Club Connections

Dunwoody Woman's Club

Serving the community since 1971

https://www.dunwoodywomansclub.com

November 2024

"A book is a gift you can open again and again"

Garrison Keillor

Ways and Means

Terry Kemp tdkemp81@gmail.com

Once again, Dunwoody Woman’s Club hosted a fabulous Home Tour on a beautiful Wednesday, October 9, 2024. This is a Club effort and without the help of everyone, it would not be possible. It has been a privilege to work with so many motivated and energetic ladies all focused on a common goal. We have great preliminary results through this year’s fundraising efforts through sponsorships, ticket sales, and raffle, thanks to everyone in both the Day and Evening Divisions. Our numbers will be finalized end of November. 

Via this newsletter, we want to recognize the Home Tour Committee, those members who solicited sponsorships and/or made a sponsor donation, our Head Hostesses, and our “Parking Warriors”. Our sponsors were recognized in 2 October editions of The Dunwoody Crier.

Home Tour Committee

Linda Mote, Diane Norris, Jill Jordan, Maria Barnhart, Susan Crawford, Donna Fullilove, Kay Moe, Faye Cashwell, Martha Blondheim, Angela Niemann, Sharon Clark, Kathy Hanna, Suzanne Bentz, Kim Reuning, Pam King, Debra Love, Lynn Wright, and Terry Kemp

DWC Sponsorships

The following members either helped with sponsorships and/or served as a 2024 sponsor:

Maria Barnhart, Jan Slater, Kathy Hanna, Faye Cashwell, Diane Norris, Lee Dees Giesecke, Su Ellis, Sharon Clark, Arjé McCarty, Dottie D’Angelo, Chris Cox, Karen Turner, Donna Fullilove, Rosemary Watts, Donna Knowlton, Barbara Pryor, Susan Crawford, Sandra DuBois, Betti Hankey, Bernice McGuire, Judy Bertrand, Martha Blondheim, Pat Troxel, Linda Mote, Suzanne Bentz, Deborah Gault, Kristin Lutch, Marie Drake, Hazel Schingen, Pam King, Joann Kostkan, Debra Love, Vicki Strahan, and Terry Kemp.

Head Hostesses

Led by Martha Blondheim and Jill Jordan, these ladies hosted our fabulous homes keeping them just as beautiful as they were before the hundreds of people began touring and keeping the tour fun as well as safe for the people coming through:

• Wiley Home ~ Judy Bertrand, Karen Turner, and Beverly Clark
• Amrani Home ~ Diane Norris and Faye Cashwell
• Pierce Home ~ Meredy Shortal and Donna Knowlton
• Spruill Gallery ~ Debra Love
• Dunwoody Gallery ~ Pam King

Parking Warriors

Thanks both to Dohrm and Susan Crawford for once again organizing the Parking teams and the placement and storage of parking signs and garden flags. 

·     Amrani Home ~ Dohrm Crawford, Alan Kemp, and Sammy Turner

·     Wiley Home ~ Tony Barnhart, Bill Womack, Rick Drescher, Rich Lutch

·     Pierce Home ~ Kerry Frederick, Steve Spellman, Tom Riesmeyer, Denny Shortal, Bill Tobin, Tommy Tucker

A special thanks to DWC members and their friends and neighbors who sold tickets and then took their assigned posts for up to 4 hours to meet and greet our guests with a warm welcome, wishing everyone a fun day. We should all feel very proud how much the local community believes in DWC through their annual support.

Lastly, DWC appreciates the efforts and support from Pat Fiorello, artist; Mount Vernon Printing, our ticket designer/printer, Appen Media (The Dunwoody Crier), City of Dunwoody, and the Aha Connection for our publicity. We extend a special thanks to the Spruill Center of the Arts for opening up the Center for Will Call and the Gallery as a fourth stop on this year’s Tour. Their professional touch made our 51^st Home Tour very successful. Last, we welcomed a new sponsor, Dunwoody Gallery who put on 2 beautiful fall tablescapes during the Home Tour. 

