The Spotlight

WCOEP President Message, September 2026

Welcome to our new year! We have so many fun events planned. It has taken a lot of work to set this all up for you, our valued members. We have been busy this summer refreshing our historic building and making plans to share our building with our community. Please support the club as much as you can this year by being at our Members Only and Guest Day Meetings, volunteering when you can, and attending our special events.

While the club has been in summer hiatus, the Executive Board and Board of Directors have been busy preparing for this coming season. We have lots of exciting things to share with you. I hope as many members as possible will be able to attend this important meeting where we will share this information with you.

At our annual Fall Festival you can get a head start on your Christmas shopping, spend a few minutes having lunch or a snack in our Tea Room, participate in the Silent Auction, Drawings, and Giveaways, take home some homemade Bake Sale goodies, and explore the hidden treasures of Granny’s Attic. This is our first and most important fundraiser of the year, so please support this opportunity to help maintain our beautiful 110-year-old clubhouse.

Let’s share a wonderful year with Class and Grace,

Jennifer Favor Howell

New Executive Board Members

As a reminder, these are our new officers and Board Members for 2026-27: President- Jennifer Favor Howell, President-Elect- Pema Garcia, 1^st Vice President- Maria Gonzalez, 2^nd Vice President- J’me Phelps, 3^rd Vice President- Lynn Cordova, Recording Secretary- Denise Daniel, Corresponding Secretary- Milly Nabhan, Treasurer- Jeri Vines, Assistant Treasurer- Frieda Voeks, Parliamentarian- Lillan Crouch.

3 Year Term: 

Marta Artiga, Letty Moreno Brown, Ivette Champion, Jennie Larder, Sonnie Gavin

2 Year Term: 

Jackie Morgan-Tomko, Laura Watzling, Elma Schwartz

1 Year Term: 

Kim Lavelle, Roxanne Varela, Jane Berrier, Carolyn Breck, Jean Adams

Everyone has been working hard during the summer preparing for a wonderful 2026-27 season! Pictured are a few board members having some fun with Ronald after our July board meeting at the Ronald McDonald House.

A Call to Action

Our Fall Festival is fast approaching, and we need donations for Granny’s Attic, as well as volunteers to sell tickets, organizing Granny’s Attic, assisting vendors, waiting on tables in the Tea Room, and lending a hand in the kitchen. This is a great time of the year for decluttering and finding those new or gently used clothing items, household goods, home décor, art, jewelry, and anything else someone else would consider a treasure. We also need homemade baked goods for our highly anticipated Bake Sale. The clubhouse will be open our regular hours on September 8^th going forward Monday – Thursday 9:00am – 2:00pm to drop donations off. If you have questions, please contact Frieda Voeks for Granny’s Attic at (915) 373-5415, or for general Fall Festival volunteering and info or vendor inquires please contact J’me Phelps at (516) 500-7674. For questions on baked goods contact Rhoda Tillman at (915) 260-3966. Let’s make this year’s Fall Festival the best one ever!

Auxiliary Activities

Arts & Crafts

The first meeting of the Arts & Crafts Study Club will be the Las Cruces Day Trip.  This Community Outreach event on Saturday, September 5, 2026, is a great exposure to regional arts and crafts as well as good timing for holiday shopping. Departure is at 8:00 am from the parking lot across from the club.  Due to another scheduled event at the Club, all cars not caravanning, must be parked in this lot.

Several members are volunteering to drive to the Franciscan Festival of Fine Arts, Holly Cross Retreat, on Highway 80, this side of Las Cruces (9:00 am – 5:00 pm, no entrance fee).  Members can choose to return to El Paso or continue the day trip by going to the Southern New Mexico Wine Festival (12:00 pm – 6:00 pm. For tickets: http://nmwine.com/lc now for discounts or purchase at entrance.)

Any member can join in the fun and dues for the Arts & Crafts Auxiliary are just $10- see Joan Forestal for details. Be sure to join for the coming year as there are other exciting field trips as well as making special crafts scheduled!

Book Club Auxiliary

Pam Round continues to chair this lively group! For September, The Mirror by Nora Roberts is the selection. They meet the fourth Monday of each month. See you on September 28^th at 10:00 at Barnes and Noble. Please feel free to come by to check it out!  All members may join- dues are $10. See Pam Round for more details.

Advisory Committee Changes

A reminder, The Advisory Committee,  comprised of the Past Presidents, voted on a few changes for the coming year. Beginning this year, dues are now $20 . The time and place have also been changed. The committee will meet at 9am at The Podium, 1400 Texas Ave., El Paso, TX 79901 in the Library Room on October 30^th, January 22^nd, and May 14^th.  All Past Presidents are invited. If you have any questions, please text or call Jody at (915) 590-5762. The Podium website: https://podiumfinishsportcafe.com/

Exciting things for the upcoming month!

