Washington Women's History Consortium
Women's Clubs and Organizations
Charlotte Vail, Junior Director, 1982-1984
Washington State Federation of Junior Women's Clubs
Yakima was the site of the installation of the 198284 Junior Director, Charlotte Vail. She was installed along with Dorothy Coleman, State President. The theme chosen by the Director was "Yesterdays Heritage is Tomorrow's Future. "
During this administration an endowment fund was established for the junior membership. The original plan was to establish three levels of funds for the future of the junior membership. But when the junior membership joined the general membership in 1992, it was decided the monies would go to establish scholarships for WSFWC members who are continuing their education.
Another project which took place was "Talk about Touching" program. The program was adopted by the Ferndale School District in the Health Curriculum - grades K- 12. The program was developed by Dr. Jennifer James and several clubs in the state raised money to initiate the program in various school districts over the state.
The 1983 convention was at Bellevue Hilton in Bellevue. The Friday evening banquet, "Looking Back, Thinking Ahead," was at the Saint Michelle Winery. Members boarded buses at the hotel and had sing-a-longs on the bus to the winery. The evening consisted of a tour of the winery, dinner and the presentation of awards.
Charlotte represented the Washington Juniors at Western States in Anchorage, Alaska, and in Portland, Oregon.
The GFWC Board meetings were in Bismark, North Dakota and Toronto, Canada. At this meeting, board members toured a castle and had dinner on a riverboat. GFWC President Juanita Bryant, asked Charlotte to be an auctioneer to raise money for the Women's History and Resource Center. With her skill, she raised over $5,000 for the project.
U.S. Vice President George Bush and his wife, Barbara, were guests at the GFWC International Convention in Orlando, Florida in 1983.
"I'll never forget the evening the Board of Directors were to have a private social hour with the vice president and his wife. The secret service officers were checking everyone's purse. My roommates from New Hampshire, Montana and Wisconsin had been cleared to enter the room. However, in my purse I had an asthma inhaler and the secret service took it a] I apart to make sure it wasn't an explosive. My roommates were all laughing. When I finally got in the meeting, I was able to be introduced to George and Barbara Bush. What a thrill!" remembered Charlotte.
"As Junior Director for the state of Washington, I traveled to some wonderful places in this country and met some wonderful people from all walks of life. I'll never forget what an honor and privilege it was to serve as the Washington State Junior Director 1982-84," reported Vail.
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