^Membership

Maria Barnhart mariavbarnhart@gmail.com

Meet and Greet Trolley Tour

What a fantastic event we had at the October 29th Trolley Tour. Thanks to Mark Galvin, Marketing Director of Discover Dunwoody, Rosemary Watts, Chairman DWC Evening Division and Executive Director of Create Dunwoody for working with DWC for this fabulous event.

Thanks to Dunwoody Mayor, Lynn Deutsch, who welcomed everyone to the event. We had close to 50 participants; community guests and DWC members. Thank you to DWC members for your support and help with this membership recruitment event.

Highlights of tour included stops at Louisiana Bistreaux, Agave Bandido, High Street, The Market Place at Perimeter Mall, and Politan Row. Thanks to Hampton Inn & Suites for their kind hospitality where we started and ended the tour.

2024 National Day of Service Food Drive

At the trolley tour we collected 238 pounds of non-perishable food that was delivered to CAC. That brings our total food donation to 460 pounds of food. Thanks to our trolley tour participants, and day and evening members for their food donations.

Guests

At our October 17 General Meeting we welcomed 2 guests who are prospective members;

Sandy Elmore, guest of Jan Slater and Nancy Buterbaugh, guest of Ann Smith.

New Members

At this time we have 6 new members for 2024. Thank you for welcoming them to DWC.

1. Keenan Lofton
2. Laura Neff
3. Kerry Arias  
4. Carol Ciepluch
5. Abbi Campagno
6. Nancy Buterbaugh

Take a proactive role by reaching out and offering women the opportunity – and the privilege – of becoming part of what we know is a wonderful organization, GFWC (General Federation of Women’s Clubs). I encourage you continue to invite friends, family and neighbors to DWC events or meetings. Think about your “Why”; the reason you joined the Dunwoody Woman’s Club. We want to continue to introduce women to the personal rewards of DWC membership.

Holiday Events

Dunwoody Woman's Club

Holiday Luncheon and Meeting

Thursday, December 12, 2024

(one week before our usual meeting date)

Dunwoody Country Club

9:30 am Coffee

10:00 am General Meeting

11:00 Social

11:45 Lunch

Buffet Lunch, $37.00 per person

For reservations, please remit checks to

Joyce Niemann

5303 Little Brooke Court

Dunwoody, GA 30338

404-771-6440

Annual Flower Power Holiday Bulb Sale

November 1st thru December 15th

Back by popular demand! The website is live and ready for orders! You can choose from an assortment of beautiful amaryllis and paperwhite kits complete with pot, soil, and a decorative burlap bag for $22.00. The waxed amaryllis bulbs are $30.00, and the wax amaryllis bulbs with sweaters are $34.00.

The deadline for ordering is December 15, 2024, and the bulbs will be shipped when the orders are received for a $6.99 fee per order to any location in the US.

Click on the link below to order your holiday gift bulbs.

http://DunwoodyWomansClub.fpfundraising.com

AWARDS SEASON

(Day and Evening Members, please send your nominations now)

The Awards Committee is gathering nominations for these awards:

• Clubwoman of the Year
• Citizen of the Year
• New Member of the Year (joined during 2023)

We know you notice the work, dedication, and contributions of your fellow members and we want to recognize these ladies at the Christmas luncheon. Please help by filling out a nomination form and submitting it at the November General Meetings. Also, to make it more convenient you may send an email nomination to Deborah Gault, email address below. 

Now here’s the fun part. You can make up an award and nominate someone that impressed you this year with their contribution, perhaps leading an event, providing extra support, or being the essence of a Dunwoody Woman’s Club member. 

Awards are announced at our Christmas Luncheon. Please give us your input. If you have any questions please contact:

Deborah Gault

dcgault@comcast.net

Marilyn Dalrymple

mgdalrymple@bellsouth.net

Arts and Culture

Jo Ann Kostkan jokostkan@gmail.com

National Origami Day, November 11

• Arts and Culture is partnering with the Evening Division to host a Japanese Cultural Night. Come and learn about Japanese culture, watch a sushi-making demonstration, eat Japanese foods, and make your own origami frog!

Thursday, November 21, 5:45 pm. Meet at Dunwoody United Methodist Church in the Young Adults Suite. Please bring an international dish, preferably Japanese, to share. Sign up using the Signup Genius link listed in the Evening Division section of the newsletter or email Jo Ann Kostkan at jokostkan@gmail.com and let her know what you are bringing.

