Contents

March Luncheon

From the President

February Luncheon Photos

Grapevine: News and Notes about WEC Members

Book Club

Cannon Circle

New Member: Peggy Austen

New Member: Rose Gershon

PACE

Cultural Corner

WEC Board of Directors

Luncheons and Board Meetings

March Luncheon

Date: Time:	March Luncheon Wednesday, March 21, 2007 11:30 Networking 12:00 Luncheon
Place:	Tower Club, 28th floor One Financial Plaza in theRegions Bank Building Click here for directions
Program:	Annual Membership Luncheon
Guest Cost:	Guests are FREE for this luncheon!
Menu:	Chicken Salad served over mixed greens and garnished with fresh fruit or Manhattan Filet Pasta Primavera Tiramisu
RSVP to:	Please RSVP (including your menu choice) by Friday, March 16to rsvp@wecftl.com We appreciate your RSVPs! To assist Susie administratively, please put “WEC Lunch” in the subject line.

From the President

At our February lunch we enjoyed listening to Dr Marc Aueron a cardiologist from the North Broward Hospital System who spoke about women’s heart health. Dr Aueron presented an array of statistics and some gruesome pictures to remind us that heart disease is the leading cause of death among women 55 and older. I would like to specially thank Ellen Wong for inviting Dr Aueron to speak to us.

Evie Hernandez hosted a wonderful wine tasting Cannon Circle in February. We tasted 3 white wines and 5 red wines from many different parts of the globe and ranging widely in price. Evie offers some interesting observations below! Thank you Evie for your hospitality.

We have lots of different activities for you to attend in March. First, on Wednesday March 8th Michelle Case-Tunis will host a Cannon Circle at her office in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Then Pam Dearden our VP Events is organizing a Happy Hour at the Blue Martini on Thursday the 15th. Next month, the Book Club will meet at the home of Emily Rushin on Thursday April 12th when they will talk about Bitter End by Christine Kling.

On Wednesday March 21st we will hold our Annual Membership Luncheon at the Tower Club. We had hoped to welcome Ron McGill of the Miami Metro Zoo as our speaker but unfortunately he will not be able to attend. Instead of a guest speaker we will ask several of our members to speak about their experiences as WEC members. All members are strongly encouraged to invite guests on that day who they believe might be interested in joining WEC. There is no charge for your guests for this luncheon. More information on all these events is given below.

Looking ahead to April we will have our luncheon on Thursday April 26th when our speaker will be Lori Parrish the Broward County Property Appraiser. The issue of property values and property taxes has been constantly in the news, so I expect many members will want to hear this speaker and perhaps take the chance to ask her some challenging questions.

I look forward to seeing all of you at our upcoming activities. Thanks, Vivien

February Luncheon Photos

The Executive Grapevine: news and notes about WEC members.

That Emily Rushin is getting around!  Or at least her paintings are.  Art Serve had one in the African Diaspora exhibit through February 23 - Melissa Rapkin and husband Andy were spotted at the opening reception.  Two were also in the Hollywood Community Center through February 28. 

Fort Lauderdale Main Library will have one or two "Emilys" in the Sixth Floor Gallery from March 2 through 20; then, hopefully, another one or two in the Florida Focus exhibit at ArtServe March 18 through April 6.  This last show will have an opening reception on March 22 to which you all are invited!  It's free and fun.

 All these exhibits are juried, which means you have to be accepted into them by a judge, who also gives awards to the top four or so.  It's a distinctive honor to be chosen to be part of an exhibt, even if you don't win a ribbon or cash prize, but it's also why you don't know if you'll even get into a show until it goes up.

Here is Emily’s Africa Sleeping:

Jan Bullard was just appointed to the Board of Directors of the Sunrise Chamber of Commerce.  She was recently honored by the Boys and Girls Club.  Was published in " Who's Who" and received the prestigious Pinnacle Award by the Miramar/Pembroke Pines Chamber of Commerce.

Martha Lord is involved with the Women’s Council of the Chamber's scholarship program. We are seeking additional funds so that we can give more scholarships this year, and we are hoping to distribute the applications in the next several weeks to reach women who are in need of funds to complete their college or post secondary education. Please contact Martha for more information.

Chris Guld is coming up on 4 years of living full-time in an RV. She and her husband have been spending this winter in a park in southwest Florida on the Peace River. She's looking forward to a visit from a few members of the book club for a weekend getaway in the cabins at the park. You can see her whole story at her website: www.GeeksOnTour.com - then click on Blog to see lots of photos.

Book Club

Thursday, April 12
          "Bitter End" by Christine Kling
          Emily's house

The book takes place in Fort Lauderdale and the suspense builds after an affluent entrepreneur is shot - a man who made his money on fast food restaurants and gambling boats and who was Greek.  Does this sound familiar?  The main character is Seychelle Sullivan, who inherited a tug boat from her father.  It's fun to know just where the Sailboat Bend neighborhood, Bahia Mar and The Downtowner are!

