Illinois Federation of Business Women’s Clubs, Inc.
101st Annual State Convention, April 29-30, 2023
Call to Convention
Greetings, Sisters. I can’t believe it’s convention time already. It seems as though it was just a few months ago that I was being installed as your President. The executive team has continued to move the goals of IFBWC forward and has also been fighting to keep the state functioning amid dwindling membership and the aftereffects of post-pandemic hardships.
I’m happy to announce that we are having the convention in person again this year. Therefore I, Carrie Perkins-Schnicker, IFBWC State President 2022-2023, with the approval of the Executive Committee, hereby issue the Call to Convention for the Annual State Convention to begin on Friday, April 28, 2023 at the Holiday Inn and Thelma Keller Convention Center, 1301 Avenue of Mid America, Effingham, Illinois.
Pursuant to Article XVI, Section 2, of the Federation Bylaws, any member in good standing may attend the Annual State Convention and vote. The executive team has voted this year to make sure everyone who wants to attend the convention can afford to be there, so therefore we will have no registration fee this year. That’s right; there is no cost to you to register and attend our April convention. You will be responsible for your meals and a hotel room if you choose to stay overnight. I encourage all of you to attend as we will be discussing the future of IFBWC and voting whether we will be able to continue this organization or begin the process of Dissolution.
There will be a Zoom pre-convention Board Meeting on April 20, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. Convention this year will be a little different. In order to make this important convention accessible to as many members as possible, we are not having a business meeting on Friday evening. We are having a Friday Fun Day with registration, a trip to the Tuscan Hills Winery, dinner at TGI Friday’s, and the President’s Roast. The Executive Board felt that this would make it easier for ladies who were not planning on staying overnight to attend one day of important business on Saturday, and more importantly be able to cast their vote. In addition, the Saturday Business Sessions will also be available to attend by Zoom. We wanted to make sure that every member can attend either by Zoom or in person and can vote. We will also have the Celia Howard lunch Saturday at Noon, and the Installation Dinner on Saturday evening!
We do have a bylaw change up for discussion, and we will be voting on new officers as well. It will take at least a year for Dissolution if that’s what the members choose, and we have to have officers to do that. No matter what happens, President-Elect Natalie Shook has an exciting year planned and we will be installing new officers for 2023-2024 on Saturday evening. We have a fun evening planned with a Roaring 20’s Theme, and I really hope you plan to stay for that.
Lastly, I encourage all of you to attend this convention. We have a lot to talk about and probably the most important votes we’ve ever had. To vote, we need a quorum. And for that to happen, WE NEED YOU. I look forward to seeing you there!
Carrie Perkins-Schnicker
IFBWC President 2022-2023
Hotel Information:
Holiday Inn, 1301 Ave. of Mid_America, Effingham, IL 62401
Call (217) 540-7777 to make reservations. Code is IFB to get the rate with breakfast.
Sleeping rooms are available: Room rate is $149.00 for a regular room with 2 queen beds.
Block cut off of 3/28/23.
Floral Order for Saturday Night
Floral arrangements will be made with Silk flowers by Flower Girl. Orders is Due by April 24, 2023. IFBWC Convention Order Form.pdf
Illinois Federation of Business Women's Clubs, Inc (IFBWC) is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization.3309 Robbins Road #366, Springfield, IL 62704
