N E W S

February LuncheonVolume 29, Number 4, February 2016

Join usWednesday, February 17 at11:30 am at Langley’s Restaurant atGreat Neck Country Club for ourmonthly luncheon meeting.

continued on page 2

Loss and Healing

Upcoming Programs

Information: What is it Good For?

March 16

Karen Martin is amultifaceted busi-ness and technol-ogy professionalwith broad experi-ence in finance, ac-counting, and

Februaryspeaker An-drea Willetswill sharehelpful in-formationand experi-ences deal-ing withloss and-healing.

AndreaWillets, CPCC, is a Certified ProfessionalCo-Active Coach, Social Artist andFounder of Andrea Willets Productions,an innovative coaching and leadershipcompany. Special focus areas arecoaching women in transition andhelping them to reveal their greatestselves, facilitating systems work fornon-profits and businesses as well asfacilitating workshops in leadership de-velopment, and keynote speaking.

Andrea is also a co-founder at TheRevelation Project (TRP), a project thatuses coaching, photography, socialmedia, and journaling to inspire awoman to reveal her greatest self withfull permission without editing any-thing about herself. Between hercoaching practice and TRP she

FriendshipBring a Friend toLunch, and beentered into a drawing towin a free lunch.

Bring a Friend toLunch, and beentered into a drawing towin a free lunch.

Network members and guests areencouraged to arrive at Langley’sRestaurant in Waterford at 11:30 amfor registration and networking, lunchat 12 noon. The public is welcome.Reservations are required. Pleasemake your reservations or can-cellations for the Wednesday, Febru-ary 17 luncheon online 24/7 at www.sectwomensnetwork.org by 10 am, Monday, February 15.

Cash or checks for $22 made out tothe Women’s Network will be col-lected at the door. Reservations after10 am on Monday will pay $27.Reservation no-shows and late can-cellations will be billed.

Save the Date“Through the Years”

40th Anniversary CelebrationSeptember 30, 2016

Friday, 6-10 pmat Langley’s

at Great Neck Country ClubTickets are available to purchase at

the monthly luncheons.$40 per person

Cash or check onlyPlease see Deb McGrath

To purchase Sponsorships or Adsfor this event, please see the

Schedule Form on the fourth page.

performs a one woman show, “Sorry, NO MORE!” inspiring women of all ages to stop apologizing for their lives!

"The importance of people andcommunity, and my belief in theprocess of self discovery and trans-formation in all areas of life, have coalesced into a career that feels moretruly like a calling."

information systems. She has worked infor-profits and not-for-profits and, inboth public-sector and private-sectororganizations. She is a versatile strate-gist with a business focus first, using

technology, process and systems per-spective to enable efficient and effec-tive business. Karen holds a BA inEconomics, a Master of Science in

2 • Network News • February 2016

President’s Message

Encourage Success –Make Meaningful Connections

www.sectwomensnetwork.org

Karen Martin...from page 1

Thank you to all who attended theJanuary Networking luncheon. Wasn’tit fun to move around meeting newpeople during the program? Who didyou meet that was new and interestingto you? Did you make a connection tohelp someone or to maybe fill a needyou may have?

We are facing some challengingtimes in our beautiful state and I be-lieve we need each other more thanever. I am committed to the premisethat it is “we the people” who alwaysmake the difference. I think our Net-work is a wonderful place to lock armswith one another as we encourage

each other on to success in the workwe each do, whether in our paid posi-tions or in all of our volunteer work .Every bit of it matters and I believe wewill make a difference here in South-eastern Connecticut.

Let’s continue to be known as theplace one can come to make the mean-ingful connections that help us as indi-viduals and as a community. I think ourJanuary luncheon highlighted this welland I am looking forward to February17th!

Phyllis NelsonPresident

Like us on Facebook

I was honored to be selected for ascholarship from the SoutheasternConnecticut Women’s Network. I leftmy job at 51 to pursue my lifelongdream of becoming a nurse. I realizedthat dream in December, thanks inpart to the support of the SECTWomen’s Network. The group is full ofwomen of all backgrounds and pas-sions, supporting and empoweringone another to be the best they canbe. I’ve met women who are excited

Testimonial in Honor of Our 40th Anniversary

Please remember to post yourevents on the Network Facebookpage, then email information toJudy, jwhite5506@sbcglobal.netto be included in the newsletter.

