SAUSALITO WOMAN'S CLUB

Greetings Ladies!

Welcome April and may it bring many sunny days ahead! 

March celebrated the SWC founders and past presidents with a lively High Jinks and a lovely champagne reception. This quote speaks volumes to the founders and past and future leaders of our wonderful club. Cheers and thank you to all!

Strong women aren’t simply born. We are forged through the challenges of life. With each challenge we grow mentally and emotionally. We move forward with our head held high and a strength that cannot be denied. A woman who’s been through the storm and survived…We are warriors!  —Author Unknown

Many thanks to all who contributed their time, love and talents to produce the best Founders’ Week ever! Special thanks to Paula Monsef and Leslie Hail for leading the team! And a very special thank you to Jinks writer, Linda Ojeda, and director, Kim Huff, for writing and producing the fabulous “Jinks Jamboree – A Look Back.” By far, the best Jinks ever!

Great news! The new path (from the street to the main gate) looks fantastic. It is level and safe for everyone to enter the Club grounds. The old handrail is being retrofitted to fit the new path and should be installed in the next few weeks. A big thank you to AL for their perseverance with the City over the last seven years in working out a mutually agreeable course of action. I think you will agree that our contractor, Ted Van Midde, did a beautiful job!

Other exciting news: our new Podium is in the works, thanks to Perm Dec, and hopefully will arrive just in time for Installation (fingers crossed). This project has been fully funded by two special SWC angels. Thank you so much to Shannon Baker and Barbara Rich for their generous and kind donations. 

Something new! The Admissions Committee and the SWC Board are hosting an “Admissions Open House” on Tuesday, April 11 from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Club. SWC members are invited to bring prospective new members to an informal Open House to introduce them to the beautiful Clubhouse, our committees, and our wonderful activities. Please think about who you might invite. No RSVP required.  Please contact Jeni Flynn (jeniflyn@pacbell.net) with questions.

Please join the SWC Board on Friday, May 5th “Cinco de Motown” at the Spinnaker! All proceeds benefit the SWC General Fund.  This is our one and only fundraiser of the year. Come enjoy tapas and dancing from 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm. There will be a cash bar, and festive attire is encouraged. Tickets are $95 per person and available for purchase from the SWC website. 

Hope to see everyone at our April Business Meeting!

“With all of the bad things that are happening in the world right now, I think we need a message of togetherness and true unity.  I believe that starts with personal reflection and then we can find kindness toward each other.” ― Marielle Heller

Rest assured, that all the SWC General Fund CD’s, checking and saving accounts, are protected under FDIC regulations, based on some of the current institution fall out. All banks have been contacted and monies have been reviewed with a positive outcome. Going forward, the SWC $ Team will consider the directive that only up to $250K can be held at any single banking entity to ensure that there is FDIC protection. The interest rates for CD’s continue to be strong as of today.

MARCH/APRIL FOCUS:

1. FISCAL TEAM MEETING TO DISCUSS SWC $ GOALS;
2. CREATE BEST PRACTICES FOR PROGRAM ONLINE PAYMENTS;
3. CREDIT CARD PROCESSES REVIEW AND VENMO STATUS;
4. REVIEW ACTUAL TO BUDGET LINE BY LINE FOR APRIL MEETING;
5. INSURANCE MEETING W/ AGENT - PENDING HIS AVAILABILITY; AND
6. SWC RENTALS – INTENSIVE REVIEW & STRATEGY FOR 2024/2025.

The checks presented to the SWC Board over $1500 at the MARCH Meeting are as follows:

1. Marin County Tax Collector: 2nd & final installment; and
2. New podium reimbursement to M. Zinman for invoice #336766.

 If anyone has any questions, concerns, input, or is interested in reviewing the $ reports – I am always available as needed via cell 415-302-8667 or email: accounting@sausalitowomansclub.org

**ALL EXPENSES CAN BE MAILED TO >> SWC PO BOX 733 SAUSALITO CA  94966**
$$$   THANK YOU   $$$

Jinks 2023

It seems like yesterday the New Applicants’ Committee was meeting our new members for the first time, and today they are seasoned pros, veterans of Founders’ Day and Jinks Week, stars of the stage and the Sausalito Woman’s Club!

