March, 2008

President's Note

News Among Friends

Susannah L. Wong

Mentoring

Birthdays

Meetings

Cay Dickson
Newsletter Editor

Texas Executive Women
PO Box 22593
Houston, 77027
713-473-3222
(TEW voicemail)

Web site:
http://www.tewhouston.org/

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

It may not be official yet, but I believe the Spring season is here in Houston . The sparrows are busy chattering and looking for nesting material in my yard and butterflies are flitting about. As varied as the weather has been this winter, you just never know. As Dewey Compton used to tell us on his gardening radio show, watch out for a March freeze, don't start planting yet. Houston, the only place I know where you can have all four seasons in one day!

But this warm weather does get us to thinking of new beginnings, and we have lots of activities for our mentoring girls to launch them off into those new beginnings. Career tours start the 11th of March and run through May 2. You can become involved with as little as a half day commitment.

Each tour needs a TEW representative to accompany the girls and their school based mentor on the tour. I know we have one tour at this point in need of a TEW representative. It is to the TWU School of Nursing in the medical center on March 27 and will have ten girls from both Aldine and Westbury schools.

TEW members who have done this tour in the past have been impressed in what is made available to the girls. Please contact Linda Holt (713-789-8099) if you can volunteer for this or any other tour.

The Scholarship Committee will soon be selecting our newest Jackie Greer Mentoring Scholarship recipients. Thanks to Margo Snider and her committee, a very successful 2007 Woman On the Move® event makes available $35,000 for those scholarships. President Elect Paula Bohls is in the process of selecting her committee with deadlines for applications of March 31. Graduating seniors who have successfully completed their respective mentoring program at any of the schools are eligible to apply for scholarships which may be used at any university, college, junior college or trade school.

The close of the 2007-08 school term also brings our end-of-year banquets where those scholarships and other awards are distributed. The joint Westbury High School and Ball High School luncheon is April 23 at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston. Aldine's late afternoon event and dinner is May 14. If you are interested in attending either one or both of these events to meet our young ladies and be inspired, please contact Florence Kusnetz for Westbury/Ball at 713-723-2711 or Linda Holt at 713-789-8099 for Aldine. Reservations are required.

There is no getter gift than that of a helping hand to someone's future. This is the time of year we see the fruition of all our time commitments, hard work and TEW resources to our three mentoring programs. This Spring crop will bloom in the coming years.

Carolyn Wyly

President

NEWS AMONG FRIENDS

The Professionals In Culinary arts (PCA) will hold their 4th Annual Student Iron Chef competition on April 24. It will benefit students in local accredited culinary programs.

Students from two local culinary programs will compete during a one-hour challenge testing their skills by preparing dishes from mystery basket products. Each member of the winning team will earn a $1000 scholarship and runners up will each receive a $500 grant.

The event will be held at the Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, 4800 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX 77004. Ticket price is $65 and includes admission to the competition, silent auction, and cocktail reception with complimentary hors d'oeuvres. To purchase or reserve tickets, please contact TEW member Susan Prins at mailto:sprins@lyonsmagnus.com.

TEW MENTORING PROGRAM

Blanca Garcia was a former Career Women of the Future at Westbury High School . She graduated two years ago, is now at the University of Houston and has recently been accepted into the Bauer College of Business Program of Excellence in Selling. The program will provide her the opportunity to have a minor in marketing and will train her in all aspects of the selling industry. In response to my providing a monetary sponsorship for her in this program, she wrote me the following:

“Dear Mrs. Wyly,

Thank you so much for your support, you have guided me throughout my high school years and have remained one of my most influential mentors. I immensely appreciate your constant determination to help me every step of the way toward achieving my success. It means a lot to me,

Once again thank you,

Sincerely,

Blanca”

Blanca is one of our outstanding program graduates, has all the requisite attributes to succeed in life and is the reason we who are involved in the mentoring programs do what we do. This is the time of year you also can become involved by agreeing to be a TEW representative on a career tour, and have the opportunity to positively impact someone like Blanca.

For valuable insight into these highly successful mentoring programs, watch the 2006 Mentoring Video. Many young women have taken bold steps into their futures that they most likely would not have taken had they not been involved in these programs.

MARCH BIRTHDAYS

UPCOMING MEETING MEMO

March 11 , 2008 - Elizabeth Gregory. Director of Women's Studies Program and Associate Professor of English at University of Houston. Her topic will be "Ladies Living Long and Large". She is also the author of the book, "Ready: Why Women Are Embracing the New Later Motherhood".

RSVP by March 7 (Cancellations by Thursday, March 6 WILL NOT BE CHARGED.)

Upcoming Meetings:
April 8 – The Reverend Lucrecia (Luchy) Littlejohn, Canon Pastor, Christ Church Cathedral

May 14 - Betty Chapman, Historian, and Chair of the Mayor's Task Force on Houston History

All regular meetings are on the second Tuesday of the month at:

The Briar Club
2603 Timmons Ln.
(Westheimer at Timmons)

Time: 5:30 pm - 6:15 p.m. (Check-In, Social)     
6:15 p.m. Speaker & Dinner

TEW Members with RSVP - $30.00
TEW Members without RSVP - $35.00
Nonmembers & Guests- RSVP Required - $35.00

RSVP ASAP to Geraldine Gill
leave message on machine at 713-743-2720,
or email ggill@thecurrentevent.com and
reference TEW in the subject line

If you prefer receiving hard copy, please let Geraldine know.