February 2018

BPW Connection | February 2018

Come do lunch with the Upper Keys BPW! Wednesday, February 21st, at the Holiday Inn, Key Largo (African Queen Room,) from 11:30 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.   Our speaker this month is Elizabeth Jolin from Florida Bay Forever.  Register in advance: FEBRUARY LUNCHEON REGISTRATION Happy February BPW members and friends! I hope you were able to celebrate the day of love on Valentine’s. It’s always an exciting evening in the restaurant biz, one of my favorites! As well as a great kickoff to our prime season here in the Keys. Last months luncheon was so informative and the Upper Keys BPW is proud to be helping Solar United Neighbors share their information as these solar co-ops come to Monroe County. The first official meeting will be held at the Key Largo Library on Monday February 26th at 7:00 pm.  For more information you can reach out to BPW member Brenda Carr: brenda.carr@outlook.com. This month we’re excited to bring you timely information on our beautiful Florida Bay backyard from Elizabeth Jolin representing Florida Bay Forever, a nonprofit advocacy group. We hope you’ll join us and register today. We’ve received a couple of adult scholarship applications and are hoping to continue receiving more before the March 15th deadline. Please spread the word. The link and directions are on our website. We are grateful to have more funds to give this year, honoring Holly Given. Her mom Lucy hopes to create a legacy of giving in her daughters name. We’re cooking up some fun for your March evening event, so save the date, March 21st!! Thank you to the BPW members who have volunteered to serve on the board this coming year. We’re delighted to have your input and assistance. You really do get more out of your membership by serving, believe me!! Looking forward to our luncheon Wednesday, hope to see you! Love, Laura Maupin

bpw|CALENDAR Feb 21: Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., Holiday Inn, African Queen Room, with speaker Elizabeth Jolin from Florida Bay Forever. Mar 21: Evening Networking Event. Location TBA. Apr 18: Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., Holiday Inn, African Queen Room (New 2018 Board Member Elections) May 17: Evening Networking Event and Induction of New Board of Directors. Location TBA.

The Upper Keys BPW meets once a month, on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. We alternate between luncheons and evening networking events, and would love for you to join us! Click the button to see our full event schedule and register for an upcoming event.  SPONSOR AN EVENT! If you or your business would be interested in sponsoring one or more of our lunches or evening events, let us know and we'll provide you with details and prices. bpwupperkeys@gmail.com.  Stay tuned for more information on sponsorship opportunities.

bpw|member SPOTLIGHT Meet Clarice M. Yentsch The Keys are a perfect place for Clarice Yentsch; her background is Oceanography and she loves being in, on, or under water. Key Largo became her permanent residence in June of 2013 – with weeks in the summers in Maine. Presently Clarice is the President of The Waypoint Foundation, a Key Largo not for profit devoted to “Celebrating Human Creativity” with a focus on Education, Life Enrichment, and Exploration. Waypoint received it’s IRS status June 1, 2015. Waypoint hosted UNIVERSE CANTICLE, an exhibition of 31 tapestries detailing the history of the Universe, created by the Women of Kopanang, South Africa. Waypoint then created INNOCENT SOULS: VIETNAM 1968, an exhibition of Glenn R. Hoover’s photographs. An upcoming venue will be The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, GA from August through November of 2018. INNOCENT SOULS: VIETNAM 1968 inspired SONG OF THE MOUNTAINS: The Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow of the Montagnard People. This exhibition was created in collaboration with a group of young indigenous Montagnards ages 17-25 from FOCHUS.org now living in Charlotte, NC who return to Vietnam each summer with a mission of Peace, Reconciliation, and Unconditional Love. SONG OF THE MOUNTAINS was in Key Largo January 8 to February 13, 2018 at the Key Largo Library. The exhibition travels on to Charlotte and other venues in NC. Waypoint’s commitment to life enrichment resulted in hosting two study groups: Sound Healing and Therapy (October 2017) and Creating Relationship Awareness (November 2017) and hosting 7 Waypoint Fellows for 3-4 weeks. Our Fellow for August 2018 will be Charlotta Dybeck of Stockholm Sweden who coordinates HUMAN DYNAMICS programs in Sweden. Waypoint took on the responsibility of “translating” and production of a HUMAN DYNAMICS BOOK authored by Berit Bergstrom entitled UNDERSTANDING DIVERSITY. It is available on Amazon.com.

