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GFWC Oklahoma Southeast District President, Megan Ciolli, welcomed the Southeast District Clubs to McAlester and presided over the meeting held Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025 at the historic Puterbaugh Center in McAlester, Oklahoma. Clubs attending were the GFWC-OK Hugo Inter Se Club, The Fortnightly Club of Durant, The Fortnightly Club of McAlester, Tishomingo’s Daughters Club and Twentienth Century Club (Antlers). All five district clubs in the GFWC Oklahoma Southeast District were present at the event.
McAlester Mayor, Justin Few, provided a warm welcome to the ladies present and provided an update on happenings in McAlester.
Vickie Bouffleur, Twentieth Century Club, Antlers, provided the Thought for the Day. Veteran, Nina Fereday, led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
Mary Beth Williams, GFWC International Second Vice President also welcomed the group and provided an update on events at GFWC. She congratulated the groups who participated in the annual International Day of Service held on September 27 and reported on the results of that annual event. She reminded the group about the power of our unity and reminded us of the power of the volunteer programs we all provide to our community, our state and our world.
Mary Beth and her husband, Larry, both attended the event.
New York Times bestselling author, Lisa Wingate, spoke to the group about her best-selling book, Shelterwood. Wingate spoke of her early years growing up outside Tulsa and what life was like in Oklahoma in the early 70’s.
Shelterwood has been described as an emotional and enveloping novel. Wingate traces the story of children abandoned by the law and the battle to see justice done. Amid times of deep conflict over who owns the land and its riches, Ollie and Val traverse the wild and beautiful terrain, each leaving behind one life in search of another. Wingate talked about her research for the story and how her plots are developed for all her stories.
While researching information for Shelterwood, Wingate, researched the political career of early Oklahoma human rights advocate, Kate Barnard. Catherine Ann “Kate” Barnard (May 23, 1875 – February 23, 1930) was the first woman to be elected as a state official in Oklahoma, and the eleventh woman to be elected to a statewide public office in the United States,[1] in 1907. Her political career ended during her second term in office, after she began to advocate on behalf of Indian wards who were being cheated out of their land as a result of grafting. During this time, her office produced the first official governmental investigative report of the Osage Indian murders.
Wingate provided many laughs during her presentation about growing up in the 1970’s. Signed copies of the book, Shelterwood, were available for sale at the event.
GFWC Oklahoma State President, Charlene Ridgway, provided an update for the group on her goals for her second year in office and how much the clubs across the
state had accomplished during in the last year. She reminded clubs that reports Treasurer’s Reports were due on December 1 and that all reports are due on January 31. All forms are available on the GFWC-OK.org website. Members of the newly formed, Daughters of the Prairie, GFWC Junior Club were recognized and Junior Club, President, Gabrielle Deputy, provided insights into the new club and their goals for the coming year and talked about Shared Blessings the non-profit organization in McAlester where Deputy serves as Project Director.
Shared Blessings began in 1998 through the efforts of Devonna Edwards who desired to clothe children and families in need. Over the years, the ministry has continued to grow now serving over 2500 people every month through a variety of programs. Their on-going goal is to partner with area churches, civic organizations, businesses, corporations, agencies, foundations and individuals to meet a growing number of needs in the area. \Shared Blessings, through its generous partners, helps provide a place of compassion and relief. They desire for people to experience the Love of God through the compassion they experience at Shared Blessings.
Tishomingos Daughters invited the group to the 2026 District Meeting in Tishomingo. The Junior Pledge was led by President Deputy and the GFWC Club Collect was led by Paula McGee.
2026-2028 District Officers were elected at the the meeting. While members were installed at the meeting, they will take office after the International GFWC convention in Scottsdale, Arizona in June of 2026.