We were truly happy to have so many members join in the fun for the Jinks Dress Rehearsal, Founders’ Day and the Low Jinks! A giant “THANK YOU” to the many, many members who helped with food, decor, cooking, cleaning, bar tending and shepherding the Jinks through the entire process from script to performance. 

What a show! And what a reception! It was wonderful to see so many of our members enjoying Founders’ Day 2023 – The Jinks Jamboree—A Look Back – the best Jinks ever! Even the weather broke out of its storm cycle to give us a fine day! I couldn’t have liked it more!

With huge appreciation to cast, crew, helpers and attendees! Many thanks to Sandra Macleod White and Debbie Ford-Scriba for the photos in the album below.

Resignations
The Executive Board accepted the resignation of Pam Henry in good standing.

Deaths
It was sadly announced that Claudia Kennedy passed away on February 28, 2023.

Admissions Open House, April 11, 6 to 8pm
The Executive Board proposed an Open House on April 11 at the SWC from 6 to 8pm to receive potential new members. Significant support was expressed from the membership at the March Business Meeting.

ANY SWC MEMBER WHO KNOWS A POTENTIAL NEW MEMBER SHOULD BRING THEM TO THE APRIL 11 OPEN HOUSE.  NO RSVP REQUIRED.

This is a good way to start the process now so new member applications can be organized over the summer and ready for consideration in September and October.

Thank you for the Music!

The 2023 Jinks was truly one of the best. Congratulations to director Kim Huff, writer Linda Ojeda and cast for weaving together songs, sets and dialogue from past Jinks that convey how our Sausalito Woman’s Club history and traditions are part of our contemporary journey.

This Jinks also recognized the SWC’s two 501(c) (3) charitable organizations, The Preservation Society and Scholarship Recognition Fund, as important members of our club family. Scholarship is investing in our future, educating the young people who will help make our community and our world a better place. Preservation is rooted both in our past and future, ensuring that the SWC Clubhouse will be preserved just as Julia Morgan designed it for future generations to enjoy.

Please remember to reserve your tickets and book purchases for our upcoming April 27 Fundraiser.  Doors will open at 5:30 PM

SWCPS will host Victoria Kastner, the acclaimed author of JULIA MORGAN An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect, in conversation with club member Cheryl Popp. Kastner’s book reveals many previously unknown details about Julia Morgan’s life. Morgan’s struggles to gain recognition in a male-dominated profession parallels the struggles of our own club founders to gain a voice for the women of Sausalito.  

Tickets for the event, which include sweet and savory refreshments and no-host bar, are $25. Those wishing to purchase a ticket plus a copy of Kastner’s book (list price $32.50) can do so before April 6 at a deeply discounted price of $50. A limited number of books will be available for purchase at the event for full list price.  So please reserve by April 6 to take advantage of the “early bird” book pricing:

Purchase admission $25

Purchase admission plus book $50

Scholarship Recognition Fund
Averel Wilson, Chair
Heidi Snowden, Vice-Chair
 

Applications are in!

Scholarship is pleased to announce that we have received 23 applications from our community’s scholars! These scholars include first-time high school applicants, returning applicants already in college or graduate school, and new applicants pursuing college degrees and vocation-specific training such as teaching certificates and marine apprenticeships. We are so grateful to you, the SWC membership, for your generous support of these scholars and their dreams!

A quick reminder to check the SWC calendar, and your inbox, for details about the upcoming “April in Paris” soiree, Scholarship’s annual fundraising event, to be held at the SWC on Saturday, April 15th.  Come enjoy French hors d’oeuvres, French cocktails (as well as champagne and wine), live music (think Charles Aznavour!), a fabulous silent auction, and a gallery of miniature artworks for sale by SWC members. Attire: Festive!

For tickets to the event and/or to purchase raffle tickets, click here!

At the March Business Meeting, the membership approved $1,250 to three Marin environmental organizations. [Click Here] to read the committee recommendation for these wonderful programs.
 
$250 – Marin Agricultural Land Trust, knowns as, MALT
Dedicated to Phyllis Faber the wetlands biologist who cofounded MALT in 1980 with rancher Ellen Straus, known as the ‘dairy godmother.’
 
$500 –  Slide Ranch, to repair recent storm damage.
 
$500 – One Tam, for youth environmental stewardship programs on Mt Tamalpais.
 
