Blog Events Join Us Grants & Programs Latest Posts2019 August Book CommentaryAugust 2, 2019Donated Book – Now available at Samuels Public Library Front Royal Women's Resource Center and Royal Oak Bookshop co-sponsor donations to Samuels Public Library that are by or about women. Nan Hathaway, Book Donation Sponsor & Coordinator, chooses our books each year. Thank you Nan! We highlight one of these books every third week each month. Our 2019 Book Reviews and Commentaries are provided by JoEllen McNeal. Thank you JoEllen! Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion By Michelle Dean Named by NPR and a New York TimesEditors’ Choice as Best Book of the Year, Sharpis the story of ten women writers who have all been called “sharp” over the course of their careers. Mixing biography, literary criticism, and cultural history, Dean writes about Dorothy Parker, Rebecca West, Hannah Arendt, Mary McCarthy, Susan Sontag, Pauline Kael, Joan Didion, Nora Ephron, Renata Adler, and Janet Malcolm – and how these women thrived in a time when criticism was, and in many ways still is, considered the domain of men. “That these women achieved what they did in the 20thcentury only makes them more remarkable,” Dean writes. “They came up in a world that was not eager to hear women’s opinions about anything” These ten women are united by what Dean calls “sharpness,” the ability to cut to the quick with precision of thought and wit. Sharpis a vibrant depiction of the intellectual climate of twentieth-century New York, where gossip-filled parties at night gave out to literary slugging-matches in the pages of Partisan Review or the New York Review of Books. It is also a passionate portrayal of how these women asserted themselves in a climate where women were treated with extreme condescension by the male-dominated cultural establishment. Although the book focuses on strong, opinionated women, Sharpis not about women who were loud-and-proud feminists in the way we seem to like public women to be now. Arendt was steadfastly against feminism until her dying day. Parker, West, Sontag, Kael, Ephron, and Malcolm were all more comfortable with the label, though they wavered. Throughout the book, however, Dean points out that there is room, in this deep ambivalence about feminism, to take away a feminist message. Dean writes, “It is not only commonality that defines us. If we have learned anything…it is that the experience we call ‘being a woman’ is inflected by race, class, and other sociological markers. It is also inflected by personality…You can only speak in the voice you have been given. And that voice has a tenor and inflection given to you by all the experience you have. Some of that experience will inevitably be about being a woman.” Sharpis also a testament to how important intelligent argument is in this day of social media and rampant opinions. Dean writes that what she would like readers to take away from the book is the sense that argument can actually be joyful. Argument can actually give us energy instead of shutting us down. Instead of reading a piece of criticism for what you agree or disagree with, instead look for how intelligent the argument is and if it opens up the subject at hand. Sharpis an important book for our current times and a highly recommended read. Michelle Dean is a journalist, critic, screenwriter, and the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle’s 2016 Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing. A contributing editor at the New Republic, she has written for the New Yorker, Nation, New York Times Magazine, Slate, New York Magazine, Elle, Harper’s Magazine, and BuzzFeed. She is also the co-creator of Hulu’s The Act. She lives in Los Angeles.... Read more...2019 Dare to Dream GranteesAugust 2, 20192019 Dare to Dream Grantees The Front Royal Women’s Resource Center (FRWRC) announced its 2019 Dare to Dream grant recipients and Elaine Bromfield Memorial Scholarship recipient at an annual breakfast celebration at the Shenandoah Valley Golf Club. The FRWRC awarded a total of $7,500 in grant and scholarship money to nine local women, all with goals and dreams to better their lives, the lives of their families and the lives of other women in the community. View Press Release here - 2019 D2D Press Release Photography courtesy of Franzi Lee Photography (From right to left….Michelle Hamer, Brittany Welch, Rhiannon Linfeld, Kate Fristoe, Renee McDaniel Flowers, Megan Grove, Dian DiPasquale, Kimmee Hancock) Kimberly “Kimmee” Hancock Kimmee is a 1990 graduate of Warren County High School and has been a small business owner of a web and graphic design company, Kismet Designs, which she started in 2001 in Texas. Kimmee has expanded her business locally since returning to Front Royal while also serving as the primary caregiver for her 22-year-old disabled son. In 2018 she built a new, updated website for the Front Royal CCAP. She volunteers with the Warren County Fair Association to help their marketing efforts. Kimmee was awarded a $1000 Front Royal Rotary Dare To Dream grant to help her grow her business by upgrading her equipment as well as taking a certification class through Constant Contact. Michelle Hamer Michelle is a recently divorced mother of three children ages 14, 6 and 4. She became a certified yoga teacher in 2016 and opened her first studio space in July 2018. Her business grew rapidly, and she moved to a larger space on Main Street in December 2018. This is the only yoga studio dedicated to yoga in town. Michelle is passionate about teaching yoga. Michelle was awarded a $500 Dare To Dream grant to purchase more yoga props in order to help her students receive the full benefits of the yoga practice. Click link for more information about Michelle's yoga studio - www.wildfireyoga.org Nikki Grove Megan Nicole “Nikki” Grove Nikki is a single mother to a 7-year-old daughter. She has been a Med Tech for 18 years. She currently works at an assisted living center in Bentonville where she works 48+ hours a week. Nikki is passionate about her work caring for the elderly and wishes to advance her skills in the field. She also dreams of instilling the values of love and compassion to her young daughter. Nikki is currently in the R.N. program at LFCC although she struggles to pay for classes and school supplies. Nikki was awarded a $1000 Dare to Dream grant to support her college costs. Katie Fristoe Katie is married with four children. Her family background is in the arts and she has pursued her path as an artist for the last