Dear WCHC Members,

Congratulations and kudos to the Grand Night for Hospice Care XXII Ball Chairs, Mikki Gardner Mood and Tracey Baldwin as well as their entire committee and volunteers. A wonderful evening was had by all! Not only did the guests have a grand time, but we raised approximately $120,000 for the seven hospices which we support. A very big thank you to all of the members that supported the ball by either attending or making a donation. These funds cannot be raised without the generosity of you, the membership and the donors who have continued to support us throughout the years!

Now it is on to our Spring Event! Mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 4th. The Co- Chairs, Analisa Bailiff and Jennifer Manney along with their committee, are working hard to provide you a wonderful Spring Luncheon. We will be honoring one of our own, Carolyn Flynn. Carolyn is a Past President and has served on the board of directors (in numerous positions) for 21 out of 23 years of membership. That is remarkable! Please join us as we honor this wonderful, well deserving and dedicated WCHC member.

After much consideration and thought, the Executive Committee has elected to forgo the shopping boutique portion of our Spring Event. In lieu of shopping boutiques, we will be offering our members an opportunity to purchase a piece of jewelry designed and made especially for WCHC by designer Dominic Pangborn. A wonderful present to those you love a thoughtful tribute to someone special in your life or purchase one for yourself as a reminder of the good our organization does! We also will have an interactive raffle...you pick the prize(s) you WANT to win! Also, the venue is new! We will be lunching at The Townsend Hotel, located in Birmingham.

That is not all...due to the significant generosity of a fellow member; we were able to secure Mr. Jeffrey Zaslow as our guest speaker at the Spring Event. Mr. Zaslow is a nationally known best -selling author and Wall Street Journal writer whose columns tend to the hearts of its readers. He co-authored "The Last Lecture "with Randy Pausch, which has remained on the New York Times best seller list for more than 80 weeks. Most recently he co-authored "Highest Duty," the memoir of Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who famously landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. He also authored the book "The Girls from Ames," a story about female friendships. Mr. Zaslow has been featured on numerous television shows, including The Tonight Show, Oprah, Larry King Live, 60 Minutes, the Today Show and Good Morning America. For more information about Mr. Zaslow, please read his attached bio. We are honored and blessed to have such a wonderful speaker for our Spring Event. Again, deep gratitude and appreciation is bestowed upon the generous underwriter who wishes to remain anonymous. We are so grateful!!!

Watch your mailbox for your Spring Event invitation which will arrive in mid-March. Seating will be limited this year, so do not delay sending in your reservations for you and your guests. I look forward to seeing all of you there!

Think Spring!
Julie Beals