Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 8C
June 8, 2016
Reporter
Pictured at the 19th Anniversary of W.I.S.E. Club are, left to right, back: Susan Payne, Maida Evans, Adecia Walker, Becky Corley, Genevieve Miller, Blanche Presley, Barbara
Dean, Kay Floyd & Shelly Shuman; front Row: Jane Hall, Jennie Dodd, Helen Stembridge, Marcia Dugger, Isabelle Tanner (president), Bonnie Barker. Members not pictured
are Beth Brown and Megan Randall and currently inactive members Libby Perry and Dana Peterman.
W.I.S.E. women enjoy company on investment journey
BY DIANE
GLIDEWELL
news@mymcr. net
A group
of Monroe
County
women cele
brated meet
ing together,
studying the
stock market
and carefully
investing for
19 years with
a low country
boil at the
Anvil Room’s
Sandy Cove
on Tuesday
evening,
May 17.
The group started with
20 charter members
in 1997 and chris
tened itself the WISE
(Women Investing for
Security and Education)
Investment Club. The ‘E’
in the acronym has since
been tweaked to stand
for ‘Entertainment’ as
Education as the inter
ests and goals of the
members change.
The Monroe County
women were influenced
by the Beardstown
Ladies who were being
touted by media and
had published several
books about their suc
cessful investment strat
egies at the time the
WISE Investment Club
began. The Beardstown
Ladies were 16 women
of average age 55 in a
small Illinois town who
had pooled their funds
to invest in the stock
market with remark
able returns. Although
it was later determined
that assessment meth
ods had unintentionally
inflated their profits, the
Beardstown ladies did
have a strong positive
return on their invest
ments.
The
WISE
women
of
Forsyth
have
also
been
pleased
with
their
perfor
mance
in the
stock
market
over
the years, although
they acknowledged that
involvement in the stock
market has been a roller
coaster ride. Four of the
charter members (Susan
Payne, Shelly Schuman,
Isabelle Tanner and
Blanche Presley) were
present for the 19th
anniversary meeting.
Some members have
retired, some have
moved away, some have
even left the club and
later returned. They
limit the maximum num
ber of members to 20.
The membership dipped
down to 15 when the
market plummeted.
Members contribute
to the pool of funds and
own shares in the club,
the amount of shares
based on length of mem
bership. Right now the
club owns interest in 18
stocks, some that it has
held onto for 19 years,
including Home Depot
and CISCO. But as well
as money, each member
is required to contribute
research on stocks.
“We take our money
seriously,” said Payne.
The WISE Investment
Club has four commit
tees, and members rotate
through them. Each
stock is assigned to a
member to monitor its
performance. There is a
monthly business meet
ing for evaluating and
investing.
“We always have
money coming in that we
need to invest, and some
times we decide to sell,”
said Schuman. “We sub
scribe to Better Investing
Guidelines. The national
organization provides
webinars, news letters,
lots of opportunities to
learn.”
In addition to their
regular meetings on the
third Tuesday of each
month, the group also
gets together for two
socials each year, for
their anniversary and for
Christmas. Although two
of the charter members,
Blanche and Isabelle, are
sisters, members have
not generally brought
family into the group.
Most became interested
in the club through co-
workers and friends.
“One neat thing is
that it is such a mix of
people,” said Schuman.
“I’m enjoying some of the
younger members com
ing in.”
“Part of it is the edu
cation, getting comfort
able with stocks,” said
Tanner.
The club does ‘vir
tual’ investment for fun,
putting $5 in the pot
and making wagers on
stocks they “would never
invest in” to see which
stock shows the great
est percent of increase
in value. The club also
buys lottery tickets, but
Schuman notes that so
far the lottery tickets
have not done as well for
the club as stocks.
Periodically, club
members have discussed
including men, and some
men have expressed
interest in joining, but
ultimately the WISE
women do not want to
change the dynamics
of their group or their
name in order to include
men. Schuman said the
atmosphere of the club
is much more laid back
now than it was in the
early years.
“We have matured in
our investments,” said
Presley. “We have done
well through the roller
coaster [of the economy].”
“It’s a wonderful club,
a great group of people,”
said Payne. “I have been
so educated over the
years. We are so blessed,
whether we are retired,
working or just starting
careers.”
Left to right, back: Susan Payne, Shelly Shuman and Bon
nie Barker enjoy a light moment at the WISE Investment
Club’s celebration of its 19th anniversary.
The staff and administrators at Bolingreen Rehabilitation Center dressed up for Tacky Day to celebrate Nursing
Home Week. Below is a closer look at some of the “nerds” at the facility who like to make residents smile.
OBESITY KILLS.
Don’t Be A Victim.
DR. RANA MUNNA
INTERNAL MEDICINE
107 Preston Court
Macon, GA 31217
(478) 238-0771
Bolingreen makes Nursing
Home Week fun for all
Bolingreen Health
and Rehabilitation cel
ebrated Nursing Home
Week with a number of
activities for residents
and staff. Since the
Kentucky Derby ran
that week, Bolingreen
had a Horse Race game
that everyone enjoyed.
The department
heads were the horses,
wearing numbers on
their backs. Residents
rolled the dice, and
horses moved the num
ber of spaces shown
on the dice. The first
three horses to cross
the line won 50 cents.
Horse racing is one of
the residents’ favorite
games.
“I thought it would
be fun during Nursing
Home Week and for
the Kentucky Derby,”
said Activities Director
Lolieta Nunnally. “They
had a blast!”
Brave Meadows Farm
from Eatonton Highway
brought a horse and
two chickens to go
along with the event.
Department heads cre
atively used paper hats
that looked like horses’
heads. Residents got to
choose different hats
in keeping with the
Kentucky Derby theme.
Channel 13 broadcast
film of the event, and
residents, staff and
friends enjoyed fish and
fries to top off the day.
Family
Tradition
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