LONG MAY SHE WAVE!
Dear Members,
The Board met by Zoom on Wednesday: there we all were with new hair styles (longer), last winter’s fingernails (way longer), the occasional dog bark in the background. It was bittersweet as it was my last Board meeting as Community Assistance League (CAL) President. The usual passing of the torch is more celebratory-a potluck lunch, a presentation of the old Board and new at the June meeting. However, these are darker times. So, instead of a farewell address at a general meeting, I will write it here. Look at the bright side, you can hit delete at any time without hurting my feelings!
I thank the Board members for all of their work; each of these women stepped up and did what needed to be done in brilliant fashion. To be perfectly honest, being CAL President was harder than I thought it would be! We had a few unusual twists in the past two years, and without such a supportive Board, I would have locked myself in a closet and refused to come out. I believe a little review is in order.
The Sandpoint Center (I’m looking for the Sandpoint in that center these days), gradually took away the enticements of the meeting space: the treats room disappeared, piece after piece of the AV equipment dropped away, and, finally, the room itself was denied us. However, after considerable searching, we found a lovely new home at the First Lutheran Church. A regret is that throughout the entire two years of my presidency, we NEVER ONCE had a totally functioning AV system!
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Remember last spring when we almost relocated Bizarre Bazaar? What a flurry of activity! We had out our tape measures and floor plans, presentations and an all member vote, and visions of the horror of a move. But this hope was to be dashed in the blink of an eye. We are still in the place that has become our home on Church Street.
Which leads us up to COVID-19 in March, 2020. Who would ever even imagine such a scenario? We have agonized over closing the store and re-opening the store, over to mask or not to mask, over hours of operation. Our store managers, Diane Arrants and Cherie Warber, have done a stupendous job throughout this time, and Bizarre Bazaar is doing well on its return. But the virus didn’t only affect the store; the Social chair, Julia Kern, who had already been put through the wringer finding a venue for our Spring Luncheon, had to cancel all of those plans. The Scholarship and Grants were thrown into disarray; both Sally Lowry and Tracy Gibson spent hours re-working plans and guidelines. CAL gave out special grants to help community organizations handle the crush caused by the virus. Sally and Tracy and their committees have completed the difficult job of selecting recipients, and CAL’s hard-earned dollars are on the way to our community.
It has been an honor to serve as CAL’s president. Who would’ve thought that a small, small, town girl could have reached such heights? Kidding aside, I’ve learned that a small group of women with big ideas could become a community force to be reckoned with, and I am proud to be a part of that group.
Again, I thank all of you who have helped me along this journey and congratulate the new Board; these women will serve you well. Once it is safe again, I plan to start putting my passport to good use and to sleep in late every second and third Wednesday mornings! In the meantime, I wish you all a warm and wonderful summer. Stay healthy, and I hope to see you all soon.
Sherry Ennis
President