The Board and I decided at the very beginning of the season that we would strive for simple elegance. Some of this was born out of practicality – we were not a full Board nor would we ever be during this season. Therefore, we chose to divide the extra responsibilities among several of us and to modify those procedures we felt were too complicated and work on clarity, quality and ingenuity. We met a lot in small groups to help each other with different challenges and to simplify as much as possible so that the Board and the members could really enjoy the activities and experiences we organized. And we tried to help members understand more about the workings of the Club. For four months our Bulletin was generously compiled by two members,-– Rosinah Ismail Clarke who already had the responsibility of heading the Nominating Committee and a new member Irina Saprykina who eventually was appointed to the position. In my report I will summarize some of the many steps we took to get us through this amazing year, but it would take too much paper to list everything, so in order to know the details from each Board member individually, please read each and every report in this booklet.

Our Board tried new ideas –most of them worked. For Philanthropy we started a mentoring program to encourage young people to learn more about philanthropy by working along with us on projects. We gave our endorsement and our time to a philanthropic event organized by 2 young women to help support other young people in need in Latvia. We tried 4 alternatives to just raising money through lotteries: (1) We inserted a flyer in our December Bulletin to offer members a new way to donate to a charity by purchasing products made by people in the project. (2)The VP, Anita Wegelius Bergström and Head of the fundraising committee (at the time), Debora House-Bengtsson organized an exciting art sale and silent auction as an evening philanthropic event. (3) We wrote letters to local businesses to ask for sponsorships for the April luncheon. (4) We added a section in the Social Activities where members could post other fundraising activities taking place that IWC members might like to join in. We also decided to donate a certain amount to a local charity to give back to the community in which we lived. Aldona Sehgal and the dynamic Hostess committee tried having the bar open when members arrived at some luncheons so they could have a drink before the lunch. Aldona also negotiated with OperaTerrassen to give ladies the option of purchasing drinks only if they wished, thus decreasing the luncheon fee by 50 SEK. We tried several new restaurants in Stockholm and we tried not having name badges at all the luncheons. Olga Irish expanded the Social Activities pages to include more of the interesting information from members including cultural events around town, and philanthropic events. Our Treasurer Annika Vonck started a new series of talks and visits called Women at Work. Our Secretary Liliane Doumeche- Hall engaged the French Institute to give us the space once a month to launch a new lecture series called IWC Talks. VP Anita Wegelius Bergström tried to start a car pool to help elderly members get to activities more easily. The Blue Hour not only met in different public venues around the city, but we tried meeting in members’ private homes. Our Programme Chair, Agnes Meszaros, encouraged us to start a small artistic stipend program to encourage and support a young artist. We chose Gergö Teleki, the young virtuoso pianist who performed at the March IWC luncheon - in order to enter into an international competition. And we added a section called Open Forum to encourage lively discussion at the AGM. Electronically we are pushing ahead – our new Web Editor, Renata Rieschel, launched a new website design and our Bulletin Editor, Irina Saprykina, presented us with the beginnings of an e-bulletin.

We fine tuned the Membership Directory by having 5 of us including a member of the Hospitality Committee, Inga Rumert, go through each name, making corrections to the spellings, addresses, nationalities etc and Treasurer Annika Vonck we even contacted a large amount of members to ask how they wanted their names listed.

It takes a real team to steer this organization called the International Women’s Club. And for the most part, we had one ! No President can excel without an astute and dedicated Secretary. I had one ! Thank you Liliane for all the extra time and intelligence you put into this Club year. Thanks to our devoted and kind Vice President Anita Wegelius Bergström for her diplomatic skills, to our thoughtful and generously resourceful Treasurer Annika Vonck, to our creative and energetic Bulletin Editor Irina Saprykina who has so many good ideas and skills to execute them well, to Agnes Mezaros who jumped in to help us in the middle of the year and gave us such exquisite programs. To Aldona Sehgal and her dynamic Hostess committee who made it possible for all of us enjoy each other’s company in a big way each month. To Grace Guo, our cheerful Membership Chair who also opened her Tea House for Board meetings and other affairs. To Olga Irish who I depended on for sound judgment. To Debora House Bengtsson, a dynamo, an artist without whose good will and experience we could not have upheld our philanthropic mission. And thanks to Board members who could not stay, but left a strong impression: Gail McEnaney who set a high standard for the presentation of the Bulletin, Marrtinaa New who gave us a super Christmas Philanthropic event, to Olga Bexborg for her original tours and for her sense of humor, and to Ludmila Thurne for her culture programs and for bringing us an unforgettable Russian New Year !

