The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

By Cindy Lockhart hat does your membership mean to you? Stop and think about why you firstjoined the Women‘s Institute. Did you join for fellowship. to educate yourself. or did you want to volunteer? This is the kind of information you need to relay to potential new members. Let’s get back to basics and educate current and potential members on the benefits of being a Women's Institute member. By sharing this information. we will succeed at getting interested women to_join our organization. Remember. it is not ajob for one person. We all have to be a part of the TEAM. because “Together Everyone Achieves More!“ Working with Mom site What a thrill it was this past fall traveling all over Ontario with FWIO President Dianne Orr doing Membership Recruitment Workshops at your Area Conventions. I hope I gave you some en- couragement and possible ideas for getting those potential members to join your group. According to the evaluation forms, 85% of the workshop participants felt they learned something new to take back to their Branch and put to use. Meeting and talking with members was great! Your ideas and concerns will be shared across the province. Although pre- paring for and presenting a workshop is a huge amount of work, your positive comments and feedback made it all worth- while. Thank you! To the many hostesses that shared their homes with Dianne and myself, a special thanks. You made us feel welcome and a part of your family. Thank you for your email addresses. The database is growing. It is my hope to be able to email information to at least one member per Branch who can then share it with others. Please keep me informed of On Wednesday. November 6. 2002. I went to the FWIO Provincial Office as part of the "Take Your Kids to Work Day."| spent the day with my mom Mary Poodry. the FWIO bookkeeper, and the staff. I helped sort incoming mail. prepare supply orders and print cheques and receipts on the com» puter. Heather showed me how to operate the postage meter and photocopier. and I learned more about computer keyboarding skills. Thank you very much to Lynn. Heatherand Mom for letting me be a part 01 their work day. It was a great experience! Artlfcy Four/0', Crude 9 C mmr Wallin‘vmn District Hi git St‘iitmi any address changes. Continue to share with me by phone. fax or email. And r member. you can all succeed by workii together as a Branch. Cindy Lorkhart is the Membership Coordinator fort/1e Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario. She can be reached at 736 Algonquin Dr., Midland ON HR 429, Phone: 705-527-7768. Fax: 705-527-1671, Email: Iockhad@csolve.net Focus High The tirst year of the 3-year fund- raising project dubbed “Focus High tor Wt" is c o m p | e t e d . M e m b e r s raised more than 331.000 tor the FWIO Headquarters Operating Fund. To all those members who contributed to this lundraising effort. Board extends heartfelt thanks. Don't forget about Phase 2 of the "Focus High tor WI“ project. which will raise funds for the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Home- stead Upkeep Fund to be presented at the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada (FWlC) Convention in Lennoxville. Quebec, in June 2003. Remember to make cheques payable to FWIO and make a note on the memo tine Focus High for WI â€" Hoodless Upkeep Fund. Also enclose your Branch and Area name along with your chequeand advise your Provincial Advisory Councillor of your contribution. The Spirit at Volunteerism The spirit of volunteerism was recognized in FlenIrew County on October 2. 2002. when 42 members from Flenirew South District Women’s Institute were recognized for their volunteer work with the WI. As part of a special ceremony in Pembroke, the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture presented each recipient with a beautifully crafted pin indicating 30 or 50 plus years of service and a certificate to commemorate the occasion. Twentyâ€"five of those nominated for the 2002 Volunteer Award had more than 50 years of volunteer service and received a medallion from the Queen in commemoration of her 50m Jubilee. Show is a panoramic view of many 0! those members who could attend the ceremony. Submitted by Jo-Anne Camelon, PFiO. Flenlrow South. 6 Home & (ountry, Winter 2002-03