For 45 years, the Women’s Welcome Club of State College has provided Centre County women with opportunities to make friends, serve the community and have fun. To celebrate this milestone, the club will hold a 45th Anniversary Bash with an old-fashioned pig roast on Saturday, Aug. 12, for members and guests, including new members who join that day.
“It’s all about having a good time and enjoying each other’s company,” said Pamela McDonough, the club’s president. The adults-only event will include singing, line dancing and games.
The club is for women who have recently moved to Centre County and long-time residents who want to make new friends.
“Our club is for all ages, 21 and up,” she said. “Everyone is welcome.”
CLUB MEETINGS AND EVENTS
The Women’s Welcome Club holds meetings at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month, from September to May, in the parish hall of Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 867 Grays Woods Boulevard Port Matilda. The club is not affiliated with the church, McDonough said.
Doors open at 6:30 for social time and refreshments, according to Deb Williard, the club’s secretary. After a brief business meeting, the club has a presentation or activity.
The club also holds special events, including a fundraiser and an April tea party.
“It’s a very lovely event open to the public,” McDonough said. “You can bring guests. We invite people to wear a hat, their favorite dress, white gloves, whatever they like.”
She said the club has its annual banquet in May. “This year it was at Toftrees Country Club.
“We normally don’t have a theme,” she said. “But since it’s our 45th year, I decided that we’re going to have a theme: Spread the sparkle with love, kindness and laughter.”
INTEREST GROUPS
The Women’s Welcome Club has about 20 interest groups that focus on different activities, including travel, cards and games, dining out, gardening, attending plays, and scrapbooking. “If somebody is interested in starting a new group and you can get people to go, we welcome it,” McDonough said.
“I think it’s the special interest groups that keep them motivated,” said Georgette Beechan, co-chair for the membership directory and banquet committees. “There’s something for everybody.”
McDonough has led the Day Tripper interest group for 30 years, traveling within the United States, plus a cruise and some trips to Europe.
Williard leads the Curtain Call interest group, which attends theatrical performances at local venues, including Centre Stage, the Pavilion, the Playhouse Theatre and the Eisenhower Auditorium.
McDonough said, “We’re honoring our interest group leaders and Liz Keller, the chairperson for interest groups, at our first meeting in September because they are the backbone of this club.”
OTHER CLUB ACTIVITIES
“We have a very active community service component,” Williard said. The club participates in activities that include the Special Olympics, the United Way Day of Caring, WPSU radio and television fundraising drives and distributing WPSU educational grab and go bags for kids.
The club has booths at the Grange Fair, the Boalsburg Memorial Day celebration and a farmer’s market, McDonough said. The members enjoyed creating and riding on a float in the 2022 Homecoming Parade. They plan to participate again this year.
RECOGNITION OF LONG-TERM MEMBERS
Of the active members, Diane Bartram has had the longest membership, 43 years. She said she joined the club in 1980 and has chaired a crafts interest groups and bridge groups.
Williard said, “We have a designation for members of the club who have been here for 20 years. They’re called Golden Girls, and Diane is a double Golden Girl. On their name tags, they have a pineapple and a faux gemstone the color of a pineapple. They also receive a boutonniere of a yellow rose that they are encouraged to wear to meetings.”
McDonough said the pineapple is a symbol of hospitality, and the club has chosen it for their mascot. Member Kimi Waite is creating a pineapple mascot costume.
CLUB HISTORY
“The club was founded in 1978,” McDonough said. “We’re a not-for-profit organization.”
“The Woman’s Welcome Club was an outgrowth of what had been Welcome Wagon,” Williard said. “When people would move into a community, a representative of Welcome Wagon would come to your house and give you brochures about places to go, religious communities and entertainment. However, you were only eligible to be a member of that group for two years. So, it was thought that this needs to be continued, this idea of welcoming people and building friendships and relationships. Marie Landiak was the founder of our Women’s Welcome Club and has since passed away.”
McDonough said she doesn’t think Welcome Wagon exists anymore, and most of the Women’s Welcome Clubs throughout the country have folded. “We’re very fortunate to have lasted 45 years.”
MEMBERSHIP
“At the end of the year, we had 177 members,” said McDonough. One of her goals is to recruit new members and build up the club. “Without members, you don’t have a club.
“We don’t have as many young people as we would like to have, and are hoping to get more,” she said.
Club membership is $20. The pig roast is $10 for members and $25 for their guests.
“Not only are we celebrating our 45 years of existence but we’re showcasing who we are at the pig roast,” she said.
McDonough said, “We like to laugh. We like to eat. And we like to have fun.”
For more information, email [email protected] or visit womenswelcomeclub.net.
