MONROE, La. – Pandemic restrictions have found many of us struggling to make lemonade out of lemons during this past year! So many changes have happened, and we have experienced stress in ways that we couldn’t have imagined.
Chapter AE has survived primarily because its president, Anne Sanders, and her executive committee refused to lose touch among the AE sisters.
They have arranged periodic outdoor meetings at the La Louisianne gazebo so that sisters could drive by to get materials and — as restrictions eased — some could even mingle in masks, catching up on news and keeping up with basic chapter business.
An important event that might have been missed this past March was the 60th anniversary of Chapter AE’s founding.
Normally such a milestone would be marked with a lovely guest day luncheon where AE members could invite friends to enjoy time together with them, listening to an interesting speaker and sharing a delicious meal.
The pandemic kept that from happening this year, but that didn’t stop Anne Sanders, AE president. She found a special way to mark this very special occasion.
Sanders created individual Easter “bags” for AE members. Each contained traditional Easter “grass” topped with an assortment of candies sure to please.
Attached to each was a handwritten note from Sanders and an original poem written for the occasion by AE member, Elnice Davis.
The poem reminded the sisters that this was not just an Easter surprise, but a birthday surprise as well!
Sanders packed her car with her gifts and then delivered them to the homes of her chapter members. Loura Barr, AE treasurer and past state president, helped Anne with some of the deliveries.
In all, approximately fifty bags were delivered to members living in Ouachita Parish.
Every recipient was delighted to receive this special token of their president’s affection for them, and her devotion to chapter AE.
