LUDLOW, Vt. – The February meeting of the GFWC Okemo Valley Women’s Club was held virtually Monday, Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. Twenty-one club members were present via Zoom, including a new member.
A business meeting was held to review volunteer events, plans for 2021, club programs, and community efforts. The Scholarship Committee announced that the most recent scholarship has been awarded and received by the recipient. This year’s scholarships are pending and will be awarded in 2021.
The club’s fundraising efforts, such as the Trees of Remembrance in Ludlow and Proctorsville, fully fund our scholarships programs for local students. One of the club’s main fundraising projects is their annual President’s Week Bake and Appetizer Sale, which was canceled this year due to Covid-19 concerns. Instead, the ladies will donate their homemade baked goods and sweets to veterans’ Easter baskets for housebound veterans, a Ludlow American Legion Post 36 project.
State President Marylou Shaw also reviewed other Vermont GFWC clubs’ efforts during the past several months of the pandemic.
Following the business meeting, the evening’s speaker was our very own club member, Brigid Faenza. Since 2014, Brigid and her husband Paul owned Big Eyes Bakery in Ludlow, their idea of retirement from the NYPD after 20 years. The bakery has been a great success and quite a contribution to the Ludlow community. Now the bakery is closing so Brigid can look toward retirement though we are sure she will remain busy as always. Brigid entertained the club by showing the women how to make one of her signature sweet products, Irish potatoes. It was an entertaining, appetite stimulating presentation, and many of the club members have already tried their hand at making this special treat. We all wish you the best of luck in your next venture, Brigid and Paul.
The next meeting of the GFWC Okemo Valley Women’s Club will be held Monday, March 8 via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Anyone wishing to attend may contact President Penny Trick at 802-975-0313, Membership Chairwoman Roxie Davis at 802-226-7417, or any club member.
GFWC, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, is an international women’s organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service.