Club Updates 

By Crystal Egan
  

Quidi Vidi is starting slowly this year, but we are planning their first fundraiser for February.

St. John’s is going strong, having just inducted seven new members.  It is hoped that names will be forthcoming for the next newsletter.

Halifax-Cornwallis has plans underway for a Membership Drive in early spring.  New members have been offset by the resignations of several members for personal reasons.  Several club members are on a leave of absence but plan to return to the club this September.  It is a transitional time for Halifax-Cornwallis, but the club is taking a pro-active attitude to restore the strength in numbers and in depth of activity.

New members are: Alison Hickman (M5 Communications), Theresa MacTaggart (O’Regan’s Car & Truck Rental and brand new Publicity Chair!) Joy Pratt (BMO Nesbitt Burns) and new-to-us, transferring from Pictou County, Laura Leigh Mullins (Eastlink Advertising).  Laura Leigh was this year’s Prez at Pictou County, but a new job in Halifax brought her to us.

The Publicity Committee has set up a project with the Public Relations Department of the Nova Scotia Community College to help the club raise awareness in the community. While the club’s events are well publicized, the club itself suffers from a veil of anonymity, something which is familiar to most clubs in the country.  One of the PR students is using Halifax-Cornwallis as her personal project for this semester.  Results will be shared in a future Progression.

Frequently, after an event, the club will receive a letter from someone who has attended, or been the recipient of the efforts of an event.  A recent winner of a Women of Excellence Award sent the following letter to club president Pat Bowes, and gave us permission to reprint it here.  Women of Excellence serves several purposes:  to raise funds for Phoenix Youth programs; to honour women in our community, and to provide awareness to young women of role models whom they might not otherwise be exposed to.  This letter clearly indicates another layer.  Sometimes these women do not recognize their own impact until they are honoured publicly in this way.

“Dear Pat:
I do want to thank the Progress Club for the honour it bestowed on me on October 22nd.  I was completely taken by surprise when my name was called!
I have to admit that when I looked at the program and read my bio, I wondered whom they were talking about!  And then I realized that I had done all those things, but they just seemed like day to day things at the time and I never gave it much thought.
I am also more of a 'back room' person ... I love to make things happen, but I don’t need the kudos.  Now that I have experienced the kudos, I think I might be on my way out of the back room – and for that I am grateful! Being one of the recipients of the “Women of Excellence Awards” has given me a new confidence – it means that I won’t be timid about saying, 'yes, I did that' anymore.  It doesn’t mean that I won’t continue to be modest, but it does mean that I have a newfound respect for myself!  I think my mother also has a newfound respect for me, for what that’s worth! 
So, many thanks for the honour and apologies for taking so long to write and say thank you.  The Progress Club does a spectacular job on the Women of Excellence dinner.  You all deserve kudos for your work.
Thanks again.
Best regards,
Willa Magee
Ocean Produce International ”