Whittier Stake Women's Conference

Waiting for the chapel session to begin

This past Saturday I attended a really fun event hosted by the Whittier, California Stake Relief Society.  It was a Women's conference, and it was very well attended by women from all over Whittier.

Sister Mary Pineda, our Stake Relief Society President

The conference began with a chapel session.  Our keynote speaker was Bishop Glenn Heap, a Marriage and Family Counselor with a local practice.

Glenn Heap, our keynote speaker

I happen to love Bishop Heap.  He's a good man and very engaging speaker.  (He's also kinda cute - but sorry, girls, he's married!) The main thrust of his message was to keep on doing good things and never never give up.  "Keep on dancing, even if you're dancing alone" was one very funny story he told about an unfortunate incident at a Dance Festival in his youth.

Our Stake President, and a Stake High Councilman chatting with Bishop Heap

Our Stake President, President Powell, was there (he's pictured above in the middle), as was Brother Fisher, the Stake High Councilman over the Relief Society (on the left).  I've grown very fond of Brother Fisher this past year.  These are such good men.  I'm glad they are a small part of my life.

From the chapel session, we were free to choose from a large number of fun classes.  Some of these were held in Spanish for our Spanish speaking sisters.

While we were in our classes, the luncheon was being set up in the cultural hall.

Setting the tables for lunch!

There were hundreds of women attending, so to eliminate the need for people to stand in line, or have to be served, the tables were already set with a serve-yourself meal.  It still took quite a bit of preparation.

There were a lot of tables to set - this is maybe a third of them

The tables were very colorfully decorated.  And the desserts - a variety of delicious cupcakes - became the table centerpieces.

One of many dessert trays!

My first class was a gardening class, taught by my own home ward's Relief Society President, Laurel.  Laurel has a degree in something plant related (Botany?) and has worked for years as a professional gardener.

Laurel answering gardening questions

I really enjoyed her presentation.  She had many helpful tips on gardening in the Whittier area, as well as lists of resource materials - and even some free seed packets!

Our Ward Relief Society President, Laurel

The gardening presentation made me want to grow something in a pot on my patio.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll be motivated to do it this year!  It's still not too late in this neck of the woods.  Our growing season is nearly all year around.

Getting healthy snack tips from a dietitian/nutritionist

My second class choice was cooking.  This was divided into two parts, one focusing on healthy snacks, the second on crock-pot cooking.

Cooking with Crock-pots presentation

I got some good ideas from the first, and learned all kinds of things that you can do with a crock-pot in the second half of the class.  That alone was really helpful.  (Did you know you can bake potatoes and make jam in a crock-pot?  I didn't!)

Amy taught a class on Family History Research

My third, and last class of the day, was my friend Amy teaching a class on getting started in Family History research.  She provided a very clear demonstration of how to use the FamilySearch website.

I really enjoyed that, and felt I learned a lot.

Amy taking questions after class

More than that, it was all fun.

After the third class, we moved into the cultural hall for lunch.

A delicious lunch!

Every table had a luscious serve-yourself chicken salad, with a couple of different salad dressings, croutons and Mandarin orange slices to add to it.  Crusty whole wheat rolls and butter were also provided, as was a pitcher of ice water.  And in the above photo, you can also see the cupcake centerpiece.  I got one that had a fluffy whipped lemon frosting that was to die for.

My chicken salad was yummy

Here is my plate.  I did not go hungry!

There were LOTS of ladies attending.

Just a small glimpse into the crowd

This was a fun event.  A lot of time and effort went into the planning and preparation for this, and it certainly ran smoothly.

I came home energized and happy that I'd attended.

If you want to meet some of the nicest women in your neighborhood, attend Relief Society!