Greetings and sincere wishes for a most Happy and Healthy New Year !

It’s hard to believe that it is really 2014 already. How fast time flies. As this is the time of year we traditionally look back on the previous year to assess what was good, what was not so good, and what could be better in the upcoming year, I could not help but reflect on some of the incredible things we have done as a division.

We were fortunate to have our Chaplain, Father Hand, celebrate three masses for us – Our St. Brigid Mass in February followed by a well -attended luncheon at the Erin Pub, the Our Lady of Knock Mass in August, and a special Mass of Remembrance in November for all those we have lost. Our first division rosary in May surely bestowed even more blessings upon us. Much thanks to Bernice, our wonderful Catholic Action Chair, for all of her hard work this past year.

St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated with parades in both Springfield and Philadelphia, where we donned our new division jackets and publicly displayed great pride in our Irish heritage.

In April, we were thrilled to have our sister Brittany selected as the 2013 Philadelphia Rose of Tralee and go on to represent Philadelphia at the International Rose of Tralee festival In Ireland in August. She made us so proud, and her four LAOH “sisters” that were lucky enough to travel to Ireland to cheer her on, will certainly never forget the experience. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our sister Sarah who heads the Philadelphia Rose Center.

We had a good turnout at Rose Tree Park in May for the annual “Walk for the Wounded”, which supports wounded veterans and their families. Coreen did a great job designing and ordering us shirts for the event, and Mo even managed to get our picture in the Delaware County papers.

A fun time was had by all who attended the Phillies fireworks night in July. Once again, Ruth stepped up to the plate (pun intended) to coordinate.

The July” barbeque” meeting was also quite a success thanks to Brigid and her husband, Kevin( our cook). I think this could definitely become an annual event. And I would be remiss if I did not mention the wonderful history lessons Brigid prepared throughout the year as well.

Later that month, our Division was well represented at the PA State convention in Pittsburgh due to our faithful convention attendees – Serena, Frances, Ali, and Mo, who so generously gave their time and treasure to meet with our sisters throughout the State.

In August, thanks to Coreen, several of us were CPR certified. Hopefully, none of us will ever have to use it, but what greater Christian Charity is there than saving a life.

In November, your generosity towards our “adopted” children was truly overwhelming. Seeing the bags full of gifts ready to go to the Delaware Valley Children’s Charity was one of the highlights of my Christmas season. I am so grateful Janie was able to coordinate this for us.

In addition to all of this, in no small part due to our block pool run by Diane, we were also able to make generous cash donations to some of our favorite charities – Project St. Patrick, the Mothers Home. St. Vincent de Paul, and others. Our treasurer Mickey made sure all of this got done.

Well. I have rambled on about what I think was good; the not so good I would just as soon leave in 2013; but what we can do better, I leave to you. Come to a meeting and share your ideas. Together, we can accomplish great things.

I am excited to begin the second year of my term as your division president and hope you are all ready to make this our best year ever. But it will take ALL of us. I feel truly blessed to call each of you “sister” and hope you know what you have meant to me, especially this past year. Even when we are not together, you are always in my thoughts and prayers.

Yours in Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity,

Carolyn