1954--- 2004 Fifty years. ...and what a great time it has been over those many years

The Pilot Club of Fort Myers was organized on April 23, 1954 (no wonder I have been involved-as the 23rd of April is my birthday. ...no, I won't mention the year, and no, I was not one of the wonderful Charter members)

Our Mother club was the Pilot Club of Tampa...

The Charter night banquet was held on  May 24, 1954 at the Gondola Inn, which was docked at the Caloosahatchee River on West First Street in downtown Fort Myers. I understand it was a real gondola. You had to walk a gangplank in order to get to the dining area where there were tables on each side of the gondola.

If you are looking for the Gondola Inn, go to Joe's Crab Shack on West First Street and use your imagination, as that is the present site

There were 22 Charter members and 24 guests in attendance. One of our Charter Members, Vera Campbell Milner is still living and is a Member Emeritus. She resides in Live Oak, Florida and celebrated her 98th birthday this past April and oh, how we wish she could be with us this evening.

Alan Robertson, Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, spoke on "Club Women in a Modern Community"

Now think back with me on that topic. At that time, Pilot International was known as one of the five women's service organizations. (We have seen the light... and now have many wonderful men as members) Can you imagine 1954, Fort Myers being a "Modern Community" in comparison to what it is today?

Continuing with a look backwards Charter night banquet was $3.00- our lunches at Johnny Shayes Restaurant were $1.50 and expenses to send two delegates to Pilot International Convention in Boston were $110. President-Elect Alison Hussey do you think you can attend the convention in St. Louis next July for $110?

On a National level, Three Coins in a Fountain won an Oscar. Fly Me to the Moon and Shake, Rattle and Roll were all top hits. The Boeing 707 was introduced, Ed Sullivan signed a 20-year contract with CBS and. Steve Allen began his hosting of the Tonight Show. Now how many of you can remember back when?

I am sure you are all waiting for me to read the minutes from every business and program meeting that has taken place over the past 50 years. I hope you won't be disappointed as "no way, 'Jose"'

However, I would like to highlight a few happenings of the decades.

Over the years, the Pilot Club of Fort Myers, Inc. has pioneered various community service activities. Many of which have become self-sustaining and a viable part of the community life. As each project reached the capability of being on its own, the Pilot Club has advanced to another project to further benefit the quality of life in the Fort Myers and Lee County area.

Jumping ahead several years. In 1990 Pilot International selected as its main service focus "Brain Related Disorders". ...to help improve the lives of people with such disorders. However, I believe those who were Fort Myers Pilot Club members back in the 1950's and 60‘s must have had some foresight in regard to the club's projects. They succeeded in raising the funds needed to pay for the first office of the Mental Health Association of Lee County. That money was then held in trust until the Lee County Mental Health Guidance Center, as it was known at that time, opened in 1969. Additionally, the Club provided transportation and paid physician's fees for Lee County School children who were in need of psychiatric and psychological evaluation to travel to Sarasota for consultation, as such services were not yet available in Fort Myers.

Our first fund raiser was selling 1,000 tickets to the movie "Conquest of Cochise". ...(how many have seen this on rerun?) Another early fund raiser was selling l00 cans of roach and ant spray. After all, if you could make $50, why not?

In 1955 the Club first started the Student of the Year award program at Fort Myers Senior High School. The project continued for 21 years. I was attending a luncheon a week ago at Florida Gulf Coast University and one of the women remarked to me how thrilled her son was when I presented, on behalf of the Club, his award to him in 1970.

The Club was very successful in selling fruitcakes... we really had a great reputation and had no trouble with sales. When one of our members, the late Skeet Durrance, the founder of the Singing Christmas Tree that was made up of young high school students, went to Washington to perform on the grounds of the White House, the Club sent a Corsicanna fruitcake to President Dwight Eisenhower. The cake was hand delivered by the Pilot International President Georgena Havelena. Not only did we send the fruitcake we assisted in paying the student's expenses. .

During the 1950's and early 60's only the men's service clubs attended the Combined Civic Club Luncheon, which was held annually during the Edison Pageant of Light Week. In 1962 the late Dee Skelly Gallegher moved that we participate in the luncheon (why should the men have all the fun?) The vote was unanimous, we attended yearly and then in 1969 we received the Most Humanitarian Award for the work we were doing in child guidance as related to mental health. We continued hosting the luncheon for three additional years. Roy Rogers was my luncheon partner one year .(no Trigger was not there)

We were the first to "pilot" and sponsor the Defensive Driving Course which was later taken over by the Safety Council. Recognition of the Law Enforcement Woman of the Year was a very rewarding way to say thank you to someone in our community for work well done.

The 1970's brought on more interesting years. Guest Speaker Jeanne Dixon who was nationally known for her predictions, spoke to a sell out crowd at the Exhibition Hall in January 1973 which netted the Club $1,628. That was a fair amount of money to raise in the early 70's . It's Ever so Nice Being a Woman was the theme of a program that we sponsored (remember, we were still an executive woman's service organization) . Then for a few years we sponsored the World's Our Little Miss Pageant a beauty and talent contest for young children. One of the local winners of the pageant, Lori Dixon, went on to become Miss Florida National Teenager in 1977.

