In 1980, I received
an invitation to join GIA Helen Gould Division #235 in Osawatomie, KS. I had no idea that there was such an
organization and I was glad to have the opportunity to join. It was very comforting to know there were other
people who could relate to what I was learning to accept as “normal” and give
me tips on how to run a household without a husband to count on. I was a member of this Auxiliary for 8 years
before we decided to move to Omaha, NE.
We arrived in Nebraska
in May of 1988. From that day on, my
husband tried to persuade me to start an auxiliary here, but I just kept
putting it off. In early 1995, he wore
me down and I started sending out letters to all the spouses of BLE members
asking if they would like to join a new auxiliary in Omaha/Council Bluffs,
IA. We had a wonderful response and were
organized in September of 1995 as River City Auxiliary #12 with 15 charter
members.
Locally, I have
held the positions of President, Vice President, Legislative Representative,
Corresponding Secretary and Past President.
I have made many wonderful friends and have my own extended family to
look forward to seeing once a month. In
recent years, we feel we are doing even more to help our spouses on issues that
directly affect them, and we know there is still so much more we can do to
help.
At the International GIA level, in 1997, there was a change in the office of International Treasurer and I was asked by International President, Ruth Pillman-Windham to be the Alternate Treasurer. After being approved by the Council, I held the position of Alternate Treasurer for 4 years.
In September of 2001, I was elected International Secretary. Per our Constitution & By Laws, I’ll hold this position until 2010. I have been an auxiliary member for over 20 years.
There have been many people who have helped me immensely throughout the years. Many thanks to Maurine Faulkerson, Ruth Windham and Onita Wayland, for without their encouragement and guidance, I would not be in my present position. They all had the foresight to see “something special” in me that they thought would be beneficial to the organization. I hope I’ve made them proud.
I was born and
raised in Kansas City, MO, where Sam began his railroad career. After his home
terminal was changed to Osawatomie, KS, we moved to Olathe, KS for 8 years.
Then, we decided to move to Omaha and have lived here for the last 19 years.
Sam and I have two
children, Paula Jo, who has been married to Spencer Baggiani for 2 years, Sam
Leonard and a one eyed cat, Tiger Lilly.
Paula has been working at Union Pacific in Human Resources for 2 1/2
years. Sam Leonard also has been working
at Union Pacific in Crew Management Services (CMS) for 3 years. Except for me,
we are a truly a railroad family!
I feel that being in the BLET Auxiliary has truly been one of the bright spots of my husband’s career with the railroad. Attending conventions, meeting spouses all over the US and Canada, and learning from the informational seminars has been a very rewarding experience for me. Without membership in the Auxiliary, none of this would have been possible!