GFWC-GA State Convention

Lake Lanier, GA

Dunwoody Woman's Club brought home many awards including a crystal bowl for the Best Overall Excellence in Community Service Program work in the 36 membership and over category, and the Silver Federation Cup for Best Overall Excellence in Community Service Program work for any size club in the state of Georgia.

Dunwoody Woman's Club

Spring Luncheon and Meeting

Thursday, May 15

Dunwoody Country Club

9:30 am coffee

10:00 am meeting

11:00 am social hour

11:45 am lunch

^$35

^{Reservations: Joyce Niemann}

^404-771-6440

^{Deadline May 9}

Ways and Means

Linda Mote llmote@mindspring.com

 The Home Tour web page, online sponsor form, sponsor forms for printing, and online sponsor payment are now available online. 

Click on this link:

Home Tour Sponsor Registration

to go directly to the Home Tour page on the website. This is not only convenient for business Sponsors but for DWC members to be a sponsor for this year’s Home Tour. We are counting on you to be sponsors and for you to contact businesses in the area.

^Membership

Maria Barnhart mariavbarnhart@gmail.com

Membership Spotlight for May– Be sure to click on the link at the top of the newsletter in the Highlights section titled Member Spotlight of the Month to enjoy reading about Cyndi Ellsom who joined DWC in 2023 and participates in the Evening Division. She appreciates the sense of community of DWC and enjoys the diverse community service programs. 

2025 GFWC Convention, June 6-9, 2025 at the Omni Hotel in Atlanta. The date for registering for the convention has passed but there is still time to volunteer. We can use help setting up for events at the convention. One area where we need help is Saturday, June 7 for the regions luncheon in the morning. There are 8 GFWC regions and the luncheons will be in 8 different ballrooms. We also need help with the Monday night Gala on June 9, set up is Monday afternoon. There are also opportunities to be a door page or help at the welcome table. Members can go to the following link to sign up to volunteer. Thank you for helping GFWC-GA shine.

2025 GFWC Convention Sign up to Volunteer

Upcoming Events:

Monday, June 16, Flower Arranging workshop from 1 pm–3 pm at the Barn at Brook Run Park. This is a shared project with Arts, Environment and Membership. Kathy Hanna and Joan Smith will guide us on the art of flower arranging, more details on what to bring closer to the date. We will make one arrangement to take home and another to give to a member that needs a bit of cheer. We will need lots of help with delivering.

Save the Dates:

• September 27, for the 2025 International Day of Service – DWC has registered to be a part of this year’s event and we will join many other clubs from all over the country in planning projects for this event to increase public awareness about domestic and sexual violence across the United States and internationally. Within the United States based on research conducted by the CDC, there are more than 16 million people affected every year. Stay tuned for more details about this initiative and how you can participate. To learn more about the 2025 International Day of Service visit

International Day of Service

•  Thursday, October 23, for a membership recruitment event 6–8 pm in the High Street Marketing space. The space is very upscale with a balcony, beautiful counter for appetizers, and a glass outside wall so you can see the community and the green space. We are working on a program that includes the DWC (video), High Street information updates plus exciting entertainment. Stay tuned for more details. 



Dunwoody Woman's Club Evening Division

Rosemary Watts, wrosemary@hotmail.com

Several members enjoyed making toys for local animal shelters from used t-shirts and tennis balls led by Kristin Lutch and Angela Niemann. The evening focused on giving back to our four-legged friends in need.

Tuesday, May 20, from 2:45 - 3:45 pm join us for a unique one-hour golf cart tour offering an inside look at the impressive Assembly Studio complex in Doraville. (There will not be a regular evening meeting in May). Assembly Studio Complex

The tour is limited to 19 participants, so sign up early to secure your spot! Click here to sign up:

Sign Up Genius

Important Notes:

• Please arrive by 2:30 pm—the tour will begin promptly at 2:45, and we won’t be able to wait for late arrivals.
• This is the only time and date the studio could accommodate us that week. 
• Logistics and parking details will be shared closer to the date.

We look forward to exploring this exciting space with you!

Reminder to purchase tickets to the Murder Mystery Dinner at Vino Venue.

