Pictured above at the April Presentation of Grants reception are: Bettie Weiss, Charmaine Rogers, Kathy Nobis, Vicky Lorelli, Ellen Rauch, Shareen Khatapoush, Janet Booth, Marianne Wetzel (behind Janet), Kim Holmquist and Theresa Harris.  Other members are Christine Hoehner, Robin Riblet, Dana Hoffenberg, Eden Slone, Betsy Teeter and Karen MacDonald.

Group Captain Marianne Wetzel filled us in on her motivation to begin a new Women’s Fund Group. Marianne recently joined the Women’s Fund Membership Committee as the New Member Liaison. In that role, she will be contacting each new member to welcome her and answer any questions about the Women’s Fund.

Why did you join the Women’s Fund? I like the concept of giving to the community in which I live, and I thought the idea of pooling our money was ingenious. It really allows us to make a significant impact to help so many organizations within our community.

What inspired you to create your group? I first joined the Women’s Fund in May 2015, when I became a member of a group with over 40 members. Later that year, I had an epiphany that I could create my own group and decided to try to gather 10 or 11 women to join me.  In less than six months, we totaled 16 members and hope to reach 20 by December. It took some work on my part and on the part of others, but as more members joined, friends of theirs and new acquaintances of mine reached out and asked to become members, too.

What is the significance of your group name, Angels Among Us? I have always loved angels, and the name stuck in my head when I was thinking about creating a new group.  I suggested it to our members, and they were in favor of it, too. Long story short, I did a little research online and was surprised to find there was a song named “Angels Among Us,” written by Don Goodman and Becky Hobbs, and sung by the country group, Alabama.   became hooked on the lyrics and found the message very fitting for our purpose.   played the song for everyone at our voting meeting in March.

How often do you meet or do you plan to meet? To date, we have met just twice: once for the group voting meeting in March and once after the Presentation of Grants Reception.  We decided to stay and socialize. Eight of us attended the voting meeting, but just five were eligible to vote, because the other three present joined after the first of the year and are not be eligible to vote until next year, but wanted to understand the process. Other group members who could not be present sent us their ballots by email.

We were very fortunate to have Irene Stone, Head of the Research Committee and Nan Bedford, Captain Liaison of the Membership Committee, join us at the meeting.  ince we were all new members, they thought it would be helpful for us if they attended, and it sure was. They answered lots of questions and provided great information. 

It’s not easy to get us all together, but we’re hoping to have a summer social, so we can keep in touch with each other before the October site visit.

How does your annual voting process work? Since this was our first voting meeting, we decided to use the regular “majority wins” system. Each woman filled out a ballot and, as Group Captain, I tallied them. Two of the candidates on the ballot received the same number of votes, so we voted again to try and break the tie. Success!  Next year, we might give some consideration to a weighted system.

What is the one thing you would like people to know about your group? Our group is very diverse in our ages, backgrounds and current lifestyles. We range from women in our 20s to women who are now retired, and everything in-between. Some have lived in Santa Barbara for years and others are fairly new to the community. It makes for some good discussions and different perspectives.

What are the qualities that make you a good group captain? I like to rally people and get them interested in things.  I try to encourage our members to share their thoughts and perspectives. I am a good organizer, and I always try to follow through with what I say I’m going to do. I like the creative process of generating, developing and communicating ideas, and I guess that led me to form a new Women’s Fund group.

Anything else you would like us to know about Angel Among Us? All 16 of us are proud to be a part of the Women’s Fund and excited about the year ahead.