Pansy Post

Pansy Breakfast

We had a beautiful morning for Pansy Breakfast on April 11, 2009.  Many thanks to Maggie Bailey for being such a gracious hostess and making us feel so welcome in her lovely home.  Eleven Deltas enjoyed a delicious breakfast and had a wonderful time visiting with each other.  The big news came while we were all eating ~ Debbie  Waterson announced that she and Pete are expecting their third child in September! What a wonderful surprise!  Congratulations to them both! 

After breakfast, we had Officer Installation and I'm pleased to announce our new Officers for 2009 - 2011:  

President:  Bette Chwalisz

Vice President:  Linda Ames

Secretary:  Maggie Bailey

Treasurer:  Blaine Brannon

Philanthropy/CCC:  Kim Holinbeck

After Installation, Jennifer Kolarczyk took the opportunity to thank our out-going officers for all their hard work the past two years.

Jennifer then shared member's comments from our survey letter, which provided direction for our discussion about chapter communications, meeting topics and frequency, and CCC.  We had some great ideas, and the discussion was all very positive and productive.  The new officers will be able to use this feedback in their planning for next year.

Before we adjourned, Kim Holinbeck, CCC, handed out Spring Shop and Share Coupons for Countryside Flowershop and Garden Center, and asked everyone to please mark their calendars for May 24 & May 25.  This is a wonderful way to support out Philanthropy while enjoying some gardening!

 

                                    

Upcoming Chapter Events

Mark you calendars for the following upcoming events:

May Lunch Bunch ~ Wednesday, May 20 at 12:30 p.m. at Maggie Bailey's home.

Spring Shop & Share ~  Sunday, May 24 & Monday, May 25 at Countryside to support CCC.  Contact Kim Holinbeck for more Shop and Share coupons.

June Lunch Bunch ~ TBD

Camp Courage Clean-up Day ~ Thursday, July 9 at 1:30 p.m.  YMCA Camp Duncan.

New Officer Training ~ TBD

A Bouquet of Pansies to . . .

Linda Ames ~ for hosting our February Wine Tasting Party.  Linda's home is gorgeous, and it was very fun tasting and voting on different wines. The winning wine was a Pinot Noir.  We also welcomed our newest member, Heather Everst, a recent graduate of Lake Forest College!

Maggie Bailey ~ for hosting Pansy Breakfast in April.  Everything was lovely, and each guest received a beautiful potted pansy!

Bette Chwalisz ~ Our Chapter's founder and first president, who has agreed to be our President again, after 21 years!

Jenny Streit, Rachel Hockemeyer, and Debbie Waterson ~ Our Nominating Committee, who worked so diligently in trying to slate our new officers.  A special thanks to Jenny for writing the survey letter to our chapter.  Great job!

HAPPY NEW YEAR DELTAS!

Whew - time is just flying by!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season filled with much love, laughter and happiness! 

Our last few meetings of 2008 were lots of fun!  We had a lovely dinner at our Founder's Day Celebration at Crystal Lake Country Club on November 13.  In addition to our traditional candle lighting ceremony, we also honored Becky Kay as our newest Silver Circle Member!  After dinner, Veronica Campbell, Fraternity Ed., entertained us with a very creative Tri-Delta Jeopardy Power Point game - complete with music and everything!  It was very fun, and quite competitive!  At the end of evening, Kim Holinbeck, our new CCC Chair,  talked about the Tri-Delta sharing tree for our CCC family, and asked everyone to select an ornament and purchase that gift for the family.  Our chapter embraced this new idea,  and together we  helped make Christmas a little brighter for the Williams family.  Check out Kim's article below with all the details!

On November 19, a few of us enjoyed our first Lunch Bunch gathering at 1776 Restaurant in Crystal Lake.  Lunch was delicious and we had a great time catching up with each other!  We have another one coming up in January!

In December, we didn't let the cancellation of the play or the bitter cold put a damper on things!  Seven of us met at the Courthouse Grill on the
Woodstock Square and enjoyed lively conversation and an interesting dinner!

If you haven't had the chance to attend one of our meetings this year, remember that you're always welcome!  Take a look at our upcoming calendar and plan to join us sometime!  We always have a lot of fun!

Philanthropy Update

Many, many thanks to everyone who participated in our first CCC Holiday Giving Tree.  I was able to meet with Barb Williams (Rachel's Mom) on December 9 while the kids were in school, and she and I both got a bit tearful when I arrived with my arms filled with all your gifts, which totaled $650 in gift cards and $300 in toys! She was so excited by all the gifts, which helped them give the kids everything they wanted for Christmas, as well as gifts for Greg's (her brother) birthday.  They even got the kids a Wii! Barb has had a tough couple of Christmas' and was not looking forward to the holidays this year, but it sounds like this one turned out wonderful, and we helped with that!  She sends us her sincere thanks and gratitude for thinking of them and being so generous during these difficult times!

Rachel is currently ill with a fever, which they believe is just the flu going around.  She also is still suffering from a rash, but they seen to be getting it a bit under control.  Other than that, she is in school and doing well.  Please continue to hold her in your prayers that she may remain in remission!