April 20, 2016 Tourism and Marketing

This event will feature members fromthe travel, tourism, lodging, dining andmarketing industries.

Featured Business atCameo Table

Kathryn Bellandese will be show-casing her business at the Febru-ary 17, 2016 luncheon. Please stopby the table and learn more aboutA Beautiful Company, and visitwww.abeautifulco.com

Computer Information Systems and aMasters in Business Administration witha management concentration. As theBusiness Whisperer for Martin BusinessAdvisors, LLC, she seeks to bring thatexperience, expertise and perspectiveto small businesses needing assistancewith process, strategy, planning, per-spective, and business systems.

Special 40th Anniversary EventEmma Palzere-Rae –Playwright andActor – AuntHattie’s House,March 18

Emma willbe doing afundraiser for our40th Anniversary.The setting will be: 1864, Oakholm, Har-riet Beecher Stowe's new home in Hart-ford, Connecticut. Harriet has returnedto the land of her childhood an interna-tional celebrity, looking for quietertimes. The audience is invited to as-sume the role of a biographer, just oneof the curious who still seek her out.

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) isbest known for her influential novelUncle Tom's Cabin, despite penningover 30 other novels. As the primary

breadwinner in her family, she wastruly one of the first “working moms.”

Emma Palzere-Rae has appeared inregional, stock and off-Broadway the-ater, as well as in film, television andradio. She has been portraying HarrietBeecher Stowe since 2000, when“Aunt Hattie’s House” premiered atthe Heartland Chautauqua touringthroughout Missouri. She founded BeWell Productions in 1989, touring sev-eral critically acclaimed one-womanplays on characters as diverse asEmily Dickinson and Gilda Radner. In1990, she banded together with otherfemale solo artists to create New YorkCity’s Womenkind Festival. A graduateof Emerson College, Ms. Palzere-Rae isan active member of Actor’s Equity,SAG-AFTRA and the Dramatists Guild.Currently, she serves as the Directorof Development and Communica-tions for Safe Futures (the formerWomen’s Center of Southeastern CT),is the former Executive Director of theChorus of Westerly, and former Artis-tic Director for New York City’s touringcompany PlaysforLiving.

Please see the flyer on the next page.

about their journeys and enjoy helpingenable other women to pursue theirdreams. What this group does for thecommunity is amazing and I’m soproud to be a part of their efforts.

— Christine Jost, BSN

Travel back to 1865 and find out what compelled Harriet Beecher Stowe

to pen , the novel that

is pleased to present

262 Boston Post Road Waterford

SSuuggggeesstteedd DDoonnaattiioonn $$1100..0000

TThhee PPuubblliicc WWeellccoommee

FFrriiddaayy,, MMaarrcchh 1188tthh 77::0000 pp..mm..

Written and Performed by Emma Palzere-Rae

SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT WOMEN’S NETWORK MEMBERSPONSORSHIP & AD SCHEDULE

40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR-LONG CELEBRATION

$1,000 Sponsorship Benefits:• Priority reserved table for 10 people at Gala with business name on table• Company logo displayed on PowerPoint presentations during events• Priority recognition with logo in publications and marketing materials• Company logo on event program• Full page ad in event program (5” W x 8” H)

ADS:• Full page (5” W x 8” H) Camera ready $80.00• One-half page (5” W x 4” H) Camera ready $40.00• Business Card size Camera ready $25.00

Business Name: _____________________________________________

Contact Person: _____________________________________________

Business phone _________________ Cell phone_________________

Address____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

NOTE: All ads and sponsorships DEADLINE: September 9, 2016

Checks Payable to: SECT Women’s Network

Send to: Mildred E. DevineBox 42Quaker Hill, CT 06375-0042Email: mildred.devine@snet.netTelephone: 860-442-2030

Special Insert–for Our 40th Anniversary Celebration

The years of 1977 and 1978 gave us many “firsts”, aswell as many memorable events, songs and movies. TheCold War was still going strong.

The year was 1977. President James Earl Carter, Jr.was elected President with Vice President Walter F. Mon-dale.• New York City was thrown into darkness and chaos dur-ing the New York City Blackout, which lasted 25 hoursand resulted in looting and disorder. The World TradeCenter in New York was completed later that year.• Egypt's Leader President Anwar El Sadat broke rankswith other Arab nations and recognized the state of Is-rael.• The first Apple II computers went on sale.

