Friends And Neighbors Women’s Club

August 2020

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

With so much going on in the time of COVID-19, it may seem trivial to be concerned for our FAN organization. However, FAN is of great importance to members and the Board, to which I welcome new officers Mary Jo Butler, 1st VP, and Emma Rice, Treasurer.

Board members are working diligently, brainstorming ways in which we can come together and share during this time of social distancing. We are looking at gathering for General Membership meetings via ZOOM or on Face-book Live. Perhaps we can arrange “how to” workshops or “make it now” crafts to provide social interaction re-motely. We will find ways to keep FAN m embers in a virtual hug during this stressful time.

Our membership is down somewhat from last year as members hibernate or self-quarantine, and the proposed new budget reflects this. Now is the time to join or renew. Contact 2nd VP Kathleen Court at kacourt@att.net.

The Board decided at its July meeting to hold our Charity Luncheon in January, with the hope that COVID re-strictions can be lifted by then. Look elsewhere in this issue for details on a vote-by-mail to choose the charity. And we are searching for new ways to raise money for our 2020 charity in case a fundraising luncheon is out of the question.

The Board is researching several “party for a purpose” companies that will donate a percentage of proceeds from FAN members’ purchases. Wines produced by Mondavi, Panera Bread and Kendra Scott are among the companies being evaluated. We’re talking with local boutiques that support FAN about hosting “shop and sip” events, with a percentage donated to FAN’s charity.

As you know, our Spring Luncheon was rescheduled several times to comply with current mandates on social gath-erings, only to be cancelled. Thanks to Claudia Gallagher and her committee for their dedication, optimism, and time invested in planning the event. Checks have been destroyed and cash has been refunded. We hope to get to Wild Stallion Vineyards for another event.

Other FAN happenings carry on. Miss Sunshine, Carole Corey, has been staying on top of developments among members, several of whom have passed in recent weeks. Others have had surgeries and we wish them quick recov-eries. Please let Carole (carolecorey458@gmail.com) know of anyone who may need a charming “sunshine” card or a virtual hug.

Lin Fish is coordinating Activities and searching for som eone to head up one of the bridge groups. She is surveying groups to develop a list of acceptable meet-ing sites for small groups and hopes to help launch a couple of new Activities. Anything YOU’d like to do?

Our new directory is being developed by Debi Swaney and Krailo Printing for distribution at our October meetings. If we cannot meet then, the Board will decide how best to distribute the new directory so members can stay in touch. Updates through the year will be by email, Web site and Facebook.

Continued on page 2:

ACCEPT

What is

LET GO

Of What Was

HAVE FAITH

Of What Will Be

Continued from page 1:

There is no “practical guide” on how to be an organization’s president during a pan-demic. I can only ask our m em bers to keep FAN—our members and our leadership in mindful prayer as we go forward. Take time to reach out to other FAN members, just to say “Hi, I’m missing you!”

I encourage you to learn to use ZOOM as we may be using that platform and/or the FAN Facebook page for live-streaming programs and other events. We may need to offer links in the FANfare newsletter for your vote to accept the proposed budget and meeting minutes and possibly to hear from guest speakers. As hard as it may seem at first, we need to embrace technology now more than ever, and FAN will be offering step-by-step help for you. It’s easier than you may realize! (And you will be able ZOOM with far-flung grandchildren and long-time friends!)

Know that whatever comes our way, your FAN Board members are working together, thinking out-side of the box, striving to hold all of you in a virtual hug. FAN’s greatest value is in cherishing and nurturing the friendships we’ve made and we recommit to making that value worth ten times your $25 dues!

Jennifer Banks, President

Below is a photo of your FAN Board meeting at our new location, Cornerstone Church, prac-ticing social distancing, according to the State mandates:

How to ZOOM!

Ladies, we’ve been missing our friends and all the fun of

FAN General Meetings, I know. One option for gathering

is for us to learn to use ZOOM. Don’t PANIC!

Here are some easy pointers to get started … painlessly!

Take a deep breath and check out this video that shows

Step-by-step how to use ZOOM. You’ll be ZOOMING, before you know it!

Just visit https://youtu.be/9isp3qPeQ0E. After watching this video you’ll know how to join a ZOOM call so

that you can relax and have fun connecting with your friends and family. The video walks you through:

Understanding ZOOM access information sent to you

Downloading the free ZOOM app

Using the access information to join

How to turn your video off and on

How to mute and unmute

You also may go to the FAN Web site for detailed instructions.

Can’t wait to meet up with you on ZOOM!

Margaret Farhadi

Thanks to all who ‘hung in there’ for “Wine, Women and Song” event

A hearty “thank you!” to FAN members and their friends who reserved seats

for the Wine, Women and Song luncheon, even though it was postponed and, ulti-

mately, had to be canceled due to COVID-19 rulings.