It has been a great honour to have the privilege to work so closely with our dear Patron HRH Princess Lilian and Marshall of the Court, Baroness Elisabeth Palmstierna. I could not have made it through the year as productively without the support of you members. Thank you to our founder Sissi Rasmussen whose support, thoughtful words and elegant manner have been an inspiration to me throughout the past few years. I want to thank all the past presidents I have come to know this year. After serving this year, I have even more respect for them and the work they have done for this Club during their presidencies. Thanks to Monique Berndtson for her honesty and insights. Thank you Ishrat Lindblad, Inga Greta Håkansson, Ruth Cederström, Elizabeth Hammarskjöld, and Hannelore Randquist for their advice and encouragement throughout. And sometimes it only takes a smile, a nice email or a kind word . . . thank you Inka Thams, Silvana Rizzi Lenahan, Angela Monahan and Catharina Palmstierna. Thank you Kira Billman, Silvana Lindeberg, Birgitta Frick Meijer, Maria Faxander, Dagny Helander-Wand, Venice Görsun, Ettie Burström, Olga Umanets, Maria Anastasiades, Inga Rumert, Rosy Falkman, Li Malmström, Alexandra Charles, Tracy Chapman, Mary Borromeo Hedfors, Esther Bureta, Louise Wretman Close, Kanthi Beck, Aprill Spendrup, Marilda Ericsson. To Rosinah Ismail Clarke and the Nominating Committee who worked with me cooperatively throughout the season and who appointed 3 energetic Board members throughout the season when I really needed them. And to my American friends Debora House, Mary Beth Connor, Kate Graham, Judy Wood, Elaine Reed and Linda Pinkham, Linda Lewis, Jayne Berggren, Tracy Chapman who used their American spirit and enthusiasm, rolled up their sleeves and worked hard for this Club, opened their homes to Club members or just gave me a hug or a good laugh.

Thanks to all the coordinators who worked so hard this season - International Coordinator Hannelore Randquist who attended the 50th Jubilee of IWC Dublin on our behalf, Museum Study Group leader Elizabeth Hammarskjöld who gave us even more exciting new cultural experiences this season, Advertising Coordinator Astrid Grull-Schlabach who worked so well with the Board to bring in advertising, Web Editors Maria Faxander who started the season and our new Web Editor Renata Rieschel who gave us a creative new website design. We say goodbye to Elizabeth Hammarskjöld and thank her for an extraordinary journey through the culture of Stockholm and environs throughout her years as leader of the Museum Study Group. Welcome to Renate Pfeiffer who will lead the Museum Study Group. With the retirement of each Coordinator, the past 2 Boards have instated a term agreement of 4 years with a 2 year possible renewal. The Coordinators report directly to the Board.

There are so many others who were there for me and for the Club this season and whom if I forgot to mention, I will thank you in another way. You all make up the collage of memories and spirit that has propelled me through this unforgettable year.

And finally, I must thank some people in my family whose guidance and example gave me the values to serve as your President. My mother, Dee Mullins and my mother in law, Holley Hobbs who were there for me from the beginning in spirit and throughout on the telephone and email. The Hall sisters – my grandmother Lilian Hall Dyer and my great aunt Hazel Hall Whitney taught me from an early age that good manners, grace, kindness and contributing time to help others less fortunate were ofthe utmost importance to promoting a civilized society. And 3 gentle men, my father John Edward Amazeen, my uncle Wilfred Eliot Young and my grandfather Howard K. Dyer who had great respect for women, who instilled in me the elegance of using one’s mind, and the importance of working for the good of others –in order to uphold the principles of human dignity.

I wish all the best to our new Executive Board next season. I look forward to remaining active as one of your past presidents and will also continue my work as a writer and art journalist here in Stockholm.

Respectfully submitted,

Lauren Dyer Amazeen