Memorial Donation – $75 was donated to Save the Redwoods for a redwood tree to be planted in memory of our beloved member Claudia Kennedy. Her family will receive an acknowledgment from Save the Redwoods.

Giving is not just about making a donation.
It is about making a difference.

History

Our First President and Her Contributions

Lately, I have spent more than the usual time at our wonderful clubhouse because of Jinks rehearsals. Looking at the furnishings, I thought of how they were acquired. I discovered that our first President, Susan Stroufe Loosley (but known, of course, as Mrs. J.L. Loosley) not only donated a painting but also some of our chairs. She has such an interesting story that I want to mention it again to classics and introduce her with more detail to the newbies. Much of this detail has been lifted from the Centennial Book and I applaud those who wrote and published it!

Susan Stroufe was born in Petaluma to parents who had come West in a covered wagon during Gold Rush times. Her father did not pan for gold but found his fortune, as others cleverly did, in servicing the miners. He eventually became a successful importer of wine and liquors in San Francisco. Susan was not a typical young woman of her generation. She studied painting in Paris and Munich and exhibited award-winning work at the Paris Salon. Returning to San Francisco, she became an early California landscape painter working in oils and watercolor. She was a free spirit who traveled and supported herself and she was single until the age of 39. Even after marriage, Susan Loosley retained her maiden name, Susan Stroufe, professionally. She enjoyed taking her women friends on an annual camping trip to the Guerneville area, wearing bloomers and high-topped rubber boots. Susan had an art studio in San Francisco that was lost during the 1906 earthquake. She and John bought property in 1911 at 141 San Carlos Avenue and built a home. They moved to Sausalito in 1912 and she opened an art studio at 255 San Carlos.

Susan Stroufe Loosley grew up in a life of privilege and she and John were able to move easily within the circle of San Francisco society. She had several leadership roles in civic and cultural organizations in the City. Although she had the leadership skills to be our first President, she also was a new arrival in town and was not “tainted” by the earlier battles to clean up the town. She was not against alcohol consumption but believed it should be done in moderation. She was the ideal person to lead the club and so she did from 1913-1917. 

As you enter the Clubhouse, you will find a painting of redwood trees above the reception desk. She donated this painting in 1918 for the new building. It is an oil on canvas with the frame molded with decorative motifs and a copper and gold gilt surface. The second painting, a watercolor, was donated by one of her relatives. You will see it as you walk up the stairs. It is a winter scene of trees beyond a stream or lake with imagery of light reflected off the water’s surface. In addition to the lovely paintings, Susan Stroufe Loosley also donated 3 Spanish Revival chairs. They are from the early 1900s. They have leather backs with seats stretched on a wood frame and brass nail heads. Two are in the auditorium and have arms. One is armless and, in the entryway, next to the staircase. 

Susan Stroufe Loosley was certainly a good choice for our first President. She was an independent woman with proven leadership abilities who had a society pedigree as well as a mind of her own. I can hear the jinks cast singing “I AM WOMAN” in the background as I write about her. 

By Lauri Flynn

Outreach Committee

It’s finally spring, YAY! While we are grateful for the rain this winter, everyone is happy to see the sun again.

If you or an SWC member you know has an upcoming medical procedure or situation that requires meal delivery or transportation, please contact MaryKae Krause at 415.332.3554 or Debbie Ford-Scriba, dfordscriba@gmail.com, 408.666.9090, to schedule assistance.

The SWC Outreach Committee is standing by to be of service. Thanks, and Happy Spring! 🌷🌷🌷 

Rentals
Susan Gordon, Co-Chair

The following is a testimonial from Jaime Libby, Special Assistant to President, Dominican College and Trustee Secretary following their February 9th retreat at the Club.

"The trustees raved about the Club, no surprise. How kind you have been to host us with such attention to detail and thoughtfulness. I really appreciated partnering with you, Roberta, and Susan in making this event a success. I have a feeling we'll be back next year!"

Our Board of Trustees retreat was a sparkling success. The Club's tremendous events volunteers made my job a piece of cake, and you can't beat the view and the central location. We are no doubt going to return, and I am also recommending the venue to every engaged couple I meet! What a stunning setting, inside and out."

Why We Compost: Composting creates the rich life-sustaining organic matter we call soil that is sold for agricultural use and the revenue helps lower your service costs.

Sustainability is about how we choose to spend our money and manage our waste.