Our lovely caring Julie passed away on 18th April and will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her. She was a dedicated, compassionate Soroptimist for many years and her legacy will live on at our Club. Julie became a Soroptimist in 1989, was Club President in 1995/1996 and again in 2005/2006. Julie also forged many friendships with clubs and members in Region over many years, especially her friends in Ellesmere Port. Recently Julie had developed the role of Wellness within the membership of our club, which she passionately led with calls, cards and compassion.  Julie looked after many of us with her beautiful smile and encouragement which we will all very much miss.

          Another beautiful soul who sadly passed away on 13th April, Caren will be sorely missed by all her Soroptimist friends.  Caren had been a very active member of SI Bangor for many years.  A kind, gentle and compassionate lady and as a qualified Solicitor had contributed so much to our Club.  Another true Soroptimist. Caren joined in 1988, was club President in 2001/2002 and again jointly in 2011/12. She was the Club’s Press Officer for many years before the days of computerisation. Caren was also our Club’s Safeguarding Officer and provided very sage advice on all such matters. We will miss Caren greatly.

A kind and gentle lady who will be sadly missed by all her Soroptimist sisters, Sian passed away on 21st March. Her leadership as President and Programme Action Officer was an inspiration to us all at SIGBI – a true Soroptimist.  Sian worked tirelessly for the Itala Project in Zambia raising awareness of the importance of friendship links and international education culminating in SI Bangor winning the 2016 International Best Practice Award – Learning Opportunities. Sian became a Soroptimist in 2001, was Club President in 2014/15 and also served many terms as Club Regional representative and Programme Action Officer inspiring and supporting many different activities eg walks, awareness raising and support for the homeless and women. She was Region Programme Action Officer for a number of years and was very well respected by all the clubs. Sian had recently been made a club honorary member and was

At the February Orange Cafe planning for the club’s 75th club celebration, members were joined by pupils and staff from Hirael School President Marianne presented a cheque of £1,500 on behalf of the club to provide some furnishings and items for their wellbeing room ( Y Nyth ).

President Marianne and Past President Gudrun chose International Women’s Day to meet with Osian Ellis CEO of Gorwel (Women’s Refuges) to donate a cheque for £1622.00 through activities during Gudrun’s presidency (including walking the Slate Trail in all weathers!) The refuge is a long standing charity supported by the club in many ways, especially at Christmas time with gifts, food and toiletries.

President Marianne welcomed club members to SI Bangor and District’s 75th Anniversary Celebration Afternoon Tea which was held at Storiel Bangor on 5th March, 2024.  A warm welcome was also extended to Regional President Janet Murfin, President Sandra Snow and members from SI Llandudno,  Mary Rickards and Jane Williams from SI South Caernarfonshire and our Honorary Club members Enid Griffith (101 years young!) and Mair Jones OBE. Cllr Elin Walker Jones, Mayor of the City of Bangor spoke kindly of the work and service of club members to the community over many years. The Club was chartered in 1948 under the presidency of Mrs Gladys Emyr Hughes and a very interesting exhibition about our Club remains on show at the Storiel Museum, Bangor until the end of April.  Special thanks were extended to Helen Gwefryl and Dion Hamer at Storiel who provided invaluable help in

President Marianne received the award on behalf of the club for the most increase in membership numbers across the Cheshire and north Wales region at the recent Soroptimist International Regional meeting.     A tombola of chocolate prizes was well supported at the meeting, proceeds were added to President Marianne’s Ukrainian charity.

Member Maggie Hughes provided an entertaining evening of food exploration with a quiz on food around the world followed by a blind comparison tasting of 4 different foods from 3 supermarkets and their comparative pricing. Many of us were surprised at the differences between our preferences and the pricing of the items. A great light hearted evening on a cold winter evening!