Honor our Veterans – 

President’s Special Project 2026-2028

 By Kim Montag

I have been finalizing my Honor our Veterans project in the past few months.  As our clubs plan how they will participate – please remember it can be something as simple as preparing a meal – just something that shows you recognize and honor their service.

The important thing is to report your projects that Honor our Veterans along with your other project reports in February.  We need the reporting so we can track what we have done in support of my project.

At the GFWC MT Fall BOD Meeting we reported that $640 had been collected selling my Honor our Veteran pins and those funds were sent to Operation Juliet as our first donation to them.  I would like to raise at least $3,000 to support them over the next two years.

We showed a video from the Military Women’s Memorial (MWM) at the fall meeting -here is the link to the video on YouTube -  https://youtu.be/Pusae9_yaE0

This is another organization I want us to support.  I am challenging our clubs to meet the Square Foot Society Challenge by contributing $330 – which represents a penny for each of the 33,000 square feet of the Memorial to help sustain and advance the efforts of the Military Women’s Memorial.  You will each receive a commemorative coin and certificate of appreciation for your donation. I would like to achieve at least 80% participation and we had four clubs complete the challenge at the Fall Meeting.

I sent a letter to all GFWC MT Club Presidents describing this donation and included a pledge form for you to complete when you send in your check. As the form indicates you will need to send all checks to me so I can send to my contact to track how we are doing to meet or exceed our goal of 80% participation.  We have 21 clubs including the State level, PDQ’s and TOPPS - so to meet the 80% goal we need to raise at least $5,544. As we move along through this project I am sure I will find other veteran related organizations to support.

The MWM also has a Register that records and preserves the names, service information, photographs and memorable experiences of each registered servicewoman.  GFWC International has set a goal to add 500 military servicewomen to this Register. Your clubs could also help achieve that GFWC  goal as well. Just visit the MWM website https://womensmemorial.org/ and click where it says Support and then Register HERstory for more information on this.

What Club Does Not Have An Undiscovered Leader

Let’s discover them and send them to LEADS

Applications are due to Kim Montag, GFWC of Montana President by Marsh 4, 2027 for 2027 Applicants.  Attached is a fillable application – start now to identify candidates.

About the LEADS Program

The GFWC Leadership, Education, and Development Seminar (LEADS) identifies GFWC members at the local level who have the potential and desire to assume leadership positions in their State/District of Columbia Federation, and/or GFWC on the national level. Participation in GFWC LEADS can help up-and-coming leaders gain the capabilities, confidence, and commitment necessary to pursue and achieve higher leadership roles or offices and serve with distinction.

GFWC LEADS is held annually on the day prior to the official opening of the GFWC Annual Convention.

The program may include the following:

•     Overview of public speaking, time management, vision casting, and conflict resolution.

•     Explanation of GFWC resources, materials, and assistance.

•     Outline of GFWC policies, parliamentary procedure, and protocol.

•     Discussion of tips and techniques for pursuing personal growth and developing leadership opportunities.

One attendee from Montana is eligible to participate in the annual GFWC LEADS program. That means one in 2027 and one in 2028.  GFWC demonstrates its commitment to training leaders by funding a portion of the expenses for candidates and GFWC Montana provides an additional $500 to our LEADS candidates to help defray their expenses.  The candidates are asked to be responsible for a portion of their expenses as an affirmation of their personal commitment to leadership development and training. The candidates club or district might also assist with funding. LEADS participants are responsible for making their own travel and lodging arrangements.