Waiting to Exhale (35 page)

All ten board members raised their hands. The advisory board wasn't allowed to vote on issues concerning BWOTM itself.

"Would the secretary be so kind as to note that in the minutes."

"It's done," Winona said.

"Now," Etta Mae said, "we were supposed to set up committees tonight for Sisters' Nite Out, but now that won't be necessary."

"Don't we usually make money on Sisters' Nite Out?" Gloria asked.

"Yes, but unfortunately we can't afford to deplete our entire treasury to put it on."

"How much does it cost?" Gloria asked.

"Last year it cost us about seventeen thousand dollars. The hotel and food alone was close to nine, and then it cost us close to four to pay for the band, their airline tickets, and it cost us thirteen hundred to rent their sound equipment, and then we had to feed them. The rest went for publicity. The problem is that the hotel we've used in the past makes us pay up front-not like the civic center for the luncheon, but that's only because Dolores works there."

"We don't have any connections at any of the hotels in this town, where we could have it?" Gloria asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Etta Mae said. "We were also going to need a bigger banquet room this year, one that would hold four to five hundred people."

"The band was sure good last year," Robin said. She had slipped in, and she sat in a chair two rows behind Bernadine and Savannah.

Bernadine bent over and whispered in Savannah's ear. "She was on the entertainment committee last year. She fucked the lead singer."

Savannah started laughing and turned around and waved to Robin, who then got up and tiptoed next to her.

"Are there any other comments about Sisters' Nite Out?" Etta Mae asked.

"I hope we'll be in better financial shape next year," Dottie said. "That's one thing I always looked forward to around the Christmas holidays. Nothing else is usually going on in this deadbeat town."

"I can't believe they're not having it this year," Robin whispered to Savannah.

"Now. What I want to know," Etta Mae said, "is what happened at the luncheon? Last year we had over twelve hundred black men and women in that ballroom, at least sixty white folks, and this year, less than six hundred altogether. What happened?"

Everybody at the table looked at one another. Nobody had an answer.

Etta Mae wasn't really expecting one, and she went on: "The big question is: How can we increase our visibility? What do we have to do to be a more viable entity in our community? There's so much apathy in this town, it's beginning to amaze me more and more each year, and I was born and raised here."

"We're in a recession," Dolores said. "People don't have money to spend on this kind of thing."

"The tickets were only forty-five dollars," Dottie said.

"Forty-five dollars can mean a whole lot if you're on welfare or all you're bringing home is a few hundred dollars a week and you've got kids to feed."

"Very few people in this city fall into that category, and you know it," Dottie said. "How many free tickets did you get, Dolores?"

"The same as you, Dottie."

"I only got four, and I understand you got ten."

"All right, sisters," Etta Mae said. "We've got some unfinished business to attend to. Do we want to get to it or adjourn this meeting?"

"For next year's luncheon, I think we ought to try to get somebody like Oprah Winfrey or Maya Angelou," Dolores said.

"Do you know how much they'd probably charge?" Dottie said.

"Well, it's for a good cause."

"Why don't we do this," Etta Mae said. "I'd like the board members to come up with the names of two speakers they'd like to see at next year's award luncheon, mail them to me, and we'll talk about it at the next meeting."

"I think we need to push for more sponsorship from companies we've done business with in the past," Roberta Mason said.

"I think we should target more businesses and employers to purchase exhibit booths for their recruitment and vary the price," Dolores said. "Jewelry and artwork is one thing, but-"

"What are we going to offer them in return?" Dottie asked.

"Free advertisement in our newsletter," Dolores said.

"That makes sense," Roberta said. "I sent out thank you letters last year to all of them, and this year some of them wouldn't even return my phone calls."

"Well, apparently they're cutting back," Dottie said.

"What I'd like to suggest is this," Gloria said. "I suggest we do a much better public relations campaign next year, and a lot earlier than we did this year."

"Getting free advertisement is hard," Princess said. "You don't know what I went through trying to get ads in the newspapers and on the radio, and forget about TV."

"I suggest next year we aim for church bulletins and other organizations, ASU and such," Dolores said.

"That sounds good," somebody said.

"We could offer to pay for advertising," Dottie said, and everybody gave her a funny look.

"Ads aren't cheap," Dolores said.

"Well, I will say this," Etta Mae interjected. "Weren't the workshops well attended?"

Everybody nodded.

"Of the sixteen workshops we had, there were six that had the largest attendance: Cleaning Up Bad Credit, Crack/Cocaine Comes Home, Maturing Gracefully, Single Parenting, Stress and Depression in the Black Female, and Business Alternatives."

"I think a whole lot of folks just paid for the workshops and not the luncheon," Dottie said. "That's why most of them came, and that's why we didn't make any money on the luncheon."

