Inaugural Address

This has been a very exciting time to be in the Woman's Club of Raleigh!  Since last September, when we began anticipating the celebration of the club's centennial, we have remembered the achievements of the women that came before us and have enjoyed seeing how they might have looked!!  In the history that has been compiled by Julene McPhaul, and which we will receive this fall, she quotes Sally Southall Cotton, for whom one of our state scholarships is named...and I quote from a report written in 1906:

"Greater seriousness began to mark the meetings and the spirit of altruism was predominating over the love of pleasure and the selfish desire for personal literary culture.  Women were gaining the courage of their convictions and they no longer trembled at the sound of their own voices, but discussed issues in a sane and sensible way."

Does that describe our club women of today?

We are grateful for the accomplishments of the Centennial Committee, and look forward to the October meeting when our centennial will be celebrated!

The motto of this administration is "To serve with open hearts, open minds, and open hands."

We are privileged women, a fact that we may not often realize or acknowledge.  Many of our projects are ones that will benefit those in our community who are not as comfortable as we, or are in situations that put them at risk.

When considering our actions as a club, we can, and should, go in several directions.  We want to include self improvement and good health habits, as well as programs that will broaden our knowledge of the world in which we live.

We also need to have open hearts to feel the needs of our community.  We need to have open minds to expand the areas in which we serve and to keep our minds open to new ventures that will have long term effects on individuals and families.

The Community Improvement Project I have chosen is The Summit House.  This project has homes in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh.  Women who have committed non-violent crimes are permitted to serve their terms by living in the Summit House with their children.  They live a very structured life, learning skills that will help them to return to the community with the ability to create better homes for their families, and to be better mothers, homemakers, and workers outside the home.

Gerry Gilbert is the chair of the CIP committee and is planning many ways in which we will be able to become personally involved with these mothers and their children in the two years of our connections.

I hope you will be at the June meeting when we will meet Beth McAllister, the director of the Summit House, and some of her special residents.

We plan to continue with our favorite fund raisers: the Parade of Homes, the 40-year old Antique Show, the bridge benefit, and fashion show.  In addition to these successful efforts we will begin a new project: an American Society of Interior Designer's Showhouse.

This will be the largest project we have attempted, and we expect to expand our donations to the community.  We hope that each one of you will find a spot to work and enjoy this new adventure, as well as continuing to support our ongoing ones.

Forty years ago I had the great privilege of serving as president of the Junior Woman's Club of Raleigh.  Many of the friends that were made during that time are here as members of this club.  It is very humbling to be in this position, but it is also very exciting to be part of a group of eager, talented women who are so full of wonderful plans for our years ahead.  How fortunate we are to be led by this group and to know that we will be able to participate in all of these projects that will benefit our community.

We are proud of our members who participate in federation activities on the district, state, and national level, as well as you who serve in other community groups.

A member is happiest when she becomes involved in some particular project or event, where she is able not only to contribute her skills and efforts, but also to become better acquainted with more of her sister members.  We know the phrase, "you get out of anything what you put into it!"

We know that we will continue to put a lot of ourselves into the future of the Woman's Club of Raleigh, and we know our community will be better served by our efforts.

Thank you.