In the entertainment world, “The King” Elvis Presleydied at the age of 42 from a heart attack on August 16th.Many people can remember exactly where they werewhen they heard this news.

Star Wars opened with filmgoers lining up for hours tosee it, and the TV Mini Series "Roots" was aired on ABCwinning top audience figures, 9 Emmys and a GoldenGlobe.

Other popular movies in 1977 were Rocky, Smokeyand the Bandit, A Star is Born, Saturday Night Fever, KingKong, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Deep, andAnnie Hall.

In the year 1978, NASA selected its first Americanwomen astronauts!

Other significant events that year include:• The blizzard of ’78 snowstorm hit New England, yield-ing 54" of snow. The roof of 3-yr-old Hartford Civic Cen-ter collapsed early in the morning on January 18th,thankfully with no injuries.• The "Framework for Peace" in the Middle East wassigned by Egypt's President Anwar El Sadat and IsraeliPrime Minister Menachem Begin after a 13-day confer-ence at Camp David led by President Jimmy Carter.• The US Senate approved the Panama Canal “NeutralityTreaty,” voting to turn the canal over to Panama by theyear 2000.• On July, 9, 1978 feminists made history in the largestmarch for women’s rights in the nation’s history – nearlythree times the size of the largest suffrage parade. Onehundred thousand supporters of equality took to thestreets of Washington, D.C. to call for an extension of thedeadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.• The first Susan B. Anthony Dollar was minted on De-

Special Insert – SECT Women’s Network 40th Anniversary Celebration

A Look Back at the Years 1977 & 1978

cember 13th.• In International News,Sweden outlawed aerosolsprays due to their harm-ful effect on the ozonelayer, becoming the first nation to enact such a ban.• Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Poland became Pope John PaulII.• The Cult leader Jim Jones instructed over 900 membersof his church, "People's Temple", to commit suicide inGuyana.

Science & TechnologyBalloon angioplasty was developed to treat coronary

artery disease and recombinant DNA techniques werefirst used to produce human insulin. • Louise Brown, the first test-tube baby, (in-vitro fertiliza-tion) was born at Oldham Hospital in London. • Sony introduced the Walkman, the first portable stereo,and Illinois Bell Company introduced the first ever Cellu-lar Mobile Phone System.• Three American balloonists made history with the firstcrossing of the Atlantic by hot air balloon in Double Eagle II.

The Entertainment IndustryGrease and Saturday Night Fever were extremely pop-

ular movies. Other movies in 1978 were National Lam-poon's Animal House, Jaws 2, Heaven Can Wait, Star WarsEpisode IV: A New Hope, Revenge of the Pink Panther,and The Deer Hunter.

In music, the Bee Gees' "Saturday Night Fever" albumwas #1 for 24 weeks. Other popular musicians were PaulMcCartney and Wings, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, Rolling Stones, and the Commodores with ”ThreeTimes a Lady."

Steve Martin’s “King Tut” and The Blues Brothers bothdebuted on Saturday Night Live that year.

Popular TV shows in 1978 included: Happy Days, LittleHouse on the Prairie, The Rockford Files, Saturday NightLive, Charlie's Angels, Quincy, M.E., The Muppet Show,CHiPs, The Love Boat, and Three's Company.

In SportsThe first Iron Man Triathlon (swim, bike ride, marathon)

was held in Kona, Hawaii. At Super Bowl XII, the DallasCowboys beat the Denver Broncos, 27-10 in New Orleans.

Continued on page 6

www.sectwomensnetwork.org 6 • Network News • February 2016

Advertising in the Southeastern Connecticut Women’s NET-WORK News is an inexpensive way to reach a select group of pro-fessional business people.Rates: NETWORK members: $15/month; $40 for 3 months. Non-members: $25/month; $70 for 3 months. Ad size: 2”h x 3.5”w.Double-size ads 4”w x 3.5”h, double the price.See the website www.sectwomensnetwork.org for more infor-mation on advertising opportunities with the Network.

Send check payable to SECT Women’s Network to Judy Rick-etts-White, 103 Butlertown Rd., Waterford, CT 06385. Send art-work to: jwhite5506@sbcglobal.net. For info call 860.439.1854

NETWORK NewsDisplay Ads

New MembersBarbara Dennison, iServe Residential Lending, LLC,

23 Woodland Rd., Suite A-3, Madison, CT 06443, Phone: 877-486-2083, Email: bdennison@iservelending.comWebsite: www.barbaradennison.iservelending.com

Barbara has over 25 years experience in mortgagelending, including all aspects of the home buying process,loan processing, underwriting and as a Loan Officer. Bar-bara prides herself in giving her clients the best possiblecustomer service and the time and attention they de-serve. She feels especially fulfilled helping people achievetheir dreams of homeownership.

