GFWC Treasurer and Woman’s Club of New Tampa club member Jolie Frankfurth was in Richmond Virginia this past week for the Summer Board Meeting of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. Along with other GFWC Officers, nearly all the State Presidents, Directors of Junior Clubs, and Board Members were represented from all 50 states. Sharon Oliphant, GFWC Florida President and Shannon Bailey, GFWC Florida Director of Junior Clubs also represented GFWC Florida at the Board of Directors meeting.
The meeting covered routine GFWC business which included discussions on legislation/public policy, programmatic activities, leadership, public relations, and more. Discussing GFWC’s Women’s History and Resource Center was also on the agenda, and Board Members carried forward their commitment to preserving history by visiting local historic sites, including: Monticello, Virginia State Capitol, the nation’s second-oldest working Capitol, and St. John’s Church, site of Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech. As you saw if you friended me on Face Book, the more adventurous members took a white-water rafting trip through downtown Richmond on the James River!
To kick off one of the Seven Grand Initiatives of GFWC’s 2018–2020 Administration, Board Members brought Dr. Seuss book donations for schools, day cares, and Head Start programs. GFWC plans to work with its clubs to donate books to the thousands of children who are less fortunate. The Initiative honors Dr. Seuss, children’s book legend whose March 2 birthday marks Read Across America Day, an annual activity which GFWC participates in to engage students in reading.
Board Members also heard from several speakers. The first was Dr. Charles W. Sydnor, Jr., a highly respected historian of the Holocaust and World War II. He provided the United States Department of Justice and its Office of Special Investigations with expert testimony in 21 court cases involving former SS concentration camp guards and Nazi death camp collaborators. Dr. Sydnor also served as the Virginia Holocaust Museum’s Executive Director from 2013–2015 and is still on staff as their Senior Historian. Tia Platte, owner of Yoga Source, and Heather Zimmerman, Studio Manager, also spoke on the history of yoga and then had the audience participate as they demonstrated poses.