Club celebrates 44 years of friendship
By Denise Stewart
Making friends and enjoying good times with Scripps Ranch neighbors is an ongoing tradition of the Scripps Ranch Welcome Club. It has been 44 years since Becky McDonald finished her job with the Welcome Wagon. But Becky continued to inspire her contacts to keep meeting. She founded the Welcome Club, and members continue to benefit from the companionship of their neighbors. Becky is still an active member of the club.
Forty-four years have gone by, the community has grown, and the membership of the club has reached more than 120 members still enjoying outings to movies, plays and museums. Playing a variety of games, crafting, book reading and hiking are routine events for members to select from. Monthly Morning Coffee gatherings draw the ladies to tasty brunch buffets at members’ homes. These gatherings all celebrate friendship. At the end of this month, Ghean Maksimow will host the club’s Coffee.
The Welcome Club’s monthly membership meetings include a brief business session and programs that entertain the attendees. The meetings are held at the Scripps Ranch Community Center on the second Tuesday evening of each month.
Cecilia Waters, program chair, has filled the club’s spring meeting schedule with a variety of events that started with February’s Anniversary Celebration. A Bingo game with prizes made it a fun evening. The delicious refreshments prepared by Michelle Cyphers and Angela Piccillo added festivity to the celebration.
In January, several of the members took a Gadabout to Balboa Park to tour the newly re-opened Botanical Garden. After enjoying the flora, they savored lunch at the Prado Restaurant.
This month the Gadabout was to the Wild Animal Park. Lunch at one of the outdoor restaurants followed the tour of the lions, tigers and bears.
The day before the Gadabout, the hiking group toured the 6-mile Lake Hodges Boat Loop.
Coming up on March 1, the Theater Group will be sharing a potluck supper at Alan Binks’ home before going to the Scripps Ranch Theatre’s presentation of “White” at the Alliant University campus. The Welcome Club is a devoted supporter of the local art scene. Sharon Hays organizes the theater events for the club.
The website that is available for local residents to learn more about the events of the club is scrippsranchwelcomeclub.com.