Welcome to the IWP Newsletter
February 2021
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Dear IWP Ladies:
Welcome to our February 2021 newsletter – a month in which flowers and chocolate are front and center!
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As most of you are probably aware – our incoming Executive Board for 2021 has already gone through some changes. An email that was sent out last month detailed the sad news of Maria Barros’ illness and the need for her to step back from her role as President. Louise Strasenburgh, who was about to start in her role as Vice President, moved up to take the helm from Maria and we are delighted to welcome Britta Martini-Miles as our new Vice President. The Board of five is therefore complete, with Heather Dennis, Barb Schafer and Annemarie Simons working for you as Secretary, Treasurer and Member Designate respectively. You can read all our bios on the IWP Website
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UPDATE: It is with great sadness that we learned that Maria Barros Price, the former President of IWP lost her battle with cancer on February 1st. Our entire membership is mourns the loss of a vibrant, engaging woman, who gave her all to moving IWP forward into a vibrant, engaging entity to enrich the lives of women living in Portugal. When we have more information regarding any kind of service or memorial, we will post that both on our private Facebook page and as an email. Messages may be sent via www.CaringBridge.org – where her husband, Gary Price, along with her children Michael and Sarah will be able to access them. Thank you.
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Our aim is to keep the newsletter short with links to pages on the IWP Website and our Facebook page. We want to encourage members to use both since they continue to be our portals for sharing information. Note: Anything that is underlined and blue is a link – just click and it will take you to the relevant page.
As I write, we are under the tightest restrictions yet, due to COVID. Outside activities are therefore still on hold – so we are turning out attention away from what we CAN’T do to what we CAN. To that end – we hope to soon announce some online opportunities you might like to join. We are also including this link: Barbs Italian Special – Cooking Corner – International Women in Portugal (iwpportugal.org) to a recipe with photos by our own Chef Barb for you enjoy.
We have preparing a short 5 question survey an easy but useful way for us to take a ‘reading’ on our current membership’s preferences and needs. Please take the time to check the boxes and then add helpful comments if you wish. The surveys are anonymous and will be used to inform how best to use the time and talents within our group.
Another space where you can offer comments is on our Private Facebook page
We also have a members-only Facebook page IWP Members Forum, The page is for IWP members to share their thoughts and ideas about IWP and life in Portugal. This is a closed group so only members can see the content.
On another note, I want to take a moment to mention membership dues. In a year when activities have been so curtailed, some of you may be thinking of taking a break from IWP and not renewing your membership. I urge you to re-think this and I’ll tell you why.
The dues that we collect from you are the ONLY source of income that we have. Without dues, we have no members, and without members, we have no IWP! Your dues keep the show on the road. We still need to maintain our website, pay bank fees and mandatory legal fees besides more mundane items like postage, printing and office supplies. We also like to put aside funds to subsidize excursions and events so that outings and special lunches are more affordable. We will be back up and running with these as soon as we can be, so please show your continued support by maintaining your membership.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of IWP. If you will – take a moment to realize that the women who have come before you, who have helped maintain a strong membership, are the reason that the group is here for you today. This is their legacy. I invite you to continue to be the same for the women of tomorrow who will arrive and need to connect to a community of like-minded smart ladies with whom they can enjoy activities, form friendships and enrich their lives in Portugal.
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ONLINE COFFEE MORNINGS ARE BACK!
Ladies – please feel free to join me and perhaps others from the Board for a cup of coffee and a catch up each Tuesday morning at 10:30am. If you click on this link:
https://meet.google.com/ovv-ftjq-qtf?hs=151
to join us on Google Meet. Some conversations will be just open plan but others might lean towards a particular topic … bring your ideas.
Please drop by and say hello – we’d love to see you and get to know you better!
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We are always looking for members to help our IWP Executive Board run this wonderful organisation. If you would like to get involved, please to contact us.
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We also have a closed Facebook group (IWP Members Forum) for members to share ideas and fun photos of the activities they do together. Now you are a member, we will add you to the group. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Best wishes,
Louise Strasenburgh
Executive President of IWP
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