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THURSDAY LUNCH BUNCH

Come join us before the snow flies (uh...well, at least before Christmas) for an upcoming lunch.  
See the attached Lunch Bunch listing for the remaining events in 2009.

Click here for the Thursday Lunch Bunch schedule and details.

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY
Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 4th, to join your fellow alumnae at our annual Christmas party. Patty Cushing '90 will be hosting the party at her home in Naperville. We look forward to warm and friendly chatter as we gear up for the holiday season. Watch for an upcoming invitation.

BOOK CLUB INFORMATION
The 2009 Book List/Schedule is here- just in time for the holidays!  Make your wish list and send your loved ones to the bookstore!
Please note that the January book is our classic, Jane Eyre, and we’ll read the shorter book, The Wednesday Letters, in February.   Another change for 2009 will be to have discussions leaders for each book discussion – and this may or may not be the hostess.  These are not officially assigned, so if you’re interested, contact the hostess and offer to attend as the discussion leader!

Some basic guidelines of our book club:
*Come on any evening you are able, whether or not you have finished the book.
*Bring other female friends, they do not have to be SMC alumnae.
*Gatherings begin at 7:30pm, light refreshments are served.
*Please call a day or so before the meeting to RSVP.

RECENT NEWS:

Many thanks for all our hostesses this year during our Book Club discussions. We enjoyed great discussions and strong turnout. Anne McDermott is already preparing the 2009 Book List and hostess schedule. Please contact her with ideas at stmcdermott@sbcglobal.net.

Also our thanks go out to Anne McDermott and Laura Walsh for hosting the Girls Night Out-Wine Party on November 5th. This event was open to all alumna, however, with a strong focus to attract women from the 1980 class years. With a good representation from that decade, we hope you all had a super time-thanks for coming!

if you'd like to get more involved in 2009, please contact Alison. We're always wiling to try new events but need those with great ideas to step forward!

Many thanks to all who participated in the club's annual Service Day. In April, a few members took a Saturday morning to work in the People's Resource Center's Food Pantry. We stocked shelves and offered fresh groceries to many families in need from the greater DuPage County area. They really appreciated our cheerful volunteer efforts -- see a picture in the Club's photo section.

Our holiday Evening of Sharing was a beautiful event hosted by Joanne Marsh at her home in Naperville on Dec. 6. Our thanks to Joanne for her hospitality and to everyone who donated gifts collected for the People's Resource Center. Kristen Newell delivered these gift cards and children's books to a grateful PRC just in time for the holidays. We also amassed numerous treats to create 2 exam care packages that were sent to 2 freshmen from our area. I'm sure they'll be the most popular girls in the dorms! Good luck to all the students on their exams. The club thanks each of you for your generosity and thoughtfulness during this Christmas season.

We certainly celebrated Founder's Day on Nov 14th with numerous toasts as we enjoyed a wine tasting hosted by Patty Cushing '90.  Many thanks to Patty for providing the tasting wines and comment booklet at this lovely event.  We were also pleased to be joined by our alumnae board representative Karen McDonald who brought a few SMC door prizes too.  We're already looking forward to next year!

The club wrapped up our book club reading list on Thursday, October 25th at the home of Carrie Mueller.  Another fun year of reading over - and already Anne McDermott is putting together our 2008 list.  Please watch for the new list later this year.

What a great evening on Sept 6th at the new italian restaurant in Lombard called Brio's Tuscan Grille. Many thanks to Patty Cushing for coordinating this event - we saw a few new faces and had a great time!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. Book club took a rest after May & June’s discussions to test our creativity at Pottery Bayou in Naperville. In July we did not read a book, but instead gathered to decorate pottery for the evening. I think most of us liked would rather stick to reading – it was tougher than it looked! Thanks to all who attended including a current student, Shaun Reddington, who joined us with her mother Kathy. She shared her current campus news, in particular her excitement to live in the new Opus on-campus apartments for seniors. Good luck your senior year Shaun!!

On Monday, August 6th the Chicago West Alumnae Club sponsored a Student Sendoff at the home of Julie Murphy. A nice group of the 26 incoming freshman attended the event with their parents. We all enjoyed listening to the seasoned advice of Julie’s youngest daughter Caitlin who will be a junior this fall. Caitlin’s audience was captivated with her ideas and suggestions and it is always helpful to have current knowledge of campus happenings. The girls were presented with a small gift bag including a SMC Academic Planner – a must have for all students! Thanks for the lovely evening Caitlin & Julie – you are a great SMC legacy team!!

Many thanks to all who participated in our service day at the People's Resource Center in Wheaton on Sat, April 14th. We worked in the Clothes Pantry and helped sort and straighten new & existing clothing donations. (They can always use more donations). It was a lot of fun and very helpful to both the people served by the PRC and the staff & volunteers that work there. We employed organization, folding & teamwork skills - exhausting but worth the effort. Thanks so much for you time & talents!! (See a photo under Club Pictures.)

Congratulations to Kristin Newell - club vice president - who was the winner of the raffled book: Sister Madeleva, A Biography, by Gail Mandell. Our sincere appreciation to all who sent in their dues and a contribution to the SMC scholarship fund. New members are always welcome!

