Good news was shared with the members of Grace Willing Workers -- Traveling With Grace during their recent meeting at Pursuit Church at White Hall.
Debbie James, club president, said that grants had been received from the Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission and the Walmart Foundation, which made it possible to have the Southeast Arkansas District Fair at Hestand Stadium on Oct. 12-15.
In other business, plans were discussed for the group's trip to Des Arc. Participants will meet at Pursuit at 1 p.m. Oct. 29 for the drive to Des Arc, where they will visit Guess and Company Christmas at the Warehouse for early Yuletide shopping. At 5 p.m., they will adjourn to the Dondie's White River Princess Restaurant for dinner before the drive home.
On Nov. 2-4, several of the members will participate in the Arkansas Extension Homemakers Council's Crafts Retreat at the Ozark Folk Center at Mountain View.
Program presenters were assigned for the three programs required for the project club. They are Kaye Richardson and Sandy Smith with "Quick Breads," which will be incorporated into the club's Christmas party Dec. 1.
Other presenters and the topics will be Delores Kelley with "Consumer Skills and Resource Management" at the April meeting, and Jody Stout on "Arkansas Waterfalls" in June.
Final plans were announced for the Holiday Foods program, scheduled for Nov. 11 at St. Joseph Catholic Church's parish Hall at Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street.
Two hundred tickets are available at $20 each and may be purchased by sending a check made out to the Jefferson County Extension Homemakers Council to Kelley, Treasurer, 509 West St., White Hall, AR 71602, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of the tickets.
Tickets are also available by calling Kelley at (870) 718-1846 or James at (870)-543-0784. No tickets will be sold on the day of the event. The deadline for purchasing tickets is Oct. 28.
The event will begin at 10 a.m. Doors will open at 9 a.m. There will be food preparation demonstrations, followed by a tasting. Each attendee will receive a recipe book, table favor and a chance to win door prizes. Additional recipe books will be available for $5 each.
Other upcoming activities:
• Cancer Cap Workshop, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 17 at the Extension office.
• Crafts workshop (three wooden gifts) at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 27 at the Extension office; $10 fee; call Extension office at (870) 534-1033 to register.
• Delta District Rally on Oct. 20 at Stuttgart.
Stout, service chairman, presented each member with a heart template and a cutout heart, padding and a ribbon for hanging. The group has chosen "Sharing Hearts" as the year's service project. The members will become a part of the community known on its Website as "I Found a Quilted Heart." The members will make fabric hearts and place them anonymously in public places for people to find. It is hoped that the people who find them take this as a random act of kindness to brighten their day.
Patsy Brown showed hearts she had made and fabric she created by piecing a variety of fabrics together.
Brown and Brenda Hendrix also displayed a Quilt of Valor that they had completed. Hendrix explained that any living veteran is eligible to receive a quilt, which are created by volunteers.
Complete information about the program and nominating a veteran to receive a quilt is available by visiting the website at https://www.qovf.org.
At the conclusion of the meeting, members stuffed envelopes with order blanks for the county Council's annual pecan sale to be sent to prospective customers. The sale includes pecan halves, chocolate double-dipped peanuts and the Holiday Foods cookbook. Orders must be received and paid for by Oct. 28. Questions may be directed to James or to Mary Ann Kizer, family and consumer sciences agent with the Jefferson County Cooperative Extension Service, at (870) 534-1033. Pecans will be received in time for holiday cooking.
After the meeting, the members adjourned to The Hive at Hartz Honey Hole for a Dutch-treat lunch.