Connection - WCCR · Hosted by Michale Gabriel in Bosques de Doña Rosa, Cariari, Belén Contact...

WCCR Connection January-February 2016b 1

do something to “make the

world more beautiful.”

Little Alice promises that she

will. She grows up, goes to work

in a library, travels to faraway

places (she is now called “Miss

Rumphius”), and when she is old

she builds her house overlooking

the sea. It is there that Miss

Rumphius discovers that she can

fulfill her promise to her grandfa-

ther. She begins planting lupine

seeds – purple, blue and rose-

colored – “along the country

lanes and the highways, behind

the church and the schoolyard

and along the rock walls.” The

next spring there were lupines

Issue

January-February

2016

Connection

Upcoming Events ................. 3

Monthly News ..................... 4

Our Newest Interest Group .. 5

Interest Groups .................... 6

Jan & Feb Events .................. 7

New Members ..................... 8

January 30: West Social

February 6: North Social

February 11: General Meeting

March 16: March Luncheon

Mark Your Calendar

Inside This Issue

Ileana

Diane

Joan Mary Jo

Sylvia

Lisa F.

Anne

Michale

Pamela

Lisa A.

Grace

Fátima

For complete names and board and advisory positions, see page 2. Not pictured: Diana Fox and Tricia Shultz.

By Michale Gabriel

Greetings from the Prez

Hi, WCCR Members and Amigos,

The Board and Advisory are

delighted to welcome you to the

first issue of Connection for 2016!

We are excited about this year

and the possibilities that it holds

for our members and our commu-

nity.

One of my favorite children’s

books is Miss Rumphius by Barbara

Cooney. A little girl named Alice

tells her grandfather that when she

grows up she wants to be just like

him. She wants to travel to fara-

way places and when she gets old

she wants to “live in a house over-

looking the sea.” He tells her that

is all fine and well but there is a

third thing she must do. She must Continued on page 2.


Voting Members

President .................................... Michale Gabriel

First Vice President ........................... Lisa Aspinall

Second Vice President ....................... Lisa Foulger

Treasurer ...................................... Pam Rutledge

Recording Secretary ............................. Diana Fox

Communications Coordinator .... Diane Blomgren

Vocal – Membership ......................... Joan Boyce

Vocal – Interest Groups ................. Ileana Borbón

Vocal – Fundraising .......................... Tricia Shultz

Non-Voting Members

Fiscal (Monitor) .............................. Sylvia Prince

Alternate Fiscal ......................... Grace Woodman

Advisory Committee

Elena Austermühle ................... Scholarships Chair

Mary Jo Miller ................... Scholarships Co-Chair

Anne Kreupeling ........Schoolbooks for Kids Chair

Cyndy Vorih .................. Adviser to the President

Fátima Santos ........................... Strategic Planning

WCCR Connection is published monthly by the

Women’s Club of Costa Rica.

Editor: Diane Blomgren

Contributing Writers: Ileana Borbón, Lisa Foulger,

and Michale Gabriel

Contact: [email protected]

Mission

The Women’s Club of Costa Rica

is a social and philanthropic organization

supporting personal growth

and advancement of

women and young people

through scholarships and

other educational opportunities.

growing everywhere. She had done something to

make the world more beautiful.

Your 2016 Board and Advisory with your help is

committed to making our Costa Rica world “more

beautiful.”

One way we are doing that is by introducing an

exciting new interest group, “Discover Costa Rica”

led by Board member Ileana Borbón. This group

will be hosting day tours throughout the year. It's a

great way to get to know Costa Rica, its culture and

people and each other! Look for Ileana’s detailed

description and fun-filled photos on page 5.

Our neighborhood socials are filling our January

and February months, and then on March 16th, we

host our traditional March luncheon with a new

twist and in a new location at the Wyndham Herra-

dura Hotel in Cariari. For more information see

page 3. We hope you’ll plan to attend!

In the coming months, we will be exploring new

volunteer efforts in the community which will allow

us to expand our range of impact. And of course,

we will continue our very successful fundraising ef-

forts enabling us to change the lives of so very many

deserving young people.

We are a club of extraordinary women (and

men)! Working together, we are in for an extraordi-

nary year!

The Board and I look forward to working with

you, planting seeds of possibility for the future.

