Recently, Prime Time for Women held its first in-person Board retreat and strategic planning session and it was epic! Epic, as in awesome, great, and unforgettable. Every woman there had a chance to be seen and heard. And as I always say, when women are seen and heard…they inspire! Now it’s your turn. You are invited to share your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions through the Contact Page on Prime Time for Women’s website. We are stronger, together!

Do you enjoy being around people that are intellectually curious? I know I do! My intellectually curious friends, family members, neighbors, and co-workers emanate a positive energy, they sort of glow! Their spark of interest in the world around them is exciting and, honestly, I think it’s contagious. Their desire to better understand themselves and explore new opportunities inspires me! I feel jazzed by their enthusiasm to live life to the fullest. 

In my opinion, intellectual curiosity is demonstrated by:

• Asking more questions.  
• Admitting that you don’t know something.  
• Following where your interests take you. 
• Learning from other people. 
• Diversifying your interests.

I’m not sure if nonprofit organizations can be described as “intellectually curious” but if so, Prime Time for Women DEFINITELY is! On the last Saturday in January, Prime Time for Women held its first in-person Board Retreat…talk about positive energy! The meeting was attended by current Board members as well as women who had expressed an interest in being more involved in PTFW’s mission. Let me just say, “This was not a quiet, reserved group of women!” If it had been possible to convert the energy in that room, it could have supplied the entire country’s power grid for a year!

Most boards don’t invite nonmembers to retreats and strategic planning sessions, but Prime Time for Women is different in that way.  Prime Time for Women’s tagline is “Be seen. Be Heard. Inspire.”  And we mean it!  By inviting potential board members to our retreat, the leaders of PTFW, with great intention, were acting on the mission that guides our organization. We wanted to give the women interested in serving our organization an opportunity to be seen and heard! To share their ideas and to ask questions. To learn about their skills and how they would use them to help PTFW celebrate, connect and empower women in their prime.  Likewise, potential board members had the chance to hear from current board members and develop a better understanding of PTFW’s programs, who we serve, and how we improve physical health and emotional well-being through programs that foster positive social connections, challenge ageist stereotypes, and support healthy aging.

I’m not going to tell you everything we discussed…that would be a spoiler alert!  But I can tell you PTFW will continue to host Walking to Wellness, a weekly program, “Where Health Happens and Connections Matter!” as well as our monthly book club. PTFW will also be hosting more meetups, and fun spontaneous gatherings, including volunteer opportunities where we can connect as we make a positive difference in our community. We will also continue the monthly PTFW Newsletter with a new twist!  To give more women an opportunity to be seen and heard, we are inviting members to submit articles for consideration, which will be reviewed by our Newsletter Editor.  To submit an article, get involved, or share your ideas, visit our website. 

We ended the day with a delicious traditional African dinner prepared by Chef Carolyn Crosby of Harambee 54, who I had the pleasure to feature in “A Yummy Year: Cultures, Cooking, and Connections.” During dinner the ideas continued to flow, building on top of those from earlier in the day, one idea triggering another, storing energy like an ocean wave that will soon crash onto PTFW’s shore!  The ideas were amazing but, I know this is hard to believe, were actually surpassed by the camaraderie experienced by one and all!  Hey, that’s what Prime Time for Women is all about!