Create Dunwoody and the Dunwoody Woman’s Club will co-host a Murder Mystery Dinner event at Vino Venue on June 19th from 6:30-9:30pm. The maximum number of tickets for the event is 40. Tickets are $70 and include a buffet dinner. Purchase here:



Murder Mystery Dinner 

Arts and Culture

Joan Smith jsmith30215@gmail.com

Carol Ciepluch  carolynjane3@gmail.com

Enjoy the arts in May:

• Dunwoody High School students are displaying their art work on windows of businesses throughout Dunwoody Village. Please take the time to visit them. 

• Contemporary Classics presents Shakespeare in the Park April 26-27, 3 pm at the Forum and May 10, 2pm and 5pm at Autrey Mills Farm. This is a wonderful presentation of Twelfth Night. 

• Roswell Spring Arts Festival May 3-4 Roswell City Hall. 

• Chastain Park Arts Festival May 10-11 Chastain Park. 



Civic Engagement and Outreach

Donna Knowlton dfknowlton@comcast.net

“The month of May is the gateway to summer.” – Jean Hersey

May Highlights

May 4 - International Firefighters Day

May 15-21 National Police Week

Monday, May 26^th – 10:00 am, Brook Run Park Veterans Memorial. The City of Dunwoody Parks and Recreation Department will hold its annual Memorial Day Ceremony. The ceremony is open to the public. Don’t forget to wear a poppy – a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime. Moina Michael of Georgia is credited as the founder of the Memorial Poppy in the United States.

Save the Date

Dunwoody 4^th of July Parade – We are registered for the parade to be held on Friday, July 4. The theme for the parade is “Red, White and Dunwoody.” Grand Marshal is Mike Nash, Dunwoody High School Athletic Director and Football Coach (Ret.) Check your calendar to see if you’re available to participate this year either by driving your convertible or walking. We’ll wear red, white and blue clothing of your choice. We have glittery red and blue cowgirl hats and bandanas to accessorize your outfits. We’ll be in touch with you in the next two months as we finalize our entry.



Education and Libraries

Linda Mote llmote@mindspring.com

Diane Norris dianenorris@bellsouth.net



Teachers Light the Way to Brighter Futures

National Teacher Day is May 6, and National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 5-9. 

We will be making Hugs in a Mug on May 8 as appreciation for the teachers at Hightower. Later in the month we will be going to a luncheon at Hightower prepared by members of the PTO where we will present our small gifts.

We took flowers and snack items to the Dunwoody library for April Library month and then at the end of the month we took a small gift and snacks to the librarian and staff at High Tower. 



Environment

Kathy Hanna kak1941@aol.com

Nancy Baldwin nbaldwin@bellsouth.net

Debra Love debra1926@comcast.net

DWC members enjoyed an informative tour of the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Historic Site with their Executive Director, Lizen Hayes.

Wednesday, May 21, at 1:00 pm a walking tour and lecture of Island Ford National Park with a Park Ranger. Carpool from St Luke’s at 12:15 pm.

Future Events

• June 26, 1:00 pm at the Barn at Brook Run. We will make shopping bags for Malachi's Storehouse from men's extra large t-shirts. Participants should bring 3 shirts either with or without a design, scissors, ruler, and marking pen.
• July 24, 10:30 am at the Brook Run Demo Gardens, a tour and lecture by 5 Master Gardeners. Lunch following at Maximo's.

Ongoing Projects:

• Adopt-A-Bench: Meredy Shortal has park bench applications.

Community Events:

• Dunwoody Nature Center - "Monarchs and Margaritas" on May 10, from 6-9pm. "21" Things to do at DNC", call 770-394-3322.
• Brook Run Demo Gardens Programs - at the Greenhouse are second Saturday of each month at 11:00; May 10 discussion will be on Disease and Pest Control, with Cyndi McGill; June 14, July 12 is on bees, and Aug 9 on Landscape Design.



Health and Wellness

Diane Norris dianenorris@bellsouth.net

Denise Bjurholm, Executive Director of Backpack Buddies was the speaker at our April meeting and was presented with a check from DWC.



