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Gala Dinner/NFBPWC Awards – There were seven on Zoom for the dinner. I could not tell
how many were in the room. President Megan gave out a bunch of certificates for people who
helped her while she was President. Each officer then recognized a person who had helped
them. Daneene, who was on Zoom, recognized me, Linda Wilson. Kathy Kelly recognized Cathy
Collins (Pennsylvania) for bringing in five members, Dr.Ellen Mikalbee for bringing in five mem-
bers, Dr. Twila for bringing in five members and finally Angie, Rosalind and Sharon Jacob from
Maryland BPW and Nancy Werner (Pennsylvania). Sandy Thompson said she learned a lot from
the Small Business Committee meetings so she gave a certificate to the co-chairs Marcia Riib-
ner Cady and Barbara Bozeman. President Megan gave Sandy the gavel award for serving on
the Executive Committee for eleven years.
Congratulations to Bessie Hironimus! Bessie was awarded the The Lena Madesin Phillips
Award at the National Biennial Conference. She was presented with a Nike statute. Bessie,
who was on Zoom, said it was the first national convention that she had missed since the
1980s.
The Executive Committee gave President Megan a trip to a spa and a butterfly necklace. Presi-
dent Megan then gave a United Nations book to her Executive Committee. There was a little
Nike statute on each table. The person’s whose birthday was closest to July 20th received it.
After the awards was the installation of the new officers. Megan conducted the installation us-
ing colored candles. Anne Marie Johnson stood in for 1st Vice President Maria DeSousa. The
person previously in each position presented the candle to the newly elected officer. Sandy
Thompson presented the candle for Daneene to the 2nd Vice President. Secretary Sondra Nun-
ez lit all the candles.
After the installation Sandy Thompson conducted an abbreviated version of the candle lighting
ceremony. In 1930 representative from 16 countries met in Geneva to form BPW-International.
Canada, Italy, England, France, Austria and the United States were the ones who formed BPW-
International. After this President Barbara thanked the outgoing Board. She said she has a cou-
ple of Board positions open. The gala dinner ended at 6:42 P.M. California time.
Board meeting, July 21, 2024
The Board meeting started at 5:15 A.M. California time. Bessie told everyone her Internet was
out so she came on via cell phone. Barbara said that 1st Vice President Maria DeSousa was ex-
cused. There was a quorum with three officers and a majority of State Presidents. Barbara’s
theme is “Connecting locally, Uniting nationally and Igniting globally.” Barbara said that the
Nominations Chair is the most important chair because she impacts the future. She is asking
the Board how we will implement her theme. She wants each Committee Chair and State/
Affiliate Clubs to have their own themes. She announced the following Chairs –
Sher Singh – DEI Chair
Emily VanVleck – Advocacy Chair
Maria DeSousa – Membership Chair
Health (vacant)
PR (vacant)
She expects everyone on the Board to have read the Bylaws and Policies and Procedures. She
is asking all past NFBPWC Presidents to provide a history of their time as President. She plans
to have one-on-one conversations with State and Affiliate President to make sure NFBPWC is
doing what they want. NFBPWC is paying for the website to be maintained. There is a contract
for the e-Magazine and another for Social Media. We can pay for services, but we cannot have
a Special Committee for these services. Barbara plans for the Board of Directors meeting to be
the first Tuesday of the month. She will be sending out an annual calendar. The Board mem-
bers need to get their plans to her by September 17th. We need to find out why elected offi-
cials do not support our positions. Committee Chairs need to reach out to States and Affiliated
Clubs to find out how NFBPWC can help. She encouraged everyone to sign Sign4ERA.
The Board meeting ended at 5:56 A.M. California time. □ Linda Wilson
