine-toss, running prizes to those who have won, this would be a tremendous help. Tickets are still available for $40.00 prior to the event. At the door, tickets are $45.00.

We have a speaker from Hospice for the January meeting. If anyone has some ideas for speakers for March and April, please let Cynthia Fredericks know.

The BPW/FL is providing some workshops to help our members and small business owners. The Media Magnet Workshop: Unleash your Brand’s Full Potential will be on Zoom on January 29th at 6 PM. The link to register is on the website, bpwfl.org. The presenter is Michelle Philips, a nationally recognized TV personality, bestselling author, and brand amplifier, for an exclusive workshop that reveals the secrets to boosting your visibility, building your authority and scaling your business.

In order to continue our local organization, we need more participation from our members. We need a member to step up to the Secretary role. Teresa Karaffa made the job easy by providing a template for the Board minutes and our monthly meetings. If you have an interest in helping the organization, please let me or any member of the Board know.

I wish everyone a Healthy, Happy and Hurricane-Free New Year,

Your BPWEV President,
Sue Hogrefe

Wine Tasting Event - 14th Annual Passport to Your Future

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Become a Sponsor

Open Flyer

BPWEV is a non profit organization committed to enriching the lives of women through opportunities for individual development and growth. Sponsorships by local businesses/organizations of the event is encouraged. It will bring visibility and recognition to the business supporting this event.

For more information, please contact Cyndi (941-228-6883) or Debbie (941-661-6848).

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Diamond Sponsor

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsors

Sue Hogrefe

Silver Sponsor

BPW Member Esther Bird
Robinson Education Consulting, Dr. Joyce Robinson

Silent Auction Donors

Stephanie Marcusky

2024 BPW Adult Learner Scholarships

Christine Davis Memorial Scholarship

For those of us who never knew her, I’d like to take a moment to introduce the lady our scholarship awards are named after.

Christine Davis was a BPW member for over 50 years, first in New York State and later in Florida.  Her energy to promote BPW was astounding. She served in every office the organization had to offer, short of State or National President. She served on many committees and especially enjoyed being chair of the scholarship committee until ill health required her to resign from too many obligations. Her beautiful smile, her eagerness to be always willing to help and her efficient handling of any task she elected to do or help with, will not be forgotten by the BPWEV members, but will be missed.

The Christine Davis Memorial Scholarships will preserve the love and devotion she championed to achieve equality for all women.

Public Policy Platform 2023-2024

At the BPW Florida State Conference in June, 2023, the Proposed Public Policy was presented and approved. The new Public Policy for 2023 – 2024 is below:

Introduction:

Since the inception of BPW/FL in 1919, BPW/FL has always supported women’s rights. BPW/FL continues to support the ERA as a basic foundation of our Public Policy Platform, even as we understand that passing the ERA grows more difficult with the passage of time. BPW/FL firmly believes that equality of rights under the law should not be abridged or denied by the United States or by any state on account of sex, and the rights of women require constant vigilance.

Item 1: Economic Equity, Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency

BPW/FL supports public policies that:

• ensure pay equity and equal employment opportunities for all women
• promote opportunities for women-owned businesses
• promote affordable, quality dependent care
• promote Social Security and retirement reform options benefiting women
• guarantee a workplace free from harassment and discrimination

Item 2: Health Care

BPW/Fl supports public policies that:

• support the expansion of affordable care, including Medicaid, in Florida
• support funding and initiatives the cover women’s health care needs
• ensure women’s access to all health care and family planning needs, including full access to all forms of reproductive health services, education, and prescriptions

Item 3: Voting Right and Access

BPW/FL supports public policies that:

• promote free and fair elections
• are aimed at expanding voters’ access to the polls
• are designed to protect the right of all American citizens to vote in fairly drawn legislative districts