Beautiful.Women.Inspired.: Inspiring Women to Greatness Benefit Tea

Thank you for being a part of this opportunity to reach out to our community and celebrate womanhood.
A good friend of mine was only nineteen when she lost her mother, Maria, to cancer. Maria was a very wise woman and she passed on her wisdom to her three daughters. Her legacy lives through them.
I always enjoy hearing my friend mention her mother’s words of wisdom. My favorite saying among them is, “First you are a woman. Then a wife, then a mother.”
Many of us here share the titles of wife, mother, or such and such a career title. But today the topics of our presentations will focus on being a woman. Each of us here is unique and unrepeatable. We each have a personal call to greatness.
A woman with her magnanimous heart, unique ability for human relationships, a spectrum of emotion and strong resilience to life’s suffering—this is the common ground between all of us today, and these are the qualities we hope to strengthen in you.
The great and balanced women I have met in my life all hold one thing in common—they take care of themselves first.
With regard to their physical well-being, nutrition and exercise are a means for a healthy lifestyle. Fashion, hair, and make-up are an expression of dignity and self worth.
Spiritually, they walk as women of faith, knowing they are never alone but always being loved by God, a Father who is taking care of the greatest and smallest concerns of their heart. They take time for quiet meditation, and receive consolation to know what action to take, their part to play in their own life, and in the lives around them.
Socially, they always take time to visit with a friend or meet new women. They are open to being inspired by, rather than judging, the great successes, humbled failures, and everything in between.
Intellectually, they have sharp minds and continue to educate themselves.
These women both lead and serve in their homes, workplace, and community, because they have whole selves to offer.
These women I speak of do not have fame. Their lives have not been featured on Oprah. These women are living examples of the qualities we should all strive towards and their stories will be the focus of this event.

This afternoon is a fundraising opportunity for two outstanding causes. It is also about each woman here today being inspired to greatness. It is about each of us having the opportunity to think about achieving our goals in our personal and professional lives. It is about learning the key steps to finding greater fulfillment in everyday life. Our hope for you today, is that if you are tired you will leave rested. If you are joy-filled, you will leave with greater joy. If you are sad and overwhelmed, you will experience contentment and peace. Our hope is that you recognize the profound impact you have on your life and the lives of those around you, and embrace the roles you are called to fill with vigor and commitment.

We also come here today to support two wonderful non-profits, Pacific Crest Academy and Habitat for Humanity Women Build. This year, Pacific Crest Academy celebrates its tenth year of providing academic excellence. Pacific Crest is an independent Catholic grade school that seeks to educate the leaders of tomorrow with keen minds, solid moral character, a deep spiritual life, and hearts with a desire for generous service.
As part of our commitment to apostolic service, Pacific Crest Academy has chosen to donate a portion of today’s proceeds to Habitat for Humanity Women Build. This program seeks to nurture, recruit, and train women to build and maintain simple, decent, healthy, and affordable homes. Through an all-women build team, a new beginning is made possible. Not only for the women and children receiving the home, but for the participants of the build who receive a renewed understanding of one’s capabilities and self-worth.
As we begin, I’d like to draw your attention to this lovely location and elegant menu that is offered to us today. This event is generously sponsored by Chris Foyte here at the Fairgate Inn . We are so grateful for her generosity, and honored by her support for Pacific Crest Academy and Women Build.
Please enjoy filling your plates and visiting with the guests at your table. A server will call your table to the buffet. When everyone is seated again, we will begin with our presentations

My name is Angela Maitland. I am a parent at Pacific Crest Academy. After our first Admissions interview at Pacific Crest, I knew why I longed for my children to be a part of this school. It was a continuation of a balanced education and formation that my husband and I were already trying to instill in our children. An education that provided the foundation to live a balanced life as an adult, and the tools to respond to the call to be a leader and leave an indelible mark on human history. Also, to be part of a community of women who believe in the power of education. I have heard my friend often say of her mother, Maria, “My mother was a Cuban exile. She would say, “Everything can be taken from you, but no one takes away your education.”
We are privileged and honored to have three outstanding women speak to us today. Their vision for a better world has touched many lives.

