Are you looking for a way to meet new people?
Interested in just doing something fun and special for yourself with a group of women looking for the same thing?
Then the Oxford Women’s Social Club may just be for you.
The goal of this brand new group, the brainchild of Addison Township resident Linda Grunewald, 55, is to bring together women interested in having a good time and making new friends.
Grunewald, who owned an antique business for about 20 years before becoming a homemaker 12 years ago, explained that the idea came to her because of recent events in her life.
“After 35 years of marriage, I found myself in the midst of a divorce I did not want,” she explained. “Since most of my family and friends are about 45 minutes away, I decided that I needed to meet people closer to home. The idea of a club came to mind where women of any age could get together on a regular basis for fun, social evenings.”
After running the idea by her chiropractor, Dr. Colleen Trombley-VanHoogstraat, Grunewald placed an ad asking any woman who wanted to be part of a group focused on treating themselves to something special, getting themselves out of the home and having a great time with new gal friends, to call her.
“I just started thinking about it and decided ‘What have I got to lose?’” said Grunewald. “Just the price of the ad, which isn’t much considering what I could gain.”
The Oxford Women’s Social Club met for the first time on Oct. 5. Around eighteen women attended the evening. The group learned that one women’s mother had belonged to this type club in West Bloomfield for many years, so the new members decided to learn from them and pattern the club similarly.
“Lots of great ideas were presented,” said an excited Grunewald. “Several people volunteered to help with the various parts of the organization and it is off and running.”
Since running her ad, Grunewald has counted over 25 interest calls from women in Oxford, Lake Orion, Ortonville and Lapeer. In fact, Grunewald hopes the group will appeal to all kinds of women from all over.
“We hope to attract all age groups,” she said. “We have had a big, wide variety of individuals show interest so far.”
One individual who answered the ad was Lisa Brinker, 42, who recently quit her full-time career as an advertising account executive to be home with her children.
“I just thought with me recently deciding to stay home, it would be a great way to meet people in the area and have some fun,” she said. “I’ve lived here for about a year and a half so I’m still relatively new.”
Ramona Norton, 43, had a similar idea. Due to an injury that no longer allows her to work in physical massage, the Oxford mother is staying home and looking for a career change. In addition, Norton said some aspects of her family life have changed so drastically over the past couple years, she knew it was time to get out of the house, do some networking and have some fun.
“I needed to make some new friends,” she stated. “I wanted to meet more people and expand beyond the family that I have. When I saw the ad, I knew that this was exactly what I needed to do.”
Just a few of the activities mentioned by those who attended the first meeting included dinner parties, wine tastings, theater outings, movie outings, spa nights, book clubs, card clubs, attending seminars and motivational speeches, hiking, skiing, horse back riding, plant exchanges, volunteering and museum visits.
“I’m a very positive person and I believe in the saying ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,’” said Grunewald, “and that’s what I want to do here and for these women to be able to do.”
The group plans to offer several different events each month, and no one is required to attend anything. Grunewald said the idea is for members to pick and choose from the activities and have a great time. A membership fee has been discussed to assist with mailings and any down payments for activities, but no final amounts have been decided.
The next gathering of the Oxford Women’s Social Club is 6:30 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Nov. 13 at Third Wave Seafood and Chop House for dinner and a wine tasting.
For more information, or to attend the wine tasting, please contact Linda Grunewald at 248-628-6546.