Coming in December

• Moving in the Spirit’s Holiday Store is December 13-15. Children use merit points to “buy” holiday gifts for their loved ones. Arts and Culture is donating 11 arts/crafts items. If you would like to donate a gift, visit https://movinginthespirit.org/news-press/holiday-store/ Click on their Amazon Wish List, make a purchase, choose to ship it to Colie Neidlinger, and your item will automatically ship to Moving in the Spirit. Please let Jo Ann Kostkan know if you purchase a gift. You can also donate money if you prefer. Your gift/donation will be added to the Arts amount for reporting purposes. Deadline to donate is December 6 to allow for shipping.

Civic Engagement and Outreach

Donna Knowlton dfknowlton@comcast.net

November Events

• Monday, November 11, Veterans Day Ceremony, 10:00 am at Brook Run Park Veterans Memorial. The new Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated on October 5, 2024.

• Monday, November 11, The City of Sandy Springs will hold its 15th Annual Veterans Day Celebration at 11:00 am, in Byers Theatre at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center.

• Wednesday, November 20, St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church Kitchen, 10:00 am, Sandwich Making Workshop for Pebble Tossers,’ “Sandwich Project.” Sandwiches will be delivered to a local shelter. All sandwich ingredients will be provided. We’ll park behind the church and enter through the kitchen back door. Call or email Donna Knowlton to sign up.

December Events

• Friday, December 13th, 1:00 pm, Decorating for Christmas for Kids, Dunwoody City Hall Partnering with I Care Atlanta. DWC will decorate 5 trees. This year’s theme is “Polar Express.” Sign up to help decorate trees at the November General Meeting or call Donna at 470/225-1050. This is always a fun event.

• Friday, December 13th, in the evening, the Dunwoody Police Department will host a Christmas celebration for deserving children and their families. The Dunwoody Police Department will be collecting new unwrapped toys and gifts for kids aged 1-15 years old. You may drop off gift donations at the Dunwoody Police Department.

• Saturday, December 14th, 11:00 pm, Wreaths Across America Program, Old Roswell Cemetery. The wreaths are $17 each. Go to https://wreathsacrossamerica.org. or if you prefer to sponsor by check, make the check payable to RHS Cemetery Fund. Write in memo line “wreaths” and mail check to P.O. Box 1636, Roswell, GA 30077. We will participate in the wreath laying ceremony at Old Roswell Cemetery. Sign up to volunteer at the November General Meeting.

Education and Libraries

Melissa Abbott melissahabbott@gmail.com

November is American Library Association’s International Games Month

• International Games Month, first celebrated in 2008 as National Games Day, focuses on the social and recreational side of gaming. Gaming at the library encourages patrons of all ages to interact with diverse peers, share their expertise and develop new strategies for gaming and learning. At the library, kids can socialize with their friends and play board and video games while surrounded by books, librarians and a real world of knowledge.

American Education Week (November 18-22)

• The National Education Association’s American Education Week happens the week prior to the week of Thanksgiving. Each day of the week has its own theme, during which we celebrate our public school community. Festivities honor the team of people who work in our nation’s public schools, everyone from the bus driver and classroom teacher to the cafeteria worker and administrative staff, plus countless others.

Environment

Kathy Hanna kak1941@aol.com

Nancy Baldwin nbaldwin@bellsouth.net & Gang

Thursday, November 21, at 10:00 am, November General Meeting, Environment will host the Directors of Parks and Recreation from Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. Rachel Waldron is Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Dunwoody and Brent Walker is Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Sandy Springs. They will give updates of the events scheduled for fall and winter in their respective parks as well ongoing and future initiatives for their parks.

On going Events

• Brook Run Master Gardeners. On the 2nd Saturday each month at 11:00 am in the Barn at Brook Run Park. November 9, Master Gardener Betty Alspaugh will speak about preparing your gardens/plants for winter.
• Dunwoody Nature Center is offering wonderful classes, dunwoodynature.org.
• Lost Corner Preserve is offering great programs and all city parks are open for trail walkers dawn to dusk.
• Pebble Tossers, We support the organization with financial help and you can volunteer to garden the Belt-line with them.
• Chattahoochee Riverkeepers is looking for volunteer Water Warriors.

