Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities Women's Association 2014 Roster
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities
Women’s Association
2013 SLATE OF OFFICERS
Executive Committee
President - Connie Apple
1st Vice President - Open
2nd Vice President - Bunny Robinson
Recording Secretary - OPEN
Corresponding Secretary - Jan Doudiet
Treasurer - Joanie Wildman
Standing Committee - Open
Tributes & Memoria
ls - Jan Hanson
Membership - Carol Bendell
Ways & Means - Sandy Jackson & Jill Hagen
Historian - Beverly Johnson Anderson, Bunny Robinson
Hospitality - Carol Burgess
Publicity - Diane Carlson
By-Laws - Sandy Holzer
Nominating Committee - Barbara Michael Baker, Sue Franklin,
Advisors - Sandy Holzer, Barbara Michael Baker, Joanie Wildman
& Randy Lindquist
Voyageur Camp Committee - Sandy Jackson
The Women’s Association began as the Women’s Association of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Minneapolis in 1958, headed by Tippy Schmitt with 8 or 10 women involved. Within a few years, the association had 20 to 30 members. Today, more than 50 years later, the Women’s Association of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities has 80 members. It has always been an organization that saw its purpose as funding the most basic needs. In the early days, they held white elephant sales and bought cars for the Clubs. They had “French Room Sales” in people’s homes. They raffled needlepoint rugs that they made, raising as much as $15,000. They also held golf tournaments for men and women, rummage sales, warehouse sales and Steak & Burger. An Annual Bridge Tournament continues to benefit the Voyageur Environmental Center (VEC), the Boys & Girls Clubs camp in Mound, MN. The women hosted movie premieres, attended by such note-worthy individuals as Richard Nixon. In 1970, they started having Galas. For years they enlisted huge names in the entertainment field such as Bob Hope, Carol Channing, Jay Leno, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, and Luciano Pavarotti. The Gala is one of the most successful fundraising events in the Twin Cities, and has raised as much as one third of the annual operating budget for the Clubs. In 1999, the Minnesota Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives recognized the Women’s Association as the Outstanding Philanthropic Organization, in recognition of community leadership through exceptional contributions to philanthropy. In addition to fund raising, this group has been personally very generous. The women encourage members to send in money for memorials or recognition through honorariums. The Voyageur Environmental Center has been a grateful recipient of land, buildings and funds from the Women’s Association. The women have graciously taken VEC under their wings of support. They are represented on the VEC committee, which monitors the needs of the camp and solicits funds.
