January 2026 - President's Message

I wish all the members of our BPWEV a very Happy New Year. The decision has been made to move our major Winetasting fundraiser to March 7th to be held 201 Venice Avenue West at Venice Wine & Coffee. Tracy Silver, the owner, has graciously agreed to the new date. Because of the holidays, we were not obtaining sponsorship or selling tickets to make the event worthwhile. Hopefully, the additional time will allow us to prepare for our major fundraising event.

Our Holiday party was held at the Towers of Venice this year. This is an independent living facility. The staff was very hospitable, and we had salad, eggplant or lasagna, and cheesecake for dessert for a cost of $15.00. We were able to BYOB for the wine if you so desired.

The speaker for our January meeting is Xavier Pena, a music therapist. We will be having our January meeting at The Towers of Venice at 2921 Jacaranda Blvd. Our cost will be 15.00 for a full dinner with dessert. It is a BYOB as far as wine goes.

Please bring any baskets, gift cards, and sponsor form with money to the January BPWEV Meeting. In order to make the Winetasting a successful event, we need all members’ participation. I am hosting a Zoom Meeting every 2 weeks for follow-up. If you have not signed up for a committee, please let me know what you would like to do.

The board will present the Bylaws of the chapter that will be voted on at the January meeting. We need a quorum, therefore please plan to attend.

Best Regards,
Sue Hogrefe, President BPWEV

Javier Pena - Speaker on January 20, 2026

Javier is a Harmony Leadership Advisor, award-winning creative director, and composer of original music for national television commercials and documentaries.

For fifteen years, Javier served as music director of a groundbreaking ensemble of singers and musicians with diverse mental and physical disabilities who became a full-performing band. Their inspiring journey was captured in the award-winning documentary "For Once in My Life," now streaming on Amazon Prime. The film was officially selected by the U.S. State Department for screening in embassies worldwide and led to a White House invitation for Javier and his band.

Building on this transformative experience, Javier created Leading in Tune®—a leadership development program that helps leaders integrate music principles into their leadership practice to help them to lead their teams like an orchestra to create a culture based on harmony.

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2025 BPW Adult Learner Scholarships

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