Julian Woman's Club Earns District Awards
By Amber Ward

Julian Woman's Club has once again received well-deserved recognition for its public charity and community service efforts. The club was presented with 11 first-place awards at the Palomar District Woman's Club Convention that took place on April 28 at Escondido Country Club.
The awards were based on the projects and/or activities accomplished by the club during its fiscal 2005 year. The awards include the following, listed by category:
Public Affairs
First place for projects in Safety, chaired by Jean Zellweger and April Kochur. This included several presentations that informed members about personal protection against identity theft, and the "WHALE" program, which stands for "We Have A Little Emergency." In the event of an automobile accident with young children who may be unable to identify themselves or their parents, the W

Members of the quilt committee for Julian Woman's Club are, from left: Joni Hildreth, Maureen Brantley, Mary Ellen Thilken, Norma Quirk, Jan Mattias, Jo Larson, Merleen Ottaviano, Diana Garrett and Eleanor Burns. The photo was taken at Burns' Bear Paw Ranch and studio in Julian. Photo by Amber Ward

hale program provides identification stickers. The stickers are placed on the vehicle windows and personal identification stickers are placed on a child's car seat.

First place also was awarded in Citizenship, for the "Veteran Affairs Adopt-a-Soldier" program, chaired by Janet Baker. Members wrote to and sent care packages to soldiers overseas.

Also under Citizenship is the "Historic Preservation Project-The Julian Pioneer Museum" chaired by Marion Moore. A new addition is currently under way that will display Native American artifacts.

Home Life

First place for the "Immunize Now" program chaired by Linda Corlew, a registered nurse. She informed members about influenza in 2005 and vaccine availability at the Julian Medical Clinic.

First place also was awarded for "New Horizons in Health." Corlew provided members with vital health information throughout the year, touching on a different topic each month. How to keep a healthy back, heart disease and its risk factors, allergies, senior resources, prescription label cautions, cancer awareness, how to communicate with an ailing friend, and nutrition and exercise to prevent chronic disease were all topics discussed.

Education

The "Be Cool After School" program chaired by Betty Hildebrand received a first-place award. Hildebrand tutored school children who were not able to stay after school to be helped by their teachers because of their need to catch the bus. She sought a location that would be closer to their homes and tutored at a local camp. This program also won a California Federated Women's Club state award.

First place also was awarded for "Literacy: Tutoring from the Heart" program chaired by Jan Mattias. To encourage reading, literature was given away at the Mountain Manna food distribution center, and a basket of free books for children was kept at the Julian Library for any who wanted one. Scholarships also fall under this category. Several are awarded to Julian High School seniors each June. The scholarship committee is headed by Barbara Stovall.

Conservation

Julian Woman's Club was awarded first place in "Beautification" for participating in the "Adopt-a-Highway" program co-chaired by Maureen Brantley and Penny Watson. The "Penny Pines Program" also chaired by Watson falls under "Beautification." Enough coins were collected to plant two acres of Coulter pines in the Cleveland National Forrest.

Arts in the Community

First place went to the "Heritage Quilt Show" project chaired by Mary Ellen Thilken. Members also contributed arts and crafts items to the Palomar District Women's Club Fine Arts Festival. Lil Brekenfeld won Best of Show for a hand-woven basket and Thilken won Best in Show for a quilted wall hanging. There is also a very active craft group that makes and sells crafts at the Holiday Home Tour, which contributes to the Julian Woman's Club scholarship fund.

Fund-Raising

First place was awarded for the club's new fund-raising effort, the "Miner's Blowout,' chaired by Priscilla Webb and Pat Straube. Guests panned for gold, danced to music by "Whiskey Ridge," bid on a silent auction, drank at "Miss Kitty's Saloon," all the while trying to avoid getting thrown in to the Julian Jail by Warden Don Garrett, and Sheriffs Judd Garrett and Tim Corlew. The November event contributed $5,000 to the scholarship fund.

Membership

Chaired by Rose Mary Gossman, first place was awarded for welcoming nine new members to the Julian Woman's Club that earned recognition by having the club's name published in the National Women's Club magazine.

Leadership

First place was awarded for member leadership. Two members, Watson and Susan Fowler, were officers at the Palomar District level. Fowler is the president of the Palomar District for two years. Edie Seger participated at the state level as the California Federated Women's Clubs' convention chairman and also was the meal planner for the Western States Convention. Members Jean Katzowicz, Mattias and Burns spoke at the state convention.