Renata Soto, our Woman of the Year

Co-founder of Conexión Américas, Renata Soto will be honored as the club’s Woman of the Year at its spring fund-raiser luncheon, Step Up:  It’s a Charity Affair, on May 3^rd at the Brentwood Country Club.

Ms. Soto was named chairwoman of the National Council of La Raza in 2015, an organization founded in 1968, that represents nearly 300 affiliates, including community based organizations in 41 states, providing education, housing, workforce development and other services to families across the country.  As the first Central American and Tennessean to fill the position of chairwoman and as co-founder of Conexión Américas , a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Latino families realize their aspirations for social and economic advancement via integration into the Middle Tennessee community,   Ms. Soto is clearly representative of the “Unity in Diversity” motto of GFWC.

For the past 6 years the club has chosen a non-member to honor for her activities to better our greater community.  Prior honorees have been Linda Lynch, City of Brentwood Community Relations Director; Joyce Keistler, Director of the Martin Center; Susan Leathers, prior Editor and Co-Owner Brentwood Home Page, Franklin Home Page and BrentWord Communications; Linda Jackson, Executive Director of BRIDGES; Nancy Osman, community volunteer and Director of Ty2 Foundation, and  Jennifer Wolcott, community volunteer with the American Red Cross (Natchez Trace Chapter) and the Oasis Center.

Tickets for the luncheon are $50 and can be obtained by contacting the club treasurer Kathy Casey via email address:  edkathkc1@att.net or telephone @ 615-500-2149.

Brentwood Environmental Stewardship Award

We Won!!!

A lovely trophy on recycled wood was presented at the 2016 Arbor Day festivities to our club for its Conservation programs and efforts on behalf of the city of Brentwood.

President Paula Uhlir, Conservation Community Service chairman Lisa Ward accepted.

Just this past year our club has:
       Assisted the Brentwood Tree Commission with bagging 4000 trees for distribution on Arbor Day at the local schools and library. 

         Responded to a Keep Williamson Beautiful request for volunteers to distribute re-cycling supplies at an event held on the grounds of Carnton Plantation during summer concerts.

    Manned a Keep Williamson Beautiful information and activity booth at the Williamson County Fair in August, distributing literature on re-cycling and assisting children with a re-cycling project.

      We picked up litter from our “Adopt-a-Mile” area twice.

    Researched various options for a recycling project and completed our project with the purchase of a recycling station for the Leiper’s Fork Recreation Center.  We had already reached an agreement with a Girl Scout troop for them to install and maintain it.

    Supported Owls' Hill and Happy Tales with donations.
    In support of EARTH Day 2015, members read an environmental-friendly book to second graders at a local elementary school and enlisted their respective promises to promote "reduce, re-cycle, and re-use" in their homes.  This Enviromental Reading program is a collaboration project with Keep Williamson Beautiful.

And, over the past 3 years, planned, installed and dedicated a "butterfly garden" at Owen's Chapel on Franklin Road in coordination with the Brentwood Garden Club.

       

    

Step Up: It's a Charity Affair May 3rd

Our annual fund-raiser, “Step Up:  It’s a Charity Affair”, will be held at the Brentwood Country Club on May 3.  Doors open at 10am.  Public invited.  Tickets are $50 and available by contacting our treasurer Kathy Casey by email address edkathkc1@att.net or telephone @ 615-500-2149.

Entertainment provided by Dove Award-winning recording artist Solveig Leithaug.  Hesitant to admit that she is an internationally loved singer-songwriter and masterful guitar player, Solveig has fourteen solo recordings, including her newest release Finding Home, and three best-selling children’s CD’s to her credit.  Her music is a brilliant blend of heart and art and Solveig is consistently breaking new ground with each release.

Fashion show by Dillard’s and a fun day for all!

We have our key to Franklin's Old Old Jail!

After hearing a presentation about the renovations in process for Franklin's Old, Old Jail by Mary Pearce, executive director of the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County, at our January meeting, members voted to become involved.  We had budgeted dollars for a conservation community improvement project for this year and today our president Paula Uhlir, Conservation Chairman Lisa Ward, treasurer Kathy Casey and board members Gail Miles, Jean Hairston, and Liz Martin delivered our first payment towards obtaining becoming a "Key Club" member to Mary Pearce, took a tour of the jail, and picked out our key!  What a wonderful historic preservation project and tourist attraction for our county this is!!!

Check out details on the Old, Old Jail with this link:  http://historicfranklin.com/old-old-jail/

Seeking Nominations for Woman of the Year

For the past 7 years the Brentwood Woman’s Club has selected a Brentwood resident, to honor as their Woman of the Year.  Nominations are due by March 1 and can be submitted to club via email or mailed to the club at PO Box 964, Brentwood, TN. 37024.

