Cynthia Lawder named CWC Woman of The Year
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Members of the Chester Women's Club and their special guests gathered at the fellowship hall of the First United Methodist Church in Chester on Friday afternoon for the Club's annual May Luncheon, the final meeting of the season.
The meal was served by Anne and Bill Ebers and Barb and Fred Fricke, consisting of quiche, Waldorf salad, muffins and lemon dessert. Tables were decorated with pink geraniums. Special guests were Jeanne Kleinschmidt and Eugenia Reid.
Following the luncheon, a club scholarship report was given by Mary Ann Stumpe. Aaron Grah and Chad Koenegstein, both CHS 2010 graduates, were recently presented with scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each. The alternate recipient was Rachel Young, also a CHS graduate. Letters of appreciation to the Club were read from both Grah and Koenegstein.
Betty Wagner reported that the Club's Senior Girls' Tea, held in April, had resulted in positive remarks from those in attendance. The Club plans to host the Senior Girls' Tea again in 2011.
Club Historian Cathy Sauer presented a history of the 2009-10 club year, closing by reading "Shining Armor" by Charles Kingsley. She also presented a three-year memory book to retiring president Cynthia Lawder.
A Memorial Service, in memory of the late Carole Thorne and Cleo Ebers, was presented by Gwendy Garner.
The highlight of the afternoon was the presentation of the Woman of the Year Award to retiring President Cynthia Lawder, who had served the club as president for three consecutive years. Another of the Club's past presidents, Joan Montroy, made the presentation. She called Lawder an unusually talented and exceptional woman with unique individuality. She stated that Lawder displays compassionate leadership qualities, and is always willing to "pitch in and help wherever she can".
Lawder is a graduate of St. John Lutheran School in Chester and Chester High School, following with college where she majored in accounting.
Cynthia Lawder is the wife of Shelby Lawder and, together, they have three children. During the early 1980s, when Mr. Lawder was a career Air Force officer and was assigned to the Pentagon, Cynthia worked for a lobbying firm. They later lived in Tempe, AZ where she worked as an accountant and was active in arranging social functions for visiting foreign dignitaries, including General Mikashfi and Colonel Osman of the Sudanese Air Force, General Gwo, Chief of Staff of the Taiwanese Air Force, as well as His Royal Highness Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn of the Thai royal family and Air Force of Thailand. The Lawders and the Crown Prince have remained friends through the years. Among the Lawders' extensive traveling, they have revisited Thailand on several occasions. The Woman of the Year has also traveled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, England, Scotland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Russia, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Egypt.
In addition to her very active membership in the Chester Women's Club, Lawder is also a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Chester where she serves as an officer. She's an active member in Beta Sigma Phi Sorority and the Chester Country Club, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors. She volunteers her time with the Chester Tourism Committee and has also worked to help establish the Chester Welcome Center.
The final order of the day was the installation of officers for the 2010-2011 club year. Serving as Installing Officer, Joan Montroy installed the following: President, Louise Liefer; First Vice President (Membership Chairman), Sharon McMath; Second Vice President (Program Chairman), Wilma Whittenberg; Recording Secretary, Tonya Robbins; Corresponding Secretary, Cathy Sauer; and Treasurer, Tammy Grah.
As the meeting closed, winners of the table centerpieces were Caroline Wylie, Jean Link, Barb Welge, Anne Rathert, Linda Sympson, Wilma Whittenberg, Joan Montroy, Betty Wagner and Joan Derringer.
The Chester Women's Club will resume activities with the Opening Meeting in September.