Shortly after moving to Florida, I attended my first BPW meeting.  I immediately felt a sense of connection with the woman I met and also with the mission of the organization.   I now have the honor of serving as President of BPW Englewood/Venice.

In this, my first letter, I'd like to emphasize that our focus and priorities for this year will be Equity for Women, Scholarships, Individual Development Opportunities and lastly, but very importantly increasing our membership and the visibility of our organization in the community.

Equality for Women:  I have studied the women's rights movement with great passion and my historic heroes include Alice Paul, Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  I always marveled at their bravery as they fought against humiliation and brutality to achieve the right to vote for women.  But unfortunately, we still have some unfinished business: the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.  To move beyond the sound-bites and learn more about the ERA, visit this terrific website:  www.equalrightsamendment.org.  

As residents of Florida, and as a women's advocacy organization, our voices must be heard, and we must be as fearless and dedicated as those who came before us.  Marie Rust is our local and state-wide public policy chair, and she will continue to educate and enlighten us on this effort.  We can begin to lend our support by participating in the "Women are Watching" postcard campaign.  Read more about this campaign on www.bpwev.org.

Scholarships for Women:  This has been one of the cornerstones of our local organization, and the process of selecting recipients has been a thoughtful one.   These scholarships are the primary purpose for our fundraising activities. This year we will award five scholarships:  one to a student from Venice High, one to a student from Lemon Bay High School in Englewood and three to adult learners.  The support of education for these adult learners is critical, as there is not as much grant and scholarship money available to these women.   

Karin Drury has chaired this committee and has brought her usual sense of quality and detail to the job.  She will be handing the reins over to Kate Garber-Pirio who will chair the committee beginning in July.

Individual Development Opportunities:  Personal and professional development will be strongly emphasized as a benefit to membership in BPW/EV.  You will be hearing more about this in the upcoming months.  I'm thrilled to report that Kathy Castellano has agreed to chair this effort.  There are so many talented and highly skilled people in our organization and in our community.   We will be tapping this resource and bringing an array of training and individual development opportunities to our members.

Well, we're off to a great start... with passion and vision and a great team.  Each person in this local chapter of BPW is a valued player in the picture.  My hope and my commitment is that you feel that and that your experience in BPW will enrich your life.