In friendship,

Michale Gabriel, President, 2016

Continued from Page 1

Greetings from the Prez

mailto:[email protected]


Build your own sundae and enjoy a coffee

cocktail! Bring your children and grandchildren

for storytelling and face painting!

Hosted by Michale Gabriel in

Bosques de Doña Rosa, Cariari, Belén

Contact Michale at 4702-0914 to

R.S.V.P. and request a map if needed.

Mark Your Calendar!

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, March 16th, 11 a.m.

Wyndham Herradura Hotel, Cariari

Join us for an inspirational, fun-filled garden party!

Make the world more beautiful (or outlandish!) by wearing a spring hat!

And bring a packet of seeds (flowers or vegetables) to share.

See a board member for a ticket or email [email protected].

Contests and surprises!

March Luncheon

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30th

3:00 p.m. in CIUDAD COLÓN

Please join us at Grace Woodman’s house

for the West Side Social.

West neighborhood members, please bring a

boca, some wine or your favorite drink.

Contact Grace at 2249-1208 to request a map

if needed. She’ll need to give your name

to the guard at the gate.

North Neighborhood Social

WEST NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL

Ice Cream Social for Members,

Their Families, and Guests

Saturday, February 6th

1:30 - 4:00 p.m. Cariari, Belén

NEW DATE Tickets:

₡ 13,000


Beginning with our next general meeting in April,

the meeting fee will be ₡3,000 rather than ₡2,000.

This is necessary in order keep up with the increasing

rental cost for meeting spaces. At ₡2,000, we were

losing money. We hope you will agree that it’s better

not to lose money!

The 2016 Women’s Club Directory will be

available for members at our March 16th luncheon.

About the Club, Board and Members

Monthly News

The Board of Directors of The Women's Club of

Costa Rica is calling an extraordinary general meeting

to be held at the location of Casa LTG (the Little

Theatre Group) at 27 Calle Rolex in San Rafael de

Escazú (directions below).

The purpose of this meeting is:

To approve the change of the Club’s address of

record in Article II of The Women’s Club of Costa

Rica Constitution.

To approve the change of wording of Article XVII

and XIX(E), which is the composition of the Board

of Directors and duties of same.

To confirm that the Board of Directors has the

authority to sell the property inherited by the club

from the Liane Villegas estate.

Please plan to attend this very important meeting.

From Plaza Rose (where Citibank is) in San Rafael de

Escazú, go 300 m southeast. Bear left (east) at Koala

School and continue 50 m. Look for black gate on left.

There will be a watchman to assist with parking and the

gate will be open.

Adele Lurie lost her husband Juan Salinas in

late December. He was an avid biker and

outdoor enthusiast. While biking one day, he

suffered a heart attack. We send our sympathies to

Adele.

Cindy Marshall’s husband, David, who had

health problems for quite a while, passed

away in mid-December. Cindy is a native of

San Francisco and worked for the Club in two

important capacities: she was the Interest Group

Chair for several years and also headed our

campaign for acquiring directory ads. In addition

to her work for the WCCR, she is a Francophile

and was a member of Le Cercle Francophone

interest group. We extend our condolences to

Cindy.

Ellie Hughes, a former member of The

Women’s Club, passed away on Thursday,

January 21st at Hospital México. She went in to

have surgery but died of complications due to a

blood clot in her lung. Ellie was 78 years old and

will be missed. We send our prayers and best

wishes to her family.

Cate Merriman will be moving to the

United States in April. She’s selling a car,

furniture, household items. If interested,

please call her at 4031-2876.

There is no school-

book or scholarship re-

port this month because

of vacation (and lack of

space). We’ll resume in

February. A Happy Student with

Her New Schoolbook


By Ileana Borbo n, Interest Group Leader

Our Newest Interest Group, “Discover

Costa Rica,” Visits Cerro de la Muerte

On January 13th

, sixteen WCCR members trav-

eled by private bus to El Cerro de la Muerte with

Costa Rican Sun Tours’ knowledgeable and fun-

loving guide, Pedro. We had a wonderful

time! Pedro gave us a lot of information about Cos-

ta Rica and about how the Cerro de la Muerte

communities are organized. We enjoyed panoramic

views and took lots of photos of the beautiful hum-

mingbirds.

