October 01, 2004

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Classifieds

Publication Date: Friday, October 01, 2004

Newcomers Club

The Newcomers Club of Pleasanton is so friendly that it also welcomes those who are not new to town.

Carole Wellbeloved, now the group's president, was a longtime resident before joining a few years ago.

"I was working 24-7 but wasn't really having fun," said Wellbeloved, who is a broker/owner of Help-U-Sell Pleasanton Valley. "I wanted to balance my life and to do a little something for Carole so she could meet people and have a social thing. I joined Newcomers through a friend of mine and have met some wonderful people."

She's now lived here 20 years and said one of her missions as president is to increase the club's membership.

"I've lived here five years but just joined last year," said Georgianne Smith, who is now in charge of publicity for the group. "I was looking for a way to meet new people and become involved with some new activities."

Smith, now 67, moved here from Atlanta to run her brother's ob-gyn office, and although she found the job kept her busy, it wasn't a good way to meet people.

"I love it," she said of Newcomers. "I called and found out when the next luncheon was and signed up. The luncheons are always fun. They introduce new members and give them a rose."

The club has a monthly welcoming coffee, held at a member's home. Also monthly luncheons are held at local restaurants, with informative speakers or some type of entertainment. Women may attend a coffee or luncheon before deciding to join.

Luncheons usually cost $10-$20, but this month it will feature a fashion show, with Newcomers modeling, and costs $25. Membership is $25 annually per family.

Gerry Trynoski, 63, agrees that the group is extremely welcoming.

"It's a nice group of women," she said, "not cliquish, but inclusive. They welcome newcomers."

Trynoski wasn't new to the Bay Area when she joined a few years ago. She had moved back east but returned to buy a house in Pleasanton so she could live part of the year near her daughters, who had settled in Danville and San Jose.

"I'm kind of a part-time resident, which makes it more important when here to connect," she said.

This year, Trynoski heads up the interest groups and she is proud of the variety offered. They include Bit of Lit. Books, which meets in the morning; bridge, ladies daytime and couples evening; Bunco, ladies daytime and evening, and couples; Cash Flow 101, a board game similar to Monopoly; Day Trippers, which goes on outings to explore the Bay Area; Evening Book Club; 9-hole golf for beginners; Lunch Bunch; Mountain Biking; Movies and Plays; Rollerblading; Stitch and Chat; Trail Hikers; and Walkers.

"It we don't have it, and there is an interest, we will put it together," said Trynoski.

Chitra Prithviraj, 34, joined a year and a half ago after she moved here from Pennsylvania. "The Newcomers were really terrific for me," she said. "They helped me find out about local eateries, and everything around here. My son had bypassed the play group age, and they directed me as far as schools go."

She started a short-hike group that began at the Pleasanton Ridge and then explored other regional parks. Now eight months pregnant, she is taking a respite from hiking.

"It was a wonderful thing," she recalled. "A great way to meet people with similar interests."

"I was determined to make friends even before I unpacked," said Linda Loomis who moved from San Jose to Pleasanton - and joined Newcomers - in 2000.

"I went to the Chamber of Commerce and the library and both of them gave me Newcomers' phone numbers," she recalled. "At the time I was kind of shy. I happened to get the president, who said they were having a lunch bunch the next day. I said, 'Oh, right, I'm going to walk into a restaurant and just walk up to a bunch of women having lunch and introduce myself.' She said, 'That's exactly what you're going to do.'"

Loomis said she and her husband have both made friends since a lot of activities include men. And she was on the board when its members decided to open the club to residents who have been here longer than three years.

"We had several people about the time I joined who had lied about how long they'd been here," she said. "A lot of things happen in life and all of a sudden, for example, you have an empty nest. Now what do you do?"

Also, she said, people would be members of groups that met regularly but when their three years were up, they were out. "We decided it was unfairly biased, so we changed it," she said.

"I was looking for the Welcome Wagon but I found Newcomers," said Loomis. And now she can enjoy it as long as she lives in Pleasanton.

Newcomers on parade

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