“Many people will walk in and out of your life but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” Eleanor Roosevelt
“Trust is earned in the smallest moments. It is earned not through heroic deeds, or even highly visible actions, but through paying attention, listening, and gestures of genuine care and connection.” Brene Brown
Dearest Newcomers,
I don’t normally start my message with two quotes, but Mrs. Roosevelt’s comment resonated with me. And then I saw the quote about trust (which is at the core of any friendship) and I had to use them both. I had a call from a dear friend, and it was a beautiful, fun conversation. It was this call that influenced me to search out quotes that relate or apply to friendship for this message. My friend is a Newcomer who has moved away from Sumner County to be closer to family and to start a new life adventure. I know for sure that she has left a footprint on my heart and truly believe that can be said for a lot of us. In her quiet way, she paid attention, listened and took the time to show she cared and connected with all of us. Our friendships with her are/were based on many, many small moments. As the US Marines say, “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” Well, I hope my friend and all of us can say, “Once a Newcomer, always a Newcomer” and that we’ll all create our own small moments with each other.
Our September luncheon was a fun event! Bluegrass is going through some staff changes and there were a few “learning curve” issues that have been addressed and hopefully will not occur in the future. Hendersonville’s Mayor Clary gave us a brief history of Hendersonville and provided a view of what Hendersonville was like not so very long ago and where the city is today. For the first time since March 2019, our Giving Tree was in place, door prizes were given out, and we used our magnetic name tags! These things might not seem like much, but they sure did help give our luncheon a normal feel again.
Our October luncheon will be in the Sunnyside (or Glass) Room at Bluegrass. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and we have selected ABC (After Breast Cancer) as our charity. As Newcomers we have some close connections with ABC for several reasons and it is hoped that we can raise a tidy sum for this very worthwhile program. Let’s wear something to celebrate Halloween – like a costume if you’d like or some special jewelry or hat or funny socks or whatever.
Your Board is working on selecting a November charity that will benefit our local Veterans. We’re thinking that we will be collecting clothing, other personal items, and food stuff to be delivered to a Veterans home in Gallatin. If you want to contribute (once we advertise the suggested items) you can bring your donations to the November luncheon …. Or you can drop of what you’d like to contribute to the homes of some of us who will make sure that everything gets to the right place to support our Sumner County Vets. We are also considering a contributing to Wreaths Across America. More information will be sent out in a month or so.
As always, if you have suggestions about Sumner County charities or guest speakers, please let someone on the Board know. Ideas from the membership are always welcome! If you have had a recent great experience at a restaurant, or know of an awesome place to hike, or have found a boutique or two or three that you love or whatever – write down your comments and bring them to the next luncheon. Or send them to me in an email and we will offer up those recommendations to the membership.
October is a month of beautiful fall colors and Halloween and apple cider. We get to celebrate Get Organized Week (I think this was mentioned in last year’s message and I’d love to celebrate if I could ever get really organized.) Houseguests are due in on the 1st and piles of magazine still need to get pitched or recycled!!! I don’t dare look at the dates on those magazines. UGH. There is an International Day for anyone who loves coffee as much as my daughter-in-law does. Did you know there’s a Count Your Buttons Day? Do any of you have containers of miscellaneous buttons that you’ve held onto for years thinking that someday you’ll need a weird sized black one? And there’s a National Candy Corn Day. Does anyone really like candy corn?
Thank you to those key Newcomers who put together our monthly luncheons. Thank you to all of the Newcomers who have helped distribute the birthday cupcakes. Thank you, Joan Blanich, for continuing to be our club baker. Thank you to all of our Board members who work hard to bring our Club back to our normal place. Thank you to all of the wonderful women who make up our Newcomers membership. Love goes out to you all!
I wish you good health, peace and happiness.
Carol Gower
OUR GUEST SPEAKER:
Alison Catway Alison Catway works with Metro Family Services. She has made it her mission to talk about “staying safe”. In this ever changing environment, that includes an increased level of random violence, it has become increasingly important that women become more attuned to the actions they can take to ensure their personal safety.
CHARITY OF THE MONTH: AFTER BREAST CANCER (ABC)
After Breast Cancer is a program offered for survivors that is given by survivors. The Sumner County Family YMCA program provides education and healing for body, mind, and spirit after a breast cancer diagnosis. Participants learn about healthy eating, resume or begin a regular exercise program that is right for them. They form a healing community in small group discussions led by a trained facilitator. ABC is completely free of charge and is funded by grants, private donations, and generous community sponsors.
THE MONEY TREE IS BACK:
Our Charity of the Month is supported, in part, by money earned from the Money Tree. The Money Tree is at every luncheon and is always surrounded by small bags of candy. Stop by the Money Tree and buy a bag of candy. You’ll be satisfying your “sweet tooth” while knowing that your money is going to this month’s charity. Last month, our Money Tree earned $246.00 for the Jason Foundation.