Please support our National Parks with donations to the National Parks Conservancy or National Parks Foundation.

Animal Shelters are in need of any and all pet supplies, please bring to General Meetings and we will deliver for you.

Thank you to Dunwoody Parks for the new Redbud they gifted us with at the Spruill Center and Dunwoody Library

Health and Wellness

Diane Norris dianenorris@bellsouth.net

Backpack Buddies

Thank you to Diane, Linda, Faye, and Rita for volunteering at the warehouse in October (picture included).   One Hundred grocery bags were filled with food We are scheduled to volunteer on November 15^th from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. The following members are scheduled on the 15^th: Faye Cashwell, Pam King, Debra Love, and Karen Turner.

November

November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.

We recently learned about Anchor Place Respite Dunwoody, located in St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church located on North Peachtree Rd. Anchor Place is a community ministry for people living with dementia. Suzanne, Linda and Diane attended a two-hour volunteer training to determine how we can help. Health and Wellness will be sending a donation to purchase Yoga supplies. We are looking forward to providing a program with them and inviting the Director to speak at our April 2025 meeting.

Lutheran Towers Christmas ~ It is our tradition to give a Christmas bag to each resident at Lutheran Towers. This year we will be filling bags for 130 women and 80 men. Please bring items to the November Board and General Meetings. We will be giving socks, a scarf, lotion, an ornament, and one other item to the women. Patrick from Lookingood will provide two items for the men. If you haven’t received an ornament, our current needs are hand lotion and women’s scarves.

COLLECTIONS

EDUCATION and LIBRARIES

Retirement Homes: Collecting magazines at monthly meetings

ENVIRONMENT

Animal Shelters: Collecting any and all pet supplies at monthly meetings.

HEALTH and WELLNESS

Lutheran Towers: Pick up an ornament to purchase items for Christmas bags. Hand lotion and women's scarves can be brought to the November General Meeting.

STANDING COMMITTEES

GFWC Clubwoman

Lynn Wright 

No Report

Leadership

Deborah Gault - dcgault@comcast.net

Ring the Bell for the Salvation Army

November – December, 2024

The Dunwoody Woman’s Club is partnering with the Salvation Army to “ring the bell” for the Red Kettle drive through the holidays. You may register using the Dunwoody Woman’s Club group code, and pick one of the participating retailers, such as Kroger and Hobby Lobby. The details are being worked out for several group days. The “Register to Ring” link and the group code will be sent in a separate email.  

In addition to participating in the DWC group session, you can register with friends or family for a great holiday volunteer opportunity. Simply use the DWC group code. You can pick the available times and schedules that are convenient for you. The group code simply tracks the number of DWC volunteers and hours. You do not have to handle any money or other details. Just show up, smile, and ring the bell!



If you are interested in signing up for a group session, please email me. More details to follow. Questions? Contact:

Deborah Gault

404-304-5234

dcgault@comcast.net

Legislative

Dottie D'Angelo DottieAtlanta@gmail.com

Georgia's Children

Voices for Georgia's Children

• Nationally, 2 in 10 children have one or more emotional, behavioral, or developmental conditions. Undiagnosed, untreated, or inadequately treated conditions can result in poor immediate as well as lifelong outcomes, including significant impact to a child’s education. Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, or developmental delays are twice as likely to be chronically absent from school compared to kids without these conditions.

www.georgiavoices.org

The Youth Behavioral Health Landscape in Georgia, Georgia Kids in Crisis

• In Georgia, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among youth ages 10-17.
• 48% of children ages 3-17 struggle to or are not able to access needed mental health treatment and counseling.
• Approximately 70% of youth in Department of Juvenile Justice long-term facilities have a mental health diagnosis severe enough to require ongoing treatment.

Accessing Behavioral Health Services in Georgia

When looking at Georgia’s counties:

• 90 do not have a licensed psychologist
• 53 do not have a licensed social worker
• 45 do not have a licensed psychologist OR a licensed social worker

The Role of Schools

Schools often serve as the primary point of access to behavioral health services.

