Monday, June 9, 2008 TOPIC: MAY WILKINS     The new May Wilkins exhibit at the Fort Collins Museum paints a fascinating portrait of an extraordinary woman. I share a special bond with her. She was once president of the Fort Collins Newcomers Club ... in 1939. My term as president ended last fall.     Her presidency is a piece of history that made me reflect on the role that the Fort Collins Newcomers Club has played in our city. Many of you know our club as a whirlwind of social activities - coffees, dinners out, card parties, hikes, bike rides and gatherings in homes. But we also directly and indirectly help members make meaningful connections to the community that many will call home for the rest of their lives.

Sometimes that role is direct. For instance, the club has an active and enthusiastic group regularly volunteering at the Food Bank for Larimer County. The Food Bank recently named the club and the Fort Collins Newcomers Alumni as the "Outstanding Volunteer Group for 2007-2008." The award followed a Newcomers holiday fundraising drive for the Food Bank that netted more than $4,000 in donations and 150 pounds of food. To top it off, club members donated a dishwasher for the break room.     Newcomers also makes a point of planning programs to acquaint members with the people and the organizations that make our city and Northern Colorado region what it is. Programs have featured the Fort Collins mayor and police chief and representatives of the natural areas program, the Northern Colorado arts scene and local authors.     The real connections to community, however, are made on a very personal level. A Newcomers acquaintance extends an invitation to a meeting of the Friends of the Library. A fellow in the club suggests becoming a Poudre Wilderness Volunteer. Or another former Newcomers president - Tricia Navarre, production manager at the Bas Bleu Theatre - recruits you as a docent for plays.

So after a four-year run as a Newcomer, when "graduation" is required, most members find themselves with a calendar full of community connections. What happens in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado now matters deeply to them. That is a healthy development contributing to a better community.     My suspicion is that people like May Wilkins may not have needed a Newcomers Club to make that connection. Yet Wilkins, in agreeing to serve as the club's president, realized that the club was more than social afternoons, parties and a friendly game of cards. The Newcomers Club was and still is the way for many to get started ... to begin to feel that sense of comfort that makes a place a home not only for ourselves and our family, but for the community at large.     It's a bond I am happy to share with Wilkins, other former presidents and the many presidents who will come in the years ahead.     For information about the Fort Collins Newcomers Club, check the Web site: href=http://fortnet.org/newcomer. Jenny Henke moved with her husband, Tom Sander, to Fort Collins four years ago after a career as a journalist, communications executive and teacher in Florida.