August 2017 Newsletter

Meet Our New President Peggy Grove!

 

Did you know that Peggy Grove, our new President, holds a Ph.D. in Women’s Spirituality and Anthropology? Or that she is a recognized specialist in Northern Australian Aboriginal Rock Art, having spent seven seasons engaged in field research with Aboriginal peoples? Or that she is retired as an Associate Professor of Art History?

Perhaps you know her, or know of her, through the many volunteer and philanthropic responsibilities she has undertaken here in Blaine County: the Executive Board of the Sawtooth Botanical Garden, the Marketing and News Brief Committees of the WRWF, the Grants and Nominating Committees of the WRWF, or organizer/participant in the coloring, hiking, and social gatherings designed to foster friendships among women in the valley.
Click here to read more

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Meet Our New Board Members

Sandra Flattery, Impact Team Co-Chair. “We have made the Wood River Valley our home now for 17 years. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and I have lived in Paris, France, Seattle, WA and Atlanta, GA. I have had careers as a teacher, an interior designer, and a real estate agent. I love to ride our horses, ski, play tennis, travel, play duplicate bridge and do photography as an avocation. My primary volunteerism is at Swiftsure Ranch handling horses in the Therapeutic Riding Program and involvement in the WRWF on grants and impact team committees. I am honored to be a new board member.”

Sylvia Miller, Finance Committee Chair. “I retired three years ago from my position as Executive Director of a Washington, DC law firm and moved to Wood River Valley where I live full time. I worked for 25 years at the Federal Trade Commission as an investigator, a public information officer and ultimately Associate Director for Operations, where I was in charge of measuring the impact of the agency rules. I was one of the original founders of a non-profit school that teaches English to adult immigrants. The school grew from 200 students to over 2500 students from more than 48 countries.”

Heather Horton, At-large Board Member. “I moved to the valley in 1990, from Seattle, where for many years I was a glassblower. I have a BS in forensic anthropology and an MFA in Studio visual arts from the Art Institute of Boston. I am a patron of and very passionate about the fine arts as well as quality crafts such as glass blowing, kiln cast glass and ceramics. I am also passionate about travel and scuba diving. Each winter I embark on a scuba diving trip to explore the waters of the coral triangle near Indonesia. I am currently fully focused on becoming an informed and conscientious philanthropist.”

Sandy McCullough, At-large Board Member. “My professional background is in communications, from television news production to a stint as a Congressional Press Secretary to 25+ years as a public affairs consultant in a Seattle-based firm I co-owned. Clients looked to the firm for strategic planning, stakeholder management, media relations and crisis management. I retired a few years ago and have since developed a family residential real estate portfolio. I have supported a variety of non-profit interests including The Medic One Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of King County, Seattle Country Day School, Special Olympics of Washington, Seattle Chamber of Commerce Arts Program and others.”

 

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A Joyful Celebration of 12 Years of Collective Philanthropy

More than 200 members attended our Annual Meeting at Trail Creek Cabin on July 31st. We conducted our annual business, dispensed approximately $246,000 from our pooled grant funds to our grantees for 2017, recognized new and old board members, celebrated our outgoing President, and heard emotional expressions of gratitude from two of last year’s grantees. Sincere and abundant thanks to the Events and Membership Committees and all volunteers who made this event so enjoyable and meaningful.

In case you missed it, click here for Karen Bossick’s detailed coverage of the event in Eye on Sun Valley:

Wood River Women’s Foundation Plants a Tree for the Future

 

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2017 Grantee Spotlight: Blaine County Education Foundation, Signature Programs, $25,000

“The WRWF Grant has allowed Blaine County Education Foundation (BCEF) to not only provide creative ways to support, motivate, engage and inspire students in Blaine County School District (BCSD), but BCEF was able to double our direct impact in all four of our signature programs and even offer a new program open to all students, teachers and staff in the 2016-2017 school year. Thanks to the grant, BCEF has affected 72% of students in BCSD. We have given them a glimpse of new possibilities of a future filled with hope and opportunity. BCEF is so grateful for the support of the Wood River Women’s Foundation!”

–Kristy Heitzman, Executive Director, BCEF

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The Endowment Fund Grows!

Contributions to the Endowment Fund are coming in! Established in July of this year, the Endowment is a permanently restricted fund with the goal of ensuring the long‑term sustainability of the WRWF. To date, 48 donors have committed $320,000 toward our initial goal of $500,000. Once that initial goal is achieved, a portion of the fund’s annual investment performance will be used to help cover the foundation’s operating expenses. For more information, please contact Gail Landis, Governance Chair (gail.landis@gmail.com).

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MEMBER EVENTS

Our Summer Social is coming up, August 29th at 4:00 PM. Kathleen Phelan is hosting. Members and guests are welcome. Kathleen’s fabulous landscaped gardens were featured in Rocky Mountain Gardening Magazine in 2016. Please pre-register. Summer Social $20.00.

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Brief Notes:

• Membership is now at 315!
• If you want to know more about using Facebook, Instagram, and other social media, watch for notices of workshops offered by the Social Media committee this fall.