Contents:
August Luncheon
June Retreat
The ExecutiveGrapevine
Upcoming Luncheons and Board Meetings
Cannon Circle Schedule
WEC Mission Statement
Book Club
Profile: Jeannette Dessimoz
Profile: Charlene Bender

WEC Board of Directors
2003-2004

President -
Leigh Nickel

President Elect -
Dee Moustakas

VP Corporate Records -
Emily Rushin

VP Finance -
Jacqueline Powell

VP Internal Involvement Toby Manke

VP Membership -
Carolyn Ernest-Jones

Past President -
Joyce Shore

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.

Upcoming Luncheons

August 15, 2003
September 16, 2003
October 15, 2003
November 14, 2003
December 12, 2003
January 15, 2004
February 18, 2004
March 16, 2004
April 16, 2004
May 14, 2004
June 15, 2004

Upcoming Board Meetings
12 noon

August 1, 2003
September 5, 2003
October 3, 2003
November 7, 2003
December 5, 2003
January 9, 2004
February 6, 2004
March 5, 2004
April 2, 2004
May 7, 2004
June 4, 2004

August Luncheon

Date: Friday, August 15, 2003
Time: 11:30 Networking
12:00 Luncheon Program

Program: Dennis Collins

Dennis is one of south Florida’s most successful radio executives who started his radio career as a disc jockey. He is now the Senior V.P. and General Manager of Jefferson Pilot’s Miami group of stations – 101.5, LITE FM and AM 790 WAXY.

In this very competitive industry he and his broadcast teams have created highly successful radio brands that have increased ratings, revenues and profits every year for over two decades. He attributes much of his success to his continued focus on mentoring and training for all levels of staff and management.

Dennis has had the unique opportunity to assist hundreds of businesses large and small in every industry. He’s led the charge to create strong marketing partnerships and promotions with organizations such as Brandsmart USA, JM Lexus, Walt Disney Companies, and Home Financing Center.

A frequent speaker at national and local events, Dennis inspires and challenges his audiences to consider new possibilities, to challenge the status quo and to stretch their limits both personally and professionally.

Luncheon Info:
The Riverside Hotel
620 East Las Olas Blvd
Fort Lauderdale

Cost: $20. Members are responsible for
all guest lunches

Menu: Fresh Fruit Cup
Menu: Tossed Salad
Shrimp Scampi w/Rice
and Asparagus
Chocolate Éclair

OR Alternate Menu:
Vegetarian meal is fresh grilled
vegetables and Roma Tomatoes
w/Garlic Basil Sauce over
Pasta

RSVP to:
Toby Manke by August 7th at 954-522-2200 or tsm@brinkleymcnerney.com

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From the Boardroom

I am truly honored and excited to be your 2003-4 President. I am following the wonderful footsteps that Past President Joyce Shore has left the club and as promised, I will continue what she and her Board started.

In April, the new Board and myself started forming the committees and getting acclimated to the new format established last year. To date, we have about 40 members volunteering for the various committees, programs and services that are necessary to run our club. I can already see that his new format is working: the many functions of our club are distributed amongst many of the members. In this way, it is my belief that no one member will be carrying too much weight and important issues will get the attention they need.

Then in June, we had a fun, productive day at the “WEC CLASSIC”, our Annual Retreat. I would like to thank Pat McCarthy and the Westin Hotel for accommodating us with such high style and delicious food. Jeanette Dessimoz and her fabulous Power Point presentation helped us stay focused as the day moved along. Many thanks to you, Jeanette! Also, thanks to the team leaders of our “Scramble”. I was amazed at the arrangements you all came up with! Thank you, Betsy Grant, for coordinating this event and bringing supplies to the meeting. And, thanks to our dedicated Linda Chapman for heading up the check-in table.

The Fundraising Committee will be meeting soon to brainstorm on how to bring in money to the Club. Some ideas that are up for discussion include improving our net profit at events by getting facilities and other goods and services donated, and having ongoing ways of making money.

The Mentorship Committee is examining ways to use our mentoring abilities to perpetuate the growth and longevity of the Club. On their agenda is to find ways to encourage younger women to become members, generate additional club sponsorships from the business community, and create greater visibility in the community for WEC.

There are many other areas we are trying improve on as the year progresses. Again, I promise to do my best to carry out the foundation laid from the past year and would appreciate any input that you may have. Please feel free to Email me at: LeighNickel@aol.com. I hope to see you soon at the August luncheon meeting!

