Dear APWA Members,
I hope you all had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Despite restrictions we have had a bustling Fall of APWA activities and events and I’d like to send a warm thank you to all who helped and attended. December brings us opportunities to find hygge (warmth and companionship) in our beautiful outdoors. Gather around the fire for Warmth and Wine on the 11th, and enjoy the glow of Zoo Lights on the 20th. We are also starting what we hope becomes an annual tradition with Elf on the (Top) Shelf holiday gift exchange. Finally, thank you to our members that gave of their time to wrap gifts for youth living at Covenant House. We are also excited that nominations for next year’s non-profit partner are now open. There are so many good organizations out there, and supporting our community has been an important part of APWA since our founding. While you are doing your Holiday shopping, please don’t forget to use the Amazon Smile Program by following this link, or setting your charity to Anchorage Petroleum Women’s Foundation directly in the App. This year we are supporting the Chugach Park Fund, and their efforts to make Chugach Park accessible for everyone to enjoy. We have been working this year to update the website - now you can find the monthly message from the President, updates from Chugach Park Fund, and information about our fundraising efforts all on the webpage. Check it out and let us know what you think! May each of you find health, happiness, and peace during the holiday season and through the coming year. Kirsten Tschofen President
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Dear APWA Members,
Once again, it’s the time of the year when we pause to reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for. My family is particularly lucky this year because we get to celebrate twice - once for Canadian Thanksgiving in October, and again at the end of this month. And even if we are far from family, and are weary of social distancing, there is so much to be thankful for. I was so pleased when new member Lisa Houghton reached out to help organize a unique opportunity for our members to hear from Janet Weiss (former president of BP Alaska and APWA member) and Darlene Gates (president of Exxon Mobil) on their perspectives regarding the One Alaska Ballot Measure. It was both educational to learn more about the proposed tax changes, and the effects they would have on the petroleum industry in Alaska, and meaningful to hear from women who play such important roles in the industry. Thank you Lisa, Darlene and Janet! We have several fun social events planned for November and December: an online holiday dessert cooking class for our monthly gathering, volunteer gift wrapping for the youth at Covenant House, a special Zoo Lights night for APWA members, and the start of what we hope is a new tradition: Elf on the (Top) Shelf, a gift exchange just for APWA members. We encourage you to check the website regularly for updates on new events. October was a busy month for our activity groups: Hike & Ski (Mary Jane) has persevered through the new cold weather and is looking forward to the change from hiking to skiing; Walk & Talk (Kirsten) has explored Cuddy Park, Hanshew Track, and Dimond Mall; and Ladies Night (Amanda) hosted a cozy evening of wine and warmth by the glow of a beautiful fire pit. Since we aren’t having our usual Activities Fair in person this year, our activities coordinator Lisa has put together a video to highlight our activity groups. Joining an activity group is a great way to meet new people, and make life-long friends. If you are interested in learning more about any of our groups, or maybe starting one of your own, please reach out to Lisa at activities@ancpwa.org. Our membership directory will be ready this week. If you asked for a paper copy look for it in the mail next week, otherwise you will receive a special email with the link. I hope for all of our members that each of you are able to find comfort and connection, space to be thankful this month, and that the Anchorage Petroleum Women’s Association can play a role in building your community this year. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families. Warm regards, Kirsten Tschofen President CPF has exciting news to report! Phase 1 of the Little O'Malley Peak trail is complete! Learn more about the achievements this summer HERE.
APWA Members,
As always, I hope this month finds all of our members well. September offered us a spectacular fall and now that the days really are getting shorter and the nights longer it is time to start thinking about how we can stay connected in these colder months. After living in Denmark for five years I have embraced their notion of "hygge", which means to make things warm and cozy, and also to feel connected to friends and family. For me this means making my home a relaxing place to be, spending time with family (which usually entails the four of us petting our dog and telling him what a good boy he is), and connecting with small groups of friends in person and online. I hope that APWA can play a role in finding the hygge in your life this year. We held our first Monthly Gathering in mid-September and enjoyed a delicious meal catered by Middle Way Cafe. The new Walk & Talk group will continue to meet every two weeks as long as we can keep our footing and dress warm enough - do consider joining us! Book club over zoom offers an opportunity for more intimate conversations, and our first Games Night was a chance to meet in a small group and have some fun. Our Ladies Night group ventured out to Suite 100 for dinner and drinks and a good time was had by all. For October’s monthly gathering we are pleased to partner with OneAlaska to offer our members and special guests an opportunity to hear about the issues surrounding Ballot Measure 1. We are also pleased to extend a special invitation to new members, to an evening of Wine & Warmth around a beautiful fire pit on Friday, October 23rd. See below for more details. There is one more month left for our Hike for Chugach which ends November 1, 2020. We are pleased that we are half-way to our fundraising goal, and have more than twenty registrations/donations. Please consider joining, donating and sharing your photos using the tag #hike4chugach. The Hike & Ski group is happy to welcome you on any of their Tuesday hikes, or perhaps Walk & Talk is a little more your pace? Or, if you prefer to hike with your family our Hike & Ski leader Mary Jane has created a wonderful list of Easy and Moderate Hikes in Chugach Park for you to explore. More details about this exciting event can be found on our website, and below. As always, I am happy to hear from you at president@ancpwa.org. Warm regards, Kirsten Dear APWA Members,
The smell of fall is in the air. Many of us are starting to think about wrapping up the season, and school - in a variety of forms - has started. I continue to be amazed by just how beautiful summer in Alaska is - and just how hard Alaskans go to make the most of it. Traditionally this time of year is when APWA really starts to ramp things up with the re-start of many Activity Groups after a short summer break. This year may be different, but we are still excited to start a new year. Book Club has already met, Walk & Talk had its first walk, and Hike and Ski is still going strong. We are looking forward to seeing many of you at our first monthly gathering on Thursday, September 16th. To help us plan how we can best meet the needs of all our members please take a few minutes to complete this short survey. We are pleased to be launching our next fundraiser Hike for Chugach starting September 1 to November 1, 2020. More details about this exciting event can be found on our website, and below. As always, I am happy to hear from you at president@ancpwa.org. Warm regards, Kirsten Tschofen APWA President We were very excited about the fabulous turnout for the Stretch for Chugach Fundraiser! The weather cooperated and we all had a fun time!!
