Dearest Women in Business!

Wow… May is turning out to be a super busy month for many of our members!

So busy, in fact, that 6 of our members – me included! – who regularly come to WIBN Support are unable to make it to our meeting this Wednesday!

Therefore, we have decided to cancel this month’s meeting.

We wil meet again next month, on Wednesday, June 20th at 5:15PM.

Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions or would like information about this very special support meeting for women in business members.

I look forward to seeing you all at the June 6th WIBN Members Breakfast Meeting — and then later in the month for WIBN Support!

With best wishes for your happiness and success,

Marguerite Lorimer, WIBN VP and WIBN Support Chair

NOTE: There are FOUR applications, one for each type of grant!

• $500 Cash Grant (one available)
• One Year Membership, Mt. Shasta Chamber of Commerce (two available)
• One Year Membership, JEDI (two available)
• One Year Membership, Women in Business Network (two available)

Good luck!

Laura Dahl (Stanford Piano) and Sally Porter-Munro (San Francisco Opera) at Weed Elementary School, as a part of our outreach program

Connie Marmet is our Guest Speaker at the May Membership Meeting. She will inform us about the Performing Arts in Siskiyou County, the interesting plays that are going to be presented and the importance of our involvement to keep the Performing Arts alive in our area.

Anna Maria Mendietta & Company, who performed for the 2011 Music by the Mountain Festival

I am happy to announce that our first fundraiser brought $1,050.00 to the Treasury of the Women in Business Network. After paying expenses we will probably have $800.00 left. This amount will all go toward the Grant! At the Membership Meeting in May, I will distribute the application forms to the members who wish to apply. The deadline to turn in your application is May 25th. That will give the Committee enough time to evaluate the requests so that at the Membership Meeting in June we can announce the winners. The applications will be evaluated anonymously. Each applicant will receive points according to their answers.

The Grant will be awarded as follows:
First place: $500.00 to pay for business expenses.
Second place: 2 Memberships to the Mt. Shasta Chamber of Commerce
Third place: 2 Memberships to JEDI
Fourth place: 2 Memberships to WIBN

The cash Grant has increased from $300.00 to $500.00. The difference this year is that the money will not all come out of the Treasury like last year, but will be taken from the amount we raised at our first Fundraiser. This is a Great Beginning and I know it will only improve next year and the years to come. Last year, when I decided to start this Grant, it was mainly to give back to the Members and make a difference in the business of Members who can only improve even just with a little help. Women in Business Network is formed by exceptional women and I am very happy to serve you in my capacity.

See you all on Wednesday May 2, 2012 at the Tree House for an exciting meeting and a great presentation by Connie Marmet who will inform us about the Performing Arts in our area.

Looking forward to seeing you, I just wish to remind you to be Happy and Smile.
Matilde de Franchis-Unruh
WIBN Chairwoman/President

Marie-Josée Wells is our guest speaker during the membership meeting on April 4th and this is her introduction:

“Why is the Chamber of Commerce the most trusted source for information on local businesses and services? Learn about the history of the concept, its evolution over 5 centuries and why is it still highly relevant today.”

Marie-Josée Wells, Executive Director, Mt. Shasta Chamber of Commerce

Please join us in welcoming her as she is a great supporter of our Network and has been able to match the membership to the Mt. Shasta Chamber we offer to a member. Because of her, this year we will be able to offer two memberships again. Thank you Marie-Josée.

My message this month is brief but with exciting news.

The preparations for our first fundraiser are well on their way and so exciting! Wait until you hear….

I was able to find my dear friend, Chef Caroline Brask, a renown Chef in charge of events in Disneyland and Playboy. She has accepted to help in organizing the Wine and Ale Tasting event. It is going to be amazing you will see. Caroline will be attending our membership meeting on Wednesday April 4th and will bring her daughter, a business consultant from Los Angeles. They are both planning to become members of WIBN.

The wineries and brewery are very excited to participate to our event and they will contribute the libations. I have applied for all the requested permits and we will have an amazing event! What a treat it is going to be to see the wonderful set up Caroline will display with your platters of appetizers, fruits and desserts.

Please remember to bring the tickets you have sold and the money so we can start to have an idea on how many people will attend.

I have also requested the local TV to display our event all day every day so the news should spread quickly.

The amount of money we will raise, is going to determine what type of Grant we can give to the members who will apply. This is a very important step in the progress of our organization, to be able to assist our members in becoming stronger in their business.

Marguerite is doing a great job as chairwoman of the support committee. Her meetings are uplifting and very helpful because each woman who is present has something very valuable to offer.

I wish to welcome Atara as chairwoman of the Membership Committee! She is moving forward in organizing an excellent committee already and has scheduled a member to welcome you at the meetings. It is nice to receive a smile and a welcome when you arrive to the meetings. Atara will also follow through with new members and prospective ones showing the attention each one of you deserves as members.