Benefit Tea Speakers:

Our first speaker, Phoebe Wilson, will speak on the impact of education.
For the past ten years, Phoebe has devoted her personal and professional time to the integral formation of both children and adults. As the Director of Family formation at the Irish Institute, and Co-Director of Academic Affairs at the Institute for Advanced Women’s Studies in Rome, she has been in contact with hundreds of women eager to form themselves as Christian leaders in society and in the home. She is an experienced educator, writer, and motivational speaker, here from Springfield, Virginia, to tell us more about how Pacific Crest Academy’s approach to leadership through education impacts society as a whole.

Sometimes, the influence of a reverse mentor is the key to one’s success. Someone who is younger than you in years, but has experience in a field that you don’t know. We have invited such a young woman to speak to us today.
Our next speaker is a graduate of Pacific Crest Academy and St. Mary’s Academy in Portland. An engineering student at the University of Portland, Rachel Simms has embraced opportunities for leadership and apostolic action. Rachel is here today to share a few words about her missionary work in Uganda.

Habitat for Humanity has a strong international reputation as a leading program creating housing for families in need. A branch of that program, Women Build, has brought women-only teams together to construct homes for other women since 1992. Our next speaker hails from Spokane, Washington.
Julianne Crane is a co-founder of Women Build, and co-author of The Vision, a business novel on team development.
Julianne began volunteering for Habitat for Humanity International in 1991, when she moved to its headquarters in Americus, Georgia, to help with Habitat’s 15-year Celebration. What was originally planned as a summer stint as Habitat’s public relations coordinator, evolved into a year as a full-time volunteer in Americus and a lifetime passion.
During that year, Julianne helped facilitate the first women-build house on a Jimmy Carter Work Project. By early 1992, she became one of a core group of community and Habitat staff women to organize Women Accepting the Challenge of Housing in Americus. This group became the model for Habitat’s Women Build program.
Between 1994 and 1995, Julianne was instrumental in organizing Belle’s Building Brigade in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and was construction leader on its first women-built house. Since those early days, she has helped build dozens of Habitat houses and served as a founding member of the Women Build Steering Council from 1998-2008.
A professional writer, Julianne has worked for a number of print and broadcast outlets, and for government agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
She has a Master’s degree in mass communication from the University of Texas, and in 1973 became the first female journalist to be fully credentialed and admitted to the San Diego Padres Press Box. Since then, she has interviewed thousands of newsmakers—from elected politicians and spiritual leaders to sharecroppers and visual artists.
During the 80’s, Julianne taught college-level journalism for four years, and served five years as a public affairs aide to the Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands.
In the 1990s, her career shifted again and she began devoting more time to working with non-government groups and service organizations such as Habitat for Humanity International, American Legion Auxiliary, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and statewide nonprofit associations.
It was during this time that she co-wrote, with business author Richard Israel, The Vision, a how-to novel on team development. The book tells the story of one woman’s experiences, detailing how to create and achieve a vision through goal setting in both personal and professional relationships.
In the late 90s, Julianne returned to college to study art history. In 2000, she was hired by The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, as a staff writer specializing in covering visual arts and community culture. For seven years, she wrote hundreds of articles on art, travel, recreational vehicle lifestyle and neighborhood news. She says, “Basically, I write about good people having fun, doing what they love to do.”
Her website, RVWheelLife.com, has profiled the RV lifestyle, people and destinations since 2008.
This winter Julianne is achieving one of her longtime goals—combining her commitment to volunteering, and her passion for RVing by traveling to the Southwest to work on Habitat for Humanity construction builds as a part of an RV Care-A-Vanners crew.
Before this endeavor begins, she is here to speak to us about the power of women working together to create positive and lasting change. It is my pleasure to introduce Julianne Crane.