“We promised we’d be extremely conservative in abiding by health care and government offi-

cials’ recommendations for meeting safely, and sadly, in the end, it was not possible to party this

summer,” said Claudia Gallagher, Chair of the event. “We appreciate the eagerness to celebrate that

many of you shared with us, and we impatiently anticipate the next time we gather in laughter and

sisterhood.”

Just two days before the event had to be cancelled, Committee members enjoyed trademark FAN

merriment as they met to finalize games, gift-wrap prizes and put the finishing touch on center piec-

es and name tags. They’re so “fab” that we will have to resurrect them another time!

Thanks to Co-chair Lin Fish, Jennifer Banks, Linda Comeaux, Kathy Court, Sandy Darst,

Kim Gerrish, Helen Moorman, and others who shared in planning the event!

Claudia Gallagher, Chair

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL: Our 2020-2021 membership drive is winding down. Sadly, my mailbox is no longer filled with checks. FAN membership now stands at 184. We appreciate your confidence in the Board to see FAN through these difficult times. Some of you may feel that FAN won’t have much to offer this year in exchange for your membership dues. We are hopeful, but we don’t know for sure, that we can resume our General Meetings in Sep-tember. Most of our activity groups have not met in several months. Even when we are able to re-sume our activities, you may not feel ready to join in. So maybe you won’t be participating in FAN activities for a while; but your continued member-ship will help ensure that FAN will be there when you are ready. As always, for those who have not renewed their membership yet, the membership renewal form is attached. Annual dues are still just $25, which in-cludes a membership directory and opportunities to socialize with an awesome group of ladies! Please let me know if you have questions or con-cerns. Still hoping to see all of you on September 1! Kathy Court, 2nd VP/Membership

SUNSHINE WISHES

The following FAN members have been sent Thoughts, Prayers, Sympathy, and Sunshine Wishes this summer:

Sympathy cards to the families of members:

ANNA GILLAND (passed aw ay in June)

JO BARKER (passed aw ay)

Thinking of You cards to:

LUCY SANFILIPPO, her husband and son

(COVID-19)

SUE BEHNKE (shoulder surgery)

CISSIE ALEXANDER (knee replacem ent surgery)

VALERIE MURRAY (fell and fractured kneecap)

BARBARA GARRITY (hip replacem ent sur-gery)

Thoughts & Prayers,

Carole Corey, Sunshine Chairman (Text 71 3-859-3613 for Sunshine needs)

FAN Charity Selection 2020-2021

The Charity Committee is offering the following charities for membership voting. The Board has set a goal of a generous donation to the charity you choose and hopes that even more money can be raised during the year. All are 501 (c)(3) non-profits. Ballots for voting on your charity of choice will be sent out soon from Kathy Court. Please indicate your choice and return to Shelley Gross for tabulation of the votes. The deadline to get the votes in to Shelley is Friday, August 7.

LIVING LEGACY – Created to protect our communities’ seniors, veterans and special needs population. Provides supporting services to help individuals and families find and use available resources, such as es-tate planning, guardianship, special needs planning, veterans’ benefits, housing, medical benefits, Medi-caid and related legal issues. Located at 12527 Cypress-North Houston, Cypress, TX 77429. Phone: 832-316-1505. Elizabeth Hilburn or Theresa Truitt.

CHILDREN’S TRANSPLANT INITIATIVE – Provides information, services and support for children who are embarking on the transplant journey and their families. Hope Lifeline, Family Assistance, Kim-my’s Kottage (hospitality house), donor awareness. Located at 23718 Creekview Drive, Spring, TX 77389. Phone: 281-615-0535. Ross Witty and Cheryl Witty 713-301-4936.

KAILEE MILLS FOUNDATION – Provides awareness and importance of always wearing a seatbelt. Our 16-year-old daughter was killed when she was thrown from vehicle when it veered off the road. She was the only one not wearing a seat belt. She unbuckled to take a “selfie”. The other three passengers were had minor cuts. We want to turn our loss into something positive and build the awareness about the importance of seat belt use. Located at 4625 FM 2920, #13, Spring, TX 77388. Phone: 281-850-1608 David Mills.

Shelley Gross, Chair

FAN BOOK CLUBS

Literary Review: Kathy Court

Date: August 26

Time: 1:30 p.m.

Book: Next Year in Havana

Author: Chanel Cleeton

Hostess: Becky East

Cover Girls: Maria Bocchino

Openings available - contact Maria, if interested.

No information available for August.

Page Turners: Adrienne Juno

No information available for August.

TREASURER’S REPORT

The 50/50 Raffle is one of FAN’s income sources

with half of the sales going to the FAN bank ac-

count, and the remaining half split between two

lucky winners. Be sure to purchase tickets at the

September General Meeting. One ticket is $1 or

you can purchase six tickets for $5.

If you bring a guest to the meeting, you will be

given a raffle ticket and the guest will also get

one ticket.

The 2020-2021 Budget will be presented at the

September meeting for the membership to ap-

prove.

Emma Rice, Treasurer

Antiquers and Junkers

We do not meet in August. See you on Septem-ber 16. All are welcome! If you would like to par-ticipate contact:

Loni Dennis @ loni.dennis@att.net

ORIGINAL LUNCH BUNCH

Original Lunch Bunch will not meet in August. See you in September! Enjoy the rest of your summer!!

June McMillin, Chair

Look what our FAN friends did during the quaran-tine to keep busy and productive and have fun at the same time.

Linda Comeaux grew tom atoes.

Shelley Gross m ade hats for Derby Days.

Jennifer Banks m ade m asks from Kendra Scott bags.

Members of the Original Lunch Bunch went to lunch at Bleu Oyster Bar, one of FAN’s sponsors!

Sandy Guilbeau and her hubby m oved to a new home in College Station.

Look who came to visit in Margaret Farhadi’s back yard!

Any day now… We’ll gather in fun and friendship

AAARGH!!! I miss my friends … and I’m sure you do, too.

Any day now, I tell myself, we’ll be able to see a movie, go out for lunch, get back to normal. I struggle to

accept that we may have a “new normal,” but I’m adapting, albeit slowly.

Word was, a few weeks ago, that movie theater chains would reopen in late July. Yesterday, AMC an-

nounced another delay because the studios have just one or two new movies to release. I’m ready to share with

FAN film-lovers AMC’s detailed sanitation program, as I believe we’ll be safe sitting together in a darkened

auditorium again, laughing or gasping as the story unfolds in front of us on the big screen. Any day now …

yes.

In the meantime, I’ve met occasionally with 2 or 3 FAN friends to play Mah Jongg. None of us is prone to

barhopping, concerts, or other big gatherings, so we feel safe in our small circle of FAN friends. And you? Is

your book group discussing via ZOOM, as some groups do?

I’ve heard of groups playing board games via ZOOM, although I’m not sure how that works, but simply

socializing with a few FAN friends can brighten the day. So … be sure to see Margaret Farhadi’s tips on us-

ing ZOOM (page 2) and give it a try. It’s free for the first half hour or so, plenty of time to practice.

Speaking of Margaret, she’ll be teaching line-dancing again soon. And we’ll have new groups for Bunco,

Mexican Train, even Couples’ Cribbage if there is interest. Excursions to interesting places around town, by

Precinct 4 bus or carpool, also are being planned.

Activity groups are the lifeblood of FAN; soon we’ll be enjoying them again!

Lin Fish, Activities Coordinator

linden7723@att.net

Won’t YOU be my friend?

Thank Heaven for FAN friends!

Many of us are virtually quarantined, isolated in our own homes these

days, hesitant to venture out. A few have put their FAN membership on

hold for the foreseeable future. Please rethink that notion!

This fabulous community of women needs your continuing membership to sustain it! President Jennifer

Banks and her board m em bers are searching creatively for w ays to continue serving m em -

bers’ needs for fellowship, even if we cannot meet now as in the past. If you want FAN to be here when

you’re ready – to play bridge or mah jongg, to enjoy movies, to go antiquing, to learn line dancing or any

of the myriad of activities for which FAN is treasured --- you need to renew your membership now!

Annual dues are just $25, and that small amount pays for your FANfare newsletter, Sunshine cards

to those who need a pick-me-up, our Web site and Facebook page, and all the background activities that

keep an organization … well, organized! Monthly programs may be different for a few months, but one day

soon, we’ll need to pay rent for a meeting site and fees to secure excellent speakers. In the meantime, we

may hear speakers on Facebook or ZOOM, but we will gather in sisterhood again.

FAN needs not just your dues, but you on the roster as a member. Please send your check today to 2nd

VP/Membership, Kathy Court.

Lin Fish, Mem ber since 2011

F R I E N D S A n d

N E I G H B O R S

W o m e n ’ s C l u b

Newsletter Editor:

Sherry Dunn

1106 Austin Manor Ct

Klein, TX 77379-3995

August 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE

All articles for the September 2020 newsletter should be submitted before

August 15 to Sherry Dunn @ sdunn@entouch.net.

Deadline for last-minute changes is

August 22.

FAN PURPOSE

To provide an opportunity for m em bers to become acquainted with others in the community in an atmosphere of friendliness, goodwill and helpful information.

To undertake and to prom ote charitable and humanitarian projects within the community.

To form enduring fr iendships.

FAN Friend of the Month

Bleu Oyster Bar and Seafood

9305 Spring Cypress Road Spring, TX 77379

281-251-0596

10% Discount for Seniors and FAN members

Be sure to mention FAN!