As I am in Italy and will be here for our meeting, I will conduct it via Skype. I am so grateful to modern technology as it gives me the possibility to be present even when I am outside the country!

See you soon on Skype and remember to be happy and smile!
Matilde

The Women in Business Network Grant was created in 2011 to give back to the members of the Women in Business Network. The grant is designed to assist members who need help starting a business or will aid members in the success of their current business.

As Atara Melo, owner of A Melo Place and recipient of the First Place grant last year, stated: “By having to fill out the forms to apply for the Women in Business Grant, I had to think my business through to know what I wanted to accomplish. The Women in Business support means so much to me.”

The grant is one of the many great benefits for members of the Women in Business Network. Besides cash, we also have available two memberships to JEDI and two memberships to the Mount Shasta Chamber of Commerce. Last year, the Chamber matched the cash grant we were giving and has made the same offer for 2012. We are excited to announce that this year, JEDI has given us the same offer and will be matching the cash grant.

To recap, the benefits the Women in Business Grant will offer this year are as follows:

1. A cash grant determined by the success of the fundraiser
2. Two memberships to the Mount Shasta Chamber of Commerce
3. Two memberships to JEDI
4. Two memberships to WIBN

We are so excited to offer assistance and support to members of the Women in Business Network. We look forward to toasting you at our first Wine and Ale Tasting Grant Fundraising event!

We will be meeting WEDNESDAY, March 14th at 512 B Spruce Street in Mount Shasta (Allou Guthmiller’s home).

Meeting will start at 5:30PM and end at approximately 7:30PM. Snacks and tea will be provided.

Hope you will join us! WIBN Support is a great opportunity to meet and share on a deeper level with other women in business.

Questions / More Info Marguerite 530-926-1088 Allou 530-926-4555

WIBN Support is a solution-oriented support and mentoring forum open to all Women in Business Network members who are interested in exchanging ideas, celebrating successes, supporting and receiving support from other women in business. Meetings, which last approximately 2 hours, are confidential and free to all members.

I have invited Ellen Coleman to be our Guest Speaker for the March 7th Membership Meeting because I thought that her success story would be very inspirational to all of us.
Enclosed you will find her background and successes.
- Matilde

Staff of Wholesale Solar. Ellen is in the back row, second from the left.

Ellen Coleman co-owner of Wholesale Solar in Mount Shasta:

• B.A. in French from University of Texas
• Post graduate studies in Organizational Development from University of California, Santa Barbara
• Graduate and Diplomate of Louis Klein’s Master Homeopathic Clinician Program (led to homeopathic practice in Taos, New Mexico, and later in Mt. Shasta, California)
• College level studies in biochemistry, health, diet and nutrition through American Health Science
  University led to Certified Nutritionist licensure and private practice in conjunction with homeopathy.
• Married to Mark Coleman since 1974
• Mother of two
• Gardener

My work history includes administrative and management work for the University of Texas and nonprofit organizations, including the meditation-teaching organization that brought us here to Mt Shasta once a year for fifteen years before we moved here. I’ve also had private homeopathic and nutritional counseling practices in Taos, New Mexico and Mt. Shasta.

Once we moved here, our solar business began to grow and to demand my attention. It needed me. Started as on offshoot of my husband Mark’s home building business, it has grown from a one-person office in the back of the house to a multi-million dollar business in eight years.

I am happy to welcome Heather Weldon as a member of the WIBN Board. She has accepted to be a Director on the Board. The By-Laws call for seven Board Members: four Officers and three Directors at large. Any member who wishes to serve on the Board can apply. We have two more positions available.

Marguerite had another successful and enjoyable Support meeting at Allou’s house. Thank you both Marguerite and Allou. I encourage each one of you to attend at least one of the Support Meetings. You will be pleasantly surprised and greatly encourage.

Marguerite has also worked hard on preparing information for the Mentoring Program. Our first meeting went very well and we already have made contacts with the Counselor and Business teacher of the Mount Shasta High School. It takes time to organize these events and I take my hat off to Marguerite who is really dedicated to bring MORE to our Network. She has posted our first Tip of the Month and I am sure you all have enjoyed the information.

Maryam has designed the poster for our fundraiser. Wait until you see it! It is beautiful! This fundraiser for the Grant for Women in Business is very important because we can allocate more money and benefits to more members. Our efforts to work on this project will benefit everyone and I look forward to your help and input to make this event a great success.

Maryam has also been working with Danielle to take over the Website chairwomanship. Again I want to thank Danielle for all her time in making the site look Great!

As you already know from our information on facebook, the hotel’s corporate office has asked to charge $6.75 for the full breakfast including drinks and $2.50 for only drinks such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate and juices. WIBN will be charged for everyone attending the Meeting so please bring your change, if you can.

I look forward to seeing you soon and until then stay healthy, prosperous and smile!

Matilde