In February, the book club members donated items to fill a cookie-themed basket that the People's Resource Center raffled for their annual fundraiser. It contained everything from cookie books and aprons to rolling pins and cookie cutters. The basket was beautiful - thanks to Kristin Newell who inspired and coordinated all the efforts. The winning bidder was sure to get a sweet treat! Thanks Kristin and everyone who generously contributed. This was another successful project to support our friends at the PRC.

What a wonderful finish to the year! The Christmas Evening of Sharing was hosted by Patty Cushing in Naperville on December 7th. Thank you to all the generous donations for the People's Resource Center in Wheaton. We collected children's books and cash for the PRC - our thanks to Kristin Newell for coordinating this annual gift and donation. In addition, we remembered the many area students at SMC during exam time - and shipped a care package to two current freshman. We hope they enjoyed (and shared) all the goodies.

May you all have a blessed Christmas holiday among family and friends.

Thanks to all who attended the Dinner Out on November 8th coordinated by Patty Cushing. We enjoyed a nice cozy booth & atmosphere at Claim Jumpers restaurant in Lombard and had a great time visiting. Watch for our next Dinner Out and join you fellow alumnae for a great time! Thanks Patty!

Founders' Day was a beautiful celebration on Sunday, November 12th with a mass and luncheon at St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago. The Chicago area clubs, including Chicago West, enjoyed visiting with and hearing from SMC College President Carol Ann Mooney. Our thanks to Chiara Wrocinski (Chicago East Club) for chairing this event.

A WONDERFUL time was shared with Adriana Trigiani on Thursday, November 16th as she visited Naperville's Anderson Bookstore for the signing of her newest book, Return to Big Stone Gap. Just before she arrived at the bookstore, she met our club for drinks & appetizers at La Sorella di Francesca in Naperville. She signed everyone's books and shared some fun stories of her recent happenings - including her upcoming movie production of Big Stone Gap. Many thanks go to Anne McDermott who worked so hard with Adri’s staff to arrange this event -and especially to Adri for so generously treating her SMC sisters. If you haven't picked up your copy of her newest book - get shopping!!

We wrapped up our final book club of 2006 at the home of Carrie Mueller where we enjoyed her wonderful caramel frosting (and cake) as we discussed James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces." Thanks to all who attended the events this year.

Many thanks to Kim LeDoux for hosting our discussion of Jane Austen's Emma. What an extra treat to follow the discussion with a bit of the 1996 movie with Gwenyth Paltrow - I'll be renting that soon! Thanks for all who attended, Kim, another enjoyable evening!

We had another enjoyable book discussion in August at the home of Maria Mulhair in Naperville. Maria's boys weren't around, but we did get to see little Caroline! Thanks to Maria for hosting us and to everyone for their input. See you in September!

Many thanks to Patty Piercy Cushing and her husband Dan for opening their home to host the club's Student Sendoff in July. The dessert reception brought out a number of incoming students and their parents where they enjoyed meeting each other and some alumnae before making the trip to SMC for the 2006-2007 school year. We wish them well in their college careers.

The Chicago West Alumnae Club was pleased to sponsor a fundraising event recently for the People’s Resource Center. The event was held on the evening of May 11, and included a gathering at the Wheaton-based PRC where attendees enjoyed wine & hors d’oeuvres, followed by an informative tour about the PRC’s activities in DuPage County and a slide show of their successes over the past year. Many thanks to Kristin Newell for coordinating this event and to Mary Ellen Durbin, Executive Director of the PRC, and her staff for taking the time to share the evening with us. Their work is so valuable and their pride was evident. The event raised over $600, including ready-made kits to assist in the ESL & teaching programs. Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the organization. Chicago West was proud to be a part of such a successful endeavor. Our thanks go out to Kristin, Carrie Mueller and the rest of our SMC family for your generosity.

The book club is thriving this year and enjoying attendance from new readers each month. Many thanks to the hostesses of our most recent book clubs: in April at the home of Patty Cushing in Naperville we enjoyed both a book and a wine tasting, and we gathered in LaGrange Park at the home of Anne McDermott for a fun discussion on Rococo in May. Don’t forget to RSVP so our hostesses may plan for your attendance.

Some members of the club met for Dinner Out at Stir Crazy in Warrenville in mid-March. It was a cozy group and we were able to really visit with each other and discuss future events. Stay tuned for the next Dinner Out notice - and make sure to pay your dues to remain on the club's email notification list.

The club's annual newsletter was mailed in February. It contains a request for up-to-date contact information as well as our annual Dues Collection. Your dues will enable the club to sponsor events throughout the year and stay in touch with local alumnae in this area. Please mail your dues to Alison Spohn at 2306 Sheehan Drive, Naperville, 60564. Thank you.

Julie Murphy stepped down as Club President of the Chicago West club at the end of 2005. Julie has served as the Club's President for 10 years and her commitment is truly appreciated. Alison Spohn is the new club president. If you are interested in becoming more active in the club and building some SMC friendships, please call Alison at 630-922-6902.