COMMUNITY-WIDE BABY SHOWER EXCEEDS GOAL. Interfaith of The Woodlands joined ABC Channel 13 and the March of Dimes for the first Montgomery County Caring Cradles Community Wide Baby Shower in June.

Interfaith of The Woodlands, the Montgomery County collection site, surpassed its goal by collecting more than 4,200 baby items with an estimated value of approximately $29,400.

According to Dr. Ann Snyder, president and CEO of Interfaith of The Woodlands, “Interfaith was delighted to help local agencies promote the importance of prenatal care through education. We truly appreciate the support of the volunteers from the local chapters of the National Charity League and the community for donating many baby care items. We look forward to joining forces with ABC 13 and March of Dimes again in the future.”

All donations will be distributed to area agencies and will be used as an incentive to encourage women to seek prenatal and well-baby care and education for themselves and their babies.

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THE WOODLANDS UNITED METHODIST YOUTH CARE FOR UNITED WAY. Three groups of youth from The Woodlands United Methodist Church participated in a “Days of Caring” project for Montgomery County United Way as part of the church’s day of service.

More than 30 members from the church completed projects such as raking, mowing, painting, hedge trimming and more for senior residents in need.

The youth groups went out to three different areas of Montgomery County including Montgomery, Conroe and Magnolia, donating a total of 160 volunteer hours.

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NEWCOMERS CLUB GUESTS TREATED TO VINTAGE HAT FASHION SHOW. Woodlands resident Marcella Mayeur has a fabulous collection of nearly one hundred hats. She presented a special showing of some of them at a recent Newcomers Club luncheon at The Woodlands Country Club. Five of her friends were her models and in addition to providing the headwear she included her special gowns and furs for some added glamour.

As the models walked the floor, Marcella recounted the events and places where she had worn the hats…including one cocktail hat she had carried in a hat box all the way to Moscow, Russia to wear at a special party at the Kremlin.

At the show finale, Marcella suggested the ladies might dream that evening of wearing one of her “chapeaus” as a barefoot Lynn Mandeville modeled an elegant pink negligee, carrying a bouquet of flowers and, of course, wearing a beautiful hat.

Marcella’s special guest was Zan Henderson, former European designer for the fashion house of Escada, and now a Woodlands resident.

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JACK AND JILL OF AMERICA AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS. Jack and Jill of America Inc. – The Woodlands Chapter awarded $1,000 scholarships for outstanding achievement to Dominic Larson Cridell and Katelynn Lamonte McKenzie, both of Huntsville High School.

Jack and Jill of America Inc., is a nonprofit membership organization of mothers whose aims and objectives focus on the educational, cultural, civic and social health of children.

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CONNECTING FAMILIES HOSTS HAPPY DAYS EVENT. Connecting Families exceeded expectations with its Happy Days Father’s Day fundraiser event benefiting the organization’s efforts to prevent child abuse by strengthening the family.

The agency is seeking much-needed funds to build their current parenting classes, divorce workshops, anger management programs and counseling support. Several hundred people attended the Market Street event.

“We wanted to host this Father’s Day event because fathers can directly influence the family dynamic and be extremely positive role models,” said Diana Boulanger, executive director for the agency.

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MCYS YOUTH WORK TOGETHER AT CAMP WATSITUMI. One hundred twenty youth from Montgomery County Youth Services joined together for a week of challenging activities and fun at MCYS’ Camp Watsitumi in Conroe.

An annual event, Camp Watsitumi is a chance for youth in the community to enhance problem solving, communication and teamwork skills through a variety of physical activities on a challenge course.

Campers at Camp Watsitumi ranged from 7 to 17 years in age and were divided into teams, each of which is guided by one camp facilitator. Teams worked together to take on activities such as rock walls, balance beams, blind-folded pole climbs and a zip line. They discussed the challenges faced in the activities, what they could do to improve, and how they can relate what they’ve learned to real life situations. The purpose is to promote positive self-esteem and teach conflict resolution through fun.

