The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Tax season is over for another year, and now Ican get back to Women‘s Institute business. A new year for Women‘s Institute has rolled around. Have you done any recruiting for your Branch, District or Area? Don‘t forget about the Member Incentive Program to help spur you on with your recruitment initiatives. Even if you know ofsomeone in another area who may be interested, contact the FWIO Provmcial Office. They can put them in touch with the Branch nearest them, A new year means new programs. Think about ROSE and what it means - rural Ontario sharing education â€" and invite community members and other organiza- 'ons to attend your meetings, workshops ‘d sessions. Many members feel we need to get back to the basics, teaching courses and educating people. Do you have young mothers in your community? What about A Captive Audience! Members of the Russell Village WI took their re c r u I tm e n t efforts a notch higher this past year. Twice a year the Branch sponsors a Blood Donor clinic and they decided to use this venue as a perfect opportunity for the recruitment of new members. Well. it worked! Russell Village members ware their new aprons with the WI logo, displayed a large Wl sign and handed out an information sheet which included the “who. what, when and where" of the organization. Once the donors were done giving blood, they were given the Branch Program to view while they had their drink endgaadie. A captive audience! At the same time, the group was able to really chat up and sell WI, And it warke d! . our advice to you, really think about every event and how it can be used as recruitment opportunity. Shown from left to right are Russell Village mem- bers Jean Williams, Diny Achtereeke, Mary lnglis and Cherry Eekkers. Submmed by Jean Williams. Russell Village WI, Russell, Easlem Area teaching the basics of meal preparation (and not the fast food method). budgeting or quilting and crafts‘.7 Some of US were lUCky enough to have moms or 4-H that taught us all of these things. but there are many who weren‘t so fortunate. What aboutgetting astudentto volunteer their services to play with the kids while you teach these young mothers? This would not only help out a high school student who Could use this time toward their 40 hours of community service. it would spare the young mother from having to arrange for child care. This could be the deciding factor as to whether ayoung mom joins your Branch. How many of you brought your children to meetings with colouring books. crayons and books to keep them busy, while your husband worked and because you had no sitter. What image does your Branch have in your community‘.7 Is it well known? When you hold special events. do you invite the community and members of other organi- zations to participate. Invite others to volunteer and participate in WI events. get them involved and then ask them to be- come a part of our TEAM. And don't forget about those Branches who are dis- handing due to small numbers or aging members. Invne them to become a part of your group and make them tee] welcome. Has your Branch recrutted the most new members in the past year'.’ Are you work- ing hard toward this goal in the upcoming year? Is your Branch going to be the lucky winner of the one paid registration to the FWIO Provincial Conference in 2004'? Good luck revitaliZing your membership! Don‘t forget to send me your Branch contact email address. My hope is to create a database of email addresses from each Branch across the province Please share your ideas What worked for you may also work for someone else. My term as Membership Coordinator is coming to a Close at the FVJIO Annual Meeting in January 2004. If you are interested in this position. contact the FWlO Provtncml Office for an application form. Remember. if we illl share the load. we all benefit from the rewards. So be a part of the TEAM because together everyone achieves more! Cindy lorkhart lS the Membership Coordinator for FWlO. She can be reached at 736 Algonquin Dr. Midland ON L4]? 429, Phone 7055277768, fax 70552777571, Email' lorkhart@rsolve net Erland Lee Museum's Season Kick-0H Mother Nature delayed the Erland Lee Museum '5 season opening event - a Pancake and Maple Syrup Breakfast - by a week by blanketing Southern Ontario with sno w. The rescheduled event took place on April 12 and featured a pancake breakfast prepared by the Muss-um Board and volunteers and complemented by real maple Syrup from the Old Lee Sugar Bush on Tapleylown Road in Stoney Creek. The Lee also featured two new displays for the whole family. A scale model train of historic Stoney Creek circa 1910, including miniature heritage buildings in the Fruitland and Winona areas. A temporary exhibit of staney Creek’s Postal History included vintage postcards of the area and research of the postal service in Saltfleet Township. In spite of maving the event back a week. the Lee Museum had over 200 people at the event, including a visit from the Hamilton Bulldogs rn a s c o t Bruiser seen here dueling with pancake flipper Dave Purdy. Submitted by Micheal Gemmell. Curator. Erland Lee (Museum) Home Home l. Country, Summer 2003 7