PRESIDENT'S REPORT - Elaine Bernstein (474-5984/814-0286 or elaine.bernstein@earthlink.net)

"Welcome" to the Holiday Season!

As usual, December will bring us lots of wonderful Welcome Club Events and Projects, details of which are all throughout the newsletter. Of particular note:

The Welcome Club Holiday Party and Gift Exchange
Please join us for this time-honored Welcome Club tradition, where we celebrate the season over appetizers, dessert and cocktails. We will also have our beloved Gift Exchange – "Dirty Santa" style. (If you don't know how this works, then you will just have to come join us to find out. It is lots of fun!).
Date: Thursday, December 17th
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Home of Liz Shipton, 460 Black Walnut Drive (Bow Creek Estates)
Dress: "Festive Casual" Encouraged (Yes – I did just make up that term.)
Notes: Please bring a wrapped gift with a value of $20 for the exchange. Also, please bring an appetizer, dessert or beverage to share with the group.
RSVP: Liz Shipton (474-5481 or lshipton@verizon.net) by December 15th.

Charity Voting
It is also time for the Club to select the charities which we will support this year through our fund raising efforts. Forms were distributed at the November meeting. If you did not have a chance to vote at that time, please use the form attached to this newsletter. You can send the forms back to me by US mail (31 Aleksander Blvd,, Mountain Top, PA, 18707) or simply email the information back to me (elaine.bernstein@earthlink.net). Please call me if you have any questions about this process, or any of the listed groups. (474-5984 or 814-0286) We are very excited this year to be trying some new fundraising projects – including our Night at the Races on February 26th.

I wish everyone the Happiest of Holidays!

1st VICE PRESIDENT - Kerri Fey (479-2739 or Kerrifey0723@aol.com )

There will be no monthly meeting in December, look for details regarding the holiday gift exchange. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday and a safe and happy new year! Looking forward to seeing all of you at the Holiday party and the January meeting!

2nd VICE PRESIDENT ­ Membership ­ Kim Carpenter (474-9020 or kimwc@yahoo.com)

Mom Squad One of the subgroups we started last year was the "Mom Squad." This is group of volunteers who drop off a letter of welcome and a newsletter to new neighbors. It takes very little time but really helps new neighbors feel welcome and bring new members to our club. Below is the list from last year. If you're on the list, please let me know if you'd be willing to volunteer again this year. If you're not on the list and would like to be a volunteer for the "Mom Squad," please let me know. We can have more than one member from each neighborhood and we'd definitely like to have a representative from each neighborhood. Please let me know if I have missed any neighborhoods.

Beech Mountain Lakes
Highland Woods
Blue Ridge
Ice Lakes - Mary Thomas
Blytheburn
Kirby Estates - Jami Ryan
Bow Creek Estates - Shannon Williams
Lake Nuangola
Bow Creek Manor - Karen Slavicek
Laurel Lakes
Briarbrook - Agnes Rundle
Polonia Estates - Elaine Bernstein
Brookview Estates - Susan Hagenbuch
Ramblewood
Cherrywood Estates
Rockledge
Deerfield Acres
Sand Springs - Renee Sessions
Fairview Estates - Marijo Sulkowski
Stone Hedge - Kerri Fey
Fairview Heights - Marijo Sulkowski
Summit Meadow
Forest Point - Mary Kate Finney
Timberwood - Deb Grosek
Fox Run Estates - Carol McGowan
Walden Park
Glen Summit - Bobbi-Jo Romanishan
Washington Park
Glendale Estates - Judy Grimm
Wildwood Terrace
Grandview Manor - Kerri Fey
Woodberry Manor
Greenwood Hills
Woodland Acres
Greystone Manor - Diane Keating
Woodland Estates

HOSTESS COORDINATOR ­ Khris Fox (906-8159 or khrisfox@hotmail.com)

Thank you to Judy Grimm who provided the door prize and also for donating a dessert. I would also like to thank Maureen Petzold and Shannon Williams for providing desserts.