ten years. In 2016 she began to screen print and create apparel of her designs. Her dream is to “share beautiful things with the world through design and illustration”. Kate recently developed her T-shirt business which has quickly taken off on social media. She designed and printed spirit shirts for Ressie Jeffries. The positive reaction to them was overwhelming. Kate was awarded a $750 Dare To Dream Grant to fund start- up costs and supply stock in order to grow her business and keep up with the demand for her beautiful and high-quality creative apparel. Check out her art on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/artbykatefristoe/ Dian Dipasquale Dian and her spouse of 47 years started their business, Front Royal Premier Copiers, in 2014. Their business services all makes and models of copiers. Their tagline is Service, Sales, Solutions and Supplies and provides services to many small businesses in the area. The Front Royal-Warren County Chamber of Commerce awarded Premier Copiers the 2018 Entrepreneurs of the Year award. Dian was awarded a $500 Dare to Dream grant to support Quick Books training which will help grow the vendor side of her business and help her provide better service to her customers. Website: www.frpremiercopiers.com... Read more...August 22 – WomanGatheringJuly 1, 2019This is a FREE event WomanGatherings are informational and inspirational evenings intended to nurture the womanspirit in each of us. Ligtht refreshments and great conversation, bring your friends! WomanGathering Thursday, August 22 213 E Main St 5:30-7:00 PM Facebook Live @ 6 PM Guest Speaker: Mary Pat Corrigan with Tara (the wonder dog) Hostess: Eka Kapiotis Videographer: Jen Avery Mary Pat is an animal massage specialist and Reiki practitioner. Her business is Blue Moon Wellness - https://www.facebook.com/BlueMoonWellness/ Tara is a 3 year old Flat Coated Retriever. She was born with a short right front leg and no paw. She is a superior athlete and competitive dock diver. She is also an honorary adaptive athlete member of the cycling team Pedallers for the Wounded and was the #3 fund raiser (out of 450) for the 2019 Face of America Gettysburg Ride for Wounded Warriors. Mary Pat will be talking about Tara's adaptation to her body to become the incredible athlete she is now. I will talk about how she inspires so many and teaches children that they can be whoever they choose to be. She is Tara the No Limits Tri-Paw. TARA the No Limits Tri-Paw Thank You What Matters W2, Beth Medved Waller for being a FRWRC Gold Business Partner & for sponsoring this event: Beth supplies this great meeting space, and supports FRWRC any way she can. In late March 2016, we opened a new space on Main Street in the Middle of Main building. It is called What Matters Open House: Meet in the Middle” and will serve as a resource to our community. We will offer a wealth of real estate and community information, as well as cutting edge technology to learn more about listings, the buying process, and our local community attractions and resources. This space is for the entire community. We will open our doors to community groups to educate the public about the causes that are close to their hearts and also offer our space as a meeting venue to anyone in need of a local location. Helping our community grow and serve as a resource to our neighbors is "What Matters” to us. Thank you Joanne Mulherin & Chateau O'Brien for providing the wine at our events. About The Front Royal Women’s Resource Center- a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1996 to provide a support network for women in Warren County. Through monthly networking meetings, yearly grant presentations, special events, email connections and program activities, we have forged a link between women in our community. Like us on Facebook @FRWRC... Read more...August 28 – Women In NetworkingJuly 1, 2019This is a FREE event Please join us and other women looking to be inspired! “More than just another networking group”. FRWRC WIN is open to all the women in our community. It was founded on the concept of women lifting each other up, through meaningful connections, opportunities to learn from one another and shared interests. We hope you will join us. Bring your lunch and business cards to share and a door prize if you like. Women In Networking Aug 28 - 11:30 AM 213 E Main Street Guest: Pat Moore Legal Sheild and ID Shield - "Identity Theft" Pat Moore will focus on the importance for women to have “affordable” access to the Legal System and how to “protect” their families against Identity Theft! She will share how women can be empowered through the National “Ladies of Justice” initiative. Pat Moore has been a business owner for over 16 years in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. As a Regional Manager, she provides Legal and Identity Theft Services to individuals, families and small business owners. She is on the Northern Virginia Employer Advisory Board as well as the Shenandoah County Chamber Board. As a sought after speaker, Ms. Moore has shared her knowledge and expertise with companies, schools and municipalities throughout Virginia. Website: moorep.ladiesofjustice.com Email: moorep@legalshieldassociate.com Phone: 540-305-9937 Thank You What Matters W2, Beth Medved Waller for being a FRWRC Gold Business Partner & for sponsoring this event: Beth supplies this great meeting space, and supports FRWRC any way she can. In late March 2016, we opened a new space on Main Street in the Middle of Main building. It is called What Matters Open House: Meet in the Middle” and will serve as a resource to our community. We will offer a wealth of real estate and community information, as well as cutting edge technology to learn more about listings, the buying process, and our local community attractions and resources. This space is for the entire community. We will open our doors to community groups to educate the public about the causes that are close to their hearts and also offer our space as a meeting venue to anyone in need of a local location. Helping our community grow and serve as a resource to our neighbors is "What Matters” to us. About The Front Royal Women’s Resource Center- a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1996 to provide a support network for women in Warren County. Through monthly networking meetings, yearly grant presentations, special events, email connections and program activities, we have forged a link between women in our community. https://frwrc.org/... Read more...