ATTA GIRL Kate Banick! Congrats to BPW Board Member (Secretary) Kate Banick for The Good Health Clinic's 7th Annual Beach Luau! Kudos on another great event! The Good Health Clinic provides free, quality health care to uninsured, low-income residents. The annual Luau is their main fundraiser.   Kate was also awarded when The Good Health Clinic was named an Unsung Hero of 2018 by the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys.  The CFFK chose to honor certain non-profit organizations this year for their efforts in renewing the heart and soul of our community following Hurricane Irma.  ATTA GIRL Pam Feeser-Carter! Congrats to BPW member Pam Feeser-Carter! Her non-profit organization, DOLPHINS To Stop Domestic Violence was also named an Unsung Hero of 2018 by the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys. Through DOLPHINS and Living Springs Counseling, Pam was honored for helping heal the heart and soul of our community after Irma.  ATTA GIRL Ann Sandlin! Congratulations to BPW member Ann Sandlin! United Way of the Florida Keys was also named an Unsung Hero of 2018 by the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys for all of their efforts in helping our community in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.  ATTA GIRL Pam Martin! Kudos to BPW Board Member (Director) Pam Martin! Pam has been been re-elected to the Board of the Council on Aging as Treasurer.  ATTA GIRL Sue Woltanski! Big congratulations to BPW member Sue Woltanski!  Sue announced recently that she is a candidate for Monroe County School Board District 5!  As a passionate defender of public education, dedicated volunteer, retired pediatrician and mother of two public school children, Sue is uniquely qualified to serve our community in this capacity. Way to go Sue! Do you know someone who deserves an "Atta Girl!"? Send your suggestions to:  bpwupperkeys@gmail.com.  NEW FEBRUARY MEMBERS Please help us welcome new and renewing members! NEW MEMBERS: Lesly Quin, CIL of the Keys Shawna Simcic, Business Development Debra Walker, Archeology Kathy Salce, University of Miami School of Business Administration Brenda Carr, Aviation Safety Management Systems Inc. RENEWING MEMBERS: Robert Lockwood, Attorney Become a member of the Upper Keys Business & Professional Women (BPW) Click the button, or go to upperkeysbpw.org for registration and information. You can also join us at one of our luncheons or evening events, held on the third Wednesday of every month. FIVE NEW MEMBERS WERE INDUCTED AT OUR JANUARY 2018 LUNCHEON The next Upper Keys BPW Adult Scholarship(s) will be awarded at the March evening event on March 21st.  Application deadline is March 15th.   bpw|INTRODUCES    The Holly Given Memorial Scholarship Holly Given grew up in the Florida Keys, graduated from Coral Shores High School, and her family are long time residents. Holly tragically lost her life recently, and the entire community has mourned her loss. Family and friends set up a donation fund in her name, and an annual fishing tournament is donating part of its proceeds to the fund. Holly's mother, Lucy Given, reached out to the Upper Keys BPW Board for assistance and advice about the best use for the money that is being raised in her daughter's name. Lucy told us about Holly: "When I think about what was important to Holly, I’d have to say being with friends, family, and being outdoors, preferably all together. Any extra time she had, she was outside… fishing, on the boat, walking a beach, hiking, running, snowboarding. Recently, she realized that she could work, make a living, and still be outside by working at a resort & marina! She was working and finishing college with a Marketing degree, when she lost her life." This is Holly’s abstract from the last paper she wrote in college in November: ‘Growing up in a small town, I have had the pleasure of working for many small family-owned business. I have had the opportunity to manage and run some of these businesses, guided by the owners themselves. After moving away from home and working for corporate businesses in the Hospitality Industry, I have realized that many of my previous employers did not utilize the potential of digital marketing. One day, I plan to move back home and start a small business of my own. With this in mind, I chose to educate myself on the benefits of digital marketing, in relation to a small business, in hopes of applying what I learn towards my future company. In this paper, I explore the benefits of digital marketing and social media.’ Holly was an advocate for leadership and community service, and wanted to help empower women in the community. It seems a natural fit that part of her legacy will be to help the Upper Keys BPW award adult scholarships to women in the Florida Keys wishing to continue or complete their education. We are proud to introduce the new BPW-Holly Given Memorial Scholarship, the first of which will be awarded on March 21, 2018. APPLY FOR AN UPPER KEYS BPW ADULT SCHOLARSHIP The Upper Keys's BPW Adult Scholarship program is about women helping women!   Applications can be found on our website. They are accepted all year round, and are reviewed on March 15th and August 15th annually.  Scholarships may be used for certifications, training classes, or classes and required materials for higher educational degrees.  For more information, or to download the application, click the button below.    Sending an E-Blast to Upper Keys BPW email recipients is a great way to get your message out. Members and non-members alike are invited to use this forum for events, specials, sales and general advertising.  Let the Upper Keys BPW help you spread the word about your business! Our E-Blast prices are as follows: $15.00  -  Members $30.00  -  Non-Members Proceeds from E-Blasts go toward our Adult Scholarship Fund. Simply send us your message, along with your name, business name and billing information to:        BPWupperkeys@gmail.com On Saturday, February 8th, our President-elect Ilja Chapman represented the Upper Keys BPW at the Solar United Neighbors meeting and press release. We have partnered with them, thanks to new BPW member Brenda Carr, to educate and inform our membership and community about the Solar Co-op opportunities available in the Upper Keys for home owners. You are invited to attend their home owners informational meeting to be held on February 26th at the Key Largo Library at 7 pm. Learn more at www.solarunitedneighbors.org/florida. WOMEN'S MARCH 2018 The 2018 Women's March, held on January 20, on the anniversary of the 2017 Women's March, was a reprise protest march with coordinated mass rallies, attracting hundreds of thousands of participants, in hundreds of cities, towns and suburbs in the United States, with sister rallies in Canada, the UK, Japan, Italy and other countries. Some of the largest rallies in the United States were held in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta. In addition to women's rights, worker's rights, equality, unity, and ending violence, new themes have surfaced such as immigration and environmental rights. Another new theme this year gaining momentum is "Power to the Polls". Power to the Polls carries a new message with a focus on increasing voter participation through new voter registrations, encouraging more women, as "strong advocates for women’s rights", to run for office.                                 SAVE THE DATE! NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN  FOR THE 2018-2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS! Would you like to get more out of your BPW experience? Consider a position on the 2018-19 Board of Directors. Nominations are open now, and voting will be held at the April 18th luncheon.  Submit your nomination(s) to: info@upperkeysbpw.org. Board of Directors 2017-2018  President Laura Maupin 305/360-5645 keystoyouth@gmail.com President ElectIlja Chapman305/998-8348 Ilja.chapman@gmail.com Vice Presidents Miriam Lazcos, Membership 305-926-3125 mlazcos@gmail.com Suzi Youngberg, Hospitality 305/393-6830 suziyoungberg@gmail.com Treasurers Theresa Sutter786/361-5404 theresasutter@gmail.com Jennifer Cappadona 727/967-4178 jrs1129@hotmail.com  Secretary Kate Banick 305-619-0154 kate@thegoodhealthclinic.org Director Pam Martin305/853-0907 pmflkeys@aol.com Connecting our Upper Keys Chapter to BPW Florida BPW/FL Florida Federation of Business & Professional Women's Club Inc. Contact your Upper Keys BPW Chapter: bpwupperkeys@gmail.com   or   info@upperkeysbpw.org P. O. Box 231, Tavernier, FL  33070 Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn Unsubscribe