WFWP PRESIDENT VISITS OHIO
President Angelika Selle visited Columbus, Ohio, on December 3, 2011, and was greeted by the local leadership team: Gwenn Bair, Annette Yamakawa, and Kayo Masuda. They took her to lunch and had a brief meeting to inform her about the activities of the last several years. The purpose of her visit was not only to meet the Ohio WFWP members but to assist with finding a new leadership team. Kayo Masuda had been the Ohio chairwoman the last four years, with the assistance of Gwenn Bair, who held the chairwoman position prior to Kayo for 15 years.
The weekend started off with a wonderful dinner party at the Masuda home, with 13 women in attendance. Each person was able to meet Mrs. Selle, embrace her, and listen to what she shared. She went over the PowerPoint about WFWP USA's activities, direction, and vision for every community. The night ended with a fun raffle, in which even the president won a prize!
On Sunday, Mrs. Selle was introduced to the Unification Church faith community and then had lunch with key members. Following lunch, about 40 people gathered to listen to her presentations on Women of Spirituality and Healing, entitled "Tune In to Tune Up," and an introduction to WFWP USA. Many participants were excited about the new changes and were reinspired to work with WFWP. After the presentations, seven women expressed interest in helping with the Ohio WFWP leadership. Susan Nishio voiced her passion and feeling of being called to the position. Sue Young said she felt reconnected and reinspired after hearing Mrs. Selle's talk. Both women agreed to be co-chairwomen for the Ohio Chapter, with a suggested three-month trial period. Another lady, Gloria Laurent, agreed to be the liaison to the Japanese sisters. After this fruitful meeting, a trinity leadership group formed for the WFWP Ohio Chapter.
The night ended with a wonderful meal with Annette Yamakawa, Sue Young, Susan Nishio, the Bair family, Kayo Masuda and her husband Hiromitsu, and Ohio pastor Rev. Mike Lamson and his wife Viveka. The night was filled with laughter and satisfaction for a successful weekend. The Ohio community was touched and felt that Angelika brought fire back to the community!
Kayo Masuda stated, "We also want to congratulate Susan Nishio and Sue Young for taking the co-chairwomen positions. I also want to express how deeply grateful and honored I am to have worked with Gwenn Bair. She has been on my side every step of the way, and I could not have done this without her. I was humbled and honored when Alexa Ward and Gwenn appointed me to be the first young lady to take a WFWP chairwoman position, and I just want to share that I loved learning and getting to know each of the women from WFWP. Gwenn has become a second mother to me, and we have a wonderful relationship.
"Thank you and congratulations to Gwenn for all her hard work the last 20 years and her amazing support. Thank you to Annette Yamakawa for always being so supportive and keeping WFWP alive with her ideas and inspiration. We could not have done anything without her volunteerism and love for WFWP. I highly encourage each chapter to assist young women to take leadership roles and work with one another. It is truly a rewarding and life-changing experience."