The September 17th meeting at the Wingate Inn in West Chester, which kicked off our membership drive and new meeting formats, was attended by almost 30 members and non-members. Donna Drury, the evening’s speaker, shared the “ABCs of Balancing Your Life” with all of us. The meeting started with a new format – informal networking and appetizers. People used the time to catch up with old friends and make new acquaintances. A fun game of networking bingo was also played. It was non-competitive but everyone got into the spirit. After taking a few minutes to network and fill out the game cards, everyone dropped the cards into a basket. While it wasn’t hard to get a bingo, we only had two winners. Donna Drury and Valerie Burba each won a $5.00 gift certificate to Starbucks.

As part of our membership drive, each member and non-member who came to the meeting together was eligible for a raffle. Donna Neubert brought Peg Chandler with her and they each won a $15.00 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble.

There were brief announcements and then we had a surprise Volunteer of the Month recognition. Sarah Wigser recognized Denise Roberts, newsletter editor, as September 2003’s Volunteer of the Month. Denise was presented with an STC T-shirt and Sarah’s gratitude.

Donna Drury spoke for just over an hour. She is a dynamic speaker and had everyone’s attention – especially Jean Fudge who was blowing up a balloon as part of Donna’s opening exercise. After sharing a bit about herself, Donna walked us through the ABCs of balancing our lives. From Align with your true values to Zero in on what your passion is, it was a great presentation and everyone benefited.

It was a great way to start the year!