We are fortunate this year to have 11 Past Presidents who are still members, and they were more than happy to share their responses to the following question:
What experience and/or memory stands out most about your year or years or one specific year if you served more than one year?
And here is what they had to share.
Barb H. (1991-1992, 2018-2019 [co-prez], 2019-2020 [co-prez], 2024-2025): I have had the pleasure of serving as president of WWC for 4 years over the 36 years (!!!) I have been a member. In my memories of these years one specific meeting stands out in my mind for the utter fear and nervousness it caused for me. It was the second meeting of the club year 1991-92 and was the first that I would actually have to lead. At the time, one of the big issues in Durham was whether the county and city school systems should merge. My kids were not of school age yet, so I had not paid a lot of attention to this. Our speaker for that meeting was the President of the Durham County School Board and because of the widespread interest we decided to have our meeting at Southwest Elementary and open it to the public. We had quite a turnout! People that know me know that I am not a comfortable public speaker, and I was even less so with that large group. I managed to get through it (it’s possible I messed up the speaker’s name just once) but even all these years later I still remember how nervous I was and how I wished to be somewhere else that evening. That being said, serving as president has always been a positive experience and confidence builder-I highly recommend it.
Liz W. (2001-2002): As club president 2001-2002, I found you do a little something every day for the club and that leading the monthly meetings helps ease any public speaking anxiety. I worked with a wonderful board: Dawn Y., Beth M., Karen R., Anne Marie C., and Julie W.
What stands out to me for that year is producing “Woodcroft Cooks, a Taste of the Community.” It was Dawn Y.’s idea as she had done something similar in south Florida before moving here. She and Katy K. co-chaired the project which solicited recipes from WWC members, family, friends, and even local restaurants. Melissa K. tirelessly typed up recipes.
We kicked off the year with a “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party” theme. It was only fitting, then, that my prez year-end gift from the board was a teapot!
Peggy F. (2003-2004): When I first moved to North Carolina in 1995, I was like a duck out of water. I was a country girl not used to “city” living. While my husband, then a grad student, had instant friends at the J-School at Carolina, I had no such connections. One day I found a flyer in my mailbox cubby that spoke of a kick-off meeting of the WWC. When Frank returned from class I told him I was going to make a friend. Little did I know how many wonderful friends I would make.
So after a three-year stint in Ohio, I was so ready to move back to Woodcroft and my wonderful friends. Fortunately a house became available the day Frank interviewed for a job at Carolina and as soon as he got the job offer, I moved on it. That was in 2000.
From 2000 until 2003, I was very active in the club and its many activities and events – including Holiday Lights, yard sales, Autumn Arts Fest. In 2003, I was asked to be president and I happily said yes. With so many wonderful people it was hard to refuse.
It’s really hard to pick one thing that really stood out, but I must say that the Autumn Arts Fest was quite an adventure. Its first year, 2002, was held at the Woodcroft Club but it moved to Sutton Station in 2003. It took many hands and many hours of planning but the new location worked better for us.
It was through Arts Fest in those years that we met a special friend, Keiko Chujo who attended the first Arts Fest with her family and became an active part of our WWC family as a result. For those of you who don’t know Keiko, she was the trailing spouse of a Japanese professor on sabbatical at Duke. She was taking ESL classes and her instructor thought she would benefit from belonging to a group like ours. And we certainly benefited from her! She stayed in touch with the club and some of its members for many years after she returned to Japan and even visited us once when her husband returned for a program at Duke.
Lynne J. (2006-2007): Although we had a fledgling website, many activities were still manual. We had begun to email newsletters, but we were still printing and mailing a few (labor-intensive and costly!). Interest group leaders were encouraged to take photos, but the message was, “If you don't have a digital camera, have drugstore put your photos on a CD.” To recruit new members to the September kick-off meeting, 20 members stuffed Woodcroft mailboxes with printed flyers.
Lorre K. (2011-2012 & 2012-2013): When I was president, my fellow board members contribution to the work and decision making made a positive experience for all. Each board member added their unique skills and thoughts to the group. When any WWC member, including the board, had an idea or concern, it was carefully considered. One thing that occurred during this time was the potluck dinner held during the meeting, which is an activity still enjoyed by our members.
