WCA has had a great impact on my life

It can enhance yours as well!

By Iris Shur, WCA Member

How many of you moved to Naples not knowing a soul?

Well, I did, in 2000. At first, I just wanted to “chill out,” having been very active in organizations “up north.” That lasted two weeks. After that point, I cried to my husband, “No one is knocking on my door!” I realized that I would have to jump back in and find activities to meet people and make friends.

One thing I did was join Brandeis and then, when Brandeis closed shop in 2008, I joined the newly formed Women’s Cultural Alliance (WCA). WCA started small with about 250 members — small, that is, in comparison to our current membership, which is more than 1,100! (Pre-pandemic, there were nearly 1,400 members.)

Initially, I was just an attendee. The short story group appealed to me because you didn’t have to read an entire book to participate. We had a very knowledgeable moderator and the women in the group were articulate and engaging. It was a good way to connect with people. I was also active in the play reading group and attended some art history programs. I love playing canasta and Canasta Day remains one of my favorite WCA activities.

Rhonda Brazina (left) and Iris Shur work on the next Women of Wonder (WOW) event.

More than 10 years ago, I had an idea. At the time, I was writing a column for the Naples Daily News called “The Shur Thing.” I had always loved writing, but my career as an audiologist did not afford me time to write creatively. When I retired and moved to Naples, I had time to concentrate on writing. Maybe, I thought, there were other members of WCA who liked to write, who didn’t have an outlet for their writing.

Eventually, with the help of WCA member, Estelle Rauch, we came up with the WCA Salon, patterned after the salons held by Gertrude Stein. The first annual Salon was at Federation. Not only did we have 15 women read their prose and poetry, but we also had a violinist, and of course, wine and cheese at intermission.

Over the years, we had to move The Salon to a larger venue as more than 100 WCA members attended the annual event. We held The Salon for nine consecutive years, during which we had several wonderful musicians and singers and about 70 writers, not to mention great homemade baked goods that were added to our wine and cheese offerings. It was a lot of fun, but I always like variety in my life, so I came up with another plan – WOW.

Participants in The Salon, 2019

No, WOW isn’t a word, it’s an acronym for another idea called WCA Women of Wonder. Rhonda Brazina and I developed and produced this new program designed to highlight the accomplishments of some of our members. We felt that, among 1,100 members, there were many women who had interesting careers, fascinating hobbies and life experiences they could share with the membership.

At the same time, it would help us get to know each other by talking about our areas of expertise. We had 12 unbelievably interesting speakers come forward for the first annual WOW event, and all who attended were most enthusiastic.

So, where’s the second event, you ask? Ask COVID. We decided to skip 2020- 21 and wait to produce another WOW event when we could do it in person. So, sometime in January 2022, we hope to produce another WOW program. If you have a career, a hobby or a passion for almost anything that you would like to talk about, we want to hear you. You’ll get five minutes to WOW us with your discourse!

About six months ago, I was thinking again. Dangerous! I had discontinued The Salon for the time being and thought about how else WCA could provide a platform for member writers. Eventually, I came up with WCA WORDS. Maureen Schaab is my sidekick for this project and lends her computer expertise to help me publish this WCA online literary journal. We have already published four issues, with articles from 31 members!

Participation in WCA Women of Wonder and WCA WORDS is for WCA members only. So, if you are not a member, why not join and participate in these offerings in addition to all the other events, groups, speakers, movies, etc. that WCA offers?

WCA has many programs that appeal to my sedentary nature. But, if you are more energetic, WCA also has activities like chair yoga, golf, bowling, biking and birdwatching. Check them out under “Groups” on the website. If horseback riding, skateboarding or synchronized swimming are your passion and you can fi nd interested members, WCA might consider offering those activities, too!

You can bring your talents to WCA. The organization is open to ideas you might have for programs that will not only enrich the membership but may have a positive impact on your life as well.