White Dove F R I E N D S O F P A X L O D G E , U S A

WINTER 2019 NEWSLETTER 0 1 A NOTE FROM OUR CHAIR

BY: MARLENE LOGAN

I am so excited with our newsletter team. We needed to let those who visit Pax Lodge They are working together to get information from the USA know about us. Suzi Lenhart’s out to our donors, as well as our team and Pax daughter, Anne, created an eye-catching flyer Lodge volunteers. Our newest vice-chair, that could be given to the 1000+ EF Tours Maureen Lienau, has taken the lead with the visitors (or, at least, the 200+ adults), as well team that includes Kayla Quinn as editor as as those from the USA who attend summer well as Lee Rasi and Marty Allison. sessions. A huge thank you to Anne for all her time and creativity. There has been so much energy with our committee in the last year. The Gathering The Friends of Pax Lodge USA is off to a great was attended by 12 members—but we had start with meeting our goal for raising funds guests most of the time we were together. to support Pax Lodge. 2019 should be a We met our newest members and had a guest banner year. We also want to grow the who later asked to be a part of our committee. numbers on our committee so if you are WAGGGS staff and World Foundation board interested in being part of this amazing group members also attended. A lot was (or know someone who is), please let me accomplished. know. Happy 2019! -Marlene

FRIENDS OF PAX LODGE USA MEMBERSHIP

Marlene Logan, Chair, CO Sue Reimer, IL Mary Jane Meconi, Vice Chair, PA Karen Saenz, TX Maureen Lienau, Vice Chair, CO Ruth Sanchez-Way, MD Marty Allison, CO Susan Drew Thomas, DC Elizabeth Cline, Associate, CA Susan A. Yates, IL Sarah Edwards, AL Paula Schlumbrecht, Honorary Member, LA Katrina Forar, CO Linda Chartrand, Honorary Member, UK Mary Helen Horne, TX Yvonne Lowrie, Founding Chair, TX Barbara Johnson, AL Adrienne King, TX Suzi Lenhart, OK FRIENDS OF PAX LODGE USA Kathy Maxcy, NY Peggy McDaniel, IN Beverly Miner, OH Kayla Quinn, Associate, NC Lee Rasi, CO

0 2 MEMBERSHIP SPOTLIGHT Coming from all over the United States, the Friends of Pax Lodge brings together a diverse group of individuals who are here for the betterment of Pax Lodge. We asked one of our members some hard-hitting questions to find out more about those who represent the Friends of Pax Lodge.

Friend of Pax Lodge: Tell us about your Girl background: Katrina: I have been a Girl Scout since I was 6 years old, or for 39 years. As a girl, I did just about everything there was to do with the one exception being a Wider Opportunity. I was never able to travel when the trips were available. I earned Silver and then Gold Awards, Bronze was not yet available. For my Gold Award, I Katrina thought crafts to kids at the Mountlake Terrace Handicapped school in Seattle. The K continued: We did so many fun things kids were able to make a present for each together. I have also worked on the member of their family including Historians Committee in the Denver area themselves. Since my troop disbanded, I for 6 years. While preserving and earned my Gold Award as an IGM, now a documenting the historical items that came Juliette! I was one of only a dozen girls in in, I also helped organize a national the greater Seattle area to earn her Gold Historians Conference here in Denver in Award that year. Something I am very 2006. proud of!

FOPL: What about your experience as an FOPL: How did you get involved with the adult Girl Scout? Friends of Pax Lodge USA? K: I was a leader for 23 years. I worked with K: I joined Pax Lodge because of Marlene a group of underprivileged girls while Logan. In 2012, my daughter and I had the attending college. This was such a opportunity to travel to our first World rewarding experience. The girls loved that I Center, Pax Lodge. Unfortunately, we looked them in the eye and gave them the missed going with Marlene which would attention that they craved. These are the have been such a wonderful experience for girls whom Girl Scouts helps the most. I us. started a Troop when my daughter was a Daisy and it was a ton of fun to finally have a kid in the troop. 0 3 UPDATE: FALL 2018 GATHERING AT MACY

