Reflections & Inspiration

Reflections

Spring is generally acknowledged as a season of renewal. Nature blooms as new leaves on the trees and colorful flowers in gardens. Animals wake up from their hibernation naps. We ourselves venture outside more as the weather warms up and as the sun graces us with more hours of light. Why, you can almost hear the birds singing and the bees buzzing! Well, there were no birds nor bees but April flowered with the in-person return of the Women2Women Conference & Expo! A crowd of over 300 people attended the day-long event held for the first time at the Santander Performing Arts Center in downtown Reading. The Conference featured speakers covering a variety of topics and the Expo was comprised of over 40 vendors from local non-profits, W2W sponsors and woman-owned businesses. The energy that day was amazing! It was so great to reconnect with this community of women as well as meet new individuals with whom relationships will surely blossom. Be sure to check out the recap of the event and keep your calendar open for next year (especially if you missed it). Overall, it was a day of inspiration, learning and…yep, you guessed it, RENEWAL! So, if Spring is about “renewal,” what word describes Summer? I mean other than “hot” or “sticky.” Well, I think you will find the Summer issue is about NOURISHMENT. “Nourishment” is substance required for growth and health. In this issue, we provide nourishment for you… …with connections you can make at the GRCA Chamber Picnic …with inspiration from Woman2Know and 2022 ATHENA recipient Christi Terefenko …with education about the importance of food issues and resources in our community …with adventure that comes from travel …with knowledge that You Can Do It plus so much more! You will find that many of the articles in this issue are from W2W Contributing Writers. It is important to us to offer nourishment to the many voices in our community by giving individuals the chance to write about what they know and in turn, help the rest of us learn from them.

In providing nourishment to each other, we fill the community and ourselves. Learn a new skill, make a new friend, read a new book, reconnect with family and old friends, travel to a new place or volunteer for a new cause. Whatever you do, make Summer your season of nourishment and be full!

Kirsten P. Haas Executive Director, Girls on the Run Berks County Managing Editor, W2W Magazine Inspiration

Ihad the privilege of interviewing the Summer Woman2Know and 2022 ATHENA recipient Christi Terefenko for this issue. During our conversation, she cited her mother as being her source of inspiration. And as clichéd as it may sound, I am also inspired by my mother. My mom was a stay-at-home mom for all of my childhood. But make no mistake, she was an OG Woman2Know. She ran the household; my dad was in the military so when he was deployed elsewhere, Mom did everything by herself. I mean pay the bills, maintain the house, mow the lawn, get my sister and I to school and so-on. Yet she found time to volunteer as a room mother at school; as a Girl Scout troop leader; and taught CCD at our church. My mom was politically active, making phone calls on behalf of candidates (no robo calls in the old days!) or canvassing neighborhoods with information. My mom was an RN and although she did not work officially, she was the neighborhood “witch doctor” on call when one of us kids fell off a bike or stepped on a nail. She was equally talented as a classical pianist and a part-time bookkeeper. As I left home to make my way in the world, I realized just how much she really gave me. Not merely in terms of practical knowledge and encouragement but also in understanding the importance of sharing yourself with the world. My mom passed away eight years; May is a hard time for me. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of something she said or did that influenced me, my words, my actions. Mom is my inspiration, always. My Woman2Know.