Thanks again for your generous donations and gifts.  It was truly wonderful to be able to support this family is this way.  Keep your eye out for our upcoming Shop & Share Flower Sale in the spring.  With this cold and snowy weather, I cannot wait for Spring to come!

Here is the link to Rachel's Care Page:  http://www.carepages.com/carepages/ourlittleprincess/updates/1921392

Kim Holinbeck

Welcome Back Deltas!

I've always loved the Fall season.  I love shopping for school supplies and the smell of crayons. I love seeing the kid's excitement on their first day back at school.  I love the change in the weather and the feel of a good pair of jeans on a cool day.  I love taking walks and bike rides and seeing the leaves changing colors.  And I love watching my kids in all their fall sports and other activities.   

I also love Fall because it's the kickoff to our annual Tri-Delta gatherings. It's always fun getting together with old friends, while welcoming new friends into our group!  We have some wonderful programs planned this year, including a "Sip & Salad" Dinner Party in September, Founder's Day Dinner, daytime Lunch Bunch" get togethers, a Holiday gathering, Pansy Breakfast in April, and more.  I hope many of you will be able to join us for one or more of our meetings.

Our Alumnae Chapter has a lot to offer everyone, including recent graduates, stay-at-home moms, and professionals.  We enjoy getting together socially, celebrating each other's joys and milestones, supporting each other in times of need and sorrow, and  volunteering together to support our philanthropies.  Please take the time to scroll down this newsletter and read all that's happening in our chapter and with our members. 

I look forward to seeing all of you at our Kickoff Dinner on September 25!

Delta love,

Jennifer Kolarczyk, President 

Good News to Share

Congratulations to Maggie Bailey's son, Cullen, who is getting married on Saturday, September 13 to Colleen at the Bailey's lovely home!  Maggie is not only hosting the wedding, but also the rehearsal dinner on Friday evening!  Best wishes to the new couple!

Deltas to Rachel Hockemeyer, who has a new job.  She is now teaching 6th Grade Language Arts at Harvard Middle School, which is exactly what she wanted to teach, and her commute is much shorter!

Congratulations to Mary Frazier's daughter, Julia, who graduated from Central High School in May and is now a Freshman at the University of Iowa.  Mary said "Julia has never been happier, and she just pledged a sorority, Alpha Xi Delta!"

Deltas to Bette Chwalisz, who is now job sharing her Kindergarten class part-time, and is also back working part-time in Speech Pathology.  She enjoys having a few afternoons off each week to help take care of her Mom and run errands!

Congratulations to Kara Curran's daughter, Lara, who graduated from Prairie Ridge High School in May and is now attending Colby College in Waterville, Maine.  Kara said "she loves it there and is happy to be playing on their tennis team." 

Deltas to Heather Everst on her graduation from Lake Forest College.  Heather is now working in Chicago at Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), which is a consortium of liberals arts colleges, including Lake Forest, which run study abroad programs for the schools.  Way to go!

Congratulations to Debbie Waterson on her completion of several certification courses in Emergency/Trauma Nursing.  She will soon begin work towards her TNS, Trauma Nurse Specialist certification!  Also, congrats to Debbie and her husband, Pete, on their newest venture - they are part owners in the new SportsCity Academy scheduled to open this November in Woodstock. It's a sports (baseball, softball)training facility.  Check out their website at www.sportscityacademy.com!

If you have good news that you'd like to share with our group, please email Jennifer Kolarczyk the information and she'll post it for you!

A Bouquet of Pansies to . . .

Sue Hochmuth for hosting our Pansy Brunch last spring.  While we had a small crowd, everyone had a lovely time!

Linda Bowen for organizing our Spring Shop and Share at Countryside, which raised $225 for CCC!  I'd also like to thank Linda for all her hard work and dedication as our Philanthropy Chair this past year.  She will be sorely missed in this role!

Mary Frazier, her daughter Erin, Linda Bowen and her kids, for volunteering this summer at Camp Courage.  They helped clean up the art supplies and cabin, which is always so appreciated by the counselors!

Bette Chwalisz and Blaine Brannon for representing our Chapter at Convention this summer in Chicago.  They had a great time and learned a lot.  They were also quite pleased when our Chapter received the Outstanding Alumnae Philanthropy and Service Award! 

If you would like to send Pansies to someone in our group, just let Jennifer Kolarczyk know and she will post it for you!

Calendar of Events

From our Kickoff Dinner to our Pansy Brunch, we have many wonderful events planned this year.  So mark your calendars and save the dates.  I will send out an Evite 2-3 weeks prior to each event.  I kindly ask you to respond to these Evites at your earliest convenience, so that our hostesses can plan accordingly.  Thanks!

I look forward to a fun year!

Sue Hochmuth, Vice President

Our Chapter Goals for 2008 - 2009

Membership:

*  Have 22 dues paying members

*  Provide more personal communication to our members

Programming:

*  Schedule at least one new event

*  Offer daytime and evening programs

*  Recognize our Golden Circle Members

CCC:   

*  Support a local McHenry County family with a child fighting cancer

*  Provide financial support towards cancer related camps

*  Participate in at least one volunteer effort

Collegiate Relations: 

* Support our local McHenry County Tri-Delta Collegiates by continuing the Big Sister    Program

* Support a Collegiate Chapter by donating a "Sisterhood Night" gift basket