Camp Watsitumi was made possible by the support of various community partners.

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FIRECRACKER ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED. After evaluating hundreds of entries, The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau and the University of Phoenix selected Joseph Kloesel as the grand prize winner of the 2011 Little Firecracker Essay Contest.

Kloesel’s essay responded to the question, “How do you celebrate freedom?” As part of his prize, Kloesel received a chance to read his essay to thousands of Red, Hot & Blue festival attendees.

“The Little Firecracker Essay Contest is a great outlet for youths to express their passion for patriotism and we are thrilled to reward these inspiring youths,” said Nick Wolda, president of The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Winners in other age groups included Paslash Pankay Pawar (ages 5-6), Simon Marsh (ages 7-9), Juliana Gollnick (ages 10 -12), Abbey Killeen (ages 13-15) and Clay Kowis (ages 16-18).

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CLUB ETIQUETTE COTILLION 2011 GRADUATING CLASS. For the past eight months, the Club Etiquette Cotillion 2011 graduating class, which is comprised of local middle school students, has been learning the basics of becoming young ladies and gentlemen. Once a month, students were taught couples dances as well as 500 different aspects of dining and social etiquette. This instruction provides the middle schoolers with an edge in a variety of real-life social situations.

Class members had opportunity to practice their etiquette and dance skills at a Sock  Hop in January and the formal Grand Finalé.

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WINSTEAD DONATES FANS TO INTERFAITH. For the third year, Winstead PC is giving back to the community with a fundraiser to help local senior citizens. A tradition beginning two years ago continued with attorneys and support staff in each city purchasing new fans for seniors who need help staying cool.

The Woodlands Winstead office selected Interfaith of The Woodlands to distribute the donated fans to those most in need. More than 10 large fans were donated from Winstead employees in June, and were delivered to local seniors just in time for the July 4th holiday weekend.

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DAR ASSISTS WITH PROJECT PATRIOT. During the Texas Society DAR State Conference, the State DAR Project Patriot committee, headed by Dottie Wainwright of The Woodlands, raised more than $11,000 for the Wounded Warrior and Family Assistance Center in San Antonio. Through the generous donations of Texas DAR members, who bid on the Project Patriot Quilt donated by the James Tull DAR chapter, the women raised the money during a 15-minute period during the conference meeting. The quilt was presented to Joe Proctor, a director at one of the barracks for wounded warriors at Fort Sam Houston.

Throughout the past year, Texas Daughters have traveled to Fort Sam Houston and Brooke Army Medical Center to present  handmade quilts to various wounded soldiers. The DAR Project Patriot Committee is the official Daughters of the American Revolution committee that supports American’s service personnel in current conflicts abroad.

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LANCE NAMED SECOND WOODLANDS GOLF CHAMPION. Local resident Randy Lance won The 2nd Annual Woodlands Golf Championship tournament, presented by Rico’s Restaurants, in June. Lance finished his first round with a 70, and ended the tournament at 143 to win the tournament by four strokes, beating fellow competitor Andrew Whitacre.

The 36-hole tournament took place at The Woodlands Country Club Tournament Course and The Club at Carlton Woods Fazio Course. More than 40 amateurs competed for the title in three divisions: Championship, Seniors and Scholastic, with most participants playing in the Championship Flight.

Senior participant Kent Samuel beat Pat Laabs by five strokes, 150-155 for the Seniors title, and Kyle Southward, a senior at The Woodlands High School, won the Scholastic division, outplaying the other five competitors with a final score of 152.

For the second year in a row, the BANDIER Realty Partners group of Trey Halberdier, DJ Forsyth, Chad Hedrick and Todd Riedel won the The Woodlands Golf Championship Community Scramble at The Woodlands Country Club-Palmer Course.

“This is a great community event benefiting a charity close to our heart,” said Halberdier. “We look forward to participating next year and winning a three-peat.”

All proceeds from the tournament benefited Interfaith of The Woodlands.