BY: MARLENE LOGAN, CHAIR

The Gathering at Macy last fall was amazing. There were 12 of our members who attended but we had a full room with our guests. We met our three newest members: Katrina Forar, Sarah Edwards, and Kathy Maxcy (see photo below). Leslie Stuart visited us and has decided to join our team. WAGGGS staff members, Kelly Taylor and Gillian Howell, joined us to brainstorm how we can get word out to visitors to Pax that we exist and that we are looking for USA donors and committee members (see next page). Too many visitors think that when they join the WAGGGS Friends of Pax Lodge that they are a part of our committee, so we need to make ourselves better known.

During the meeting we created 3 new sub- committees: the newsletter team, a recognition team (to formalize how members are thanked and remembered), and a team to focus on recruiting and training. Each team came up with their goals and will be putting their plans into action this year.

The rest of the Gathering was full of updates from WAGGGS, the World Foundation, GSUSA’s Global Girl , and the Olave Baden-Powell Society. The food was amazing, the silent and live auctions garnered over $45,000 for the WF operating fund, and the opportunity to renew friendships always makes the Gathering a value to all of us who support WAGGGS and Top: Silent Auction quilt made by Lisa Hinshaw. the World Centers. Bottom: Newest Friends of Pax Lodge USA Members; Left to right Sarah Edwards, Katrina Forar and Kathy Maxy. 0 4 UPDATE: FALL 2018 GATHERING AT MACY

A shout out to our special guests who joined Friends groups at the Fall Gathering.

BY: MAUREEN LIENAU

The Friends of Pax Lodge were honored by a visit from two prestigious guests – Gillian Harrow and Kelly Taylor from the World Association of and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) from the London office.

We spent a few hours working with them on what our Friends group would like to have from Pax Lodge and WAGGGS.

Suggestions include closer work with the Friends of Pax Lodge UK, more coordination on World Thinking Day, a QR code that can be scanned, and a pamphlet that visitors to Pax could use to donate or indicate their interest in becoming a Friend.

Because of the enthusiasm of this year’s Friends meeting, our guests stayed much longer with us, hearing our problems, listing solutions, and planning to meet those needs. We cannot thank Jillian and Kelly for spending so much time with us!

Kelly Taylor and Phylis Crook. Gillian Howell and Ann Marie Horner.

Want to join us next year at Macy? Join the Friends of Pax Lodge Committee! Email our Chair, Marlene Logan, at [email protected] to find out how! 0 5 UPDATES FROM PAX LODGE

FROM NICO NICHOLAS; WORLD CENTRE MANAGER - PAX LODGE

Pax lodge has had a really good year so far and We have made some great schools travel at September end (Quarter three) we had agent contacts which is helping to grow our hosted 6,748 guiding bed nights 2,434 of which midweek school residential market and one I were programme related. Our summer events am very happy to recently link with Britannia hit our target of 175 participants over 5 Students, a student accommodation group Journey through London events. that is bringing over Chinese school groups to London and the UK. This could be not only We have had 11,135 bednights putting us 100 very lucrative but also shouldn’t be impacted bednights over our budget for this time of negatively by any Brexit uncertainties. year, but we will notice a drop through the Looking into next year we already have a great quieter final 3 months needless to say we response to the summer events and hopefully expect to again hit roughly 13,800 bednights 3 more events through the year to be for 2018. announced .

A new family ensuite room has been added, which we see this as a great fit market for Pax lodge where we can really help families get to London for a reasonable price versus some of our competitors . So far this year these rooms have generated over £25,000 in revenue. With our third room up and running we expect to grow this market even more. You’ll notice the brightness of the room, just like other refurbed areas within the building we are trying to appeal to the kids while creating that link with the other World Centres. New family room at Pax Lodge.