Leigh Nickel

“WEC CLASSIIC”
WEC Retreat June 20, 2003

First there was Pearls of Wisdom! Each attendee expanded on her quotation or core values. Some were funny, some were touching and some were words of wisdom.

Then there was Leigh’s presentation of her commitments and goals. Each board member presented their committee’s goals, information and support needs.

Jeannette’s Power Point presentation is displayed the agenda and pictures of each board member.

Color groups that had earned points by volunteering during the meeting divided everyone into Scramble Teams.

Scramble Teams created their decoration for a centerpiece.

And the winner is:

Dr. Dora Vilk-Shipiro & team!
Vivien Godfrey hilariously described the “Scottish” get-up

The “Back Nine” had Mark Van Dyck, golf pro from Ft. Lauderdale Country Club encouraging all to play golf.

The final activity, “On the Putting Green” let novices and experienced golfers try to sink a put in a practice set-up.
Leigh awarded golf shirts and golf lessons to the lucky winners.

The Executive Grapevine

Jan Nelson is still honeymooning in Canada and will return to South Florida in the fall. Congratulations Jan!

On June 29th, JoAnn Alderman, Debbie Shane, Sandy Title, Mary Crum and Cynthia Poulos attended the afternoon matinee of Menopause Meloday at Stage Door Theater after lunch at Sage’s. It was a terrific event.

Dr. Dora Vilk-Sharpiro just returned from a fabulous 7 day cruise on the Navigator of the Seas, traveling with her husband, son, sister, niece and parents. They went to Nassau, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Labadee. They enjoyed lots of snorkeling and eating! She also found a new treatment coordinator for her office, thanks to all WEC members who gave her suggestions.

Llynda Amorello had foot surgery and in a cast for 6 weeks. not easy for someone with her level of energy. She can’t even drive so her semi-retired husband is “Driving Ms. Lynda” everywhere, including to her office! What a guy! She hopes to be without her heavy cast by the next luncheon.

Joni Rosenthal celebrated her 70th birthday in NYC with her brother, her ex-husband and his wife.
She states that it was the most wonderful birthday gathering of a lifetime. The huge party was followed by a brunch the next day given by her best friend of 59 years.

“When I go home, I realized how fortunate I am. I have made a contribution to life by believing that everything is POSSIBLE! This party brought my Entire Family together. The greatest thing of all is that my ex-husband’s wife was in charge of the entire event. We all laughed and said, if we can do it, why not the rest of the world?

Chris Guld and her husband Jim are living in an RV in a local RV Park while they perfect their new business venture of setting up high speed internet wireless connections to the individual campsites. They will be based in Fort Lauderdale for the foreseeable future and look forward to taking off when the mood strikes them. How exciting, Chris!

Chris, Emily Rushin, Chris’s mother and a friend took the RV for a “shakedown” cruise to inaugurate the camper with a “women only” trip. It was great fun!

Gloria Williams and her husband have started a new business called Helping-Hand Services, LLC. They assist in the liquidation of households when a loved one has passed on or a need to move into an assisted living facility. Visit them on their website helping-handservices.com. Of course, Gloria will still be operating A Beautiful You Artistic Wearables.

JoAnn Alderman has purchased another condo that is being readied for rental. At the last of the month, she will be traveling to San Francisco for a few weeks vacation in the Big Sur, Carmel and Monterey.

WEC sends our deepest condolences to Geri Trodick in the recent lose of her mother. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Special Recognition:

Joyce Shore was appointed by Governor Bush to the Board of Architecture and Interior Design. The Board of Architecture and Interior Design is a regulatory board. There are on three interior designers, four architects, and three consumers on the board. They do disciplinary cases, monitor licenses and see that the statues are followed. Congratulations Joyce!

Barbara Ryan - The Advertising Federation of Greater Fort Lauderdale, representing more than 240 advertising professionals in Broward Country announced that Barbara Ryan will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater Fort Lauderdale chapter of the Advertising Federation on July 17th.Ryan has contributed more than 25 years to the industry, serving such clients as Norwegian Cruise Lines, Six Flags Atlantis, American National Bank, Westin Hotels, Marriott Corporation, the Hospital Corporation of America and many more.

“We are honored to have the privilege of acknowledging the effort that Barbara has given to our industry and community.” “Her efforts have made her a great role model for the new generation of advertising professionals as well as made strides for the industry in South Florida.” (The Press release had many more wonderful achievements and a long list of community service leadership involvements.) Congratulations Barbara!