Nomination Criteria:

All nominees must be residents of Williamson County, Tennessee, or any of the adjacent counties of Davidson, Rutherford, Marshall, Maury, Hickman, Dickson, or Cheatham. You may nominate as many women as you like. Use a separate form for each Nominee.

Prior honorees have been Linda Lynch, City of Brentwood Community Relations Director; Joyce Keistler, Director of the Martin Center; Susan Leathers, prior Editor and Co-Owner Brentwood Home Page, Franklin Home Page and BrentWord Communications; Linda Jackson, Executive Director of BRIDGES; Nancy Osman, community volunteer and Director of Ty2 Foundation, Jennifer Wolcott, community volunteer with the American Red Cross (Natchez Trace Chapter) and the Oasis Center, and Vicky Smith, Senior manager, Corporate Social Responsibility for Nissan North America.

Submit all nominations via email to brentwoodwomansclub@gmail.com or mail to GFWC Brentwood Woman’s Club, PO Box 964, Brentwood, TN 37024.

Include:    

            Your Name:

Phone number

Email address: 

Name of Nominee: 

Phone number: 

Email address: 

Nominee’s principal occupation and/or area of volunteerism:

Please answer, as best you can, the following questions to help us assess why your nominee should be BWC’s  Woman of the Year for 2016:.

  

1.What significant contributions has your Nominee made to Williamson County, the state of Tennessee, or our country on the national scene during the past year?

Please Highlight lifetime contributions and their cumulative benefits to communities and individuals.

   

2. If your Nominee’s community contributions are in conjunction with her occupation, how has she gone beyond what is required in her occupation, so as to contribute altruistically to the community? 

3. Describe the extent to which your Nominee may have identified an unmet need in the community, met that need, and created new value, or noticeable positive change, as a result of her contributions.

Celebrated Winners of Local Poetry & Short Story...Jan. 30, 2016

                             GFWC Brentwood Woman's Club Poetry Contest Winners for 2015

 Category 2:  Jaya Gupta, Scales Elementary; Category 3:  1st Place:  Robert Haukohl, homeschool;  2nd Place:  Nyah Standfield, homeschool; 3rd Place:  Drew Estes, Sunset Middle
Category 4:  1st Place:  Alyssa Parker, Ravenwood; 2nd Place:  Hannah Hubin, homeschool; 3rd Place: (tie)  Lina Beach, Franklin High and Michael Hosale, Ravenwood

                            GFWC Brentwood Woman's Club Short Story Contest Winners for 2015

Category 2:  1st Place:  Lauren Stockdale, Grassland Elementary; 2nd Place:  Rhys Clark, Scales Elementary;  3rd Place:  Rachel Clark, Scales Elementary
Category 3:  1st Place:  Lauren Smith, Page Middle;  2nd Place:  Joseph Feduccia, Sunset Middle
Category 4:  1st Place:  Ashleigh Tyler, Summitt High;   2nd Place:  Megan Carneal, Franklin High;   3rd Place:  Hannah Hubin, homeschool

On January 30 at the Brentwood Library, winners, parents,grand-parents and friends gathered to celebrate the winners of the General Federation of Women's Clubs 2015 Youth Poetry and Short Story contests at the local level.  Entries were received in October and judged in November.  In December the first place winning entries were forwarded to our GFWC Music City District and GFWC of Tennessee for further judging.  District winners will be announced at our district meeting in March, 2016, and the state winners will be announced in April at our state annual meeting.  First place winning entries at the state level will be submitted to GFWC International for which winners will be announced in June at GFWC's annual convention in Baltimore, Md.

Operation Smile 2016

Several years ago BWC members Liz Allman and Linda Orellana organized the first Operation Smile event in which fabric is donated to make gowns, dolls, totes and other needed items for young cleft palate patients around the world.

Since then it has blossomed into a partnership with Latter Day Saint women from the Nashville Tennessee Stake, the New Neighbors League of Nashville, and friends and neighbors of all of these service-minded organizations.  This year we even had a pre-dental student volunteer who read about the event on the Brentwood Homepage.

Today we were able to accomplish a lot with all these women working together.  We stuffed and stitched up 40 pre-sewn smile dolls.*

This is how Operation Smile uses the dolls.  The patients draw pictures of themselves on the blank dolls with their new smiles.  Doesn't this just make YOU smile?!  Go here to make a personal donation to bless a child with a happier smile.

 (source)

We made 58 gowns.  Think of all the loving hands who have touched these little gowns.  We hope the children who wear them will feel this love.

We made 45 pairs of armbands - 90 pieces.  They are used as splints to keep the children from touching their wounds after their surgeries.

We made 15 no-sew blankets.  Again, think of all the loving hands that have touched these blankets.

We could not have pulled this off without all the wonderful volunteers who watched the children of some of these helpers.  Thank you so much!

Very soon we will post the final stats for this event.  There are still a few people working on finishing up a few things.