SECRETARY ­ Corinne Rodman (474-9501 or sasseboo@ptd.net)

The finishing touches are being put on the 09-10 Membership Directory and they will be distributed very soon! Again, the .pdf version will be emailed to members automatically - to receive a printed version, please contact me at sasseboo@ptd.net , or 474-9501. Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

WAYS & MEANS - (Mary-Ellen Mcfarland 868-6467 or mcfarland12@epix.net and Corinne Racicky 474-6951 or corinneelizabeth23@yahoo.com)

SAVE THE DATE Friday, February 26, 2010 – Night at the Races – Wright Township Fire Hall.

Please sell horses to your friends, neighbors, co-workers. A form is attached to the newsletter. Horses sell for $10 and include admission, food, beer & soda.

We will be also be having a basket raffle that night. Please consider donating a basket (alone or with friends) to the event. Please contact us if you know of a business that may be willing to donate an item for the baskets. We are asking that each Welcome Club member donate a bottle of wine/alcohol for baskets. Please keep this in mind during the holiday season when you might receive something that you don't enjoy – regift to the basket raffle!

If you require any additional information or would like to volunteer to help with the event please contact a committee member. Thank you and have a happy holiday season.

TREASURER - Mary Kate Finney (682-2389 or therapy97@yahoo.com)

Please contact me if you have any club expenses.

SERVICES - Shannon Williams (474-5570 or richslani@verizon.net)

I'm happy to report that Candice Denoo will now be assisting with Services!

Angel Tree Tags – A big thanks to everyone who took an angel tag! Through this program our club will help 25 children from the Mountain Top Food Bank. Please return gifts to me by December 15th. Please place the item(s) in a gift bag and attach the angel tag. Call or email Shannon Williams for pick-up or deliver to Shannon's house – 507 Morning Glory Place, Bow Creek Estates. Gifts may be left on the front porch.

White Haven Center – Thanks to those who have already contributed. Please see "Wish List" at end of the newsletter. This is a great opportunity to re-gift! All gifts are for adults and should be new. Gifts should also be appropriate for individuals who are mentally disabled. Deadline is 12/14. Contact Shannon for pick-up or deliver to Shannon's house – 507 Morning Glory Place, Bow Creek Estates. Gifts may be left on front porch.

Fire Department Baking – Thanks to Valerie Way, Kerri Fey and Mary Thomas for baking in November. We have two openings for Rice Twp (January 13 and March 10), call Shannon if interested.

PUBLICITY / HISTORIAN - Ann Papciak (403-0488 or kgnfakp@aol.com)

As Publicity/ Historian, I'm looking for photos of all events such as playgroups and fieldtrips, dinner clubs, special events, adopt-a-highway, picnics, children's parties and any other events pertaining to our Welcome Club. I need your help to cover all of our special interest groups. These photos will also be used for our President's album at the end of her term. Please send me any photos you would like published and I will send them to the newspapers. Make sure to label all participants featured in the photo. My email address is Kgnfakp@aol.com. Any pictures from the welcome club picnic would be appreciated.

NEWSLETTER - Diane Keating (474-6166 or mountain92@verizon.net)

Even though a copy of the Welcome Club Newsletter would make a wonderful Christmas present, the January issue will be sent earlier in the month of December rather than on our 25th delivery date. Watch for all of the great events to start off your new year!

MEALS THAT HEAL - Mary Thomas (868-7737 or Vandert5@pa.metrocast.net)

Please contact Mary if anyone needs this service, which provides meals to members experiencing an illness, birth or death in the family.

We have recently provided meals for Diane Keating, Karin Caporuscio, Kerri Fey, and Judy Grimm. Coming up, I will need volunteers for at least 2 different people in November, so please let me know if you can help out.

I personally want to thank a few key people that have kept the meals coming over the past few months. With the Fall illnesses, our group has been hit hard, so I again send out a plea to members - if you can cook just one meal, that would be fantastic! In the meantime, a special thank you to Elaine Bernstein, Shannon Williams, Tricia Russell, Kim Carpenter, Beth LaMarca, and Susan Hagenbuch. (Also a big thank you that provided meals through the summer months for our families in need!)

I am always surprised and touched by the outpouring of generosity of our members, and recently, when we had a last minute request for meals - once again - members stepped up... thank you all for helping one another!

