Category: President's Letter

Now that summer is winding down and the kids have gone back to school, it is the time of year that some of us review our goals for the rest of the year. The members of Business Professional Women of Englewood and Venice have been busy planning the rest of the year.

We are having a Membership Drive on September 13 at 5 Pm, at Lemon Bay Soap Company, 2411 South McCall Road in Englewood. Teresa Karaffa is graciously opening her shop for the event. Light refreshments will be served. BPWEV will also hold a jewelry making party at Lemon Bay Soap Company on Saturday, October 1st. Cost is $20, which covers supplies to make one piece of jewelry and refreshments. This is opened to members and friends, but you must reserve your spot on BPWEV.org website.

Our 12th Annual Wine Tasting Fundraiser is scheduled for Friday, October 28th from 5:30-8:00 PM at Rumors Wine Bar, 1807 Englewood Rd in the Lemon Bay Shopping Center. Sponsorship opportunities and tickets are available for $35 now and $40 at the door. Reservation can be made through BPWEV.org website.

Our new members have stepped up and have signed up to help with some of our other planned events. Women Helping Women program is being chaired by Jody Dazio, who has already contacted Salvation Army for the name of women who need assistance with holiday gifts for their families.

Woman of the Year is being chaired by Mary Anne Severin. Member will vote in September and the winner will be announced at the October meeting.

For the holidays Esther Bird, our president, is arranging a gift giving party for seniors at the Venice Senior Friendship Center in December. Date and time will follow soon.

We were honored to have Sheila Barry-Oliver Ed D, BPW State president, speak to us at our July meeting. Sheila filled in for the scheduled speaker who was ill. It was exciting to hear all the events that our State and Nationally are involved in. On September 26th, BPW FL will present a Zoom meeting discussing the topic of women’s suffrage. For National Business week beginning October 17th, there will be a Zoom meeting at 6:30 PM by BPW FL to talk about Women in Transition. Members can honor their favorite woman role model by dressing as them for our October 18th meeting.

At our August meeting we voted to have our women’s workshop next year. Dates and time information will be available as we continue to plan the event. BPWEV will hold our Holiday party at the Plantation on December 20th, which is our December meeting. No speaker will be at this event.

We hope our president Esther Bird is enjoying her vacation in New York with family and friends. We will try to carry on and keep busy planning all our many events for the remainder of the year.

Respectfully Submitted by,
Sue Hogrefe, Acting President