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Leader issues membership challenge

District president addresses Steubenville Woman’s Club

MEETING HIGHLIGHTS — Iris Craig, left, president of the OFWC-GFWC Woman’s Club of Steubenville, welcomed Steubenville City Manager Jim Mavromatis and Pat Ketzell, president of the Southeast District GFWC/Ohio, to the club’s June meeting. -- Janice Kiaski

STEUBENVILLE — The OFWC-GFWC Woman’s Club of Steubenville ended its 2016-17 club season with a challenge — help be a part of membership growth.

Pat Ketzell, president of the Southeast District GFWC/Ohio, delivered some sobering news about the state of woman’s club membership overall in Ohio as the keynote speaker when the club held its June luncheon and business meeting at the Steubenville Country Club.

Marlene Rhueff and Rejeana Palma were hostesses and greeters for the noon luncheon and business meeting where President Iris Craig presided, and Eileen Krupinski, program chairman, introduced Ketzell, a resident of Bridgeport and member of the Junior Women’s Club of Barnesville, having been involved for more than 40 years.

Ketzell first referenced the GFWC Club Woman magazine in which it noted the Steubenville club is more than 100 years old. “The Ohio federation itself is 127 years old, so you women started your federation 115 years ago,” she said, noting the Barnesville club is celebrating its 75th anniversary.

“This is something you have to be proud of,” Ketzell said.

Ketzell recalled being asked to speak to the Steubenville club in 1990 at the request of the late Shirley Mitchell, the club’s president. “This is my speech I wrote for that in 1990, and I found it probably six months ago when I was asked to speak at the Wintersville Woman’s Club for its birthday celebration,” she said, updating the information in it to acknowledge declines in clubs and membership.

The Ohio federation has gone from 231 clubs to 48 and from eight districts to five, according to Ketzell. “That hurts,” she said. “We’re declining, girls, and we need to build this back up.

“We are the largest nondenominational, nonpartisan international organization of volunteer women in the world — this is something to be proud of,” she said. “Our purpose is to work together in giving service to our community and state,” she said, applauding how the Steubenville club worked with other local woman’s clubs on two projects — one in December to raise money for the now closed Neighborhood House, the other in a recent room refurbishing project at the A.L.I.V.E. Shelter. She said unity with other clubs “results in the realization of larger goals.”

The local clubs were a part of the East Ohio River District, now the Southeast District with 12 clubs spread out from Tuscarawas County to Proctorville and Circleville. She encouraged members that if they know of anyone in smaller communities interested in launching a club to do so.

She said that while she lives in Bridgeport, she joined the Barnesville club, the closest one to her at 45 miles.

“You’ve got to love your club to be involved, and it takes a commitment. It is not something you do without a commitment, you have to believe in it. I am there to support what that community wants to do,” she said of active involvement in the Barnesville organization.

There is a need to strengthen club numbers, Ketzell urged.

The OFWC goal during 2016-18 is to recruit 125 new members. “No person can achieve this goal but us together,” she said. “Our challenge is for every OFWC member to bring in one new member. Only as a team can we increase our membership and keep Ohio working.”

Ketzell said woman’s club information is available on the website at www.GFWC.org and noted an Internet club is an option for membership.

Ketzell presented three certificates to Craig to accept on the club’s behalf — the GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women’s Club, Southeast District, honor roll; the Loyal Jonquil for outstanding participation in the capital member campaign; and the district award, GFWC Junior Special Project Advocates for Children, outstanding participation.

“You do make a difference in your community — the community knows you’re there and keep up the good work,” Ketzell said.

The June 5 meeting also included a memorial service led by Carlotta Jordan and Judy Brancazio in memory of club members who died this past year — Martha Freese, Mary Rhinehart and Geraldine Kelly. The ceremony included a candlelighting, a reading and a moment of silence.

Steubenville City Manager Jim Mavromatis addressed the club briefly before Ketzell’s remarks for a belated thank you and the opportunity for the club to possibly offer assistance to the city as a project.

“A lot of you have lived here your whole lives and you know how it was growing up, but the one thing that has plagued every city up and down the Ohio Valley is loss of population,” Mavromatis said. “At one time we had 19 parks in our city, but there’s no way we can manage 19 parks today in a city of roughly 18,000 people.”

In recent years, the woman’s club donated benches to several city parks, and for that, Mavromatis expressed appreciation. “It’s like anything else — sometimes things fall through the cracks, but there is no excuse not to give the recognition to the people who help us,” he said.

“What brought me here today I was asked about the ladies club being interested in possibly helping us out again with one of our parks. What I would like to do is let you think about this and what I try to do is pick somewhere where you would have the greatest impact,” he said, citing the Martin Luther King Jr. Center on Market Street.

Mavromatis suggested the parks and recreation director could meet with the club and identify some needs for the center that the club might be able to purchase.

“It is wonderful that this organization wants to step forward and help with these less fortunate kids but this is the only spot a lot of them walk to it because it’s the only place they can get to,” he said of the center. “I will make sure you have some ideas of what would help us the most at the MLK Center, and if it fits into your budgeting, we would love your help and I will make sure it gets the recognition it needs,” he said.

Club leaders were to have met June 12 to set up programs and speakers for the 2017-18 club season.

Kimberly Hahn, a club member and Steubenville councilwoman at large, spoke briefly to the group about landscaping work being done at Belleview Pool and how clubmembers could potentially help with the donation of perennials, swimmies and benches.

The club’s meeting season takes a hiatus until September.

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