202 CG women interested so far...

As of today, if I am counting correctly, 202 women have expressed interest in CGWLA. An e-mail just went out to those women summarizing our current status. If you expressed interest in CGWLA and didn't receive the e-mail, I apologize. I tried to be diligent, but someone may have slipped through the cracks. Just send me another e-mail and I'll add you to the list.

That said, we're going to try to shift communications to this blog for now so we aren't e-mailing so many people, and so that others can comment on what we are saying or doing. So, watch this site! Also, we are getting ready to stand up the website again, which is http://www.cgwla.org/. It's not up yet, but should be soon. We have one person working on it now, but will probably be asking for others to assist with content development.

In case you missed it, here is the e-mail that went out:


Good morning,
You are receiving this e-mail because you have indicated an interest in the Coast Guard Women’s Leadership Association (CGWLA).

On December 30, 2008, we began sending an e-mail to as many CG women as we could find, soliciting input on whether to disband or continue the organization. We posed two questions: (1) is there still a need for an organization dedicated to supporting CG women, and (2) if so, what things would best meet the needs of CG women? We asked that the e-mail be forwarded to as many CG women as possible, and gave a deadline of January 15, 2009 for responses.
Even though the e-mail went out during the holidays, we were flooded with responses. The nearly unanimous response is quite clear: there is a need for an organization dedicated to supporting CG women. Many of you shared experiences that you have had over the years. Many of you wrote that having another CG woman to turn to, or a role model, would have been invaluable during some of your more difficult times in the Coast Guard. Over 180 women have responded, and so far, only 4 have said that they do not see a need for this organization.

And so, for the great news: CGWLA is being revived!!!

We are inspired and motivated by the stories you have shared, and we are really excited to get this organization going again! Many of you had not heard of CGWLA before our e-mail, which is probably because CGWLA used to be focused on women in the Washington, DC area. But in this age of electronics, there is no reason for us to be geographically limited. And, many of the women who need the support of such an organization are women in isolated or remote areas who don’t have many women geographically near them to turn to. So, the new CGWLA will be a national organization, and will therefore (hopefully) be more relevant.

We have started a blog to keep you posted - you can find it at http://www.blogger.com/www.CGWLA.blogspot.com (***Please remember that right now, anyone can see what you post, not just CG women. We are looking at creating a more secure site for more private conversations.) We also hope to have our website up and running again very soon. We are currently talking with a webmaster so updated content can be loaded. With that said, there may be other forums that are better suited to exchanging ideas and supporting each other. Please remain flexible as the best suited avenue is found. If you have an idea of what might be a good way to do this, please let us know. We’re also looking for a few volunteers to run/oversee these various electronic avenues that are created. If you are good at these things and have time to help, please e-mail LCDR Roxanne Tamez by February 13.

Thank you again for your interest in CGWLA. More information will follow. Please keep the ideas coming. And, please keep passing the word about us so that we can include as many women as are interested in being a part of this.

Future information will be passed via the blog, and then our website (soon to be up and running) rather than by e-mail. If you have any questions, please contact any of the five organizers (listed below).

V/R,
CDR Heather Hanson, CDR Leona Roszkowski, LCDR Roxanne Tamez, LCDR Necia Chambliss, and YNCM Ann Tubbs

P.S. My apologies if I failed to send this to anyone who expressed interest. I think I captured everyone, but I may have missed someone with the flood of e-mails.