 Above information from, "All about Kids, factsheets about Gorgia's Children". January 2024 Edition. For more information visit afterschoolga.org

Tallulah Falls School

Linda Mote lmmote@mindspring.com

Service Day

Over 300 TFS students gave a helping hand throughout the community. They worked at:

• Circle of Hope
• Rabun Paws 4 Life Shelter
• Sharing and Caring
• Clayton Community Food Bank
• North Georgia Christian Camp
• Lighthouse Learning Coop
• Tallulah Gorge State Park Interpretive Center, and right here on our campus. 

"Service Day gives our students the opportunity to reflect on the blessings we have and take time to serve the local community. Especially with the recent devastation from Hurricane Helene, our students' choice to give time and energy to help others shows strong character and a sense of caring that we want our students to develop," said

Upper School Academic Dean, Jeremy Stille.

Women in History

Suzanne Bentz

Joyce Chen Chinese-American Chef

*General Tso did not eat his chicken. *Joyce Chen popularized potstickers by calling them Peking Raviolis. *Joyce Chen invented the flat bottom wok with handle, also known as a stir fry pan.

My son joined a competitive swim team at age six that practiced weeknights from 6-7 pm and competed on weekends. That meant I arrived home after practice with a ravenous kid and spent weekends cheering the team on from steamy bleachers. That’s also when I bought a Joyce Chen stir fry pan, a meat cleaver, and chopped and bagged veggies for quick meals. God Bless Joyce Chen and the culinary dynasty she founded!

Joyce Chen was born on September 14, 1917 in Beijing, China, “the youngest of nine children of a high-ranking Qing dynasty official … under Sun Yat-sen.” Given their wealth, the family had their own chef. When he left to serve the Chinese ambassador in Russia, Joyce’s mom and governess took over cooking family meals. Joyce paid close attention to all that went on. 

Family fortunes went sideways when the Communists took over China. Fortunately for us, Joyce, now married, with husband and two children got the second-to-last boat out of Shanghai before the port closed in 1949. They sailed off to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a bright new future. Joyce would have a third child after settling in New England and she worked hard at introducing local produce into the recipes she brought from her homeland. Chinese students at nearby Harvard and MIT soon heard that Joyce Chen could cook a mean egg roll after she brought them to a fundraiser at the school her children attended. 

That’s when demand for her cooking really took off. Encouraged by student feedback, Joyce “embarked on cooking classes, an innovative cookbook, PBS television show and her four eponymous Chinese restaurants in Cambridge.” Joyce promoted healthy cooking, refused to use Red Dye #2, and stressed low fat diets with lots of veggies. She also popularized the Chinese buffet, a way to move product on slow weekdays. 

Joyce was diagnosed with dementia in 1985, retired and died in 1994. Her children sold some portions of the business, expanded others, and “several Chen disciples have gone on to establish restaurants of their own in the Boston area.” A Joyce Chen Forever USA stamp was unveiled in 2014.

While we do not have a Joyce Chen restaurant on Buford Highway, we sure do have a wealth of extraordinary Asian restaurants across Atlanta as well as the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market with its aisles upon aisles of Asian foods. And, as we dine at our favorite Asian restaurant on Soup Dumplings, dim sum, maybe some Moo Chi Pork and a scallion pancake, we can thank, in part, Joyce Chen for popularizing all that yummy cuisine we often have a yen for.

DWC - EVENING DIVISION

Dunwoody Woman's Club Evening Division

Rosemary Watts, Chairman

Thursday, November 21, at 5:45 pm (meet and greet) and 6:00 pm meeting. Dunwoody Methodist Church, 1548 Mt. Vernon Highway NE, Dunwoody, GA 30338 in the Young Adult Suite.

Please join the DWC Evening Division for a Japanese Culture and Potluck Event. We'll have a sushi making and origami folding demonstrations. See map for parking and entry instructions.

Please sign up here to RSVP and bring a dish or drinks to share.  Japanese cuisine is encouraged, but any dish is fine! All DWC members and visitors are welcome!

Sign up genius 

Rosemary Watts

Chair – DWC Evening Division

404-964-6987 M

Newsletter

Carolyn Anderson carolyn506@gmail.com

Kay Moe kgp12@att.net