Dear Guild Members and Devotees:
Our last Guild meeting of the year will be held on Saturday December 17th at the usual Trinity United Methodist Church in Phenix City, with parking on the downhill side of the church. Our format is different for this holiday time of year. NO WORKSHOP in the morning. We will be open at 11:00 (I’ll probably be there at 10:00) to set up for our pot luck luncheon at NOON. Please bring something to share – a protein, a side dish, a sweet, a nosh of any sort. You can bring store-bought or home-made. If you bring something in a crock pot we can plug it in til just before we eat. We plan to present the church custodian Alvin Bass with a card and our donated collection funds for him, along with a quilt. Vickie is the church secretary and she asks that we keep any presentation very very low-key because he is such a humble man – he wouldn’t want any sort of big fuss made. I am bringing thank-you gifts for those who have held a position in the guild this past year, and a few other prizes as well.
We will do a brief, bare-bones business meeting and discuss the upcoming calendar.
The BIG CHANGE IN THE SCHEDULE starting in January is that we are flipping the time line for each meeting day. We will start with a program and then business meeting at 10 AM. The workshops will start at 12:30 and last approximately 2 hours. There should be plenty of time to go grab some lunch and/or sit and eat your brown bag. These changes are reflected on our Facebook page and web page. We’ll print new cards to hand out as well. This should make a shorter day for those who only wish to come to the morning events, and the afternoon workshops should be more relaxed without such a time crunch. The Vice Presidents have planned a year-long course on skill building for beginners and all quilters, which will result in your having a great collection of blocks by the end of the year.
Please review the attached minutes. There is a lot of essential information for you to review there.
We had a visit during our November morning workshop from Mr. Frank Brown (“Coach” Brown) – who is the director of the newly opening Mother Mary Mission at 318 Seale Road in Phenix City. This mission will house needy female veterans and children. It will include many services including a Child Development Center. Several members accepted his invitation to tour the facility on November 29th and were served lunch as well. This mission is the Phenix City recipient of our donation quilts in January, along with a shelter in Columbus. You are all invited to their ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday December 16th at 10 AM.
CONGRATULATIONS to our 2023 Officers and Official Position holders: President – Bettyanne McGlinchey; VPs – Jaunita Christian and Glenna Shephard; Treasurer – Audrey Bergeron; Secretary – Beth Hickman; Members-at-Large – Becky Hooper and Mary Bray; Hospitality – Rebecca Chester and Cathy Vancour; Block of the Month – Rebecca Chester, Judie Sargent, Suzan Denson, Karen Boyd; and Roster Keeper – Carol Bradshaw. We anticipate another wonderful year!
We hope to see members and visitors on the 17th and enjoy the fellowship of a tasty Potluck together. Happy Holidays to all wherever you may spend them, and a Quilty New Year!
Linda Walker
Outgoing President
GALA Quilt Guild 