St. Mary's Hospital Auxiliary Club
St. Mary's Auxiliary's Annual Rummage Sale held Sept. 22-23 raised more than $1,700 for patient care services.
The items that didn't sell were donated to Immaculate Conception Church for their Mustard Seed Project, which provides used items to the public on a donation basis. The auxiliary extended a big thank you to auxiliary member Teresa Tolksdorf for the use of her building for the sale.
The auxiliary also raised additional funds through a book and gift sale held Sept. 25-26 at the hospital.
In other fundraising news, the auxiliary held a Halloween Bake Sale on Oct. 31 at the hospital and began gearing up for Christmas with its annual holiday open house Nov. 8 in the gift shop.
The auxiliary is also selling poinsettias for the holiday season. Orders are due Nov. 15, and the plants can be picked up Nov. 30-Dec. 1. For more information or to place an order, call or visit the hospital gift shop or contact Bev Stafford at 573-681-3743.
In addition, the auxiliary's Christmas Luncheon will be held Dec. 5 at the Courtyard by Marriott. It will also serve as the December board meeting and general membership meeting. Officers will be initiated at the luncheon, and the membership will be asked to approve the auxiliary's revised bylaws.
In other auxiliary news:
The auxiliary is pleased to announce several new officers for the 2024-25 year: Barb Shimmens has accepted the position of president-elect, Diane Wildhaber will serve as treasurer and Becky Rogge will take over as membership chairman.
The board voted to continue to provide funding to buy stuffed animals for children served through the hospital's Interventional Services.
The Busy Fingers quilting group is hard at work on the quilt that will be raffled off at the Christmas luncheon. The quilters have also purchased the materials for the quilt to be raffled off at next year's Ice Cream Social.
Scholarship applications for St. Mary's employees and auxiliary members and their families who are seeking careers in health care are due by Dec. 1. For more information and an application form, contact the Volunteer Office at the hospital or email Tina Sellner at [email protected].
The auxiliary is offering several travel trips that are open to the public:
Exploring the Alpine Countries, April 25-May 6, 2024.
Discover the Colors of New England, Oct. 4-11, 2024.
Irish Splendor, March 23-30, 2025.
For more information about these trips, contact Linda Oligschlaeger at [email protected].
The auxiliary is always looking for new members and volunteers. Currently, volunteers are needed for the following activities: gift shop, hospitality cart, cardiac rehab, and greeters. For more information, please call Bev Stafford at 573-681-3743.
Preceptor Lambda Iota
The first October meeting of Preceptor Lambda Iota was held Oct. 3 at Janet Brown's home. Members signed up for the October Social, dinner at Sweet Smoke BBQ before going to California, Missouri, to watch the Hocus Pocus movie on Oct. 28 at the Finke Theater.
Madalynn Bell reported on the pecan sales and distributed pecans to members to sell. Tress Prenger collected donations for the next Honor Flight as our October service project. At the first City Council meeting, a thorough financial report was presented. The tentative date for the Valentine Bruch is Feb. 10, based upon venue availability. Founder's Day may be April 22 or 29, based upon venue availability. Our chapter will do name tags and programs for both the Valentine Brunch and Founder's Day dinner.
The next city council meeting was Oct. 18 at N. H. Scheppers, Clydesdale Room. Susie Perkins passed around a list of items needed for her daughter's second grade classroom for indoor recess activities due to the fire at Trinity Lutheran School. Members can sign up to purchase an item or donate cash.
Janet presented the cultural program on an old article in the Mini Pages of the newspaper on Tussie Mussie bouquets for Mom. The small bouquets can contain herbs and/or flowers. She also gave the meaning of some flowers such as the red roses and red tulips symbolizing passion and love, the yellow rose symbolizes friendship, the pansy is remembrance of lost loved ones, lilies of the valley symbolize joy and happiness, while baby's breath is purity and innocence. She also read a poem dealing with bullies. Instead of getting through the ordeal that we or our loved ones are struggling with, we can use the situation as a "Grow Through It." This also goes hand in hand with our theme of Watch Beta Sigma Phi Grow & Bloom. It gave a new twist on how to deal with difficult times and was a very interesting program enjoyed by all.
The second meeting in October was held Oct. 17 at Perkins Restaurant. Tammy Meyer reminded members of the upcoming October social of dinner at Sweet Smoke BBQ prior to going to the Finke Theater to watch "Hocus Pocus." Madalynn Bell ordered an additional 315 pounds of pecans. Tress Prenger again collected donations for the next Honor Flight.
The November Service Project will be donations to the Samaritan Center for the purchase of turkeys for families. Jane Marbaker discussed venue options for Founder's Day and as a chapter we prefer Bones' Banquet Room. Members donated indoor recess toys for the kindergarten class at Trinity Lutheran School. We will collect items at the next meeting.
Madalynn presented the cultural program based on an article in the Dec. 6, 2021, issue of Southern Living on "The Life of the Party" by Sid Evans. It was about family traditions over the holidays and an outrageous and fun-loving uncle, who loved parties. His contribution was Bloody Mary cocktails. He had a conservative recipe because he wanted it so drinkable you couldn't resist a second one. Since his death in 2014 the family has continued to use his recipe in his honor. This is an example of how family holiday traditions are created and how they continue to make cherished memories for all.
Submitted by Madalynn Bell, recording secretary.
Cultured Pearls Meeting Minutes
The Cultured Pearls meeting was held Nov. 4 at the building formerly known as the West Point Senior Center. President Carol Abbott conducted the business meeting. Hostesses were Cheryl Kennon, Barb Testerman and Connie Wade. Judy Bangert and Pat Cunningham attended as guest.
Cheryl Kennon gave a program on the history of Thanksgiving from the beginning to present day.
The November Day Trip will be Nov. 17 to Handel Haus in Cole Camp. Our Christmas luncheon will be held Dec. 2 at Bones' Restaurant.
Upcoming regular monthly activities are Nov. 13 and 27, Pony Tail/Hand & Foot at HyVee; Nov. 15, Daytime Bridge at HyVee; Nov. 17, Pinochle at Las Trojas on West Edgewood; Nov. 29, Daytime Canasta at Colton's.
November birthdays are Ina Henson and Jan Schaefer. December hostesses are Pauline Eggers, Ina Henson, Barbara Herman, Jan Schaefer, Peggy Roemer. Our next meeting will be at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 2 at Bones' Restaurant.
Submitted by Martha Kleindienst, secretary.