Dear CIWOT Ladies🌸,
A few weeks ago, several members asked me when I was going to do another blog. At the time I was unsure how to start one. It has taken this time to really consider how I wanted to start🤔
Dedication and service
Recently, we have seen and heard all about Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. Whether you are a royalist or not, I realised this doesn’t matter. For me, this weekend was not about the Royal Family or what may or not have transpired in the past regarding them, it has been about the WOMAN, who is not just the head of the Royal Family and the Commonwealth, but about a WOMAN who was and is a Daughter, Wife, Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother. It has been about her dedication and service to everyone she represents across the globe. She has shown women the way for empowerment. She has shown that every woman is more than capable of inspiration and wisdom.
For me personally, I have in my own way served Her Majesty in volunteering for cadet organisations in the UK and Cyprus, and this time served has helped me in my personal growth towards helping to inspire young adults and other women in turn. Cyprus International Women of Today has cemented that start in life and has allowed me to continue growing and hopefully empower and inspire past and present members.
President's Banquet
For Cyprus International Women of Today, the end of June each year is our own celebration 🎊🎇 of all we have accomplished and the empowerment and inspiration we have given each other in the past year. The 'President's Banquet' is the President's way of saying a universal Thank You to each and every member of CIWOT, whilst looking to the future of this amazing organisation.
Each and every member of CIWOT, whether past or present, has brought with her her own personality, sense of dedication and service through the three core tenets that make up CIWOT, Our Constitution, our Ethos and our three pillars, Personal Growth, Community Service and Friendship.
Getting involved
Without these and the dedication of Board Members/Advisors and Members throughout the past 13 years, CIWOT would not have grown and prospered. We are now 101 strong in membership, and each of you has your own role to play in the future of CIWOT - this could be by volunteering to share your own knowledge and experiences, hosting a social event, organising a walk or introducing us to cultural experiences of your own country or new knowledge about Cyprus. The list of what we can achieve and how we can empower each other is endless.
By attending our meetings and especially the annual general meeting (AGM), it is your voice that we listen to. It is your chance to influence how CIWOT moves forward. After each meeting, including the AGM, there is the opportunity to socialise and get to know each other, something we have sincerely missed these past two years due to COVID. Our personal lives are now moving forward and so is CIWOT. In 2024, we will celebrate 15 years. This is a huge accomplishment, especially as we are a volunteer organisation, with each of us contributing as best we can.
CIWOT is what you make it. The Board and Advisors are there to help realise your vision. No idea is a bad idea! We may not have accomplished and be able to follow through on every idea, but we do our best to achieve every one of them. Not every date and time or venue will suit all our members, and again we do our best to accommodate all our members so you all have the opportunity to join us. One of the biggest things is volunteering. Through volunteering you gain empowerment, inspiration, personal growth and friendship.
Over the years, we have seen new members put their name forward for Board Positions as positions become vacant, and I hope that many more of you will consider putting your names forward in the future. For the second time running we have more than one nominee for several of the Board positions. This is wonderful to see, and it is my hope that those who do not get voted in will decide to become/remain part of the teams they were nominated for. In this way, they will learn more about CIWOT and hopefully nominate themselves in the future. ☺
I wish each of our nominees 'good luck'! I am excited to see who is voted in by you the members at the AGM. You can find out more about our nominees on our Members Only Facebook page. Either scroll down the page to find them or see the 'Features' tab at the top and scroll through. Each of them offers different experiences, knowledge and vision for the future of CIWOT. Exciting times!☺
For the AGM we need at least 20 members to attend. This is a Government requirement for CIWOT to keep its association status. The party afterwards is a wonderful bonus, and we hope that as many of you as possible will be able to join us. You can register via our website, www.ciwot.org.
It has been my pleasure to be able to have served as long as I have on the Board, and it has been humbling to have had your faith in me to be your Vice President and President.
I am excited for the future, not just because Nick and I are having a new house built😅, but Hari is writing scripts for films and is now in 'Post production' mode for her first short film, to be filmed in Cyprus, which she hopes to enter in various short film festivals. George is over the moon to have be informed at work that he has won a countrywide competition on behalf of his venue, which will see him on an all-expenses-paid 6 days in Barbados with other staff from around the UK in June. He will hopefully then be moving into his new flat at the end of June.
I am excited for the events and activities that are to come through CIWOT, and to joining various teams such as Community Service and being there to assist the Board and members where needed (that's if they want me too!😅)
I hope you have enjoyed this blog, I hope (if the board are agreeable that it won't be my last!😅)
Remember - EMPOWERED WOMEN EMPOWER WOMEN!
👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭👭
Linda Jowett-Rich
June 2022
Cyprus International Women of Today President
Telephone 99878257
Email richlinda72@gmail.com
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