At Paraiso Quetzal Lodge we enjoyed coffee

and homemade bread and a talk by Jorge Serrano,

who is the third generation of his family to be

working in tourism. They have promoted commu-

nal training programs to make this area a special

place to observe a variety birds and actually spot

the elusive quetzals while walking early in the

mornings.

In the Siberia cloud forest, we met Martin and

Silvia Salazar who have raised 10 children – six of

their own and four nephews. They produce black-

berry wine and cultivate shiitake mushrooms. Mar-

tin and his family have worked together to create a

successful and sustainable eco-friendly business. In

2008 a specialist from Bhutan taught Martin the tra-

ditional way the Bhutanese produced this mildly

fragrant mushroom. Martin showed us how they

grow the mushrooms by boring holes into oak

limbs, filling them with spores, sealing the holes

with paraffin wax, and then

placing the limbs in a dark-

ened shelter to grow. The

mushrooms they produce

are incredible. We enjoyed

a delicious Costa Rican

lunch with the Salazars, fea-

turing picadillo de papaya

verde (green papaya), pica-

dillo de arracache (Peruvian

carrot), and picadillo de

papa (potato) with achiote,

all lovingly prepared on a wood stove by Silvia Sal-

azar and her family.

Thanks to our tour guide Pedro, the places we

visited and the people we met, our first WCCR Dis-

cover Costa Rica interest group tour was a huge

success. All of us had a wonderful time, sharing our

common interest in people and culture. We were

happy to support the cloud forest communities by

buying some of their special products.

After this great experience, we are organizing

our next tour!

Next Tour Date:

Wednesday, March 2nd

Watch for reservation de-

tails in Connection and special

emails

Contact Ileana Borbón for

more information at:

ileana.borbon@

gmail.com.


Contact [email protected] to learn about interests groups in general.

Interest Groups

Cinema Fans This group explores all genres of film

and it's a great way to enjoy new titles that

might have escaped your must-see list! The

group meets on the third Tuesday of the

month from 11:00 to 2:30 at the home of

Bonnie Murry in Escazú. Giselda Bazán leads the

group. For more information, please send an email to

[email protected].

Creative Cooking This talented group of innovative

food lovers learns to make interesting dishes

from local products that will delight your

family and dazzle your guests! You leave

every class with new recipes to add to your

repertoire. Meetings are on the first Wednesday of

each month. Leaders: Cyndy Vorih and Grace

Woodman. Call Grace at 2249-1208 for more details.

Discover Costa Rica This is our newest interest group.

The plan is to have a day trip every two

months to interesting but little-known

destinations so that members can get to

know Costa Rica – and each other –

better. Next trip will be to Sarchí, Chayote Lodge and

Cañuela Coffee Tour For more information, contact

Ileana Borbón, [email protected] or

2231-7847.

Le Cercle Francophone French speakers

from France, the United States, Canada,

Costa Rica, England, Argentina, Norway

and Morocco meet at a restaurant usually in the

Sabana area, Escazú, or Santa Ana on the last

Wednesday of each month. Please contact Ileana

Borbón for more information at 2231-7847 or

[email protected] .

Paraiso Book Group This group of raucous, fun

-loving and dedicated book enthusiasts meets

in Cariari on the first Friday of the month from

9:45 to noon at the home of Group Leader

Michale Gabriel in Cariari, Belén. Each member takes

a turn selecting a book for the group to read and

leads the discussion. They have built a deep sense

of community by dedicating a segment of each

meeting to sharing about their lives. For more

information, contact Michale at 6099-9229 or

[email protected].

Visual Arts Group This group of art

enthusiasts tours local galleries and

attends art openings, and then enjoys

lunch at a nearby restaurant. Group

meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at

11:00 a.m. On February 23rd

, they’ll be meeting at

the Weronika Nossowicz International private

gallery in Barrio Amón to see the fine art works,

discuss art restoration and see examples of

restoration in progress. Contact Group Leader

T r i c i a S h u l t z a t 4 0 3 4 - 0 1 1 0 o r

[email protected].

West Side Stories Book Group This book

club meets every third Wednesday of every

month at 9:30 at Mary Alice Lesko’s home

in Santa Ana. These bibliophiles often lend

books to one another, have a great lending

library, and the conversation is always stimulating.

New members are always welcome. Contact

S and ra K rau se fo r more i n fo a t

[email protected].

