Communiqu

ALTRUSA INTERNATIONAL OF DALLAS, TEXAS, INC.

DISTRICT NINE JUNE 2014
I am so incredibly honored to be leading our Dallas
Club this coming year. I am also very appreciative
to those who have accepted leadership positions
within our Club. Thank you to our new 2014-2015
board of directors. I look forward to our year work-
ing together and I am grateful for your commitment
to Altrusa in accepting your jobs. Thank you also to
our new committee chairs. We all recognize how
essential these jobs are and the large commitment
made in accepting them. In so many ways, you are
the platform upon which everything we do is built.
Our Club has a long and storied history, almost as
long as Altrusa itself. This year we will be honoring
our history with the theme Principles and Respon-
sibilities. Mamie L. Bass wrote our principles in
1921, yet they are still applicable today. We are
Builder of Women and we are Good for Some-
thing. So many of these Principles are values we
should strive for not only as Altrusans but simply as
people. The first meeting of each month we will fea-
ture one of the twelve Altrusan Principles and re-
mind ourselves who we are and what we stand for.
Do you remember the old American Express ad
campaign? Their tag line was always Membership
has its privileges. As Altrusans, membership not
only has its privileges, it has responsibilities as well.
The second meeting of each month we will be re-
viewing one of the twelve Responsibilities of Mem-
bership as written in the Altrusa Encyclopedia. I ask
you to remain mindful and try to live the principles
and fulfill the responsibilities of Altrusans so we can
each share in the joy of knowing we are the best
community servants we can be. In your gift bag,
you will find a small booklet containing our Princi-
ples and Responsibilities and space to write down
thoughts concerning them. I encourage you to re-
view this monthly so you may enhance your Altrusa
experience.
As we pay homage to our past we will also be mov-
ing toward our future. This year we will see change
in our meeting format. The purpose of this change
is to streamline our meetings making it easier to
digest our material while creating interesting and
informative programs. We all know change is hard,
I ask you to keep an open mind and from time to
time step out of your comfort zones a bit. I think
you will find the period of adjustment to be com-
pletely worth the effort.
As we work together I ask you to remember our sec-
ondary theme for this year, kindness matters. Our
work will show us the beauty of kindness to our
community, our environment, and the world. Equal-
ly important will be remembering kindness mat-
ters when dealing with one another. Many of us
are strong, driven, goal oriented women and conse-
quently we miss opportunities to share the small
kindnesses with our peers. In the gift bag you re-
ceived you will see a small glass canister. The can-
Presidents Message

Deborah Hecht
2014-2015 President
Altrusa International
of Dallas, Texas, INC.
THIS MONTH
June 3
Regular Board meeting
5:30 p.m. Whole Foods
Regular Club Meeting
6 p.m., Whole Foods
Committees meet from 6-630 prior to
regular meeting
Presentation of Budgets and Programs
Jan Howell, Program Chair
June 17
Regular Club Meeting
6 p.m., Whole Foods
Honoring Lou Boucher
Frances Maloney, Program Chair
June 19
Called Board Meeting
6 p.m. Central Market Preston Royal
Foundation

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO
Jan Howell ............................................... 6
Jackie Robertson.20
Michelle ONeil. .................................. ...27




Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind
thoughts are the roots, Kind words are
the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits,
Take care of your garden And keep out
the weeds, Fill it with sunshine kind
words and kind deeds
ister is filled with kind phrases and compliments you are
encouraged to share with your fellow Altrusans. Please
make every effort to empty your jar by giving these small
kindnesses either verbally, or anonymously, to your Altru-
sa sisters. These acts of kindness will foster a more posi-
tive attitude and will hopefully build the esteem of the re-
cipient. In a small way, they will help you to be a builder
of women.
At our planning meetings for this Altrusa year we reviewed
the Club goals. Our goals are ambitious yet achievable. In
addition to the goals set for our committees, which are
specific and measurable, we have goals for our Club
which are more abstract, yet still important. Our general
Club goals are to embody the Altrusa Principles and live
up to the Responsibilities of Membership, to foster an at-
mosphere of kindness matters, to have an environment
of cooperation between members and committees, to be
greener, and to streamline meeting agendas. Together,
as we work toward our goals we will all share the joy of
giving, a sense of accomplishment, lessons in leadership,
warmth of friendship, and pride we have served our com-
munity and our world.
We have before us a year filled with opportunity and prom-
ise. I ask you to work together living the Principles of Al-
trusa and fulfilling the Responsibilities of Altrusans. As we
meet our goals together we can take pride in our accom-
plishments together. I wish you all a fantastic year and
thank you for the support, friendship, hard work, and kind-
ness Im certain will be shared.
The 2014-2015 Board of Directors

Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.
Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery

COMMITTEE
NEWS
Communications
If you are reading this, you are reading
your Clubs first newsletter of the 2014-
2015 Club year! Stay tuned for more infor-
mation so that all members can stay con-
nected.
Membership Development
We are planning many great events for the
club year. Our first is attending the SMU
Bar None event on June 11 at 7:30.
Please contact LaTonya Spencer for more
information.
Service
We had a very successful service commit-
tee meeting to start our new club year.
Due to having less money to spend during
this year, weve voted to cut back some of
our existing projects and added some fun
new projects that should cost less money
and involve more hands-on service. If the
club approves, we plan to buy books and
make trick-or-treat safety bags for the chil-
dren at MLK, with the safety bags being
our project for Make A Difference Day. We
want to buy books for the dyslexia class at
Scottish Rite and continue tree-trimming
during the holidays. We hope for many of
our members to spend some hands-on
time helping with the library and donating
books for the schools in West. We plan to
make cosmetic baskets for the young
women of Our Friends Place. We want to
have small groups visit DCAC to spend
some play time with the kids and help or-
ganize the clothes closet. We plan to
make Good Night, Sleep Tight bags con-
taining a blanket, stuffed animal and other
comforting items for the child refugees at
Mosaic Family Services. And we will con-
tinue collecting Pop Tops for Ronald
McDonald House. It should be a fun year
with service projects that appeal to every-
one!

United Nations Observances
World Environment Day (WED)
is the United Nations princi-
pal vehicle for encouraging
worldwide awareness and ac-
tion for the environment. Over
the years it has grown to be a
broad, global platform for pub-
lic outreach that is widely cel-
ebrated by stakeholders in
over 100 countries. It also
serves as the peoples day for doing something positive for
the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collec-
tive power that generates an exponential positive impact on
the planet.
In support of the UN designation of 2014 as the Internation-
al Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), WED this
year will adopt SIDS in the broader context of climate
change as its theme. Our objectives are to help build mo-
mentum towards the Third International Conference on SIDS
in September and encourage a greater understanding of the
importance of SIDS and of the urgency to help protect the
islands in the face of growing risks and vulnerabilities, par-
ticularly as a result of climate change. We believe WED will
be an excellent opportunity to raise a call for solidarity with
the islands.

"Planet Earth is our shared island, let us join forces to pro-
tect it."
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the launch of the
2014 International Year of Small Islands and Developing
States

2014-2015 Planning Day
Our club's planning day at Deborah's home was very produc-
tive. The committees planned their programs for 2014-
2015. Deb talked to us about some changes she is planning
which will help update our communications practices. I am
looking forward to less paper, although I don't think any of
us will ever be paperless! Sure would be nice, though.
Please use the reply function on the evite notices to let us
know whether you are going to attend the meeting men-
tioned in the invitation. I need to turn in the quantity of food
we need by Friday noon, so I would like for you all to reply
prior to that. If you have questions on this, please call Deb
or me.
MEMBER NEWS
Gillian Allen and her husband, Cliff, have been
chosen Couple of the Year in the GWRRA Texas
Chapter R motorcycle club and now District Couple
of the year! They ride a Honda GoldWing triked
up motorbike, and Gillian reports they have great
fun. Congratulations, Gillian and Cliff!

Carolyn Rash beautiful mother, Marilynn Bell,
passed away on May 8, 2014. She was a Past
District Eight Governor. Memorials can be made
to the Robert W. Bell Scholarship at the University
of Arkansas, Altrusa International Foundation, the
Fayetteville City Hospital Auxiliary. She was a
mother to many Altrusans and will be dearly
missed.
2014-15 Proposed Service Projects
COMMITTEE NEWS
CONTINUED
Finances
After all of the other committees met the Finances
Committee met to develop the Club and the Foun-
dation budgets based upon the committees in-
put. We were able to develop both budgets with a
couple of possible adjustments based upon total
Members who renew and the final decision on the
Foundation insurance. We were successful in allo-
cating the requested funds and have a little left
over for before mentioned adjustments.
Other topics discussed were new member pricing,
dinner pricing, how to handle the bank cards, filing
taxes, audit, and updating the reimbursement
form. All Members should remember that all re-
quests for funds must be accompanied with the
proper paperwork and approvals to the correct
Treasurer on a timely basis. With our new bank
relationship changing new signers annually will be
much easier. Phyllis will ensure that Deborah is
added. The assignments for the four meetings
were assigned to the committee members and
they include: Ways and Means, Scholarship night,
District visitor, and an Altrusa You. These are all
very informative and fun meetings so everyone
should plan on attending from the people in their
circles.


LOU BOUCHER ROCKS by Jan Howell
Lou Boucher is joining the SWDC. She has been an outstanding member of the Altrusa Club of Dallas
forever, it seems. She is very dignified, knowledgeable about many things (especially law and Altrusa),
and fun, to boot! I remember attending past conferences and conventions along with Lou. She always
did everything she could to make this club function properly and to ensure others, especially new mem-
bers, felt comfortable. I don't recall Lou ever turning down a request for help for the club or any of our
members. Our loss is SWDC's gain. Sure will miss her!
Martin Luther King School
Books and Trick or Treat Bags for MADD
West Schools
Books
Mosaic
Good Night Sleep Tight Bags
ASTRA
Dallas Childrens Advocacy Center
Play time with kids
Organize clothes closet
Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
Books for the Dyslexia Class
Holiday Tree Trimming
Our Friends Place
Cosmetic bags
Person to Person
Pop Tops for Ronald McDonald House
International Project