Deane P. (2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016): Ah - memories of my years as President of WWC - primarily my tho'ts bring a smile to my face as I recall the joy it brought me to share time with so many dedicated women - dedicated to fun, friendship and giving back to our community. I recall the joy it was at each meeting to look out over the room filled with such amazing women who loved to have fun, who welcomed new people and who work hard to raise money for Charitable organizations.
One of the years I was Pres happened to be our 30th anniversary!! Our theme that year was ' WHO WE ARE - WHO WE WANT TO BE'. Now 10 years later we continue to create new ways of sharing among ourselves and with the community.
At some point, we learned that our years of documents - minutes, newsletters etc- could become part of the city archives at the Durham library!! AND NOW they have been accessed to present great pictures, news articles & much more to make our 40th celebration so 'visibly' special. Thanks to Sally & others for creating the amazing video from our archived records.
My pride & pleasure of being part of WWC goes on & on. :-)
Janis T. (2016-2017): As president back in 2016 and again in 2017, I always had wonderful help from my board members and officers which I greatly appreciated. In one board meeting, we began talking about having a non-voting “honorary board member” join us. We felt it would be a good way to allow new and/or current members of the club to learn what the board did and what each officer on the board handled. Before the only way you could be on the board is if you were willing to be an officer of the club as well, and when you’re a new member, it’s rather scary to volunteer to do something you know nothing about. So we instituted that honorary position and it continues to this day. It has been most successful as honorary board members have stepped up to the plate and become voting members of the board and have held a lot of different offices to keep our club going strong. So if you feel the women’s club is a worthwhile organization and want to see it stay effective, give some thought about becoming an honorary board member. It’s a good way to get to know more of the members of the club and to help our community.
Linda K. (2017-2018, 2018-2019 [co-prez]): I could reveal many things about my years as president of the Woodcroft Women's Club, but what stands out the most to me is the camaraderie that was always present. My first year was one in which we closely examined the club's bylaws. I know it sounds crazy, but there were so many smiles and laughs as we delved into the legal documents, had discussions, and made plans. During both of my years as president, the WWC board was made up of a fabulous group of delightful women. And there were so many entertaining ladies working on very special fundraisers and leading interest groups and community service projects; all our work kept us scratching our heads and laughing. Personally, I felt very thankful to develop relationships with so many wonderful members, and it was a large group! There was always someone willing to jump in and help in any way she could. The support was very welcome. I felt close to the WWC ladies, and those feelings last to this day. During my years as president, good work was done, and fun was had by all (I'm willing to state this emphatically). I was proud of all the WWC ladies, all of whom were there for each other and the community at large. WWC is a unique club, I think. How often does one have the opportunity to feel warmth, good cheer, and as if one has and will continue to have these friends forever!
Caroline D. (2019-2020 [co-prez], 2020-2021, 2021-2022): I remember the last board meeting in March 2020, at Janis T.'s, when we were planning the Spring potluck. Next thing, the shock of everything closing down. We used email to finish out the year. No more in-person meetings or fundraisers. The members were so kind and generous in giving charity donations, that we were able to donate about the same amount overall as in prior years. It felt so good to know that our club could make it through those trying times. We adopted Zoom for the next meeting year and so we continued on.
Janet H. (2022-2023, 2023-2024): My first year of being president involved a lot of change. In September of 2022 we held our club meeting indoors for the first time in over two years. It was a very memorable meeting because not only were we gathering in person, but we were also at our “new home” for meetings, the fellowship hall in Epworth United Methodist Church. Over the summer our club had been told that we would not be able to return to our longtime meeting place Suite K; the property owner was leasing out the community room space to a commercial tenant. So, for a few weeks WWC was “homeless” and several members went on a hunt for a place to meet. We are grateful for Jane Brown’s assistance in connecting us with Epworth and that the church agreed we could meet there on the first Tuesday of the month. This was also a big change; WWC had a long history of Monday meetings. Being at Epworth gave us a large space to spread out as we navigated club life in those uncertain post-pandemic days. It also gave us access to wonderful audio-visual equipment. Our monthly speakers’ presentations were greatly enhanced by the availability of microphones and the use of photos, videos and PowerPoints. Most of all, I will always remember what a wonderful board and support team I served with; everyone contributed so much positive energy, humor and dedication as we moved into this new phase.