Please join us as we begin our new season at the Torch Club of Williamsburg. The presentation at the September 16th meeting will be by Mike Mason who will discuss “Never a Tumbleweed: Living Life with Exuberance.” We look forward to a fun evening with you and your guests.
Your timely response about your plans for dinner is very important-RSVP by September 12th at noon.
TORCH CLUB OF WILLIAMSBURG MEMBERS AND FRIENDS
September 16, 2025 Dinner Meeting
LOCATION: Colonial Heritage Clubhouse
6500 Arthur Hills Drive Williamsburg, VA 23188
Meeting Agenda
5:30 p.m. – Mingling; registration; cash bar
6:00 p.m. – Announcements and reports
6:15 p.m. – Dinner
7:00 p.m. – Program/Questions
8:00 p.m. – Adjourn
MENU
Salad–Spinach salad w/goat cheese, blueberries, onions; or penne pasta tossed/ tomatoes, fresh herbs
Entree–Grilled rosemary chicken breast w/sour cherry sauce; flank steak w/port wine sauce; oven roasted yellow squash, and zucchini
Dessert
Our greeter for the evening is Sandra Stephan.
A Word from President Walter Bayer…
I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler August weather as we slowly slip toward the end of summer. The approach of autumn is a time when students prepare for the return of school and our Torch Club members prepare for the return of dinners and presentations among friends.
The new season of the Torch Club of Williamsburg kicks off on September 16th, with Mike Mason presenting on “Never a Tumbleweed: Living Life with Exuberance.” In his presentation, he hopes to offer a recipe for living life to the fullest despite one’s age, mixing realism with optimism. He will discuss how we can learn to make the most of what we have versus lamenting the abilities we will never have again. Please join us for this presentation, and bring a friend!
Thanks to our Programs Committee, in addition to Mike’s presentation, we have a great lineup of presentations scheduled for the entire 2025/26 season. Of course, we are always looking for more speakers and ideas, so please reach out to Kathi Mestayer or Lois Manes if you are interested in providing a presentation or have an idea for one.
Your Board was busy over the summer preparing for the new season. The Board finalized the dinner contract with the Colonial Heritage Club, so we are set for another season of good meals at an amiable location. Board members also attended the two International Association of Torch Clubs (IATC) events – the annual meeting in June and an officers workshop in August. Both meetings provided insights about enhancing the Torch experience and increasing membership. We hope to incorporate some of these ideas into our club, such as following up with earlier guests to keep them engaged with our club.
The Membership Committee also has some changes to report. Mike Mason agreed to take the lead on this committee for the new year. The committee is responsible for membership, marketing, and communications. Camilla Buchanan, who has successfully led the Membership Committee since the start of our club, will continue to be part of the committee so that we can continue to benefit from her knowledge. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Camilla for all of her efforts leading the committee.
Finally, the Audit Committee consisting of Steve Berke and Camilla Buchanan is wrapping up its audit work and expects to have a draft audit report to the Board shortly. This is the last step to close out last season so that we can provide our new treasurer, Peter Mellette, with a clean set of financial records for the new season.
I want to add that another way to learn about the other Torch Clubs around the nation and their presentations is to read The Torch magazine that is delivered via the mail as well as available online at the IATC site. We have a posting on our website discussing online access. We are updating our membership rosters with IATC to ensure everyone is getting a physical copy of the magazine. In the meantime, if you are missing the current issue, you can find it online. Here is the link to the website: https://williamsburgtorchclub.org/.
We look forward to seeing you next month! See you on September 16th, and please be sure to let Denise know by noon on Friday, September 12th if you and your guests plan to attend. We need to let Colonial Heritage know in advance so that they will have enough place settings and food for the meals.
Williamsburg Torch Club 