Recognizing our PAWC Members as Volunteers

From Carolann Garafola, Pres. PAWC : April 2021

Dear PAWC Members;

April is National Volunteer Month and I wanted to take the time to thank each and every one of you who have continued to support our Mission (1964) "….to raise money for scholarships for students at SCF, Manatee Technical College….and to provide support to local charities through cash donations and supplies".

Each and every one of you has made a difference in the world of women moving on with their lives, adults in need and children in need…. I THANK YOU ALL FOR THOSE WHO HAVE SENT IN THEIR DUES, MADE A MONETARY DONATION TO FUND OUR SCHOLARSHIPS AND WILL BRING SUPPLIES TO OUR MAY 14^TH LUNCHEON.

We are back to in-person luncheons; and we hope to see each of you at this time of renewal.

I also want to thank our Volunteer PAWC Board and Chairpersons who during this year did the following as a TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More):

• Met every first Friday of the Month via Zoom; and made decisions as a group in a collaborative manner;
• Helped to Fundraise for our Scholarship Fund; and worked amicably with SCF regarding what we could fund for this year for students;
• Answered the many email and phone questions regarding our fundraising efforts;
• Worked to get a Florida Approved License to sell raffle tickets;
• Organized Zoom Mix and Mingles, a GREAT way in which many of us got to know each other through our stories;
• Continued with our PR for local papers and the E-Breeze as well as kept our history;
• Organized a viable and rich program for the luncheons, which could be used for next year;
• Worked with PACC to schedule all the luncheons;
• Handled our membership drive and got members who had left to return as members;
• Kept copious minutes of all meetings;
• Managed our finances, while working with our accountant and provided P & L reports;
• Helped to raise money for our Directory so that it was totally funded with ads;
• Published the Directory in a timely fashion;
• Updated our Website with new information and new photos;
• Kept in contact with our Charities as we did not have the funds this year to distribute;
• Got our email blasts reviewed and out in a timely fashion; as well as now handling the luncheon reservations;
• Managed a review of potential scholarship students;
• Put forth the new slate of officers for 2021-22;
• Prepared for the 50/50 for our upcoming luncheon;
• Wrote Thank You notes out to all of you who donated to the Scholarship Fund.
• Kept in telephone contact with those members who do not have email; and
• Mailed out a few Directories to those who did not return to Florida during this shutdown.

In conclusion, this operation is not a One-Woman Operation, but took a host of VOLUNTEERS, who took time from their own personal lives to continue with the mission of PAWC. We hope that this year, as we experienced, will never occur again. What it did show is that we can rise above it in spite of the COVID challenges and the disconnected experiences we all had during 2020-21. I personally thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President this year. I look forward to new and challenging goals for our club and getting to know each and every one of you during the upcoming activities for the Palm Aire Women’s Club and to continue to work with the new board.

Sincerely,

Carolann Garafola, Pres. PAWC

Dear PAWC Member,

Wednesday, November 11, 2020 is Veterans Day. It is the day we honor all our men and women who have served in defense of this nation. Your PAWC Executive Board, Directors and Chairs want to acknowledge and recognize those who stepped up when they needed to fight for our country. If someone in your family served, please put it up on our PAWC Facebook with a photo or even just a comment to recognize their sacrifice.

They came from small towns and big cities. They came from all walks of life. They were of various nationalities, race and religious backgrounds. Whether they were drafted or enlisted, they were the men and women who left their families, and answered the call to duty.

Each in their own way contributed to securing our nation’s freedom. They knew that 'freedom is not free' and they were willing to pay the price for that freedom, "all gave some, some gave all." They are our veterans. They fought on our land to establish the United State of America, they fought all over the world from the freezing mountains of Korea to the steaming jungles of Asia, to the deserts of the middle east, some came home and some did not.

It was President Teddy Roosevelt who said, "In the final analysis, the greatness of a nation is to be measured not by the output of its industrial products, not by its material prosperity, not by the products of the farm, factory, business house, but by the products of its citizenship, by the men and women that the nation produces."

Whether they served one tour of duty, or were career military, we owe our veterans, and those men and women now serving, a debt of gratitude. Thus, we salute our veterans and thank their families. Let’s take a moment on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020 to stop, think of those men and women and be grateful that we live in these United States of America as free people. Please feel free to forward this email to those who are not PAWC members. If you have any photos of those in the Armed Services, please send them to Kim Lege to post with this letter PAWCFS@gmail.com.

Carolann Garafola Pres. PAWC