Celebrating 51 Years of Service to the North Strand Community in 2021
In the spring of 1973 twelve young women from North Myrtle Beach met to form a new club, “The Plant and Pamper Garden Club”. Their membership grew, but within a few short months they realized that their main interest centered around the people and the endeavors of their community, and not gardening.
In the fall of that year they unanimously decided to change from a garden club to a Woman’s Club with the main goal being community service and involvement. In 1974 with over 25 members, the Woman’s Club joined the GFWC (General Federation of Woman’s Clubs) and officially became a GFWC club called The Woman’s Club of North Myrtle Beach. In 1984, the name was changed officially to the North Myrtle Beach Woman’s Club.
In the beginning the club pledged its support to help facilitate a new library for North Myrtle Beach, a community center for the city, and a new North Myrtle Beach Rescue Squad.
Thru the years the club continued to grow with monthly meetings and community projects. Today the club has over 75 members representing all age groups from different areas of the city and county.
In January 2010, the NMBWC proudly celebrated 40 years of service to the North Myrtle Beach area at Barefoot Resort’s Lakeside Conference Center. It was a great celebration. North Myrtle Beach Mayor and club member, Marilyn Hatley, presented the club president, Juliet Casper, a formal declaration proclaiming January 5th in our great city as officially “North Myrtle Beach Woman’s Club Day”.
At the North Myrtle Beach Chamber Annual Dinner in January 2010, the NMBWC received the prestigious “Outstanding Non-Profit of the Year”Award based on its community service and fundraising activities. Twenty-five club members attended the gala and all shared in the awards presentation.
In April 2014, nine members attended the 116th Annual GFWC-SC State Convention in Columbia and brought home 18 club awards and 10 individual awards representing the most state awards received in its 40 year history. In addition, Juliet Casper moved from her post as GFWC-SC Recording Secretary and became GFWC-SC Second Vice President. Juliet is the first North Myrtle Beach Woman’s Club member to be elected to a GFWC-SC state office.
The
contributions of the club have been made possible by the hard work of many woman who are and have been members of the club during its 45 year history. Thousands of dollars have been donated by the club through the now infamous Struttin’ on the Strand local talent revue held during the early years, yard & attic sales, pancake breakfasts and dinners, barbecues, fashion shows, jumping rope, little Miss and Mister pageants, silent and Chinese auctions, selling opportunity tickets, Heart Walks, Relay for Life teams, food booths at the Blue Crab festival and other festivals, paper back book sales, club recipe book sales, Christmas gift wrap projects, the annual Christmas Tour of Homes, Purses with a Purpose, Domestic Violence Walk and the list goes on…
The club’s projects have expanded greatly and have included participation in the following: A scholarship program for high school students, a dental program for underprivileged children of North Myrtle Beach, Horry County Heart Association, United Way of Horry County, American Cancer Society, Special Olympics, Keep North Myrtle Beach Clean, The YMCA, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, North Strand Helping Hand, Hurricane Andrew Relief fund, Friendship House of Myrtle Beach, Rape Crisis Center, CASA, NMB Public Safety, NMB Humane Society, North Myrtle Beach Schools, Educational Scholarships, Katie’s Project, Teen Angel, Sea Haven, Inc., Christmas for Seniors project, and care packages to our soldiers.
We have come a long way since our humble beginnings in 1973… just imagine what the future will bring. Our club continues to be a vibrant service organization whose main focus is to make a positive contribution in our community.