Paint It Forward - Sep 27, 2025

Paint it Forward flyer (see event description for details)

When:
Saturday, Sepember 27th, 2-4 pm

Location:
Englewood Chamber of Commerce, 601 S Indiana Ave

Cost:
$35

Food & Beverage provided. Price includes wine glass and painting supplies.

A benefit for the Business and Professional Women of Englewood & Venice.

RSVP:
Call 941-350-2894

Pay in advance or at the door.

 

Dianne M. Ryan - Speaker on September 16, 2025

Dianne Ryan

Greetings!! I’m Dianne M. Ryan, a resident of North Port and Licensed Florida Title Agent in the North Port office of LYONS TITLE & TRUST, proudly serving Southwest Florida. I’m committed to making every closing smooth and stress-free for buyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals. I/We truly value the trust of our clients and colleagues. I/We would greatly appreciate any referrals. “We open at 9 and close all day”

 

Make a Dinner Meeting Reservation

September 2025 - President's Message

Happy Fall BPWEV’s Sisters,

I am so excited to announce our membership is growing, and we are planning a new fundraiser to be held at Englewood Chamber of Commerce on September 27th from 2-4 PM. The title is “Paint It Forward.” We will be selling tickets for $35 to include a wine glass to paint and keep, refreshments of crackers, cheese, fruit, veggie tray, cookies, and of course there will be some wine as well. There will be 50-50 and prizes to raffle off. We are trying to keep our cost down, therefore, we are asking our members to donate an appetizer, or light finger food, paper products, or if this is not possible a monetary donation works as well. We are still planning our 15th annual Passport Wine Tasting, but probably not until January.

We have (2) new members that signed up at our August meeting. Linda Bone and Linda Henry. They are on the Board Members of Restoring Oaks, a faith based non-profit community alliance to prevent and end human sex trafficking. We are happy to have you in our local organization.

One of our new members, Dianne Ryan, a title agent from Lyons Title & Trust in North Port, will be our speaker for September. Lyons Title & Trust LLC is a family owned, local independent title company, whose primary purpose is to provide the highest level of service possible for their customers. They are family- owned and managed by real estate attorneys with over 65 years of experience.

Our meeting is on Tuesday, September 16th at 5:30 at Artur’s Restaurant in Englewood. Hope to see you all there.

Best Regards,
Sue Hogrefe, BPWEV President

2025 BPW Adult Learner Scholarships

scholarship graduation

The Business and Professional Women of Englewood and Venice (BPWEV) are offering Adult Learner Scholarships in the amount $1,000! An Adult Learner is a Woman who is currently enrolled in or re-entering College or a Technical Training Program. Applicant must identify as female and be a resident of Charlotte or Sarasota County.

The deadline for mailing applications has been extended to May 16, 2025.

Please review the Scholarship Information, and follow the directions for submitting your application:

2025 Scholarship Information

2025 Scholarship Application

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

Business & Professional Women of Englewood and Venice
P.O. Box 611, Englewood, FL 34295
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.