Posting to the SECT Women’sNetwork Facebook Page

One fairly untapped member benefit is theNetwork Facebook page. We want to hearfrom you. We encourage you to share yourbusiness and personal news on the Networkpage. Members must post their event or in-formation on the Network Facebook pagethemselves, then their news will be sharedand will reach our 800+ friends. If you havequestions about how to post, contact DeniseHoward, our Publicity Chair bestwellness4you@gmail.com.

40th Celebration Tickets

Tickets are available to purchase at the monthly

luncheons.$40 per person, cash or check

onlyPlease see Deb McGrath

Meanwhile…. At the Network

While all of these signifi-cant events and amazingfirsts were happening in1977 and 1978, the Networkcontinued to grow quietlyand slowly to approximately 40members. In 1978 they begantalking about formalizing the groupand started talking about their real purpose and goals.This is when they incorporated their mission statement.They also agreed that they should be able to meet once amonth for an hour and a half. The first officers in the new“formalized” informal gathering were Millie Devine asPresident, Barbara Quinn as Vice President, Susan Eber-sole as Treasurer and Barbara Kleeman as Secretary.

Their luncheons were held at the Ship's Wheel on StateStreet in New London, which was basically within walkingdistance for most of them. So, with their executive board

A Look Back at the Years 1977 & 1978...from pg. 5 members in place and the mission statement adopted in1978, they officially became the Southeastern Connecti-cut Women’s Network.

More to follow next month and at our monthly lunch-eons! n

Remember to Check Out Luncheon Photos on Facebook

See photos of your friends having fun at theluncheons on our Facebook page and also on ourwebsite.

Many thanks to Photographer Sheree Sirpenksifor taking these memorable photos.

I Need Your Help!

Make reservations online for the Wednesday, February 17 luncheon at Langley’s Restaurant, Great Neck Country Club in Waterford, CT at

www.sectwomensnetwork.orgno later than 10 am, Monday, February 15

Reservations are required.

www.sectwomensnetwork.org

Reservation no-shows and late cancellations will be billed.

7 • Network News • February 2016

Network Board Meeting Friday, February 12

The next Network Board Meeting is Friday, February12, 8 am, at the Hampton Inn, 300 Long Hill Road, Gro-ton, Connecticut. All members are welcome to attend.

Advertising Deadline is the 20th of the month to appear in the nextmonth’s issue. The SECT Women’s Network reserves the right to edit copysubmitted for inclusion in the newsletter.

Do you like social media? Do you like writing or marketing? The Public Relations Committee needs YOU!

I was told that many people think that PR involves a lotof public speaking. That’s not the case. If that is not your“forte”, no problem! I am looking for people who want tojoin our team and be a valuable part of promoting andhelping grow the SECT Women’s Network. If you havesome great ideas, have social media “savvy”, like public re-lations, or have a talent for writing, your valuable contribu-tion of talent & effort could really help the Public RelationsCommittee. Let’s talk!

Denise Howard, PR Committee ChairPlease contact Denise at 860-222-9013 orbestwellness4you@gmail.comFB: www.facebook.com/denise.imobhowardclatt

by Patti Rodgers-Longo

The Membership Committee offers the perfect opportu-nity to meet your new fellow members and make them feelwelcome. At our monthly luncheons, we greet each newmember with their welcome package and we welcomeguests. If you would like to become part of the MembershipCommittee team, please contact Patti Rodgers-Longo atprodgers@chelseagroton.com, or call 860-572-4044.

February 17th is our “Friendship Month” luncheon. This isa great time to bring a friend, introduce them to Networkmembers and be part of this special luncheon. You will alsobe eligible to enter into a drawing to win a free lunch bybringing a friend. Don’t forget to register early for our “Bringa Friend to Lunch”. n

Meet New Members and Welcome New Friends

January DrawingsLouisa Ketron’s name was drawn for the Ha

Ha Lunch – and guess what, she was there!Kerry Garofano won the Spotlight article andKen Duenzl won the Resident article. KathrynBellandese won the Cameo Table to show-case her business at the February 2016 luncheon.