Marco Island Woman’s Club Celebrates Women’s History Month

St. Patrick’s Day was the theme for the March Meeting of the Marco Island Woman’s Club (MIWC) as we celebrated Women’s History Month. MIWC President Maureen Chodaba welcomed members and guests at the Naples Lakes Country Club. Shirley Thayer led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and God Bless America.

Chodaba invited Carol Schwalje to the podium to give the invocation, thanking God for the gifts of this life. 

Many thanks were given to co-chairs Debbie Rosen and Christina Wergiles for their efforts in making the Fashion Show a great success. 

Hostesses for the March Luncheon were Tammy Barstow, Rita Coyne, Carol Ann, and Stephanie Kahn. The 50/50 was managed by raffles chair Christina Wergiles and Joyce Frame. 

As a part of celebrating strong women, we honored the past presidents of the MIWC. Their leadership and dedication to the club helped to make MIWC the strong club that it is today. Receiving recognition were Judy Kenney (2007-08), Arleen Soldano (2008-09), Sue Purvis (2010-11), Sharyn Kampmeyer (2012-15 and 2023-24), Penny Weidner (2015-2016), Debbie Rago (2020-21 and 2021-22), and Barbara Malta (2022-23). Absent but also recognized were Susie Berenzweig (2012-13), Christine Koppel (2018-19), and Sue Ellen Welch (2019-20). 

Joyce Frame introduced new member, Shiva Neyestani. Shiva is looking forward to meeting our members and participating in club activities. 

Carol Schwalje introduced Rebecca Mazeroski from the Marco Island Historical Museum. In keeping with Women’s History Month celebrating Marco Island Women, Mazeroski focused on the life of Tommie Camilla Stephens, aka Tommie Barfield, who came from a large family. She married James Barfield when she was just eighteen and he was thirty-nine. 

Tommie Barfield was unusual in that she was a strong woman who enjoyed her career as a plantation owner, hotel manager, postmistress, superintendent of education, lobbyist, politician, beekeeper, and exporter of citrus candy, honey, fruit, and other fare. She had a major impact on Marco Island. 

A Girl Called Tommie: Queen of Marco Island, by Elizabeth Perdichizzi and Katherine S. Kirk is available at the Marco Island Historical Museum or on Amazon. The book features unique photos from the Katherine Kirk Collection. 

MIWC welcomes all women who live on Marco Island, full-time or seasonal, whether you own or rent, to join us in fellowship, friendship, and fun! We are a service organization that knows how to make a difference in our community. Come join us! For more information, please visit https://marcowomansclub.com or contact miwcel@gmail.com.