Club news 2/13/11

Vincentian Marian Youth

The fourth annual March for Life Pilgrimage sponsored by Vincentian Marian Youth was held Jan. 21 through 25 in Washington, D.C.

There were 115 youth and youth leaders from Ste. Genevieve, Perryville, Mo., and Farmington, Mo., Catholic parishes in the march.

The theme of the march was "A person's a person no matter how small!" from the movie "Horton Hears a Who."

The opening prayer service and programming took place at St. Mary of the Barrens Shrine Church in Perryville with a presentation by "Silent No More," a group of people who shared their regret of their abortion. Presenters were Charles and Linda Raymond from the St. Louis area.

While in Washington, D.C., the grouped toured Arlington Cemetery and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where local teens Stephen Graf and Beth Carron participated in a wreath presentation Jan. 23; area monuments and Smithsonian Institution; had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe; shopped at Pentagon Mall; programming on awareness of ending life through abortion held during the Sunday evening before the march; and the March for Life.

The following organizations helped sponsor the event: Perryville and Bloomsdale, Mo., Knights of Columbus, Miraculous Medal Association in Perryville, Ste. Genevieve Eagles Lodge, and Ste. Genevieve Elks Lodge.

Cape Girardeau Area CWU

The Cape Girardeau Area Church Women United held hospitality day Jan. 30 at St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau.

Joyce King, co-leader, welcomed all to the annual Hospitality Day. The Rev. Deb Thornton opened the celebration with prayer and invited all to enjoy the buffet the women of St. James AME had prepared. There were 28 members present.

There were no minutes or correspondence. Martha Sanderson gave the treasurer's report, and pointed out the 2011 budget was the same as last year. JoAnn Kasten made a motion that the budget be approved, Jonell McNeely seconded, and it was approved by a show of hands. A review of the coming year was then presented by King.

Thornton installed the new officers for the coming year. Shirley Patterson and King will once again serve as co-leaders. Other officers are Carol Simon, recording secretary; Roberta Brown, corresponding secretary; and Sanderson, treasurer.

Vera Koen, membership chairman, accepted $5 dues for the year, which includes receiving "The Missouri Churchwoman" newsletter four times a year.

Patterson discussed the criteria for nominations for the Human Rights Award, which will once again be presented at World Community Day.

King passed around the Ecumenical register for anyone wishing to sign and donate $1. It will be sent to the CWU Assembly in Atlantic City, N.J., where the 70th anniversary of CWU will be celebrated Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. The jubilee year was celebrated 20 years ago in St. Louis.

Dolly Jewel discussed the Church World Service program, "Blanket the World," and encouraged all to have their churches support this program. Last year 686 blankets, both light and heavy, were provided to countries in need. Jewel also mentioned the annual CROP sale and luncheon which will be held July 15. Help is always needed that day, as well as the day before. All proceeds from the event are donated to local charities, as well as for the scholarship fund. Doris Ford discussed the procedure the scholarship committee uses to seek applicants, interview, and select for the annual $500 scholarship CWU gives to a woman attending the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center.

Fellowship of the Least Coin was collected, as well as an offering that will be used locally. Those attending brought canned soup which will be donated to FISH. Brown volunteered to take care of the Adopt A Leader program, where cards are sent to local women in public office reminding them of prayers being offered for them by CWU. They include Meg Davis Proffer, Kathy Swan, Deb Tracy, Loretta Schneider, Barbara Lohr, and Donna Lichtenegger.

World Day of Prayer will be March 4 at Zion United Methodist Church in Gordonville. Registration will be at 9:30 a.m., and the program will begin at 10 a.m. It will include the program "How Many Loaves Have You?" from Chile. There will also be a World Day of Prayer program at First Baptist Church in Jackson at 1 p.m. that day.

SE B&G Chapter of MAA

The Southeast Black & Gold Chapter of Missouri Alumni Association board meeting was held Feb. 7 at the MU Extension Center in Jackson. Four board members, Tom Frasher, Roger Guyot, Jill Kohut and Larry Simon, and one guest, Richard Proffer, were present.

Kohut gave the treasurer's report. The account balances are unchanged from last month.

The annual Founder's Day event to be held Feb. 24 at Dexter Bar-B-Que in Cape Girardeau was dicussed and planned. Frasher will purchase items for the silent auction and pick up items from the MAA. He will purchase a felt MU logos wall hanging and both ground size and house size MU flags. He will pick up a new supply of MAA membership applications, black wrapped mints, donated auction items, and various give-away items from the MAA. He will also look for vintage copies of the "Savitar" for the auction. Members reviewed auction items that they either have or plan to have. Simon presented to Kohut a $100 check that was donated by the Bank of Missouri for auction expenses. There will again be a dessert table at the event. Kohut volunteered to bring a dessert. The group stills need more auction items. Board members are encouraged to obtain more auction items. Kohut suggested sending post card invitations to chapter members regarding the event. Simon will ask the MAA to send out the post cards to all chapter members. This is in addition to the e-mail announcement that will be sent to all chapter area alumni.

The need to recruit at least three chapter members was discussed. There are two new members for the fiscal year.

Frasher reported that he submitted the diversity grant application to the MAA. The application is for $500 for the second quarter of 2011.

The planned networking event for college graduates was discussed. The first phase of the event did not take place Jan. 19 as originally planned. The first phase is planned for early April. The exact date will depend on the availability of both the trainers from the State of Missouri Career Center and the MU Extension Center facility. Proffer will check on the availability and set the date. Proffer will also prepare a new press release. All college graduates who hold a minimum of an associate's degree and all students who will graduate in May will be targeted. Frasher will contact both the MAA and the SEMO Alumni Association regarding the event. The second phase of the event will be held about four weeks after the first phase.

The request by the MAA for nominations regarding various MAA governing board and committee chair positions was discussed. Simon will follow up with Mary Talbut, who expressed some interest in the schools and colleges committee chair position.

The June 16 student picnic was discussed. Shelter 4 at North Cape County Park has been reserved starting at 4 p.m. An order has been placed with Knights of Columbus Council 11205 for the food (same menu as last year). Melissa Miller is in charge of obtaining the Tiger Stripe Ice Cream. Simon will check on getting some trash cans for the event and will see if the picnic can obtain donated beer and soda again.

Student scholarships were briefly discussed. Applications for the $4,000 scholarship are expected to be received soon. Melody Hagans and her committee will judge the applications and select the winner. Frasher will remind the MAA to send notifications to student members to apply for the chapter's $1,000 scholarship. The deadline for application is April 1.

The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. March 7 at the MU Extension Center in Jackson.

-- From staff reports