The fun never stops at WCA

By Susan Pittelman, Publicity Director

Southwest Florida’s busy winter season has come to an end. Loaded car carriers bound for northern destinations have pulled away, and restaurant reservations are now easier to make. Grocery store lines are shorter, and finding a parking spot at the beach is no longer a challenge. Many assume that life slows down, but for WCA members, the fun keeps right on going! From Greater Naples to areas across North America, WCA continues to bring women together through friendships, activities and community all year long.

WCA makes it easy for its members to stay connected through the summer months. The relatively new Year Rounders group and WCA’s 10 Summer Branches offer events and programs for women to gather, connect and enjoy each other’s company.

Committee Chair Harriett Kleinman (on far left of standing row) and the Year Rounder Programming Planning Committee met for the third time on March 31. More women than are pictured in this photo serve on the committee and participated in earlier meetings.

WCA Year Rounders

More than 40% of our membership are now “Year Rounders” — members who live in Southwest Florida full-time. In the past, WCA sometimes offered two or three special activities each summer (remember Summer Serendipity?), but overall, very few programs were scheduled after “season” ended.

That changed last year, when full-time resident and Membership Director Harriett Kleinman agreed to take on the challenge of offering more programming for the growing number of members who stay in Florida year-round. Board member Hannah Goodman created a Year Rounders group from our database by searching for those who had identified themselves as full-timers. If you are a full-timer, make sure that your profile in the database correctly reflects it, so that you will be included in this group. Last summer, Kleinman, working with a very enthusiastic committee, offered 13 diverse programs. The response to these activities was outstanding and the events were extremely well attended.

Encouraged by that success, Kleinman again formed a committee to plan activities for this summer. The committee held three planning meetings to brainstorm ideas and choose the events to be offered. “I was very happy that so many different women joined the committee,” said Kleinman. “They shared some wonderful new ideas for programs and women volunteered to take responsibility for organizing them. It should be a very exciting summer!” The committee hopes to schedule 20 events through October, with activities ranging from a lively Bunco Party and a luncheon at Pelican Isles to a hands-on cooking lesson and a mysterious, entertaining train ride.

WCA’s “Summer Season” officially kicked off on May 22, with an event billed as “Sun, Summer and Socializing.” A list of additional summer activities planned so far accompanies this article and will appear in the May 29 WCA newsletter. Women in the Year Rounders group will receive email notifications with details about each activity, including registration information.

Notices about these special summer programs will only appear in the WCA newsletter if space is still available after the Year Rounders have registered. So, if you are not here full-time but will be in Southwest Florida this summer, be sure to check the WCA newsletter to see if there is an event happening during your stay for which you can register.

In addition to the special Year Rounder events, some WCA interest groups continue to meet during into the summer: Mah Jongg, Canasta, New Yorker 1 and Contemporary Fiction, to mention a few.

WCA North will also continue several of its activities over the summer months, including Group Trivia, Classic Films, Read and Relax, Book Discussions, Mah Jongg and Ladies Who Brunch. (Remember, WCA North activities are open to all WCA members.) Dina Shein, liaison for WCA North, shared that WCA North will take a break in August to plan next year’s programs.

WCA Summer Branches

While many WCA members remain in Florida through the summer, others head north — but that doesn’t mean leaving WCA behind!

WCA Summer Branches were first created in 2012 to carry forward the idea that the fun never stops with WCA. The goal was to give women the opportunity to see their WCA friends during the summer months and continue the friendships they built in Florida. So many women made meaningful connections in Southwest Florida and greatly enjoyed the programming, that they wanted to, as they put it, “take WCA home with them.”

Today, there are 10 Summer Branches located in various areas across North America. Each branch has one or more liaisons who plan occasional gatherings for the WCA members in their area. If you would like to receive information about activities happening in a particular Summer Branch, you will need to register with the liaison for that branch. (Contact information for all Summer Branch liaisons is available on the WCA website, under “Groups.”) Becoming a member of a Summer Branch isn’t about a strict geographic boundary; it’s about having a past or current connection to the area and an interest in participating in, or even hosting, a gathering there.

Whether you spend your summer in Southwest Florida or head to a location up north that has a flourishing WCA branch, it is easy to continue enjoying the fun, friendships and sense of community that WCA offers. And if you are in a place without nearby WCA activities, no worries, planning is already underway for the 2025-2026 season. Many exciting events and programs will be waiting for you when you return to Florida!

Enjoy your summer!

WCA SUMMER BRANCHES

Berkshires – Liaison: Anne Schnesel

Boston Metro North – Liaison: Rolly Jacob

Boston South Shore/Cape Cod, Rhode Island – Liaison: Ellen Garnick

Connecticut – Liaison: Sally Ann Edelman

DelVal (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware) – Liaison: Penni Blaskey and Harriet Berneman

Illinois – Liaison: Lori Kleiman

Michigan – Liaison: Dorothy Collens

New York City Metro/New Jersey – Needs a new liaison! Contact Shelly Bell if you are interested!

Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland – Liaison: Deedee Remenick

SUMMER 2025 WCA YEARROUNDER EVENTS

(Subject to change)

May 22, 10 a.m.-noon –Sun, Summer and Socializing Kick Off (Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center)

June 6, noon-2 p.m. – Luncheon (Pelican Isle Yacht Club)

June 10, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. –Mushroom Farmers (Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center)

June 11, 8:30-11:30 a.m. –Harry Chapin Food Bank (Food Bank)

June 17, 10 a.m.-noon –Craft Class (Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center)

June 18, 11 a.m.-noon –Tour of Gulfshore Playhouse

June 23, noon – Lunch at Simit Fresh Mediterranean restaurant

June 27 – Shabbat Dinners (at private homes)

July 10, 1-3 p.m. – Bunco Party (Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center)

July 24, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. – Lunch with games (Vineyards)

July 30, 9-11 a.m. – Tour of Arthrex

Aug. 7, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. –Luncheon (Miromar Lakes)

Aug. 13, 5 p.m. – Cooking Class (Kitchen Social)

Sept. 17, 10-11:30 a.m. –Tour of Naples Airport

Oct. 15, 10-11:30 a.m. –Tour of Naples Airport

Oct. 30, 5 p.m. – Murder Mystery Dinner Train (Fort Myers)