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WEC BOOK CLUB:

I have found the neatest gals in this surrounding. People of like mind who love books, movies, art, you name it and we discuss it. We have been in existence for a short time but we have bonded through our love of books.
I wish that everyone would take the opportunity to take a look at this wonderful situation. This group is so loving and one witnesses the growth of each individual as we share our hopes and our dreams. Every book has a Silver Lining…. Joni Rosenthal

The next Meeting is at Joyce Shore’s home on August 5th at 6pm.

WEC Cannon Circles

August 21, 2003 Gloria Williams, Edie Hoppe
September 23, 2003 -open-
October 22, 2003 Carol Jones, Ronnie Karlin
November 20, 2003 Dee Moustakas, Barbara Ryan
Ann Meacham (Business Venue)
December 17, 2003 Vivian Godfrey, Chris Guld
February 26, 2004 Mary Minnnet, Dorothy Eisenberg
(Business Venue)
March 24, 2004 Betsy Grant
April 28, 2004 Patty Camp, Debbie Rugg
May 26, 2004 -open-
(all dates are not confirmed)

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At the WEC monthly luncheon two business cards are drawn for members to write something about themselves.

The 411 on Jeanette Dessimoz:

Jeanette is a native Floridian as she was born and raised in Miami. She relocated to Ft. Lauderdale in 1973 and has lived in Broward County ever since.

Jeanette started attending WEC meetings in 1983 when her boss (and mentor) Marjorie Zellers was a member and encouraged her to attend. She officially joined the club in 1989.

Jeanette has served on the board and several committees over the years. She is best known for her work on the mentorship committee. She has been very committed to helping today’s youth prepare for the future. In 2001 the club recognized her efforts by naming her the VISTA award recipient for the year. She also won the BellSouth community service award in 2001 and earned a $2,000 donation to the WEC scholarship fund.

She spent over 30 years employed at BellSouth working in the Yellow Pages. She was one of the first females hired in the outside sales representatives position in 1973. Today women hold almost 50% of these jobs. In her last position, Jeanette led the Southeast Florida Telephone Sales team with over 45 employees reporting to her and a revenue responsibility of nearly $20 million dollars. Her team led the company in sales results for 2002 and she earned membership in the President’s Club. She and 17 co-workers won a fabulous trip to Los Cabos, Mexico.

Today Jeanette has just started a new business with two partners. The Signing Company, Inc provides mobile notary service and specializes in providing signing agents for mortgage loans closings & refinancing, affidavits & testaments and any other instance where a notary seal or document notarization is needed.

On a personal note, anyone who knows Jeanette knows she is a very proud parent of 23 year old daughter, Michelle. Michelle was the first member of the family to graduate from college, fulfilling a long time dream of her mother.

Charlene Bender

Picture stability and that is me: I have been married to Stan Bender for 39 years, have lived in the same home for 34 years (remodeled too many times to count) and have been employed by SunTrust Bank for 29 years (many positions). If something works out well – why change it. I grew up in Wisconsin Dells and later moved to Park Ridge, Illinois. We have a son, Jeff, daughter-in-law, Amy, and granddaughter, Sarah, who live in Richmond, Virginia.

I truly enjoy living in Fort Lauderdale and have been active in the community for over thirty years. I currently serve on the Board of Adjustment for the City of Fort Lauderdale, participate yearly in the Broward Partnership for the Homeless Breakfast For Champions, serve on the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce Downtown Council Steering Committee, chair Sister Cities Membership Committee, assist when possible with Jack & Jill Children’s Center and am an active member of my homeowner’s association. As with all the members of WEC, it seems that we all take the time to give back to our community.

My Job. While I have been with SunTrust for many years, about 2 ½ years ago I had the opportunity to move into the Private Banking area. I truly enjoy my new position as it allows me to assist clients with all aspects of their financial planning. I find that so many professionals take very good care of their client’s business but not always their own. It is sometimes a challenge to get businesswomen to take time to make sure their financial house is in order.

I look forward to my involvement with WEC and adding professional financial value to the members. If your house is not in perfect financial order, valuable assistance is only a telephone call away.

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WEC MISSION STATEMENT
The purpose of Women's Executive Club is to give executives the opportunity of fellowship with their peers in diverse fields; to promote the image of the woman executive; to further the interrelationships of such executives and to promote the general welfare of their businesses and community.

August Luncheon
Friday, August 15
RSVP to: Toby Manke

Quote of the Month:

When You Want Something
You Have Never Had.
You Have Got To Do Something
You Have Never Done.