I joined Soroptimist International of Coronado in 2010 for lots of reasons but never expected to have this much fun!

My idea of a service organization was quite different before discovering SIC through my mother, Blossom Sanger. I attended a Coronado Soroptimist Legends Luncheon where my mom was a Legend and truly enjoyed meeting all the wonderful people she had told me about.

Later, I attended a meeting where she made a presentation, and afterward, one of the members suggested I become a member. I realized that this was an opportunity to spend time with my mom and be with other professional women who seemed like the kind of people I would enjoy getting to know and do good things to empower women and girls. After several careers in male-dominated professions, I was ready for all the above.

I initially served as a club delegate, attending District and regional meetings representing the club, and reporting the latest news. After several years I also started helping with the luncheon, when possible, since I was a professional fundraiser and could lend a bit of expertise in that area. I “graduated” to co-chair VP, of Programs, in which capacity I worked with Carolyn DeLagrave. Carolyn and I joined the club at the same time, so it was fun to be responsible for bringing in new and interesting programs for the members, including organizations who were seeking funding for the first time, a monthly “get to know each other” meeting and a first-time larger grant program. It was a true revelation to get to know all the amazing people and programs serving women and girls in our city.

As our Legends Luncheon grew, the need to automate and professionalize the fundraising became clear. I was able to take over the fundraising aspect of the luncheon and introduce auction software that allowed for an online auction, automated check-in and checkout, invitation and registration tracking, and credit card payments at the event.

Together with the Luncheon chair, we also started several initiatives that resulted in the largest amounts ever raised, helping us give away record amounts in scholarships and grants. One of the wonderful things about the club is that there is something in it for everyone, and I found that raising money to give away was something I enjoyed.

After spending three years as club Treasurer, I now work with Jan Iwashita as co-chair of the annual fund called The Art of Giving. The work we did to automate the process paid off when we were all isolating during COVID and all fundraising went online. We now do online fundraising and are very proud of our virtually zero “cost of funds raised”.

This means that the administrative costs of the club are covered by our dues, so all funds raised go to our scholarship and grants program. This is all for very little member time and no upfront cost compared to planning and executing a large event. This is my proudest achievement as a Soroptimist.

I am honored and humbled to be named Soroptimist of the Year 2023-24. You can see from the above that I was a regular club member whose turn just came up, supported by everyone every step of the way. Our club has become my circle of friends, and that has been the best honor of all.
Wendy McGuire