Dear WIGI Members - ..

It's official WIGI is having it's first annual meeting! Between ten and 20% of our new group will be in Pinehurst, and with members joining every month and being less than a year old, it's a great step forward.

Thanks to Alyson Ramsey who has worked hard setting up some interesting programs for us. Several married WIGIs are bringing their spouses - people are polishing up their clubs - and truly looking forward to our first get-together.

A few members called because they want to come, but have business and/or personal reasons or family illnesses that are delaying their decisions. Between now and then, we will be in communication with Pinehurst as to their availability, and we will also locate some alternate hotel spots. We certainly encourage all of you who can make it to come, even if it's a late reservation. We will be making an announcement to the press next week about the first ever meeting.

We have a few phone numbers and emails have changed. An updated directory accompanies this newsletter, too.

Hopefully you have had a chance to check out the WIGI website that is under construction thanks to Meritsoft Golf and Laurie Stulberg's staff. As a reminder, if you want your personal password, let me know, I will go in and find it out for you. In the interim, however, you can access the site on with the passwords emailed to you. We will continue to post on ladygolf.com as long as Karen Cant'rell will let us.

I have created some new pages for the WIGI website, so take a look at those and let me know what you think we need to add. Remember to get your personal password, email me or call Karen Sokoloff 866-458-3406 - it's toll free in Toronto, or email ksokoloff@meritsoft.net She said she didn't mind taking calls. ( I thanked her for that!)

Dawn Schleringer of Golfsurfin.com is offering free job postings on her site for 30 days for all WIGI members, so if you are looking to hire, let us know and let her know.

Donna Carr-McCardle of All About Golf says they will offer special pricing to WIGI members on their logo and non logo items.

Kelly Mooney asked if we could poll the membership on the Augusta situation. So if you have an opinion, I'll collect them. There are many people who see this as a private vs. public club issue and there are others who see this as a woman's rights issue. Those two sides are not always in parallel.

Marlene Livaudais is working on developing some corporate sponsorship packages for WIGI so that we can continue to grow and develop programs to serve the membership. If your company would like to be involved, please contact Marlene via the directory listings.

Penny Lawton, Lawton Awards, is researching a member pin that we will try to make available by next year. That way, when you go to big gatherings, like the PGA Merchandise Show (organized in large part by member Gail Billingsley), you will be able to spot another WIGI member across the aisle, across the room or across the street. Penny said she has several sources for this, and since she has been in the awards business for quite a while, she believes she can come up with just the ticket for us at a reasonable price. It will obviously be an optional purchase.

We continue to grow. New members this month are individually and then by companies:

Meredith L.Alferi, Marketing Rep for Gean-Edwards in Appleton, WI.
Elizabeth Skrypczak, co-owner, Gean Edwards, Princeton, WI.
Michelle Stoffel, Event Coordinator, Forfire-on-the-Green, Waupaca, WI.,

Cynthia Smith, JD, CAE, Executive Director of the American Association of Golf Management Companies in Lawrence, KS.

Janet Taylor, MD, Sales Rep HYP Golf, Inc., Chappaqua, NY 10514

Debbra ( Deb) Huetson, Callaway Golf, Order management Coordinator - Special Projects. She is new to Callaway as well. Terri Thompson, Callaway Golf Sales Company, Inside Sales Rep, attended the University of Tulsa and was an NCAA All-American. Terri handles over 700 accounts for Callaway.

And Amber Wade called to say that seven women from Nike Golf were joining.
They are:
Amber Wade, Nike Marketing Manager
Christine Cowan, Apparel Product Line Manager - Women's
Jill Prandy, Product Director-- Equipment
Cindy Lewellen, International Marketing Manager
Mitzi MacCallum, Sr. Merchandise Manager
Diane Soule, Director of Golf Customer Service
Robin Herrington, whose information is coming separately.

We are now well over 100 members, which, to me, is pretty astonishing, since this has been word of mouth and people reading a few articles in the press and friends telling friends. To have that many members in less than a year for women, a significantly in the minority in the golf business, is really an accomplishment, and you have yourselves to thank for it. I have the founders to thank for believing there were enough women in the various business realms of golf to actually form a networking group. So to Pat Baldwin, Helen Casey, JoAnn Dost, Alice Dye, Jan Gilpin, Kendra Graham, Mary Beth Lacy, Marlene Livaudais, Jennifer Mills and Topsy Siderowf, a big thanks for getting WIGI off the ground in the first place.

Happy birthday to:

Karen Crossett, Sept 27,
Mary E. Porter, Oct. 3. And belatedly to Karen Christoforo, Sept 18,
Amanda Palmer, Sept 8,
Elizabeth Skrypczak, Sept 20.
If I missed you, I don't have it.

For WIGI - . Kathy Bissell

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