1.) Open Gym!!!
Shooting Starz Gymnastics, Wilkes-Barre
Thursday 12/10 9:45-10:45 $7.50 per child
*Please respond to Lori by 12/9.

An instructor will lead the children through various activities. If there is continued interest, we will have a standing "Open Gym" for the Welcome Club the second, Thursday of each month 9:45-10:45.

2.) Bowling!!!
Chacko's, Wilkes-Barre
Friday, 12/18 11AM
Join us for bowling and pizza.
RSVP to Shannon by 12/17.

CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUP - Tricia Russell (403-7785 or tricia.russell@wilkes.edu) and Elizabeth Shipton (474-5481 or lshipton@verizon.net)

The children's playgroup invites babies and preschool children to come and play. A big thanks to Diane Keating for hosting a playgroup in November! Please contact either Tricia or Liz if you are interested in hosting a play date this year. Hope to see you at the next playgroup in December!

Date: Friday, December 11th Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Place: Cypress LaSalle's home at 115 Blue Elder Drive in Bow Creek Manor. Please RSVP to Cypress at 578-8213 by Wednesday, December 9th.

CHILDREN'S PARTIES - Tracie Pratt (474-5942) or pppratt@yahoo.com

Children's Winter Party

Where: First Presbyterian Church Mountain Top 8 Chestnut St.

Date: Tuesday, December 15Th
Time: 12:00 p.m.
$5.00 per child
RSVP: Tracie Pratt @ 474-9542 or pppratt@yahoo.com

Bring your kids for a great Holiday Celebration. Lunch will be provided, snacks, craft, goodie bags, games and a visit from someone very special.

Please call me with any questions you might have, look forward to seeing you all there. Thanks, Tracie

DINNER CLUB - Marie Duclos (678-7332 or duclosmarie@hotmail.com )

The Dinner Club schedule has been set but substitutes are always needed. If any one is interested in more information about the Dinner Club, please contact the committee member listed above for more information.

WHAT'S COOKING? COOKING GROUP - Bobbi-Jo Romanishan (371-4317 or bojorom@yahoo.com)

Holiday Cookie Exchange! Dig out those family favorite cookie recipes to share with your friends. In preparation for holiday events, we'll be doing a holiday cookie exchange. Depending upon the number of participants, you will bake 6-12 cookies per person to exchange, plus some extra for us to nibble on that evening. YUM! ;-) Please provide copies of your recipe as well. We'll supply the coffee, tea, and of course, MILK!

Thursday, December 10th at 7:00 PM RSVP by Monday, November 31. Due to each person needing to bake, kindly RSVP by this date so that we may provide as accurate a head count as possible.
Questions/RSVP to: Bobbi-jo Romanishan 371-4317, bojorom@yahoo.com
Event at Bobbi-Jo's house; 240 Glenside Road, 18707 (Glen Summit)

NEEDLEWORK ­ Jan Pagodin (647-3908 or pagodin@pa.metrocast.net)

We are a small friendly group who meet every other Wednesday morning. You don't have to have a needlework project to attend, just come for the company and conversation. We love to welcome new members. Please contact the hostess or me if you will be able to join us.

Here is a list of our next three meetings:
Wednesday, December 2nd, 10 am at Joanne Rushton's- 115 Coplay Place, Laurel Lakes, 868-1066. Barbara Guise and Mae Schuler -food hostesses
Wednesday, December 16th, 11:30 am at The Cafe, 1120 Route 315, Plains. Please bring a wrapped gift with an approximate $5 value for our exchange game.
Wednesday, January 13th, 10am at Antoinette Hattingh's, 96 Harding St, Hazelton 459-6817. Nancy Eckert and Roberta Brandreth- food hostesses

SCRAPBOOKING - Khris Fox (906-8159 or khrisfox@hotmail.com)

We are going to meet at Mary Thomas' house on Wednesday, December 9th. Mary is in the Ice Lakes subdivision. Her address is 39 Waterman Drive. We will be meeting from 10-3. If you are planning on staying all day, please bring your own lunch or a snack to share. You can RSVP to me 570/905-8159 or Mary 570/868-7737.

BOOK CLUB ­ Carol McGowan (868-6876)

We will be reading A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein. We will be meeting on January 15th at 9:30 at the home of Mary Thomas, 39 Waterman Drive. RSVP to Mary at 868-7737 if you plan on attending.

