Wednesday, July 16
Emerging Leaders General Session
The third class of Emerging Leaders took part in a special program to hone their leadership skills within Soroptimist and in their business and professional lives. Throughout convention, the Emerging Leaders participated in various workshops designed to provide and nurture leadership skills in members who have a commitment to the Soroptimist mission, but have not held a leadership position beyond the club level. Workshop topics focused on public speaking, managing conflict, and running effective meetings.

Friendship Dinner
Convention officially kicked off with the popular Friendship Dinner. The dinner started with the Lion Dance, a traditional Taiwanese dance that originated almost a thousand years ago, where the performers wear a large colorful lion’s head and costume and mimic a lion’s movements. The purpose of the dance is to summon luck and fortune.

Following this dance was the Wedding Ceremony, a humorous look at a traditional Taiwanese wedding ceremony. The rest of the evening members dined and enjoyed a live band. Click here for photos.

Thursday, July 17
Opening General Session
The opening general session started with a video of the 2007-2008 federation board welcoming members to Taipei, followed by students from the Hwakang Art School in Taipei who performed a lively dance routine.

SIA was privileged to receive a visit from Taiwan Vice President Vincent Siew who welcomed members and guests to Taipei and wished Soroptimist a successful convention. He commended Soroptimists on the work it does around the world and hopes that members continue to help women beyond the borders of their own country.

In lieu of the traditional flag ceremony, Executive Director Leigh narrated a video presentation on the countries in the federation that also highlighted the important work and progress of influential women in each country. (Salute to Nations video coming soon).

Back by popular demand, Alison Levine served as keynote speaker. Team captain for the first American Women’s Mount Everest expedition, Alison shared lessons she learned while climbing the world’s highest peaks. Many of Alison’s experiences on the mountain became tenets she now follows at work, such as daring to move backwards in order to go forward, and making sure fear does not dictate decisions.

“Fear is okay,” Alison admitted to the group. “Complacency is what will kill you.” She also shared the power of partnering, portraying a positive attitude as a leader, and asking questions in order to achieve goals. Soroptimists can also relate to Alison’s Climb High Foundation, which draws parallels with Soroptimist’s mission.

The foundation helped build several new schools in Nepal and Uganda that now educate more than 2,000 students. The school in Masaka, Uganda, serves speech and hearing-impaired orphans living with AIDS, and provides education and room and board because the children’s learning disabilities prevent them from being accepted into most orphanages. Click here to watch video about the Climb High Foundation. 

Next, Soroptimist paid tribute to its major project, the Women’s Opportunity Awards, and recognized its 2008 recipients: Colleen Sword of Ontario, Canada; Joyce Snow of Annapolis, Maryland; and Mispah Evangelio of Aklan, Philippines—who was present to accept her $10,000 award.

Mispah shared her story and thanked Soroptimist for giving her this award. “When they told me I won and that I would have the chance to receive the award in Taipei, I was overjoyed. This is God’s gift, indeed. I am so very grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity...Thank you for making it possible to live my dream.”

In addition to these three women, 1,120 women received more than $1.3 million dollars from Soroptimists to help them achieve their dreams this past year. An astonishing 946 clubs (66 percent) reached out to local women in need, not just with money but with emotional support. Of 28 regions, 11 boasted 100 percent club participation in the Women’s Opportunity Awards program: America del Sur, Brazil, Desert Coast, Eastern Canada, Founder, Golden West, Mexico/Central America, Midwestern, Sierra Pacific, Southern, and Western Canada Regions.

Following Women’s Opportunity Awards recognition, SIA acknowledged clubs for the Annual Club Campaign. This year, 957 clubs contributed: 346 bronze clubs gave $500-$749; 39 silver contributed $750 to $999; and a record-breaking 159 reached gold-level status by contributing over $1,000. (List of all gold, silver and bronze clubs coming soon).

Thanks to all clubs that contributed; however some clubs and regions stood out. Exceeding all expectations, SI/Fukuoka-Minami (Japan Minami) contributed $10,876. Japan Chuo Region contributed $57,627, and Japan Minami Region contributed $57,572. Every club in Sierra Pacific Region contributed, with 89 percent of those clubs giving at recognition level. Korea Region also celebrated 100 percent participation for the second year in a row, with 50 percent of its clubs contributing at recognition level.

At the end of the session, Fund Development Council member Anne Rutledge announced the Purses for a Purpose drawing that would last throughout convention. Members could bid on more than 15 purses—donated by Taiwan Region, board of directors and fund development council members—containing high-value prizes such as pearl and diamond jewelry, a designer silk shawl, iPods, and a free trip to the 2010 convention in San Francisco, California. The drawing raised $16,000 for Soroptimist programs. Click here for photos.

Friday, July 18
Friday was dedicated to Soroptimist International. SIE President Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, SIGBI President Marguerite Woodstock-Riley, and SISWP Immediate Past President Lorna Mead all gave a short address.

SI President Margaret Lobo discussed the history of SI, including past and present Quadrennial Projects and December 10th Appeals. Following President Margaret’s address, Yvonne Machuk, SIA representative to the SI Strategic Planning Group, discussed progress towards the development of a much-anticipated SI Strategic Plan.

