Newcomers of San Antonio

Outstanding Member of the Month

Outstanding Member of the Month

This month, please join me in recognizing Brenda Davis as Outstanding Member of the Month

Brenda Davis joined Newcomers in 1982 and has continued her membership for 39 years!! She is our LONGEST ACTIVE MEMBER and deserves great honor, especially at this special 40th Anniversary Celebration time. She tells of dinner clubs and book clubs from way back then that still meet to this day!! She describes how the members created an off-shoot group called ACT TWO for those to join after their three-year membership expired, as were the by-laws in the beginning. Brenda is still friends with many past and present Newcomers of San Antonio members. I hope we get the chance to sit down and hear her stories one day!

One such story is about her close friend and past president Paulette Reynolds (who sadly died in an accident) who was a very friendly person always wearing a smile. But when Paulette had to move away, she couldn’t find friends like she had in Brenda and Newcomers of San Antonio so Paulette moved back! Now that’s a great advertisement for joining our group!!

Recently, Brenda connected us with founder Elaine Van Buren enabling us to invite Elaine to be our Keynote Speaker at the Anniversary Luncheon. She has been very helpful in connecting us with past leaders who have been hard to locate. You’ll typically see Brenda at luncheons and a few interest groups, but what makes her extraordinary is her support and dedication for 39 years to this amazing group we all love which makes Brenda Davis, our December 2021 Outstanding Member of the Month!!

To recognize those who go above and beyond to welcome our newest members, I have created this column. To nominate a current member you’ve seen do so recently, please email submission to Cindy Richards and describe how they have gone above and beyond to welcome our newest member(s).

Outstanding Member of the Month

This month, please join me in recognizing Carol Palazzo as the Outstanding Member of the Month.

Carol Palazzo joined Newcomers in the midst of lockdown due to COVID-19 and once we started meeting again, it took all the courage she could muster up to even attend a coffee. But, Carol wanted to make friends so she pushed herself to attend. Today, Carol is our 1st VP of Membership and leads Lunch Bunch and Genealogy interest groups! But, because she knows how hard it was for her to take that first step, Carol actively reaches out to our new members in various ways. She first looks to see if new members have started getting involved and will call or send emails to check in on them and personally invite them to our upcoming events. Carol often asks if any new members would like to sit at her table at the luncheons and deliberately set up Lunch Bunch as a great opportunity for any member to meet friends over lunch. Carol is the one who suggested that we plan a big celebration to mark our 40th Anniversary of Newcomers. She wants to honor our Founders and past presidents who have kept this wonderful Newcomers Club going for 40 years as well as celebrate what our future holds with all these new members joining now!! Carol is also concerned with those who need a helping hand and would like us to form a committee to do so. (Please see her if you care to be on this Helping Hands Committee) She has been doing all this while enduring much pain with a mending broken elbow, surgery, many doctor appointments and trying her best to keep that whole arm immobile. I call that going above and beyond which makes Carol Palazzo, our November Outstanding Member of the Month!!