4 minute read
WCA Interest Group Fair was a huge success!
By Ann Cowen, WCA Director of Event Management
What do biking, mahjong, contemporary fiction and foodies all have in common? Each one was represented at the first-ever WCA Interest Group Fair at the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center on Monday, Jan. 6. More than 150 WCA members visited the fair and nibbled on freshly made popcorn while learning about the special interest groups that WCA offers.
As they left the fair, several new WCA members were overheard saying, “This was fabulous! I never knew about all these groups!”
When I joined WCA, it took me four years to learn about WCA’s interest groups. Several of my friends were going to a Foodies event, and I did not know anything about it. Why? Because I wasn’t a member of the Foodies Interest Group, I didn’t receive notices of their events. I knew that other WCA members had similar experiences, so I suggested to the WCA Board that we have an “Interest Group Fair” to help new (as well as long-time members) find out about all of WCA’s special interest groups.
Interest groups are an integral and significant part of WCA programming. Not only does WCA offer speaker presentations, special events and trips, which are advertised to all members, but WCA also has more than 50 special interest groups, including groups to play cards and games; groups for films, food and sports; groups for literature, books, learning and crafts; groups for members who live north and south of Naples (WCA North and WCA South); groups for socializing; groups for summer gatherings; and a group just for members 65 and younger. To get information about interest group events, however, WCA members need to join the interest group, as these programs are not advertised in WCA’s weekly newsletter.
Twenty-four groups were represented at the Interest Group Fair. Each table had a display showing off the group’s activities.
The Knit and Stitch Group, for example, displayed beautiful hand-knit clothing; the 9-Hole Golf Group gave out monogrammed tees; and book groups displayed several of the books they were discussing this year. The liaisons (the leaders of the groups) were positioned at tables around Schiff Hall, providing details about their groups and signing up members who were interested in joining.
The Interest Group Fair was an enormous success. Foodies Group Liaison Lea Bendes commented, “It was exciting to see interest expressed by WCA members of all ages, including younger women. Twenty-five women signed up to be part of the Foodies Group during the afternoon. Now they will receive notices of our events.”
“We registered several wonderful new members who never knew about our group!” said Single Girlfriends Liaison Gusti Rosenauer. “There are many single women who are looking for single friends to have fun with. Many are recent widows who need to see there is life after widowhood.”
WCA Membership Director Harriett Kleinman, who represented the YearRounders Group, summed up the purpose of the afternoon by saying, “The Fair was a great way to introduce all our members to what WCA has to offer them.”
Thank you to the members of my committee for bringing this idea to fruition — Louise Forman, the WCA Board member responsible for interest groups; Linda Hyde, Hannah Goodman and Harriett Kleinman, who handled food and set-up; and Cindy Zive, the graphic artist who created the beautiful artwork featured on the invitation as well as on the cards on each tabletop.
WCA is always looking for new interest groups to meet the current interests of our members and to spark new interests! If you have an idea for a new group and are interested in being the group’s liaison, contact Louise Forman. Your enthusiasm and willingness to lead a new group will further strengthen WCA in providing an even wider array of interest groups to engage our members.
the luncheon they planned as part of last summer’s WCA’s “Year Rounder” activities.Judy Somerfeld and Harriett Kleinman reminisce about
