Learn About United Way’s Impact on the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County Community

Women’s Forum (formerly Working Women’s Forum) will meet Thursday, June 12, from 12 noon – 1pm at the Holiday Inn, 1400 E. Market Street, Harrisonburg. The luncheon speaker will be Beth Bland, Development Director for United Way.

Bland will give a brief history of the local United Way, and then will focus on the agency’s community impact. Her talk will include how United Way invests the money donated to it and the programs United Way helps to fund.

Beth Bland joined the United Way in August 2007 after being employed at Rockingham Memorial Hospital for 22 years. She spent her last eight years at RMH coordinating the Lifeline and Senior Advantage programs. Prior to joining the United Way, Beth was very active in senior issues, serving as President of the ElderAlliance, Chair of the Education workgroup producing Season’s Plus (a publication for seniors and caregivers), co-host of Issues in Aging (a monthly radio show with Jim Britt, WSVA), and as a volunteer for the United Way Community Investment Team: Enriching the Lives of Older Adults. She now spends her days advancing the common good and working to make lasting changes in our community. She says, “I believe that if you reach out a hand to one, you influence the condition of all.”

The meeting is open to the public, but reservations are required no later than Tuesday, June 10. The cost to attend, which includes lunch and the program, is $20 guests/$15 members.

To reserve, email Lois Carter Fay at LCF@MarketingIdeaShop.com, call 540.820.3840 or register online: Members: http://tinyurl.com/2hqqgk / Guests: http://tinyurl.com/2fjsay.

About Women’s Forum: The Women’s Forum is a women’s networking group for women entrepreneurs, business managers, nonprofit leaders and ambitious women who strive for a better life, both at work and home.

For more information contact:
Lois Carter Fay, APR
Executive Director
Women’s Forum
1950 Buttonwood Court
Harrisonburg, VA 22802
Tel: +1 540 820 3840
Email: LCF@MarketingIdeaShop.com

~Lois

Audio Press Conference Release October 17

A comprehensive report card to be released this month by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), will rank all 50 states and the District of Columbia on women’s health. Experts from NWLC and OHSU will discuss the report’s findings during a teleconference briefing Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m. EDT.

Making the Grade for Women’s Health 2007 is the third in a series of triennial report cards analyzing state and national performance on 27 benchmarks for women’s health, based on objectives set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2010 agenda. The benchmarks include health insurance coverage, obesity rates, mammograms and other cancer and preventive health screenings, smoking rates, diabetes rates and maternal mortality rates among others. The report also analyzes whether state policies are sufficient to meet these key women’s health objectives.

To learn more about how the nation or your state fared on these critical women’s health measures, we invite you to participate in a briefing during which all of the report’s findings will be discussed.

AUDIO PRESS CONFERENCE
Wednesday, Oct. 17
1 p.m. EDT

Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 877-857-6161

Password: 3110455

SPEAKERS: Marcia Greenberger, Co-President, NWLC

Judy Waxman, Vice President for Health, NWLC

Michelle Berlin, MD, MPH, Oregon Health Sciences University

The embargoed report will be available online on Oct. 17 at www.nwlc.org.

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The National Women’s Law Center is a non-profit organization that has been working since 1972 to advance and protect women’s legal rights. The Center focuses on major policy areas of importance to women and their families including economic security, education, employment and health, with special attention given to the concerns of low-income women. For more information on the Center, visit: www.nwlc.org.

~Lois

We went to war in powder blue armed only with a bag of games and a smile…

Young, adventurous, idealistic and committed, we were a breath of fresh air in the dusty firebases and sweaty base camps of Vietnam. We were the Donut Dollies whose job was to distract U.S. soldiers on the front lines with games, songs and a listening ear.

Heirs to the recreation program begun in WWII, we Vietnam girls didn’t have donut machines (still the name stuck). But we were armed … with a never-ending smile, a listening ear and a collection of silly games. And our mission? Deliver a touch of home to the combat zone.

Join me on Tuesday evening, September 18th at 7 pm for the screening of A Touch of Home: The Vietnam War’s Red Cross Girls (47-minutes). The screening will be in the No Sweat Fitness store behind the Mall near the Thai Café and Heavenly Ham. Bring your own chair! Kool-Aid will be served (since this is what we served to the guys in Vietnam).

Reservations a must (fire regulations, doncha know). RSVP by email by Friday, September 14,(write ATOH in the subject line) or call me, Holley Watts, at 433-3677. If you get my voicemail, please leave your name, your phone number and number in your party. There will be a free-will contributions bucket at the door so I can show it at Court Square Theatre with some proper promotion.

See you soon!

Holley Watts, Donut Dolly
American Red Cross SRAO
DaNang, Chu Lai, An Khe, Cu Chi
Vietnam Sept ’66-Sept ‘67

~Lois

As a freelance writer and publisher of a weekly marketing email newsletter, Brainy Tidbits, I am often sent books to review. Most of them, quite frankly, do not hold my interest. But Dylan’s Story by Cristin and Joe Fergus is an amazing story of one family’s journey to learn about and heal their child of autism.

Thankfully, I do not have a child with this problem. I do have a friend whose child has been stricken, however. I have also raised two children with sensitivities to dyes, preservatives and chemicals as well as various food allergies.

This book clearly discusses how to eliminate these toxins from a person’s environment and how to move toward a healthier lifestyle that includes whole grains, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables, and organic foodstuffs. Several recipes and numerous resources are included in the book, making it an essential reference book for anyone dealing with food and toxin sensitivities.

It is written in an easy-to-read style and discusses the ordeal these parents went through for almost 6 years before healing their son. I highly recommend this book, especially if you have an autistic child. It may be your way to heal your own child.