APWA Members,
These are certainly difficult times for all of us in Alaska, and I hope this finds all of our members safe and happy. A few weeks ago my family experienced our first Alaska earthquake, and subsequent tsunami warning, while we were staying on MacDonald Spit between Kachemak Bay and Kasitsna Bay. All is well that ends well, I learned a lot, and I am fervently hoping that I will acquit myself with more dignity and calm in the future events, than I did on this occasion. So many adventures to be had in Alaska! Although we are all facing a lot of uncertainty in these times due to COVID-19, APWA’s central mission to help our members Meet, Grow, Give remains the same. Our board will meet this week to start planning the year for 2020-2021. We are working on developing a few new activity groups, and if you have any ideas we are always happy to hear from you. We hope to share an updated calendar with a variety of activities and events (both in person and online) in the fall. As we have indicated before, we are committed to following municipal guidelines and mandates while working together to protect each other’s safety at all our events and activities. I am confident that we will be able to provide flexible ways of participating in our events and activities for anyone that wants to attend, and that this approach will engage our members and help build an even stronger community of APWA members. In the meantime, if you have questions please don't hesitate to email me at president@ancpwa.org. Warm regards, Kirsten Tschofen APWA President Anchorage Petroleum Women's Associaiton is delighted to announce that we have raised $21,514.19 for our 2019-2020 Non-Profit Partner, Challenge Alaska.
Outgoing President Amanda Dial & incoming President Kirsten Tschofen proudly showcase the check! The funds raised by APWA will go to help Challenge Alaska's current effort to build confidence and security, create an infrastructure for support, increase mobility, and improve health. Challenge has already used some of the funds to purchase lift passes for the Ski Program next year. This years' event, Boots & Bling: A Casual but Dazzling Event, was due to take place in early April and the APWA Special Projects Committee were well underway with planning when the impact of the Covid-19 virus hit Alaska. Determined to continue and not waste all the efforts of members, sponsors and over forty local businesses across Alaska who generously donated gift certificates, experiences and merchandise, the team decided to switch to a Virtual Auction online. Commenting on the fundraising effort, Kirsten Tschofen, incoming President of APWA and last year's chair of Special Projects Committee said, "The response to the virtual auction from our members, sponsors, and community partners who made bids and donated was fantastic and I am thrilled that together we were able to raise such a significant amount." Nate Boltz, Executive Director, Challenge Alaska said, "It has been an honor working with APWA for the past year. On behalf of Challenge Alaska's staff, Board of Directors, and participants, I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of the APWA members for your financial support as well as the time you have invested in improving therapeutic recreation opportunities for Alaskans living with disability. Thank you!" We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all our members, sponsors, and community partners who helped us raise the funds! APWA Members,
I hope you have all been able to enjoy the benefits of summer in Alaska. My family has ventured out to Eklutna Lake and Bird Creek Public use cabins to see how we like camping (verdict: yes!), and are happy to be eating delicious locally grown salads, herbs and veggies. Things are mostly quiet for APWA right now, but your new board is working behind the scenes to have everything ready to go in the fall. As part of this we will be shutting down some of our webpage for the month of July while we update them. We look forward to a grand reopening of the site in early August. We also continue planning how we can continue to provide social opportunities in the context of COVID-19. We are committed to following municipal guidelines and working together to protect each other’s safety at all our events and activities. As always, please feel free to reach out if there is anything we can help you with. As many of you will know, our membership chose Chugach Park Fund to be this year’s Non-Profit Partner. The Chugach Park Fund was established in 2017 to enable Alaskans of all abilities to experience the beauty of Chugach State Park by enhancing trails and facilities. From June 2020 through May 2021, APWA members will work to support Chugach Park Fund through volunteerism, fundraising activities, and by supporting promotion of their mission. To this end, we are happy to share with you an update on all of CPF’s activities. One of the ways we can support our partners is by raising awareness of the work they do, so I encourage you to share with your friends and family. In the future you can look forward to reading their updates on our website. We look forward to seeing you in a safe way in the fall. Warm regards, Kirsten Tschofen APWA President A big shout out to the 2019-2020 APWA Board of Directors! Thank you for all of your hard work this past year! The APWA board is all volunteers that meet monthly to help coordinate activities and keep the organization going!
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