News
Harmony 4 Women
Connie Norman brought a history of success to the direction of Harmony 4 Women, a new Central Oregon holiday chorus. Last year's event featured two acts of traditional and contemporary holiday music and was presented at Summit High School in Bend. The Harmony 4 Women event will be repeated this year on November 20, 2010. We hope to see you there!
2010 Woman of Inspiration - Cherie Skillings
The purpose of the Woman of Inspiration nominations is to highlight women in Central Oregon who have given of themselves to help and honor other women and families. The selection of the Woman of Inspiration from this incredible field is done by representatives of several women’s groups in the area, including WRCCO, American Association of University Women, Soroptimist, Network of Entrepreneurial Women and Central Oregon Showcase Chorus. Last year’s honoree, Patricia Stoneroad, introduced Cheri Skillings, outlining her incredible service to the community and support for women. Cherie Skillings has gone from being a high-risk teen parent with a home visiting nurse and extra WIC support to having a Masters in Counseling from OSU Cascades Campus in 2008, just prior to her 50th birthday. This mother of 5 has worked hard for those same high-risk families, at Head Start or 8 years, at Willows non-profit childcare center, and currently with MountainStar Family Relief Nursery. Her experience includes having a child with disability, adoption, and counseling other women in similar circumstances. She has been a trainer of head Start Staff, has taught at Crook County Community Coalition and Central Oregon Family Resource Center, has learned to be a childbirth doula, has learned Spanish to communicate with families of children in her programs, has volunteered at Healing Reins Therapeutic Riding Center and has served the Central Oregon community with grace, humor and love for many years. She has supported not only the children but the families with whom she has worked.
According to the nominating criteria, the Woman of Inspiration Hall of Fame recipient is a woman who, through her volunteerism, personal accomplishments and academic achievement, has excelled in one or more of the following areas: *A Woman Helping Others: She is a woman who inspires the personal and social growth of others, thus making our communities more hospitable to that growth. Her relationships with people as well as her proposals to create a better future for those people are marked by insight, generosity and a constructive approach. *A Woman Working Creatively: She is a woman who creates new patterns and connections, arrives at new insights, creates new opportunities, and maintains her creative work for a larger community in the face of both personal and social obstacles. *A Woman Taking Risks: She accepts challenges in order to achieve significant results, showing qualities of courage, perseverance, strength of character and good judgment. *A Woman Achieving Leadership in Business and/or Community Service: Her talents and hard work have led to personal achievements in business or community affairs, and her leadership has served as a role model for other woman.
Partners In Transition WRCCO has received numerous grants toward implementation of a new, exciting project, Partners in Transition. The project is aimed at offering the newly homeless families of Central Oregon 12 hours of transitional training, which focuses on helping the participants cope with and work their way through changes in their lives.
A good time was had by all who attended our Women of Inspiration Luncheon, celebrating women who do the most wonderful things in our community. Congratulations, again, Patricia...We are all richer for your words of inspiration and for getting to know you. We hope your were also impressed by our student speaker, Angie Parker...As she says, a “student of life”. You should get to know her...What a beautiful person she is! We are most grateful to our sponsors: Fox Hollow Independent and Assisted Living, and Premier West Bank (both managed by incredible women!) for their participation and financial support. Thanks, too, to our emcee, Kristi Miller (also a nominee) to BendBroadband for the amazing advertising, and to the table sponsors: Soroptimist of Bend, American Association of University Women—Redmond, Bend Area Habitat for Humanity, The Life Center, Whispering Winds Distinctive Retirement Lifestyles, and BendBroadband. We are thankful we had a room full of such amazing women (and men) and we hope you will all come support this event next year. Women in Central Oregon are so amazing. Photos of our winners and the placque with their names are set up in a "Hall of Fame" in our office. "Chick Flick - Dinner and a Movie" Evening: We’re planning to offer a chick flick evening each month. We’ll have a great time, food, and lots of sisterhood. Wear your grubbies or PJ’s, share some pizza, and enjoy a movie... Women's Resource Center Wish List: There are a few things we could really use around the Center. Please call with any questions, or for times to drop off donations. We appreciate any and all help!
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Ms. Skillings was introduced by 2009 Woman of Inspiration, Patricia Stoneroad, and will shared a bit of her experience with attendees at the luncheon on March 11. The other five nominees for this year’s Woman of Inspiration were Barbara Munster, Debbie Coehlo, Julie Hill, Kelly Fisher, and Melinda Ennes. Work of the Women’s Resource Center of Central Oregon was highlighted and a student speaker, Joy, who has benefited from Life Transitions training spoke about her journey. Kristi Miller, of Good Morning Central Oregon, was guest emcee the program. Proceeds from this event benefit the Women’s Resource Center of Central Oregon and its work with women and families in transition. Corporate tables were sponsored by AAUW of Bend and AAUW of Redmond, Soroptimist International of Bend, BendBroadband, Premier West Bank, MountainStar Family Relief Nursery and CORIL.
211 Information Line System: Need help? The 211 system is now in place in Central Oregon. You can call 211 as an information line from your land or cell phone. If you are in need of a special service, you just ask by category, and hopefully you will get the proper referral. You can also access this service online at 