SHARE - Fall 2008 - (Page 15)

New national officers are (from left) Theresa Kocer, national secretary-treasurer; Anne Nelson, first vice national regent; Libby Ramirez, national regent; Joanne Tomassi, national regent-elect; and Shirley Seyfried, second vice national regent. New national directors pictured are Maryann Grabasky, Duchess Collins, Lorayne K. Zimmerman, Lois Nelson, Evelyn Saxton, Helen Arndorfer, Helene Shepard, and Janet Martineau. took my breath away. Our Colorado section was at the front of the banquet hall and at one point, I turned around. What a sight. A moving mass of wonderful women in patriotic colors waving flags in unison. It was magnificent.” It meant a lot to Anna that so many women made the effort to pack and wear clothing with patriotic colors. This was Anna’s first convention. “I thought the convention was very well organized and it was an honor to meet Catholic Daughters from all over the country. I thought the Living Rosary was especially beautiful.” How Anna became a Catholic Daughter is a good example of how Catholic Daughters can influence others by being visible and by simply being themselves – Catholic Daughters. “I heard (Colorado) State Regent Evelyn Irving speak during Mass,” Anna explains. “I was so inspired by her. She expressed herself with such warmth, conviction and animation. When I learned what the Catholic Daughters do in terms of charitable and spiritual activity and their involvement in Church and community, I knew I had to join.” Anna is the financial secretary and youngest member of her court. She plans to be a Catholic Daughter for a long time and is thinking about leadership. “Claudia Bosch was such an inspiration,” Anna says. “I look at her and others on the national board, and think, ‘why not?’” Karen M. Hurley was given the “Catholic Woman of the Year” award. Karen is the first woman from the United States of America to serve as president general of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations. It was clear when Karen stepped up to the podium that she is a woman who is on the international stage. She spoke eloquently and directly. She referred to comments made by Holy Father Pope Bendict XVI in a “letter to the bishops of the Catholic Church on the collaboration of men and women in the Church and in the World,” which he wrote as then-Cardinal Ratzinger. “….it is women, in the end, who even in very desperate situations, as attested by history past and present, possess a singular capacity to persevere in adversity; to keep life going even in extreme situations, to hold tenaciously to the future, and finally to remember with tears the value of every human life.” One thing you should do is start making plans now to be at the 53rd Biennial National Convention in Buffalo in 2010. The national officers are making preparations; you should do the same. Twelve-hundred of you came to the 52nd Biennial Convention. What if the organization sets a goal for 1600 Catholic Daughters at the 53rd Biennial Convention and you are part of achieving that goal? Wouldn’t that be remarkable? M. Joan McKenna with Shirley Seyfried during Installation Mass. New York State officers Mary Ziesig (left) and Patsy Gaven (right) pose with New York delagates during their 2010 Buffalo Convention skit. The Catholic Daughters of the Americas 15

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SHARE - Fall 2008

SHARE - Fall 2008 National Regent’s Message National Chaplain’s Message From the Editor’s Desk Mail Bag Book Corner CDA in Action National Convention Draws Record Crowd to Albuquerque Living as Women Embracing the Gift of Humanity A Tribute to the Retiring National Directors Vote November 4, 2008 Focus on Youth Anniversaries News & Notes People

SHARE - Fall 2008

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