Contents

August Luncheon

From the President

June Luncheon Photos

Retreat

New member: Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco

Members doing Business with Members

Grapevine: News and Notes about WEC Members

Book Club

Cannon Circle

PACE

Community News

WEC Board of Directors

Luncheons and Board Meetings

August Luncheon

Date: Time:	August Luncheon Tuesday, August 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:	Christy Lambertus, Rose Gershon, and Leigh Nichel will host a discussion on financial planning. Our next luncheon will be held on Wednesday, September 19. The guest speaker will be Captain Jan Jordan from the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department.
Guest Cost:	Guest cost $25. Members are responsible for Guests.
Menu:	Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Or Asian Shrimp Salad w/ Oriental Greens Chocolate Mousse
RSVP to:	Please RSVP (including your menu choice) by Wednesday, August 15 to rsvp@wecftl.com We appreciate your RSVPs! To assist Susie administratively, please put “WEC Lunch” in the subject line.

From the President

Welcome to an exciting 2007-2008. I am honored to be your president and look forward to a great year.

There are many people I wish to thank for trusting me with your stewardship. First and foremost: Ronnie Karlin and Dee Moustakas. Ronnie and Dee have been instrumental in guiding, advising and helping me and I will be counting on them in the future as well. Many members – and I consider you all friends – have offered kind thoughts. I also want to thank my husband, Andy Berns, for his love, support and encouragement. For all of you who say, “I could never be president,” that was me, until Andy, Ronnie and Dee convinced me that I could do it.

We have a great board this year; a good mix of new and seasoned members. They all bring enthusiasm to their work, both in and out of WEC. If you don’t know them, get to know them. Better yet, join one of their committees. It’s a great way to get involved and have fun.

I’m truly excited about our retreat this year. Due to numerous vacations and other conflicts, we have rescheduled the retreat for Saturday, August 25th. You don’t want to miss this event. We’ll be meeting at Flamingo Gardens. If you’ve never been there, you’ll be enchanted by the wildlife and plants. If you have been there, I don’t have to convince you to go back. For the first time in years, we won’t be discussing WEC business. We’ll simply have fun, get to know each other and learn about … (This is a secret – but I guarantee you will learn new things.)

I’m a strong believer in education. We have some of the most intelligent women in Broward County in WEC, but we can all learn more. That’s why our speakers this year will be focusing on education. My hope is that after each luncheon, you’ll feel like you’ve learned something new. Our first luncheon, on August 21, will feature a panel of financial specialists from our membership. They will discuss the importance of a will, retirement funds and monitoring your credit, among other useful topics.

I’m very excited to be your president and I hope you’ll share my enthusiasm. Enjoy everything that WEC has to offer: luncheons, Canon Circles, Book Club, GEMS, the retreat. You’ll have fun, you’ll make friends, you’ll learn something, and you might get some business out of it.

Melissa Rapkin

June Luncheon Photos

More photos are posted on our new WEC Web Album.

Retreat - August 25

Directions to Flamingo Gardens

New Member —Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco

Welcome to our new member, Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco. Beth announces, “You can take the girl out of New York, but you can’t take New York out of the girl!  Having said that, my husband Jack and I moved to Tamarac ten years ago and love our life.  We got involved in our community and the rest is history---I became Mayor and he is the 1st “First Man” of Tamarac.  Skills I utilized running my own recruiting firm in Manhattan have served me well as Mayor---a job I am honored to have.  It’s rewarding, challenging and provided me with tremendous personal growth and pride in my City.

Jack and I have four King Charles Spaniels: Lucy Too, Linus, Marci and Patty, two wonderful grandsons, Ethan and Zack in Boise, Idaho, and family in the East and in Florida.

I am delighted to be a new member of WEC and look forward to contributing as much as possible to this great organization of talented and caring women.

We also extend a warm welcome to Margarethe Sorenson, owner of Margarethe Sorenson Make-up. Look for more on Margarethe in September’s newsletter.

Members Doing Business with Members

Past president Vivian Godfrey shares her experience of members doing business with another member. She says: “June of this year I was told by my janitor that he planned to take a 10 day vacation in July to visit his family home in Haiti. This was quite a shock since in the 7 years that he has worked for me he has never taken off more than a long weekend. It didn't take me long to remember that one of our WEC members Sherry Rudolph owns a cleaning business called Legally Clean. So I sent an email to Sherry asking if she might be interested in providing a cleaning service at my store for the 10 days that my janitor would be gone. She came to my place of business and gave me a quote, which I accepted. Sherry sent excellent people during the 10 days who carried out the cleaning very efficiently. I was extremely happy with the service and would recommend her company to other WEC members.”

Our club members should be benefiting from each other, in our business lives as well as personal lives. Please share your business experiences with other members by contacting kastiles43@hotmail.com.

The Executive Grapevine: news and notes about WEC members.

Emily Rushin will be one of three Bonnet House Fine Artists featured at the St. Lawrence Gallery, 3556 N. Ocean Blvd. (A1A), Fort Lauderdale.  There will be an opening reception with wine and cheese from 6 to 8 on Thursday evening, August 23 and she'd love for you to come.  The exhibit runs through Sept. 4.  It's an interesting and very friendly place with lots of clever and creative objects as well as fine arts.

One of our past FX recipient’s, Athena Ransom of Vagabond Choppers, recently appeared on the weekend edition of NBC’s Today Show. Athena is part of the Chopper Chick Crew that takes pride in “showing the public that women have broken away from traditional roles.” The crew has gained national recognition by building and donating bikes for charity. Good Luck to Athena!