New outdoor space. New en-suite room. 0 6 A LETTER FROM THE WORLD CENTRE MANAGER

Meet Darren "Nico" Nicholas, the World Centre Manager of Pax Lodge, as he tells us about his background in hospitality and how he has found continued passion in our London World Centre.

I always wanted to travel and see the world All these years later and even after a small as my older brother did so at the end of period working for my daughters school high school way back in ’88 I bought a and being a full-time rugby director, I find round the world one-year ticket, packed myself back doing what I really enjoy and my rugby boots, and off I went. that is managing a hostel that helps as many people as possible afford to come I have been working hospitality since I was and see the wonderful city of London. 16 from working in amusement parks to body guarding celebrities or working the So, why Pax Lodge? Pax Lodge door of massive New York City night clubs. encompasses all the people I have experienced working with in many I took a security contract at the Sydney different hostels all under the one roof, Olympics in 2000 and on the way back to schools, backpackers, families, business Colorado, I stopped in Hawaii and stayed in travellers, and all the Guiding and a bit of a rundown backpacker’s hostel. I Scouting community. It’s a challenge talked to the owners and made suggestions to keep everyone happy at times but it is a and they decided I should run with those location that everyone should be able to suggestions as the manager. I was very experience and enjoy and I really enjoy happy in a short time period to turn that trying to make that place around from a no go hostel to the happen. best on the island and to this day they seem to be going strong.

Once I moved to the UK I worked with the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) in some remote locations stopping for 5 years in the Surrey Hills, then took a contract in one of the best hostels in the world (5 star) the Sydney Harbour YHA, and from there went to Canberra YHA to manage a struggling city hostel.

Nico representing Friends of Pax Lodge at the GSUSA Convention in Columbus, Ohio. 0 7

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR 2019

FEBURARY AUGUST Event: World Thinking Day Open Days Event: Summer Event 4 Date: Feb. 22-24, 2019 Date: August 4-9, 2019 Location: Pax Lodge, London Location: Pax Lodge, London

M ARCH Event: Summer Event 5 E vent: Pax Lodge Birthday Program Date: July 18-23, 2019 Date: March 15, 2019 Location: Pax Lodge, London Location: Pax Lodge, London O CTOBER M AY E vent: Trefoil Special Week E vent: Helping Hands D ate: October 13-18, 2019 Date: May 5-10, 2019 Location: Pax Lodge, London Location: Pax Lodge, London Event: Friends of Pax Lodge UK Meeting Event: Jambrownee Date: October 19, 2019 Date: May 30 - June 2, 2019 Location: Pax Lodge, London Location: Pax Lodge, London Event: Annual Gathering J UNE Date: October 30- November 3rd, 2019 E vent: Summer Event 1 Location: Edith Macy Conference Center, Date: June 23-28, 2019 New York Location: Pax Lodge, London

DID YOU KNOW? JULY Event: Summer Event 2 As a member of Friends of Pax Lodge, USA, you Date: July 7-12, 2019 are qualified for a discounted rate when you Location: Pax Lodge, London stay at our London World Centre?

Event: Summer Event 3 Contact [email protected] to get your Date: July 21-26, 2019 discount on your next trip! Please note, this does Location: Pax Lodge, London not include accommodation for events.

0 8 2017-2018..

Friends of Pax Lodge USA made great strides this year & we can't wait for the next!

100%

of Friends of Pax Lodge USA members 3 new members joined Friends made of Pax Lodge USA. a personal donation to

Pax Lodge.

$27,025

3 was raised of $30,000 goal. FRIENDS $22,950 of that money celebrated over 20 years of will be used as a grant for the Young service. Women in Leadership Seminar being held at Pax Lodge in March 2019.

Want to join us in making a true difference for girls, guests and participants at Pax Lodge? Email our chair, M arlene Logan, at [email protected] for details about joining Friends of Pax Lodge OR you can donate directly to Friends of Pax Lodge USA by visiting our donation webpage: www.worldfoundationgggs.org.