AWC Going Dutch April 2019

Message from the President
by Suzanne MacNeil
April General Meeting—Vote!
by Suzanne MacNeil
April! The tulips have emerged from
their winter slumber, the pop-up restaurants
at Scheveningen are popping
up, and the change in seasons is palpable.
Just as April promises so much, so does the
Club. We will be celebrating Rembrandt at a
discussion about his work that will be hosted
by our Arts Chair, Jane Choy, at her home
on Wednesday, April 3.
I caught ‘FAWCO Fever’ at the
conference in Edinburgh!
If you’ve recently moved to the
Netherlands, you definitely want to attend
one of our most popular events for newcomers.
The Dutch Products class is offered in
the spring and fall and is taught by long-time
Member Carol Slootweg, who is also a chef,
and will be joined by Greetje Engelsman.
The two will share the substitutes for your
usual items that aren’t sold in the country,
along with explaining some of the new-to-you
food that you’ll see at your local markets. I
only recently took the class (after more than
six years as an expat) and finally solved a
problem I hadn’t been able to resolve when
washing towels. It’s never too late to learn
and I suggest saving Monday, April 8 for
the class!
8 GOING DUTCH
Are you going to
Madurodam on
Saturday, April
13? I hope to
see you that
evening for the
Club’s annual
major philanthropic
event.
The Benefit
Committee has
been working for
months to organize
and create
a night that will
continue our
legacy of giving
back to our
host country. The
re-Building
Lives, from
Trafficking to
Independence
will benefit Not for Sale. The organization
is fighting to end modern day slavery and
the benefit evening will be busy with a sitdown
dinner, music and dancing, live and
silent auctions, and a scavenger hunt through
Madurodam. It is going to be a great evening
and the committee hopes the guests will help
us make a generous donation to Not for Sale.
April also hosts two major holidays,
Passover and Easter, and if you celebrate
either, I hope you’ll spend time with family.
If not family, then with friends, who are our
surrogate family while we’re on this expat
journey.
One of the most important April events is
our General Meeting on Thursday, April 11
when Members vote on the slate of officers.
Many thanks to Lindsey Turnau, the chair
of the Nominating Committee, and those who
sat on the committee. The Members who have
volunteered to serve on the Board deserve
your attendance at the meeting, especially
if you have not yet met those who are on
the slate. It’s important to know who will be
charged with continuing the Club’s legacy,
whether it’s financial prudence, philanthropy,
or working to provide Members a wide range
of events and activities.
The key component of the April meeting
is the vote for our Board, so we don’t
invite an outside speaker. However, once the
vote is complete, Julie Mowat, our FAWCO
(Federation of American Women’s Clubs
Overseas) rep, will present about the >>33
Voting for your Board is one of the key
responsibilities of being a Member
of our AWC. The Board oversees all
aspects of the Club with the help of committees
and volunteers. As a nonprofit organization,
we are registered with the KvK
(Chamber of Commerce) and must follow
all laws pertaining to nonprofits. If you’re
not able attend the April meeting, you are
still able to vote by filling out a proxy ballot,
in accordance with our Bylaws. The vote
will count only if we have a quorum of 15%
of the voting Members of the Club. Please
download the proxy ballot from our website
under the ‘About Us’ tab. From there
you’ll see ‘Club Documents’ and it’s there
that you’ll find the ballot. Please download
by Jan Essad and Sunita Menon
The construction on Johan van
Oldenbarneveltlaan is now just outside our
front door!
According to a Dutch website, works will
possibly continue until July. However, we
hope they will finish early. Due to this ongoing
construction, parking will be limited
and public transportation is recommended.
Parking is available on the southside of the
street and on the one-way streets off Johan
the document, complete it, and send it with
a Member who is attending the meeting, or
scan and send it to info@awcthehague.org.
Our Parliamentarian, Georgia Regnault,
will oversee the voting.
Thursday, April 11
10 a.m. – Noon
AWC Clubhouse
Construction Around the AWC
Clubhouse
van Oldenbarneveltlaan. However, public
transportation is highly encouraged.
The Clubhouse is accessible via tram #16,
tram #1, and bus #21. Consult www.9292.
nl for the best means of travelling to the
Clubhouse from your area.
We sincerely hope this minor inconvenience
won’t keep you from coming to the
Clubhouse to enjoy scheduled activities and
great company. See you at the Club!
APRIL 2019 9