Jan Herard shares excerpts from her travel journal on her recent 10-day trip to Germany. “The weather was spectacular. 50’s at night and high 60’s during the day.   
We landed in Frankfurt and then went northwest into the Rhine River Valley.  We stayed in a little Inn in Beilstein on the Mosell River. From there we drove to the medieval town of Rothenburg.  It was truly out of a picture book. 
Then on to Fussen in Bavaria.  We visited the childhood home of “Mad” King Ludwig and his castle from which Cinderella’s castle was fashioned. 
We went on to Munich and Berlin.  Two incredibly beautiful cities filled with more museums than we had time to see.  What most surprised us in Berlin was how very young the residents are.  It was like being in a college town. 
Next we’re off to Stockholm, Sweden for Christmas.  The schedule for sunlight at that time of year is just 6 hours a day. “ We will be visiting friends and spending Christmas with their family. That should prove to be an interesting experience!”

Book Club

The WEC Book Club has chosen "The Birth of Venus" by Sarah Dunant as their next read.  The club will meet at 6:30 PM on Monday, September 24, at the home of Deb McLaughlin. New members are very welcome!  Our hostess will provide refreshments and guests bring a dish to share for a casual supper.

Cannon Circle

The last Cannon Circle before our summer break was held at Carla Albano’s beach getaway on Ft. Lauderdale Beach. The event was well attended and members enjoyed wine, cheese, and other snacks, especially the artichoke dip! (Check out Carla’s recipe below). To make a wonderful night even better, members were offered chair messages (heaven). All enjoyed a memorable evening. Please ask Carla for the top-secret count of empty bottles!

42 Ritz crackers
1 lb cheddar cheese (shredded)
4 eggs
8-10 chopped green onions
2 gloves of garlic
dash of Tabasco
2-6 jars of artichokes, drained and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onions and garlic in a small amount of oil reserved from the artichokes. Beat eggs and Tabasco. Add the grated cheese and crushed Ritz crackers. Spread into 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

There will not be a Cannon Circle in August.

WEW (Women Empowering Women)

Our current WEW recipient, Patricia McCarthy, sends us this recent update: By May 2008 I will graduate with a BFA in Painting and Graphic Design and a BA in Art History. With the help of the Women’s Executive Club of Ft. Lauderdale, I have been able to attend extra classes to achieve a maximum education in the Arts field, with both practical and historical training. My experience cultivated through working in the graphic arts field combined with my upper division education assembles a vehicle for my success in the arts. The WEC’s scholarship and mentoring program has been the catalyst for the achievement of my goals. Without the guidance and financial help of the WEC, my education would still only be a dream. Thank you for your dedication to helping women like myself.Patricia A. McCarthy

Community News

Organization of Women in International Trade @ http://www.owit.org/en/Home/Index.aspx is holding it's 16th Annual World Conference at the Miami Beach Resort & Spa on October 10-12, 2007. They are still looking for moderators/speakers for several sessions. Contact Helen Picard of PM Consulting Group and President of the OWIT Miami Chapter at 305-775-1650 or hmpicard@bellsouth.net

“CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE” WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF COMMERCE BUSINESS LUNCHEON AWARDS
The Women’s Council of Commerce of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, will be hosting their 10th annual “Circle of Excellence” Business Conference and awards luncheon to be held at the Broward County Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, on Thursday, September 20th beginning with registration at 11:30 AM.

Criteria for nominees include consistent leadership and strategic partnership in the business/professional community as well as her impact in the community at large.

The 2007 “Circle of Excellence” nominees receiving these prestigious awards are:

INFORMATION & REGISTRATION: Call Irma Kawski the Chamber, 954.462.6000, ext. 8723, email irma@ftlchamber.com  or register online at www.ftlchamber.com.

UNITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE is presenting an INTERFAITH CELEBRATION at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, AMATURO THEATER. Sunday, September 9, 2007 at 10:45 AM.

The Moderator for this auspicious event will be, Reverend Tita Calzada, Pastor of Unity Church of Fort Lauderdale. Rev. Tita who wrote a column in the FAITH AND VALUES section of the Sun Sentinel for over two years believes that when different beliefs sit down together and discuss their thoughts, understanding and compassion will rise above anything that is negative. We will find that the only thing that is the prevailing thought, is love.

This from Melissa. To get a printable set of coupons, just click.

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

PACE

Kathleen Ryan sent in a note of thanks to Kim Stiles-Pascia for introducing Pace to the Pompano Soroptimist Club. The Soroptimists recently donated $1500 to Pace as a result of a Celebrity Bartending Event hosted by Kim for Pace.

WEC Board of Directors
2007-2008

President	Melissa Rapkin, Documents2Disc
Past President	Vivien Godfrey Blue Water Books and Charts Nominating Committee Canon Circles Business Showcases
President Elect/ VP Corporate Records	Vanessa Koutalidis, Island City Chiropractic Corporate Records Historian By-Laws Committee
VP Finance	Kim Serra-Rivera, Regent Bank Budget Dues collection
VP Community Involvement	Ronnie Karlin, Global Resource Partners Mentorship (FX) Program Women Empowering Women (WEW) Community Outreach Public Relations
VP Internal Involvement	Jenny Kelly, Ritter’s Printing Programs Committee Greetings Committee Newsletter Book Club
VP Membership	Jan Bullard, JP Financial Services Membership Committee Membership Luncheon Directory Webmaster
VP Events	Pam Dearden, Gold Coast Jazz Society Social Committee Fun raiser or Fund raiser GEM Events

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.

2007-08 Luncheon and Board Meeting Dates

Next Board Meeting:


Luncheons:
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Membership Attendance: