Annual Installation Dinner

The MTCWC installation of new officers was held on May 17, 2011 at Biaggi's Restaurant in Champaign, Ill. Members enjoyed a wide variety of Italian entrees, wine & of course, yummy desserts.

Outgoing officers, Jan (Recording Secretary) & Donna (Vice President) received lovely jewelry designed by a member.

Hokus-Pokus Ceremony. Since we are a fun-loving bunch of ladies, Jan Suppok decided to install the new officiers with a "Magican Show". Shown above is the "Great Jan-dinni" with her cape, top hat & magic wand! The words, "Hokus-Pokus look at the crocus" were said and the magic wand dubbed each newly elected officer as offically installed.

For the Treasurer, Jan pulled some "gifts" out of a green bag symbolizing the color or money. She received some gold coins to use in case she was ever short of funds or if the treasurer's report didn't balance. Also a bottle of extra strength Excedrin for any headaches associated with her job.

Corresponding Secretary, Tamara Johnson, received some satationery & pens to use while writing any correspondence concerning the club. These were tucked into a blue bag which represents the colored ink she will be using. Also some hand cream to use after typing the yearbook.

New Recording Secretary, Kim Schaab-Ozier was handed a red bag to remind her that whatever she records will be the "heart" of our club history for years to come. Inside her goody bad were some pencils with large erasers for taking minutes; a large comb for combing through past minutes to find any needed information & a large pair of glasses for deciphering her note taking.

For the new Vice President, Cheryl Zindars, Jan had a white bag to represent the loyalty & support she will give to our President. She was given a bag of "lifesaver candies" since she may be called on to be a lifesaver for the President in assisting her or relieving her of some of her duties & lightening her burden. Also, she received several small balls for "juggling" her other duties of overseeing all committees.

Jennifer Kassem, our Club President was presented with a gold bag-symbolizing loyalty & authority. It also represents the reins of Leadership. She was give a toy telephone and a toy computer for keeping in touch with the membership. A toy plastic mallet was handed to her to shake or pound for silence when members get out of hand at meetings.

Congratulations & good luck to our new officers for the 2011-2012 club year!

The Great "Jan-dinni" ended the show by pulling a small stuffed rabbit out of her hat to remind the members to recruit friends to join our club so our membership can multiply like rabbits.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

No one wanted to be late for this very important date--April 19th. The MCTWC members enjoyed a fun filled evening at their monthly meeting which featured a "Mad Hatter's Tea Party"! Members wore silly hats & shared funny poems, stories or jokes during the party! An elegant table setting greeted everyone-thanks to Cheryl for sharing her family heirlooms-the various tea pots, cups & saucers were very pretty & festive.

Donna & Lynn with their hats--the princess and the court jester!

Jan & Stella playing bingo using m&m candies as markers--Kim announcing the winning numbers. Some members ran out of markers--m&m are sooo good!

A group picture of the ladies and their hats. It was a very memorable evening- even with a tornado warning that sent everyone into the ladies restroom for shelter, our members were undaunted. We took our cream puff desserts & glasses of lemonade with us and continued the party in the restroom until the warning was over.

Stitch Hat-Decorating Workshop

The Stitch ladies met on April 13th to decorate hats & paper plates to wear to the April 17th MCTWC meeting which featured a social evening entitled "Mad Hatter's Tea Party".

Above are some of the gals with their finished exclusive & creative silly hats!

Pat, Elsbeth & Donna starting with the basics-what to use, ribbons or flowers?

Stella & Barb have some of their own ideas to try!

Donna goes for the elegant look!

Jan likes whimsical hearts & peppermint candies on her creation!

February Monthly Meeting

Our February 15th meeting will be held at the Mahomet Public Library in the meeting room at 7 P.M.
The program guest speaker, Kim Bode, is going "Crazy for Coupons", she will give us many tips on this money-saving topic. Please join us for an enlightening evening.

Stitch Group Projects

Within the Mahomet Town & Country Club is a group of ladies who meet weekly on Wednesday mornings.
Originally dubbed "Stitch" because many of them were sewing, knitting or crocheting for club projects or for their own personal use. Quite a few of the gals are interested in crafts & sewing and have made items for international & local organizations. Sometimes, we just make "fun" items. We all enjoy the fellowship this group provides & look forward to our time spend together.



BIRD HOUSES
These table decorations were made as centerpeices when our club hosted the General Federation of Women's Clubs 19th District Fall meeting.

It's amazing what a cardstock; flowers, birds & nesting materials can turn into with a little imagination.

FLOWER VASES

These were used as centerpieces for our annual Installation Banquet

These stitch ladies seem happy with the finished product

This project involved covering plain glass vases or glasses with masking tape, then painting with a variey of colored shoe polish. After drying completely, they were filled with dried beans to provide a basis for the flower arrangements.

Oh, what sticky tape --we used small irregular pieces for get the mosaic effect

Busy fingers & smiling faces!



CARD MAKING

This was a fun craft--Meg Loven, one of our members and a STAMPING-UP representative invited the stitch ladies to her home to show us how to make cardstock greeting cards.

Some of us caught on quickly & some were slow learners but Meg was patient.

We were all proud of our finished cards & we hope those who received them were happy with something "handmade".

LAP THROWS

These warm fleece blankets have been made by our group on several different occasions--we have given them to the elderly to use on chilly evenings as part of our "Senior Outreach Program". We made smaller ones for children and babies. These were given to Domestic Shelter for Women & Children and to Living Alternative-Pregnancy Resource Cent

Fleece fabric is cut on the ends spaced at about 1 inch intervals, then a little slit is made in the center. The outer end is then passed through the slit and out the other side making a nice fringe on the ends of the blanket or lap throw! There are a variety of ways to make this fringe edge but the above method is the one our group has used.

Coffee & fellowship makes the time fly & the work easier!

The above were the larger lap throws for seniors-a bit bulkier, they took longer to finish!







CLOTH DOLLS & CHILDRENS HOSPITAL GOWNS

These were made for "Operation Smile"- an international organization that provides treatment for children with clift palate abnormalities. Doctors & nurses volunteer their services for this worthy cause. The dolls are left without facial features so the children can draw their own hoped for smiles on the doll they are given. The smaller sized gowns are used the day of their operation.
Cutting out the patterns
Watch those scissors, Jan!

Trudy is stuffing the doll with soft filler!

Some of our Community Involvement

MAHOMET PUBLIC LIBRARY

MTCWC members were influential in starting the original public library in Mahomet and our club has supported the library since it's beginning. Donations over the years help towards books, computers & other library needs. Cookbooks sales & nut sales funds enabled us to donate $10,000 to the New Public Library for the clock tower outside the building.

Club members at the May 2009 ground breaking ceremony for the new library. The New Mahomet Public Library opened in June of 2010

MAHOMET HELPING HANDS

Our club makes monetary donations to this community food pantry.

We provide assistance by giving our time during their October

collection & food distribution. We also collect paper products throughout the year for them

SPRING CLEAN-UP FOR FOREST PARK DISTRICT

As a community service project, several members braved the wet weather to weed flower beds at a Lake of the Woods site for the park district.

Wet, muddy shoes but a job well done!

NUT SALES

Our main fundraising is done through our annual nut sales. We are the local "Nut Ladies".

We sell mainly through our members personally contacting known customers or new contacts.

These nut sale profits allow us to donate to worthy causes in the Mahomet community.

Occasionally we sell nuts at local events

Library walk/run

Sugared pecans & cider at Snowflake Trail

Mahomet Area Youth Club Activities

MTCWC has been helping the Mahomet Area Youth Club with monetary donations
over the years and our club members have helped with fundraisers on their behalf.

MAYC annual Spring Gala Fundraiser

Members serving food & drinks to patrons attending this outdoor gala.

Several club members pose for a group photo

before this evening gala begins.

Our ladies are kept busy with refreshments for gala guests.

Any monetary tips are donated to the youth club.

Another fundraising event that we help with is the MAYC annual

5k race/walk. We man a water station for the participants.

A cool drink of water or gatorade is sure appreciated.

Cheering on the racers-offering them encouragement

to reach the finish line.

This 5k race is growing more popular each year.

Thanks to Chris Russell's children for helping with this race every year!

An early Saturday moring in August

Ready & waiting with the plastic cups full.