Carene Davis-Stitt, editor of The International Soroptimist, discussed SI’s quarterly magazine. Known as TIS, it shares what goes on in Soroptimist International and all the federations. It also reports on international programme issues and SI international projects. Click here for subscription information.

Violet Richardson Award recipient Cindy Berman, of La Jolla, California, was present to accept the 2008 finalist award, which recognizes young women for their contributions to make the community and world a better place. “I am so honored to be here today. I would like to thank Soroptimist women here and around the world for their support and encouragement of my project and their belief in helping others,” Cindy said. “Every woman here truly inspires me and I hope to have the chance to meet with many of you.”

Proficient in website design, Cindy established an online fundraising campaign for women coffee growers of Guatemala called the Amigos Para Siempre (Friends for Life) Micro-loan Campaign. The campaign is designed to help lift Guatemalan women and their families out of poverty. She received $2,500 to put towards her campaign.

This past year, 773 clubs (about 52 percent) participated in the Violet Richardson Award, and gave nearly $300,000 to girls and $130,000 in donations to the girls’ volunteer organizations, totaling $430,000.

Making a Difference for Women Award recognizes women who are working to improve the lives of women and girls. This year’s recipient, Anne Ream of Chicago, Illinois, was also in attendance to accept the finalist award—a $5,000 donation to The Voices and Faces Project,the organization Anne founded in 2003. Its mission is to give a voice and face to rape survivors, offering a sense of solidarity and possibility to those who have lived through abuse, while raising awareness of how this human rights and public health issue impacts victims, families and communities.

“Soroptimist is doing such important work, and to be recognized by your organization is indeed humbling,” Anne said. “It is good to be in the company of an international community of women who believe that we can, and must, work collectively to make the world a more fair, just, and safe place for women and girls.”

Next, clubs were given Soroptimists Celebrating Success! awards for best practices in the areas of public awareness, fundraising, program and membership. (List of Soroptimists Celebrating Success! winners coming soon).

Saturday, July 19
General Session
The highlight of Saturday was the trafficking panel in which a group of people came together to discuss sex trafficking and what Soroptimist clubs can do to stop it. Executive Director Leigh Wintz moderated the panel. Panelists included: Dr. Sandy Yeh, the President of the Board of Trustees for Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation and Associate Professor in the Department of Foreign Affairs Police; Chi jen Kuo, the Secretary General of the Legal Aid Foundation; Hui-Jung Chi is the Chief Executive Officer of the Garden of Hope Foundation; and Lori Blair, Soroptimist International of the America’s Senior Director of Program Services. Click for photos or watch video of the trafficking panel.

After an informational trafficking panel, other Soroptimist programs were featured. With Soroptimist’s Disaster Relief Fund, more than $500,000 has been disbursed to women and girls in need after disaster devastated their lives. Click here for more information about the Soroptimist Disaster Relief Fund.

SIA awards $175,000 each year through Soroptimist Club Grants for Women and Girls. These grant funds are made possible by the generous donations of Soroptimist members. Since the program began in 1997, $1.9 million has been awarded and clubs have assisted approximately 122,000 women and their families. Click here for a list of club grant recipients. 

Executive Director Leigh then gave a progress report on the Renaissance Campaign. Click here for a full update. And the Renaissance Club and Renaissance Regions were recognized. Renaissance Clubs are those that fulfilled all the requirements on the club award form. Forty-four clubs earned Renaissance Club recognition. Click here to view the list of Renaissance Clubs in each region.

Renaissance Region Awards recognize governors and their regions for their efforts to meet the goals of the Renaissance Campaign. Click here to view the list of Renaissance Regions.  

The President’s Award is given to the club with the highest net increase of regular members. The club that receives this award is commended for providing a membership experience that not only attracted new members but retained current members. With a net gain of 16 regular members, SI/Desert Tucson (Golden West Region) received the President’s Award, which President Nancy Colson accepted on her club’s behalf.

Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony was dedicated to thanking outgoing leaders, welcoming incoming leaders and meeting future leaders. SIA introduced its newest federation board members, region governors and fund development council members (click for photos). For names and contact info of new leadership, click here. President Machiko bid farewell (click for photos) and joined the ranks of the past presidents circle. Alice Wells was welcomed into her new role as SIA’s 2008-2009 president. Be sure to read about the new leadership in the September/October/November issue of Best for Women magazine.

About 200 emerging Leaders who successfully completed their program donned caps and gowns to be recognized as SIA’s next generation of leaders at a special graduation ceremony. Click here for graduation ceremony photos.

Approximately 778 members attended convention for the first time. Each first-time-attendee was entered in a drawing to win an all-expenses paid trip to SIA’s 41st biennial convention in San Francisco, California in 2010. Donna Johnson of SI/Calistoga, California (Founder Region) was randomly selected as the winner.  

Live Your Dream Banquet
The last official event of convention was the Live Your Dream Banquet, where members gathered to celebrate the close of another successful biennium with enjoyable entertainment and a delicious dinner. Click here for photos.

SIA’s 40th biennial convention in Taipei, Taiwan was a success and an event participants will remember for a lifetime. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2010 for SIA’s 41st biennial convention in San Francisco, California!