Thursday, May 8, Hugs in a Mug and Neonatal Bags. We will meet at Diane Norris's house to pack mugs for teachers and staff at Hightower Elementary School for teacher appreciation. We will also assemble neonatal bags for mothers who give birth to a premature baby at Northside Hospital.

Dunwoody Parks and Recreation Step Challenge

Members were encouraged to take part in the Dunwoody Parks and Rec “Step Challenge”. If you were unable to register online but kept track of your steps on the sheet handed out last month or on your phone or watch, take a picture of your step results and email it to Diane Norris to be included in the drawing. There will be prizes!!

Backpack Buddies

We were honored to attend the delivery of the one millionth weekend bag to Hightower Elementary on April 24th. Did you know that $180 feeds one child during the school year? During the months of April and May, all donations received will be matched. We will accept any additional donations at the May luncheon and they will be hand delivered to Backpack Buddies. We need two more volunteers to work at the Distribution Center on May 2. Let Diane know if you would like to volunteer.

COLLECTIONS

EDUCATION and LIBRARIES

Retirement Homes: Collecting magazines at monthly meetings.

ENVIRONMENT

Animal Shelters: Blankets any size, dog or cat toys, animal treats, newspapers, paper towels, food and monetary donations. They are in need of animal food. Please bring to the General Meetings and we will deliver for you. We will not receive items at the Spring Luncheon. 

HEALTH and WELLNESS

Anchor Place: Collecting all colors of bottle caps.

HOBY

Bring individually wrapped snack items for conference to May Luncheon.

LEGISLATION:

Salvation Army Atlanta International Corps.: Clothing Donation, 3771 Central Avenue, Doraville, GA 30340

STANDING COMMITTEES

Tallulah Falls School

Linda Mote lmmote@mindspring.com

Thanks to all who wrote messages to the graduates of Tallulah Falls School at the April General Meeting. They were awesome!

We have 96 cards to be given out at the graduation ceremony.



Women in History

Suzanne Bentz

 Anna Maria Jarvis

Founder of Mother’s Day in the USA

By some accounts, there are an estimated 2 billion mothers around the world right now, and Mother’s Day is celebrated these days in more than 100 countries, usually in May. Most Arab countries, however, celebrate Mother’s Day on March 21. And in Indonesia, mothers are honored nationally on December 22. 

Festivals celebrating mothers date way back to ancient times. The Phrygians, for example, held a festival for Cybele, the Great Mother of the Gods. The Greeks revered Rhea, and the Romans added moms to their own pantheon. 

While all moms probably should be beatified (well, maybe not Ma Barker or Catherine de Medici), it took the rearing of an unruly child for one single mom of three to be made a saint. Today, we know that determined mom as Saint Monica, Patron Saint of Mothers, Wives, and Widows. We now also know her “difficult child” as the revered theologian, Saint Augustine of Hippo. Nearly 1,800 years after surmounting family turmoil, Monica was canonized by Pope Benedict XIV on May 26, 1807. 

So, never doubt the power of a mother’s advice to her children or the consequences. Anna Maria Jarvis, founder of Mother’s Day here in the United States, was born on May 1, 1864 in West Virginia. Anna’s mom was a social activist and active in her church, often giving Sunday school lessons. It is alleged that Anna “found her inspiration for Mother’s Day” as her mom once closed a lesson with a prayer: “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mothers day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.”

While Anna studied and worked afield as young woman, she took her mom in when her health declined, spending most of her time caring for her mother until her death in 1905. Three years later, on May 10, 1908, Anna held a “memorial ceremony to honor her mother and all mothers at the International Mother’s Day Shrine, in Grafton, West Virginia, marking the first official observance of Mother’s Day.”

Anna would come to rail about the subsequent commercialization of Mother’s Day and even sought to rescind it, but the commercial forces could not be stopped. Her efforts were halted when, sadly, Anna was placed in a sanitarium in Pennsylvania where she died on November 24, 1948. Ironically, folks “connected with the floral and greeting card industries (had) paid the bills to keep her” there.

When you send a card or flowers to the mother or woman you love, remember they are so much more than words can express. They are love. 

Newsletter

Kay Moe kgp12@att.net

Susan Crawford susanpc1@bellsouth.net

54 Years of Service in our Community 1971-2025