We have reflected on the mission of our school and how apostolic action forms the hearts of leaders to bring about positive change in the world. The sincere vision of our parents and teachers is to form these children and arm them with a well-rounded education that includes community service as a natural part of adult life.
As we continue to establish this unique institution, we come together today to invite you to support both Pacific Crest Academy and Women Build. Our goal today is to raise $10,000. This ideal for our first appeal will help establish Pacific Crest Academy as an educational contributor to the greater Camas area, and Women Build as a community service.
The smaller class size and individualized attention at Pacific Crest Academy allows teachers and administration to fully develop the four pillars of formation in the classroom, and hold our students, teachers, and parents to a higher standard overall. As a result, the students work a grade level ahead in math, learn presentation skills in kindergarten, and religion is integrated throughout the curriculum, far exceeding archdiocesan requirements. As an independent Catholic school, we are able to set our own standards and maintain a culture of excellence.
The expenses for operating a school are vast, and tuition covers approximately eighty-percent of the true cost of education. The other twenty-percent is dependent on individual contributions and fundraisers such as this event today. Pacific Crest Academy is committed to providing scholarships to families who couldn’t otherwise send their children to the school, another five-percent of projected tuition income per year. We believe the students formed here will strive to share their education through leadership.
Your generosity will also form the cornerstone for the first Women Build project in Clark County. You will directly impact the well being of another family. It will enable them to have safe, decent, affordable housing. Their mortgage payments fund other build projects. Your investment today fuels an ongoing cycle of homes being built, a phenomenal increase in your initial donation. Women Build brings together women from all walks of life to address the housing crisis facing women and children in our community.
This is an exciting time for both organizations. One, approaching a decade of education. Another, establishing roots for positive change.

As you review the pledge cards, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at Pacific Crest Academy. The dedication of the teachers and administration at our school make it the institution we are proud and thankful to be a part of. Their commitment to excellence and loving guidance for the children make it a place where students thrive and can be inspired to reach for greatness. Would the members of our faculty and staff please stand?

Closing Remarks

We have spoken of greatness, goal-setting, and fulfilled lives. It is important to mention that moments of darkness in our past or present lives can be a pivotal moment of change for us as women.
It is important to take time to discern what it is that is holding you back from your call to greatness. For the sake of an example, in my own life resentments from the past and obsessive worrying about the future—all exhausting and negative thoughts—left no room to love or live in the present moment. There was no room in my heart or mind to hear a call to greatness, to be inspired, or to have the desire to serve another. Letting go of past resentments and living one day at a time have resulted in a new life. I can still fall back into those habits, but they are only moments that pass, and no longer a way of life. Great things have come from this new outlook on life, like this event, for example.

We hope that in some way, today’s experience has changed you or invigorated you to take a new direction in your life, or pursue an old dream. We hope you have been inspired to act−by a presentation from one of the speakers, or a conversation with a guest at your table, or by embracing the idea that darkness from your past can actually be turned into a light which illuminates your life and the lives of others.
Thank you for participating in today’s Fundraising Tea. Thank you for your generosity to these causes. At this time I would also like to recognize and thank Regina Rivera for co-chairing this event. Following her mother Maria’s example, she too motivates and inspires women to accomplish great things, and really made this event possible.
And again, we thank Chris Foyte for welcoming us at the Fairgate Inn.

Brandy Affleck, president of the Parents Club at Pacific Crest Academy, is available at the table in the back of the room to answer any questions you have about the school. She is accompanied by Kristina Atchison, the Executive Director for Evergreen Habitat for Humanity. If you would like more information about Women Build, or are interested in signing up for a build, Kristina will be happy to speak with you.
As you leave today, be inspired to grow in your business, personal life, and in greater fulfillment of your every day. Perhaps you are affirmed in your roles. Perhaps you were pondering a change, and you have been confirmed to take that step. Be resolute and confident. Recognize your influence. We are instruments of joy in all venues of our lives.
Our discussion will continue. We invite you all to participate in the Beautiful Women Inspired blog, which will go live on December 1. Until we meet again for the Second Annual Fundraising Tea, this is our ongoing conversation, celebrating who we are and where we are going. We look forward to your insights here on our forum. Thank you.