RECIPE CLUB ­ Jen Glowacki (malinows@juno.com)

Please be sure to check out these four important announcements including information on the Secret Sister Program, the White Haven Gift Drive and the Welcome Club Charity Voting Form. Also included is a heartwarming thank you from the Ziegler family.

SECRET SISTER
If you plan on doing the Secret Sister please e-mail me the completed form by December 1st. If you do not have e-mail you can either mail it to me or call me with the information. bethdoug@ptd.net 474-6320

WHITE HAVEN GIFT DRIVE

MOUNTAIN TOP WELCOME CLUB
WHITE HAVEN CENTER GIFT DRIVE
Contact Shannon Williams for gift pick-up
Richshan1 @verizon.net or 474-5570
DEADLINE 12/14
***Great opportunity to regift!!!

Christmas Gift List
White Haven Center

All Occasion Cards
Baseball Cards
Bathrobes, Male, Female, M, L, XL
Bedspreads, Single Bed
Belts, Adult, L, XL
Calendars
CD's, Music (All Types)
CD Players/radios, w/ear phones
Coin Purses
Cologne, Men, Ladies
Dreidles
Electric shavers,
Men & Women Entertainment
Tickets-Movie, Theatre, Sports
Gift Certificates, mall, restaurants, etc.
Greeting Cards
Hair Accessories
Hair Dryers
Hanukkah Lights (Menorahs)
Hats, Men, Ladies
Jewelry, Costume
Lotion, Body, Hand
Lipstick
Magazine Subscriptions
Nail Polish
Nightgowns, Ladies, L, XL
Neckties, Clip-on
Note Cards
Pajamas, Men, Ladies, L, XL
Photo Frames
Polo Shirts, Adult Pullover, L, XL
Rain Hats
Rain Ponchos
Slippers, Men, Ladies, M, L, XL
Small Lamps, floor Lamps
Socks, Adult. Male, Female
Sweatpants, Adult, M, L, XL
Sweat Shirts, Adult, S, M, L, XL
Throw Pillows
Toiletries
Toiletry Bags, Male, Female
Underwear, Men, Women, L, XL
DVD's, Comedy, Adventure, (Family Oriented)
Wall Hangings, Picture, Art Work
Wallets, Men, Women
Watches, Men, Women

PLEASE NOTE: All gifts should be appropriate gifts for adults. Also, every gift must be new. We cannot accept used items for holiday gift giving.

IMPORTANT: Please mark each gift donation with the contents, color, male, female, size; i.e., Sweater, blue, male, large, etc.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU
A thank you note from the Zieglers:

Every year on Thanksgiving, my absolute favorite day of the year, I sit down and write our family Christmas Letter that we send out to all of our family and friends with our Christmas card. Yes, I do write it on Thanksgiving even though it sometimes doesn't make it out until Dec 20th. The reason I write it on Thanksgiving is as I am writing about my year, it just lets me reflect back on the so many things I have to be thankful for – things I take for granted all year through.
This year, as Thanksgiving approaches, our family has more than ever to be thankful for. I think most everyone knows we had a fire in our basement over the summer, causing smoke damage throughout the entire house, and us to be displaced from our home while the repairs and cleanup take place. The fire occurred just as my dad, who had had a stroke earlier in the summer, was going to move in with us, since he wasn't quite ready to go home to live alone.
Since we didn't get a chance to write individual thank you's to the sooo many that helped us, I thought we would write one big group thank you – so here goes. . .
We are, of course, first and foremost, thankful that no one was hurt, but it truly was a life-altering event that was made easier to go through because of all that the Welcome Club members have done for us. I don't want to mention names for fear of forgetting someone – there were so many people that did so many things for us – some of whom we didn't even know! But I do have to mention the Shiptons who we ended up living with for over a week before we found a place to live. We did have many other invitations friends and neighbors just opening their homes to our family of 6 – some who were going away for a week and just offered their empty home, others who happened to be away, calling to say we can go and crash there if we needed. . . but the Shiptons were the lucky ones! They literally took us in as part of their family – gave us a home to stay in, made sure we ate, took care of our kids - including giving them baths - even changed the towels in our bathroom! It was a very emotional time for me in particular, especially that first week, and it helped knowing that the kids, my top priority, were well taken care of. One of the hardest things for me to get a handle on was the fact that the word "soot" became a common vocabulary word used daily conversation by our 2, 4, 5, and 8 year olds.
We are thankful for everyone that took our kids – all 4 of them - for entire days at a time, sleepovers, even taking them to outings like the lake and friend's pools along with their own children, sometimes having to car pool to get them all in. We are thankful to all of you that offered to take them and for whatever reason, it never worked out – the help we were offered is just unbelievable. I was worried that the kids didn't have much of a summer after the fire, but it turned out to be one big play date and adventure after another – certainly a summer they will never forget.
We are thankful for all of the wonderful meals. I felt a bit funny taking them at first, after all, I had a kitchen in the rental house, but was so glad when everyone recommended taking the schedule of meals that was set up for us. Meals from Welcome Club Members were delivered to our house a few times a week at a set time. Not only did we get those meals, but others that weren't on the scheduled days. Again, just amazing. . .have you ever heard of anyone gaining weight during a crisis? After being at the house all day making decisions – dumpster or try to salvage, etc - how nice it was to come home to a delicious hot meal – just sit down and eat as a family – no decisions or thinking involved. Ahh. . .that sense of normalcy. This was especially nice since my dad was with us and I can't really get away with feeding him corn dogs and McDonalds. We are thankful to everyone who came to the house to help out in any way they could – just going through things, throwing stuff out, packing boxes, bagging clothes, moving furniture, emptying the house, giving me a shoulder to cry on. . .the list is endless.
We are thankful for everyone that did laundry for us, from the night of the fire to just recently - the laundry brigade – how amazing is that!
We are thankful for everyone that brought toys or clothes or donated things to the kids. They pretty much lost all of their toys because of the smoke and soot, and were most appreciative of everything they received. The amount of things we received made our rental house look and feel like home in no time.
We are thankful for the extremely generous gift card to Target from the club for the kids. It was a great opportunity to teach them about community; reaching out to help someone and all of that good stuff we want our kids to grow up with. They had a ball picking things out – there is actually a whole long, funny story about the night we went out to use it, but there are too many thank you's left to tell it here. Thank you, also for other individual gift cards to grocery stores, restaurants, and dept. stores. They were very much appreciated.
We are thankful for well wishes, thoughts and prayers, which brought bright spots to our days. We are thankful for all of the thoughtful little things that people have done – a cake pan (I lost over 300 cake pans in the fire), a new hermit crab habitat, star wars shirts and princess PJ's to name a few. We are thankful to those that just lent an ear or an encouraging word.
Please know that we are so appreciative of everything, and so happy to be part of this wonderful community of Mountain Top and the Welcome Club.
Happy Thanksgiving and have a terrific Holiday Season!

Irene, Bill, Will, Ben, Catherine and Hannah Ziegler

Welcome Club 2009-2010 Charity Voting Form

Each year we select charities to benefit from our fundraising. Last year our annual auction brought in over $6,000, resulting in over $2,000 being given to three local charities. Listed below are the charities that we are considering for 2009-2010. If a charity you are interested in is not listed, please use "other."

Please email your completed form to me at: elaine.bernstein@earthlink.net by October 31st. Alternatively, please mail the form to: Mountain Top Welcome Club, PO Box 243, Mountain Top, PA, 18707. Thank you.

Name ________________________________ Email ___________________________

1. CHARITIES - Please check THREE of the following charities. The charities that receive the most votes will be selected.

A. Marian Sutherland Kirby Library _____ www.kirbylib.org
B. Wright Township Park Expansion _____
C. Mountain Top Youth Soccer _____ www.eteamz.com/mttopysa
D. Helping Hands Society _____ www.helpinghandssociety.org
E. Catherine McAuley House _____ www.catherinemcauleycenter.org
F. Mountain Top Free Medical Clinic _____
G. Mountain Top On The Move _____ (Funds would go to the Downtown Mountain Top Beautification Committee and could include planters, signs, banners, etc on Route 309) www.mountaintoponthemove.com
H. Other _________________________ _____