About Us | FAQ | MNWT History | Member Testimonial

Personal Testimonial

I attended a 5th Monday Membership Event at Holmberg Orchard along with several other members of the Marshall Women of Today Chapter and our District Director, Kelly Porter. We enjoyed traveling through the orchard on a hay wagon, eating "high-point", homemade apple crisp, and playing a few apple orchard-related games. In addition, we all were given the opportunity to shop for apples, pumpkins, gourds as well as other items from the "famous" Holmberg Orchard Gift Shop. Although the night was crisp, the friendship and the fun we shared helped to take the chill off a bit . . .the hot apple cider did not hurt either!

As I drove home from this event with my car's heater turned on high, I re-thought the evening and who we are. We did a rather informal "spiel" for our guest with the hopes of explaining to her who we are and what we do. Yes, we are a civic organization that believes in community service and giving our members the opportunity to grow and develop. Yes, we plan and implement many activities and fundraisers within our community and then donate the monies earned back to our community. Yes, we offer opportunities for personal growth and development of leadership skills.Yes, we have our roots in an organization founded more than 50 years ago which evolved from the Mrs. Jaycees to the Jaycee Women and finally to the Minnesota Women of Today. However, my thoughts kept coming back to the fact that we are so much more. We answered the question, I believe, of "What is the Women of Today?". But, I kept thinking that we did not really answer the question of "Who are the Women of Today?".

Thinking about our local chapter and the many women, and men, that I have met through the Women of Today at both the District and State Levels, I see that the Women of Today consists of a wide-variety of dynamic and enthusiastic individuals. These individuals are bright, energetic and committed to making the community, and perhaps even the world, a bit better place in which to live. These individuals care about people within the Women of Today, within their community, and within their family. These individuals are willing to work hard and to play hard. These individuals work in many different arenas, be it at home or in the work-a-day-world; some individuals even have jobs to accomplish in more than one location. These individuals have families that they care about and care for be it as a mom, a step-mom, a wife/partner, a sister, a daughter, a niece, a cousin or a friend. These individuals care about themselves and investing in developing their own leadership abilities and opportunities which take them out of their day-to-day world. Together these individuals come together and create a force that generates many positive outcomes. And in the process, these individuals create friendships and networks within their communities, region and State which will withstand a lifetime.

I, as one individual, am happy to know so many wonderful individuals, to count these individuals amongst my friends and to count myself as one individual within this organization. I am proud to be part of the Women of Today finding myself in a position often of explaining what is the Women of Today. I know now that in explaining the "what", I will also include a bit of the "who."