Beatrice Soderberg Concert Recital

WCOEP is pleased to launch pianist Beatrice Soderberg’s new performance season with a professional recital on Saturday, September 5^th at 7pm in The Woman’s Club Ballroom. Ms. Soderberg recently received her Master’s Degree in Performance from the University of Texas El Paso.

Her program honors the death of Beethoven’s Bicentennial, as well as well as works by Padre Antonio Soler, Joaquin Rodrigo, Frederic Chopin, Rafael “Bullumba” Laudestoy, and Heitor Villa-Lobos. 

Tickets are $20 per adult, $10 for children up to 12, or Special Package of 4 adults for $60. Use the QR code or go directly to Eventbrite to purchase tickets. Limited tickets may be available at the door, so get your tickets now through Eventbrite so you don’t miss out!

Benefit Concert for Colombia Earthquake Victim Relief

WCOEP has partnered with Four Bridges String Quartet in response to the recent earthquake in Western Colombia. The Four Bridges String Quartet is proud to announce a special benefit concert. They will be performing a curated blend of classical, cinematic, and contemporary music, with all proceeds going directly to Global Shapers Pereira, a community of young leaders with support of the World Economic Forum

You can get your tickets here https://givebutter.com/earthquake-relief-concert or scan the QR code on the flyer on our Facebook page.

Fall Festival Coming Up on September 26 & 27

Be sure to spread the word to all your friends and family to join us for our annual Fall Festival on Saturday & Sunday, September 26 & 27 from 10am – 5pm!

Tempting bake goods from our Bake Sale, incredible bargains in our highly anticipated Granny’s Attic, a wonderful array of vendors filling our ballroom, plus sweet and savoy treats in our Tea Room where you can take a well-deserved break all await you for the admission price of $5.

 Please support this traditional fundraiser that the whole community loves. Our patrons get the jump on all the other Halloween and Christmas fairs with the best selection, so it’s a win/win for everyone!

*Special Sneak Preview exclusively for Members! Come get first dibs on Granny’s Attic and vendor items Friday, September 25 from 5pm-7pm!

Welcome, Diana!

We are pleased to announce our new Facilities Coordinator, Diana Talamantes, will be officially joining us on Tuesday, September 8^th. You may have seen her at a few of our luncheons and events helping and getting comfortable with her new duties. Diana recently retired as an Executive with Prudential Financial. As a former member of The Junior Woman’s Club for more than 10 years, she has a love for our organization and our historic building. She is looking forward to coming back to the Clubhouse on a regular basis. Please reach out to introduce yourself to her when you see her.

Help Us Celebrate Mexican Independence Day on September 16^th– Guest Day

September Guest Day is always a treat, but when Mexican Independence falls on that date, it is even more special! Be watching your email for the invitation coming out soon and be sure to bring a friend or two to join in festivities. This is an ideal time to show off our beautiful clubhouse and introduce friends to enjoy our warm hospitality. Kellie Harris and Amber Wightman will be preparing a Mexican meal, and our guest speaker will be El Paso’s incomparable First Lady of Folklorico, Rosa Guerrero. 

Rosa is an artist, educator, dance historian, and humanitarian born in El Paso in 1934. After a childhood fraught with discrimination due to her Mexican roots, Guerrero worked in her adult life to create a multicultural appreciation and education space in El Paso schools. She became an icon in El Paso, founding the Rosa Guerrero International Ballet Folklorico in 1974. She has received many awards throughout her career, including an induction into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame and the George I. Sánchez Memorial Award for her contributions to multicultural education. Guerrero was also the first Latina woman in El Paso to have a public school named after her. Come meet this legendary trailblazer in person!

Artist of the Month

We are pleased to welcome back Jim Grantham as the September Artist of the Month. Jim is an artist and illustrator based in El Paso specializing in watercolor, landscape, and nature photography. A UTEP and Riverside High School alumnus, he is now retired from El Paso ISD where he had a lengthy career as an art teacher at Riverside HS. Be sure to check out his wide variety of art works on the walls of our ballroom. He has been incredibly generous in donating many of his paintings and drawings to WCOEP for future fundraising. His work can also be found on Facebook. 

Important dates to remember:

Wednesday, September 2^nd , Members Only Luncheon Meeting, 12pm–

If you haven’t made reservations yet, please text Jody Kotys at (915) 590-5762 and she will do her best to get you on the list.

Saturday, September 5^th, Beatrice Soderberg Piano Recital, 7pm

Sunday, September 13^th, Colombia Earthquake Relief Benefit Concert, 1pm

Wednesday, September 16^th, Guest Day Luncheon, 12pm

Friday, September 25^th– Fall Festival Sneak Preview for Members Only, 5pm-7pm

Saturday & Sunday, September 26^th & 27^th– Fall Festival Open to Public, 10am-5pm

Wednesday, September 30th, Board Meeting, 9:30 AM – 

September board meeting will be at the clubhouse. Please come early to enjoy refreshments and chat with friends so we can start the meeting at 9:30. Laura Watzling- Refreshments

Wednesday, October 7^th, Members Only Luncheon Meeting, 12pm