~Lois

Summer is almost over and it’s time to get back in the swing of things. This month’s meeting is a Focused Networking event, designed to help you reconnect with other members and friends and meet new ones.

We’ll also have a discussion about what topics and presentations interest you, so come prepared to tell us who you’d like to present programs and what you’d like to hear about. Bring names and phone numbers, too! We are always trying to make Women’s Forum better, and you can help by providing ideas. No committees, no obligations. Just your ideas during the meeting. That’s pretty easy, isn’t it?

So bring plenty of business cards, flyers, marketing materials, etc. Come prepared to tell everyone who you are and “everything” you do in 60 seconds or less (30 seconds is even better!). Bring your friends and business associates, too! They want to meet new people and expand their businesses and friendships, don’t you agree?

RSVP by Tuesday, Sept. 11, noon:
lcarterfay@gmail.com or 540.820.3840

Women’s Forum Meeting
Thursday, September 13
11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Spotswood Country Club
Harrisonburg, VA

$15 Members
$20 Guests

~Lois

Sorry I haven’t created any entries for you since July. I do have a good excuse, actually 3 excuses. We’ll see if they pass muster.

First, I was out of town at a conference. I took my niece Roni with me on a business trip to Vancouver, B.C. We managed to have a good time even though I had some obligations at the conference every day and neither of us was feeling well.

It was the ISPO (International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics) conference, which I attended because my job at the Mine Action Information Center at James Madison University has given me the opportunity to compile a catalog of adaptive technologies for landmine victims. Our researcher, Maureen Morton, and I thought we might discover some good information for the project and possibly find some interested donors as well. Only time will tell if our efforts were productive.

I came back home August 4 and the afternoon of August 5 found me in the hospital with angina, which later developed into a full-blown heart attack that required emergency surgery to implant a stent in my LAD artery. They kept me flat on my back for three days, then finally let me get up late at night on Wednesday. I went home on Thursday.

The following week my niece, Nessa (17 and pregnant) was hospitalized off and on most of the week with a kidney infection. Then she went into labor at 2:30 am on August 17. Baby Amelia Kaye Bowman arrived at 8:28 am. Mom and baby are doing great. In fact, Nessa delivered on Friday and started Blue Ridge Community College the following Monday!

On August 23, I went back into surgery for another cathetization, expecting to have another stent put in the second blocked artery. Amazingly, the artery had cleared itself and nothing was required. So now I’m on six different medications each day and following a diabetic diet (having also been diagnosed with this disease while in the hospital!).

I’m back at work about six hours a day. I still get tired, mostly from the medications, but I’m doing very well. I started cardiac rehab at the hospital last Monday. They promise to whip me back into shape.

I plan to avoid having any more heart attacks. They hurt!

Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes. It seems they worked quite well.

~Lois

You can now buy Nancy’s books directly from her through her new website. Check it out:

Nancy Bondurant Jones’ Website

~Lois

Linda Hoover announced that as part of the downtown revitalization, the businesses have started First Fridays. Every first Friday of the month, Harrisonburg businesses will have art and music downtown from 5 pm -7 pm. This will be followed by Fridays on the Square which alternates music and film each Friday during the summer. Linda invites you to join in the fun. The next First Friday will be August 3.

Anne Stephens was at the July meeting, feeling much better than she has in awhile. She said she had another surgery on her heart and it went very well. Please continue to hold Anne in the Light.

Milla Sue Wisecarver announced that she is creating an Inspirational Ranch space in her house. It is designed to allow people to have a creative outlet and get to know one another. Everyone is invited to contact her to join the fun. She also invites people to contact her regarding the life-changing program she participated in, Landmark Education.

New member Kathleen Kelley of No-Sweat Fitness announced she is presenting an all-day Nutrition and Fitness program (9 am – 3pm) on either September 29 or October 8. Contact Kathleen for more details.

September 29 is also the day for the International Festival.

Holley Watts announced that her documentary film, A Touch of Home, the Vietnam War’s Red Cross Girls, is completed and she has a rough cut of it available for viewing. A show of hands let us know that members would be interested in viewing this 45-minute DVD. It will be shown on September 18 at 7 pm at No-Sweat Fitness (in the same strip mall as Heavenly Ham). Please contact Holley if you would like an invitation to the event.

~Lois

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

“House” for instance, is feminine: “la casa.”
“Pencil,”however, is masculine: “el lapiz.”

A student asked, “What gender is ‘computer’?”

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether “computer” should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men’s group decided that “computer” should definitely be of the feminine gender (”la computadora” ), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women’s group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine (”el computador”) , because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can’t think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

The women won!

~Lois

Now’s the time to reserve for our July 12 meeting!

The July 12 meeting of Women’s Forum will feature Brenda Black, CTP, Tourism Manager for Harrisonburg Tourism & Visitor Services. She will discuss “Fun Things To Do In And Around Harrisonburg,” introducing us to some new ideas and a few old favorites. Learn about Friday on the Square (Harrisonburg), Jazz in the Park (Staunton), local and regional museums and hiking opportunities, as well as what events are coming up in the next few weeks.

Women’s Forum Monthly Meeting
Thursday, July 12
12N-1PM

Brenda Black, CTP, Tourism Manager
Harrisonburg Tourism & Visitor Services
“Fun Things To Do In & Around Harrisonburg”

Meet the WF Member: Margo McIntire

Members: $15
Guests: $20

Please reserve by July 10, noon:
Reserve online: Click on above blue link
Call Lois: 540.820.3840
Email Lois: lcf @ marketingideashop.com

~Lois