Longleaf Garden Club

The Longleaf Garden Club met Thursday, April 15, at the home of Molly Thomas.

After discussing the bylaw changes and holding a business meeting, members were treated to a program by Elena Avila, PAC, of Pinehurst Dermatology.

She discussed the importance of sunscreen and skin products to help skin stay free from skin cancers. Avila passed out several sample skin products to each member.

The final meeting and luncheon of the year will be at Weymouth Center.

Republican Women

The May luncheon of Moore Republican Women will be held Monday, May 3, at the Pinehurst Member’s Club.

Registration begins at 11:30 a.m., and lunch is served at noon. Cost for the luncheon is $15 payable by cash or check. Checks should be made payable to Pinehurst Resort LLC. Call Pauli Curl at (910) 215-9796 by April 28 to make a reservation.

Valet parking is available.

This month’s speaker will be Dena Barnes, president of the North Carolina Federation of Republican Women.

Men’s Fellowship

The Sandhills Men’s Fellowship welcomes Wiley Barrett as its guest speaker Tuesday, April 27, at the Pinehurst Member’s Club.

Barrett is a seventh-generation Moore County native. He attended Pinehurst schools and was awarded a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, graduating in 1969.

He returned to Moore County and began a teaching and coaching career that lasted for 31 years, culminating as the principal of Cameron Elementary School.

In retirement, he was elected to the Moore County Board of Education, serving as its chairman. In addition to this distinguished career in education, Barrett has officiated at sporting events for more than 40 years, including numerous state championships and all-star games. He remains an avid golfer, competing in several North Carolina amateur tournaments.

“Please join us for fellowship at 7:45 a.m. with breakfast following at 8 a.m.,” says a spokesman.

For more information, call Tom Stewart at (910) 295-9775.

Seven Lakes Kiwanis

On Tuesday, April 13, Allan Jefferys, a columnist for The Pilot, was invited as guest speaker for the Seven Lakes Kiwanis. Formerly a New York theater critic, newsman and entertainment editor for ABC, Jefferys used anecdotes from all aspects of his career during a presentation that was both entertaining and informative.

He talked about actors he had interviewed, some of whom were hard-working and easy to deal with and some of whom were self-centered and demanding. He noted that news programming was a “sacred cow” in the old days. Despite the fact that news programs lost money, correspondents analyzed events without offering opinions.

Seven Lakes Kiwanis meets every Tuesday at Seven Lakes Country Club. Visitors are always welcome.

Pinehurst Kiwanis

Capt. Floyd R. Thomas, of the Pinehurst Police Department, was the speaker for the April 8 meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Pinehurst.

Thomas’ background includes more than 20 years with the Air Force, where he served as a special agent for the Office of Special Investigations. He also served as crime scene technician and sergeant with the City-County Bureau of Identification in Fayetteville.

Thomas informed the club of the substantial rise in calls to the police department over the last few years. He also talked about the increasing problem with underage drinking in the area.

Toastmasters

David Bowling, of Whispering Pines, won Best Table Topics Speaker at the meeting Tuesday, April 13.

Table Topics is an exercise in impromptu speaking. Bowling’s topic was a fortune in a fortune cookie, an idea generated by Table Topics Master for the evening, David Donaldson, of Eagle Springs.

Garry Carlson, of Carthage, won Best Speaker, with an interpretive reading from the “Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book.” An experienced public speaker, Carlson is currently working on completing the tasks in an advanced Toastmasters manual.

Linda DeYoung, of Seven Lakes, was also a speaker at the meeting on April 13. She presented information on FirstHealth inpatient rehabilitation services.

Best Evaluator of the evening was Chris Norkus, of Whispering Pines. Christina Menear, of Pinehurst, served as Toastmaster of the Evening. Word of the Day was provided by John Ambrosio, of Seven Lakes. General Evaluator was Paul Barnes, of Foxfire Village, who is also the club president.

Toastmasters Club of the Sandhills meets the first three Tuesdays of the month at 7 p.m. at Sandhills Community College Van Dusen Hall, room 102.

For more information, visit http://tcots.freetoasthost.us.