During the 80's money was donated to the Girls Scouts for a new home, President Pat Limegrover , who was serving her first term as president was an Honorary Committee member for the Girls Scouts along with 1980-81President Dorothy Lord.

I am sure all of your know about the Florida Lovebugs that seem to appear in the months of May and September. We had our very own Lovebug Festival (even had the logo drawn and copywrited by Club member Fran Ohler). The festival helped to raise money for playground equipment for children with disabilities. The next year Lovebug Goes Country was the theme of the special event. Have you seen Lovebugs dancing in cowboy boots or wearing cowboy hats?

We supported, with both service and money, Multi-County Hearing Impaired Persons known as the McHip Program in the local schools. We also supported the Handicap Woman of the Year recognition with our winner, Edith Hanford, going on to win at the Florida District.

1985 found several of us, including District Governor Joan Stadsklev, traveling to Ibaque, Columbia, South America, a partner City to Fort Myers , to form a Pilot Club in Ibaque. What an experience that was , particularly having to try to translate the materials for Pilot from English into Spanish ...and really not speaking Spanish ourselves.

Over the years our club has extended and formed seven Pilot Clubs and it is wonderful to have representatives from two of those Clubs, the Naples and Fort Myers Beach Clubs with us this evening Thank you so much in sharing your friendship with us.

When Judy Vendrick, our immediate Past District Governor, was President of the Fort Myers Club in 1991we were part of the County wide program of Paint Your Heart Out. We had a house to paint and her husband of one week even helped us which was not too unusual for a spouse to do except Howard had told Judy prior to being married that he would support her with her Pilot activities with the exception of painting, which he detested.

It is amazing what love can do, isn't it?

The 90's just flew by. A new picnic table was built and Holiday parties were held for the Visually Impaired Persons. Playground equipment and a $10,000 multisensory room in memory of Lora Belle Hayes, a charter member, were donated to IMPACT. We received the Outstanding Community Service for a Civic Organization award. How honored we were to be recognized for our community service. Fundraisers included Las Vegas Night, just ask Diane Jensen anytime you need a great dealer for 21 or poker.

We started delivering flowers for Ruth Messmer Florists in the early 90' s and continue with this fundraiser as it is so much fun seeing the smiles on people's faces when you say "For You." And you know every organization has to have garage sales---thanks to Betty Wight we were always able to price items so they would sell.

Since the beginning of Pilot International in 1921 , there have been many Pilot International Conventions held in different locations in Florida, the United States and Canada.

On July 20, 1969, the PI Convention was held at the Sheraton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois and being president at the time, I attended as the Club's delegate. For those who know me, know I am a little "stuffy" about parliamentary procedure and believe all business meetings should be started on time, Well, PI President Marie Newton Sepia decided otherwise and for the first time the convention was late opening. Reason: an excellent one--- she felt that the entire convention body should watch Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin land on the Moon.

You can imagine the noise from the floor when approximately 2,000 women heard the words," that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." ( needless to say, I agreed that the opening of the convention should be delayed- parliamentary procedure or not)

"Realizing whatever a Pilot touches should be ennobled by that that touch" we continued into the new millennium with additional service to our community. Working with the Special Population, and watching the individuals bowl, swim and/or dance, just warms your heart realizing how much they are enjoying themselves. Presenting the "Brain Minders" program to lst and 2nd graders to teach them how to protect their brain. Donating a Gazebo to Lakes Park for use by the public and especially those with special needs are all wonderful service projects we are pleased to be able to be involved with.

Under immediate Past President, Carol Conway's, guidance and hard work we began what will be our signature fund-raiser with a breakfast and luncheon known as Keys To Success with Cathy Gross, a Fortune 500 Facilitator & Consultant as guest speaker. How proud Sally Cooper is to have both Carol and Cathy as her daughters.

And perhaps the largest undertaking in the 50 years of the Pilot Club of Fort Myers was helping the Pilot Scholarship House Foundation, Inc. and the Florida District Pilots with the planning, raising of funds and the construction of the Gresham-Kite Pilot Scholarship House at Florida Gulf Coast University.

The house opened August 23, 2003 where seventeen young ladies can live rent-free while obtaining their higher education. How nice to have Lisa Frederick and Joelle Robles with us this evening.. This was the third house that the Florida Pilots have built. The house at FGCU is named in honor of two of our long time and dedicated members, Frances Gresham and Barbara "Bobbie" Kite. We are also thrilled at the recent rededication and naming of the Scholarship House at Florida State University in Tallahassee in memory of our own LaVerne Weddle. The third house, which is at the University of Florida in Gainesville was named in honor of Mary Ellen Thomas, an outstanding woman in the Gainesville area.

We appreciate the "partnership" with NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) in helping to support their dinner/fashion show in order to raise funds for the Gresham-Kite Pilot Scholarship House

We began our Charter Night Banquet at the Gondola Inn, walking on a gangplank and fifty years later we have valet service and are at the delightful Gulf Harbour Golf and Country Club, located on what was a gladiolus farm in 1954---as Fort Myers was known at that time as the Gladiolus Capital of the World.

The friendships we have made among our members and the community which we have served for fifty years are truly "Golden".