Fall 2020
Dear FEW Friends,
The cool, crisp days of fall are upon us and we just celebrated the kickoff to our FEW year with an outdoor gathering full of food, friends and…well, masks! For the rest of the fall, we intend to capture the last of the warm-ish weather and do a few more in-person (masked and distanced) events for those who are excited to meet in person. Then we’ll switch to a mix of virtual events as the weather closes in. It’s going to be an unusual year, but a great one as we all need chances to connect and share even more than before!
Our theme this year? Trailblazers…and we think it’s the perfect theme for a strong group of female leaders in these times!
This year’s book? The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, by Melinda Gates; book group leader Bonnie Adler
Our wonderful program committee, run by the always awesome Michele Anstine, is putting together a fabulous fall calendar. Save the Date now for a networking event at Maker’s Alley on September 30, and a lunch gathering in Jeanne Griffith Leslie’s backyard on October 15 when we’ll have a thought-provoking conversation circle. On October 27 we’ll meet via Zoom with Neylan McBaine, author of Pioneering the Vote to learn of early suffrage-movement trailblazers and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment expanding the right to vote to women nationwide. More information on those and other upcoming events will arrive shortly!
Thanks everyone and I look forward to seeing you all as we Fall for FEW!
Teresa J Avery
Fall 2019
Greetings FEW Members!
I am always a little sad to see the end of summer, but one of the bright sides is always the start to a new program year for the Forum of Executive Women Delaware! We’re starting it all off with our annual Kickoff Party on September 10. Many thanks to Jeanne Griffith-Leslie for offering to host us in her lovely home. If you haven’t yet registered, go here. The Kickoff Party is always one of the most fun events of our season and a great way to catch up with so many members. This is also a great opportunity to bring a guest who you think might be interested in FEW membership – don’t forget, your guest is free! At that event (and an email to follow it) the Program Committee is eager to share the exciting new theme for this year’s events and what’s already on deck for the coming months.
I’d like to give a big thank you to Jeanne for coordinating this summer’s aFEWfriends events. I hope that you were able to make it to at least one of these casual get-togethers for enjoying good company while taking in some of the hot spots and highlights in Wilmington’s cultural and food scenes. Thank you, Jeanne!
In order to hit the ground running for this next program year, the FEW Board had a productive mini-retreat in July, where the main focus was on the member experience, the value proposition for FEW Delaware and how we communicate that both inside and outside of the organization. We’re excited that our newest board members, Teresa Avery and Rebecca Simeone-Lennon, are bringing their enthusiasm and expertise to the board and have already jumped in to lead the Marketing and Communications Committee this year. As always, we welcome any FEW members interested in being a part of this or any other committee – it’s a great way to be involved!
In an effort to make our program calendar consistent and convenient for members (and based on the attendance data from recent years), we are going to hold all of our events at just one location this year (exceptions will be for Happy Hours, Parties, and the Night at the Theater). We’ve made an arrangement with the University and Whist Club in Wilmington to host us, and we’re planning the calendar so that events will all be on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, rotating between lunches and dinners. We hope that this will strengthen our attendance numbers and make it easier for you to mark your schedule early for FEW events.
We look forward to sharing the complete fall schedule soon, but hope you’ll mark your calendar for Tuesday, September 24 at 5:30pm for an evening with Imogen Ragone who will share tools and techniques for bringing “Less Stress, More Ease!” into our busy lives! Many thanks to Joanne Conaty and our outstanding Program Committee for putting together an engaging, informative and wide-ranging series of events and guest speakers in the upcoming year!
Last year we welcomed 8 new members and they are already making our events even more dynamic and engaging with their participation. We’d like to grow that number even more for the 2019/20 year. Please consider inviting women leaders you know to join our events and share with them your perspective on the benefits of participation and membership. As a reminder, guests are free for our Opening Kickoff Party!
In closing, I’ll share that FEW Delaware is incredibly fortunate to have a diverse membership, a dedicated board and an enthusiastic administrator who all make our FEW experience so worthwhile. As with anything, the more time you can invest in attending the FEW programs, the more you’ll value your membership (I know that’s been the case for me!). We look forward to seeing you at our programs and events this year and hope that you’ll continue to be an engaged member of FEW Delaware!
All my best,
Carrie Gray
Board President
Chair, Doctor of Business Administration
Wilmington University, College of Business
