Greenwich Pen Women, a branch of the National League of American Pen Women is a non-profit organization of women artists, writers, and musicians. We offer mutual support and exchange of ideas to encourage and inspire excellence in original creative work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bikes by GPW Deb Weir

Bike rides, ice cream, and beach sunsets…it must be summer.
— Unknown

Note from our President:

July,  2024

“Use the creative process – singing – writing – art, dance, whatever – to get to know yourself better.”  — Catie Curtis

On June 9, 2024, I will remember this day as being the official date of becoming President of Greenwich Pen Women. An organization for women whose mission is to encourage, recognize and promote the production of creative work of professional standard in art, letters and music. I couldn’t be more excited to serve in this capacity. As a member since 2020 I’ve had the opportunity to see first-hand how amazingly talented GPW members are. Not only talented but many have a willingness to share and walk alongside to help develop the creative skills in others.

As creatives, a lot of our time is spent alone in our studios. It takes time to produce good work and to allow space in our day to mentally prepare for what’s next. However, through our outreach activities and providing educational programming, we all must realize the important role we must play in being ambassadors showing professional support to members and non-members in the arts.

Over the next few months, as president, I want to help Greenwich Pen Women look beyond ourselves and be intentional in how we can expand our membership by at least 20 percent. For example, on June 5th, GPW hosted a piano recital called From Wilton to Europe in the home of a friend who is non-member. I wanted to have the event in her home because she has two baby grand pianos and she also hosts a piano club. It is my sincerest desire to look for opportunities that will increase our visibility and build our overall music presence. The concert was beautiful. We had an intimate group and thank you to the Pen Women who attended. Your presence sparked an interest in two women who have expressed becoming members. The conversation is still ongoing. As I mentioned at our annual meeting, we are all busy women but let’s be strategic and intentional about ways we can look to include even more women to get involved in building our network.

Another thing that interests me as president is reviewing our board structure and seeing how to develop our team so we can continue to exist with a vibrant leadership team and healthy succession plan. Part of moving forward will be to have people who are willing to step into roles and willing to take the time to learn technology that is ever changing which I know is a challenge. It literally took me over two years to finally take my computer out of the box because I just didn’t want to deal with having to learn yet another thing. In order to stay current, it’s a necessary evil.

Not too long ago, I was introduced to a fascinating assessment tool called Principles You. It’s used to help understand how you think and how others perceive you. As we all work together,  I think it would be great for us all to get to know each other and how we think we could just ask our board to take the assessment but I believe it would be beneficial for all of us to take it. It’s part of getting to know each other better. At your leisure, please take it and let me know when you did so we can see as a community of creatives think and understand how best we communicate with each other. Click or copy and paste the link below and once you are on the Principles You website, look for the Take the Free Assessment blue button. Once you take the assessment, send me an email so we can share the results. Please note that this information can only be shared if you want to share it.

https://principlesyou.com/rsvps/F15FFCB89A45012A

It’s already been brought to my attention that there are many who feel like they want to be more connected. I know it is never anyone’s intent to make anyone feel left out but here’s where we all can pitch in by reaching out especially to our newer members. I look forward to hosting ongoing gatherings making sure all of our members feel included. Stay tuned for some upcoming dates where we can have some meet ups whether in person or on Zoom. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you as we continue to fulfill our mission!

Feel free to reach out!

Adrienne
adrienne.reedy@gmail.com

Adrienne Reedy
President