Writers’ Group This year our Writers’

Group is going to start the year with a

focus on memoir writing, so ladies,

now's your chance to put your family

memories to paper (or screen) with the support of

fellow members. The group meets the third

Thursday of every month 9:45 until noon in the

library of Verdeza, a retirement center in Escazú.

Coffee, tea and cakes are provided. If you want

feedback on other writing, please feel free to bring

it. Contact Group Leader Andrea Jensen at

[email protected] or 8706-4611 for more

details.










January and February Events

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

24 25 26 27

10 a.m. East

Social

28 29 30

3 p.m. West

Social

31 1 2 3

Creative

Cooking

4 5

9:45 a.m.

Paraiso Book

Group

6

1:30 p.m. North

Social

7 8 9 10 11

10 a.m.

Extraordinary

Meeting

Casa LTG

12 13

14 15 16

11 a.m. Cinema

Fans

17

9:30 West Side

Stories Book

Club

18

9:45 Writers’

Group

19 20

21 22

23

11 a.m. Visual

Arts Group

24

Le Cercle

Francophone

25 26 27

28 29 1 2

Discover Costa

Rica Tour

3 4 5

Coming Soon:

March Luncheon

Wednesday, March 16th


us with reading glasses! The new changes may

take some getting used to, but I hope you’ll feel

that they are positive.

Best,

Diane Blomgren

Editor and Communications Coordinator

New Members

Ana Vitoria Ramírez (North). Address: 125 m

south, Tres Marias, Buenos Aires, Palmares,

Alajuela. Telephone: 2452-0887 and 8886-9555.

Email: [email protected]. She is Costa

Rican and is an English teacher at INA. Her

personal interest is painting, and she would like to

help the club with the Scholarship Program and is

willing to help with translating.

Jasmine Quere (Roberto) (West). Address: Barreal

de Heredia, La Guácima. Telephone: 8367-0359;

email [email protected]. She is formerly from

France and has lived in Costa Rica for 25 years.

She is participating in Le Cercle Francophone.

Karla deBeer (Leopold) (West). Address: Hacienda

Lindora Casa #23, Santa Ana. Telephone: 2003-

0391 and 8916-0254; email: [email protected].

She is previously from Los Angeles and has lived

here for seven and a half years. She is interested in

the University Scholarship Program and the annual

major fundraising event, and is willing to help with

telephoning, registration, and greeting.

Lucinda Gray Ph. D. (David Truslow) (West).

Address: Condominio el Monasterio, Escazú.

Telephone: 2228-2041 and 8704-8395; email:

[email protected]; formerly from Los

Angeles, Lucinda has lived in Costa Rica for 10

years and is a private practice psychologist. Her

special interests are writing and she would like to

participate in a book club.

Marlene Kennedy (Joe) (West). Address: San

Antonio de Belén. Telephone: 4702-8672 and 8683-

8980; email: [email protected]. She and her

husband, Joe, have lived in Costa Rica for eight

months. Her interests are dancing and helping with

meetings and neighborhood gatherings.

Mary Floeder (West). Address: Monestara 600 m

sur, Condominio el Monasterio, Casa

#2, Escazú. Telephone: 6043-5297;

e m a i l m f l o e d e r @ gm a i l . co m .

Formerly from Minnesota, she has

lived in Costa Rica for eight months.

Her interests are reading, hiking,

cooking, wine, and travel. She’s interested in being

involved with the Schoolbook Program and is willing

to share her computer skills with the Club. She

would like to join the West Side Stories Book Group.

Pati Arauz (North). Address: De la entrada a Buena

Vista, 400m sur, Barva. She can be

reached at 2237-8788, 8406-5692,

and by email at [email protected].

She is Costa Rican and enjoys,

reading, knitting and cooking. She

has special skills in group facilitation,

translating, and is willing to help

with meeting registration and greeting, as well as

organizing neighborhood gatherings.

Joe Kennedy (Marlene). Address: San Antonio de

Belén. Telephone 4702-8672 and 8429-3987; email

[email protected].

I’m sure you noticed that your monthly news-

letter has a new design. It’s part of the new

board’s efforts to create branding – specific colors

and fonts that identify WCCR materials. We’ve

chosen Maiandra font for its distinctive look that’s

both attractive and readable. I’ve also tried to

keep all text 12 point size or bigger to help all of









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