I am sitting on the veranda overlooking the Bay in Tampa, Florida at 80 degrees with a cold beer thinking of you in Chicago.  It does not get much better.

 

Marie Kuipers chaired the meeting.

 

Guests were Kristin Warnes from Winnetka Youth Organization and New Trier People;  Amy Skalinder, the new President of the Winnetka Community House; and Brian Schiller, Marketing Manager for the Winnetka Community House.

 

Birthdays and Anniversaries:  Chuck Norton’s birthday is December 4.  Roger Morris celebrated 47 years of Club membership and David Grant celebrated 22 years of Club Membership.

 

Announcements:  The Holiday Luncheon will be Thursday, December 19.  There will not be a meeting on December 26 and there may not be a meeting on January 2.

 

Our President, Marie, will be at the Woodfield Mall ringing a bell over a red kettle.  Call her if you are available and would like to join her.

 

Our guest, Kristin Warnes, told us that John Thomas is well on the way of the recovery path and will be rejoining us shortly.

 

Barb Tubekis thanked all the drivers of the Thanksgiving 150 grocery bags delivered to Good News Partners—Heidi, Rich, Laura, Bob and Rik.

 

Happy Bucks:  Marie went to the best party ever;  Fred Schwimmer happily announced that he is going to Florida and will miss the next 17 meetings.  He contributed $51 to cover his normal weekly contributions;  Chuck Norton gave $111.  He won the Chicago to Mackinac Race this past July.

 

Dig and Grin:  Eric Birkenstein entertained us with a nautical joke ending with “This is a lighthouse---Your call.”

 

Our speaker was Ann Latinovich who has a studio upstairs in the Community House.  She is a Portrait Artist.

 

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WHEN TAKING PORTRAIT PICTURES WITH YOUR MOBILE PHONE:  Hold the phone high when you take the picture.

 

Ann has always had an artistic bent.  She received her masters from the Art Institute of Chicago.  She worked doing some photography and painting but stopped in the early 2000’s when her three boys were born.  She resumed part-time in 2004 doing portrait photography.  Soon the business took off and she had two studios and more than enough work to keep her busy full-time, but not feeling truly in touch with her artistic self.

 

On September 5, 2016, she had a life event.  She had a heart attack.  It was a call from Destiny and it was the best thing that ever happened to her.

 

As she sat in the hospital room, she asked herself if she was really happy.  She decided to re-invent herself.  While she continued as a portrait artist, she went back to her first love-painting.  Her job as an artist is to capture the one thing about a person that cannot not be defined.  Painting allows her to capture and distill that essence and fulfill that need to touch her artistic self.

 

If a similar situation happens to you, make sure you listen when you receive that call from Destiny.