Cannon Circle

The March Cannon Circle will be hosted by Michelle Case-Tunis at 6:00 pm on March 8th

Smith Barney
350 East Las Olas Blvd., Suite 1200
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33301

Please RSVP to michelle.casetunis@smithbarney.com

We are located in the Wachovia building
on the SE corner of SE 3rd Ave and Las Olas

Directions from I-95:
Take Broward Blvd exit and go east to 3rd Ave and take a right.
Go to the second light and take a left on Las Olas.
Take your immediate first right between Samba and Timpano's and park in the parking garage in the back of the 350 building.

Take the elevator down to the first floor.  

January Cannon Circle:

Evie Hernandez reports:   My first Cannon Circle was great!  I now understand the importance of participating in it but more than just participating but being the host of one.  It gave me the opportunity to really get to know the women who join me at my home on a one to one basis, not just for business but for friendship.  I never realized how wonderful a gathering of strong, loving women could be.  I encourage all our members to first attend at least one Cannon Circle and then to host one. 

My Cannon Circle was a wine tasting and we all learned a little bit about wine, like it does not need to be expensive to be enjoyed!

New Member Profile —Peggy Austen

As a real estate professional, I pride myself on integrity, knowledge and service for my clients and in my dealings with colleagues. I am focused on helping my clients achieve their real estate goals in the South Florida market from South Beach to Southwest Ranches. As a multi-million dollar producer for Re/Max, I have been successful in promoting the industry to buyers, sellers and investors both nationally and internationally. I have achieved both my Certified International Property Specialist designation as well as being a member of the Council of Residential Specialists.

I hope to get involved with PACE. Being a former teacher of both middle and high school, I still enjoy the opportunity to help our youth.

A native of Michigan, I have enjoyed the South Florida lifestyle for past 14 years. As a teacher and journalist, I have had the opportunity to meet the best people. My focus on community involves volunteering with different organizations, attending Chamber of Commerce and Women's Networking Groups, and working on committees at my condo. I am also an avid painter and supporter of the arts. I belong to the Hollywood Art Guild and have worked on local art shows. I am currently re-learning Bridge, attempting to play tennis, and biking and hiking when time permits. I am the mother of three young adults two of whom are married and grandmother to one 10-year old. Being with them is my most favorite pastime.

New Member Profile: Rose Gershon

I was born in Paris to Egyptian Jews and moved to the States when I was two years old.  I grew up in a multilingual household and always had an affinity for languages, other cultures and international travel. I lived on a kibbutz in Israel for 6 months between High School and College.  I then graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in International Business and Interpreting.  I subsequently was involved in the International Insurance Business for 15 years and worked in London, New York, Mexico City, MA. and Florida.  I speak French, Spanish and Hebrew fluently.

I am currently the Sr. Vice President of Group Marketing for Pre-Paid Legal Services in FL.  I specialize in Employee Benefits and market legal plans and identity theft protection plans to companies and individuals.  I also provide Identity Theft Awareness Seminars nationwide.

I live in Plantation and will be getting married in Boston on June 10th.

Cultural Corner

Thanks to Pam Dearden for keeping us abreast of cultural events.
Click on www.broward.org/arts for a complete listing.

PACE

Dr. Vanessa Koutalidis helps out at Pace Center for Girls. We asked her to tell us about her work there:
As a volunteer, I teach a nutrition class on Tuesdays to a group of about 10 girls who are about 16-17 years old.  I began the curriculum last May and started the second round on February 13th.  I discuss the basics such as food groups, carbs., proteins, and fats, converting grams to calories, calculating resting metabolic rate and body mass index, how to read labels and ingredient lists, and identifying processed foods.  Of course there is more, such as understanding diseases and prevention and so on.

PACE Center for Girls Broward is grateful to WEC for the contribution of $1,000.  This generous gift will be applied to the  Student Needs and Emergency Fund. This fund covers purchases of uniforms, bus passes, school lunches, and personal care items when needed by the girls.  Nearly 80 % of the girls at PACE come from families whose incomes are near or at the poverty level.  With the special student fund, the girls know that they don't have to stay at home because they don't have proper school clothes or  money for a bus pass. Thank you for helping us in our mission to give each girl the opportunity for a better future.

Kathleen

WEC Board of Directors
2006-2007

President, Vivien Godfrey

Past President, Ronnie Karlin
Nominating Committee
Canon Circles
Business Showcases

VP Finance, Dorothy Eisenberg
Budget
Dues collection

VP Corporate Records, Cynthia Hardy
Corporate Records
Historian
By-Laws Committee

VP Internal Involvement, Joanne Dee
Programs Committee
Greetings Committee
Newsletter
Book Club

VP Membership, Marilynn Obrig
Membership Committee
Membership Luncheon
Directory
Webmaster

All contact information is available for WEC members on our Members Only website. If you are a member and you don't have a name and password, you can contact Chris Guld for more information.

2006-07 Luncheon and Board Meeting Dates

Next Board Meeting:


Luncheons:
March 21 Wednesday
April 26 Thursday
May 15 Tuesday
June 19 Tuesday

Membership Attendance: