"In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets … Hence, true Friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualifies to become a real friend. They can then say, as the blessed souls say in Dante, "Here comes the one who will augment our loves." For in this love "to divide is not to take away."
C.S. Lewis
Welcome to all of you who have recently become Newcomers or who have renewed memberships for our 2022/2023 year! Each of you bring value to our club and help to enhance all of its "facets".
IMPORTANT NOTICE
The Board of Directors has voted to increase the cost of the monthly luncheons to $30. This was necessary to offset a price increase for food and a new non-negotiable charge-per-event cost. The Board considered but chose not to increase the annual membership fee at this time. We didn't feel it was equitable to charge the entire membership to cover luncheon costs when many folks choose not to attend these monthly gatherings. We looked into moving our luncheons to an event location in Gallatin, but when compared the prices for what we normally get at Bluegrass, there wasn't benefit to making the move; access to the facility and parking at this location was also problematic. The new special events coordinator at Bluegrass has promised to do everything in her power to make sure that our luncheons are close to perfect for us. We are going to step up our presence at/with Bluegrass to make sure that issues we have faced in the past don't occur in our future.
I hope that you all have had a marvelous summer. Mine has been a one with a European river cruise and trips to a rodeo, the beach and a PGA tournament. That sounds amazing - and it was - but the thing that made each of these adventures even better than they might have been was that my husband and I were with different groups of friends from different times in our lives. These friends were different in so many ways - interesting and funny and complex and introverted or extroverted and healthy or dealing with health issues and talented - and without a doubt they enhanced our adventures just by being part of them. When I first read the quote at the beginning of this message, I thought about all of us, about the connections we make by being a part of this group of Newcomers' women. This club gives us the opportunity to welcome that second or third or fourth friend; we can share our interests; we are lights for each other; we are better because we are together. Hopefully we will continue to bring out the best in each other!
The Newcomers' first luncheon of the new year will be on Thursday, September 15 at Bluegrass. Due to a golf event already on the calendar at Bluegrass we were not able to schedule our luncheon for the second Thursday in September. Our guest speaker is a young author who will be talking about the people who influenced him on his journey as a writer; there may be a surprise or two so we hope that you will join us for lunch on the 15th.
We will be bringing back our tradition of awarding door prizes at this luncheon. For those who are new to the club or who don't remember, luncheon attendees voluntarily bring items in gift bags or individually wrapped to be given out after our formal program is over. Bringing these "donations" is not required for anyone, but anyone attending the luncheon and sticking around after the birthday announcements is eligible to win a door prize.
Do you have a book or two that you've read recently that you would like to give to someone? There will be a "library" table set up during our September luncheon where these books can be displayed. Luncheon attendees will be able to take a book or two home totally without charge. Books left on the table after the luncheon is over will be boxed up and taken to libraries in Hendersonville, Gallatin, or local hospitals.
Here we are at the start of September. We will celebrate Labor Day and the first day of Autumn this month. We'll remember the events of 9/11 and those who lost their lives and those who were affected by that awful day. The month is dedicated childhood cancer awareness and suicide prevention awareness. We can celebrate National Chocolate Milk Day or National Pancake Day or my favorite, National Beer Drinking Day. Although it's not on official calendars, we can celebrate each other when we meet for luncheons or bridge or bunco or book clubs or whatever.
As always, I Wish you good health, peace, and happiness. Carol