"Well, we've found a need, and we have to make sure that we keep filling that need," Etta Mae said, and looked at her watch.

"I think we ought to target a lot more black professionals," Gloria said. "They should be more visible and willing to share their experiences and expertise. It doesn't cost them anything except a little of their time."

"I agree," Dottie said. "Some of them live up there in Scottsdale without a care in the world, except for their BMWs, their landscaping, and their annual trip to Hawaii."

Bernadine looked at Savannah.

"So far our efforts for improving the quality of life have been directed primarily at the young, but senior citizens also need our attention," Etta Mae continued.

"This crack business is getting a little out of hand, not to mention the gangs in our children's schools," Gloria said.

"Well, we can't do it all, but we can do our part," Etta Mae said.

"I think we ought to work on increasing our membership and not continue to keep it closed to board and advisory members," Roberta said.

"It'd get out of hand. We tried that in the beginning, before you got here, Roberta, and it didn't work," Etta Mae said. "Only a handful of sisters showed up on a regular basis. Everybody's busy, got jobs and families, so we decided to keep a board of ten and maintain an advisory board for special projects. I think that's working out, don't you?" she asked the group at the table.

Just about everybody looked as if they agreed.

"It would work a whole lot better if some folks on certain committees did what they were supposed to do when they were supposed to do it, instead of waiting till the last minute to give us their reports, and then they still haven't done what they were supposed to do," Dottie said.

"I think we need to enlist more volunteers. We need to go to the Urban League, the NAACP, the Chamber of Commerce, and such," Gloria said.

"I agree," Etta Mae said. "Now, does anyone have anything they'd like to report?"

No one said anything.

"How are the plans for the senior citizens to help out at the Little League games going, Marilyn?"

"Fine. They need forty volunteers, and I've got twenty-six seniors lined up. I'm working on the rest."

"What about Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies?"

"Everything's on schedule," Roberta said. "I do what I say I'm going to do."

"And the T-Shirts for Juneteenth? How are they coming?" Etta Mae asked Dottie.

"They'll be ready in three weeks. The posters too."

"Everybody knows their responsibility for bringing a dish to sell," Etta Mae said. "We don't care if it's pie or peanut butter. Just bring something. And by the way, Mount Calvary Baptist has advised me that they do want us to help them out over Thanksgiving and Christmas in feeding the homeless, so we're going to need volunteers for that. Not tonight, but keep that in the back of your minds. Some of you are planning vacations, I know, but those of you who'll be here, think about it. Now, do we want to talk about our long-term goals tonight?"

No one said anything.

"Let me just run over it real quick and give you sisters something to think about until our next meeting, which, by the way, will be on Thursday, May seventeenth. Put it on your calendars. Long-term goals means just what it implies. We want to implement them over a one-to-five-year period. The whole question of what we can do to continue to exist, as well as being able to start changing the conditions of black people here in Phoenix, is our primary objective. We want to continue to brainstorm in doing things that are of concern to and will benefit black women. Without us, there'll be no future for our children, and without our children, there'll be no future families. Now, we've talked about forming a job bank, which would serve as liaison between businesses and the black community. We'd like to establish a permanent senior citizens program, our own Big Brother/ Big Sister Program, a day care center, and a mentoring program for inner-city kids. In addition, we'd like to think about starting national chapters of BWOTM. We've got a positive force here, and it wouldn't hurt to spread it around."

Everybody mumbled something in agreement.

"Well, if there's no other business, at the next meeting I'd like progress reports from those of you who head the special projects committees I just mentioned. I know it's still early, but I need to know what's going on. Any further business?"

Nobody said anything.

"Then this meeting is adjourned."

Everybody stood up, and quite a few of the women gathered to make small talk. Robin spotted somebody she knew and ran over to say something to her. Bernadine and Savannah walked outside in the hallway to smoke a cigarette.

"So how you feeling?" Savannah asked, as she pushed her hat further down on her head.

"A helluva lot better, and do me a favor, don't mention this to Gloria or Robin, because I haven't told them about it."

"I won't."

"I will never in my life take any of that shit again, I don't care how depressed I get. That's all I can say."

Robin came prancing out. "Bernadine, Gloria wants to know if you'll come in for a minute. She said she wants to introduce you to somebody."

Bernadine took a few more puffs of her cigarette and went back inside the room.

"I hope you didn't mention anything about my wallet and that stuff about Troy to Bernadine, did you?"

"No."

"Gloria?"

"Nope."

"Good." Robin sighed. "Some things I don't like to tell them."

"So," Savannah said, "have you heard any more from Troy?"

"No," she said. "But guess what?"

"What?"

"I found my wallet."

"You did?"

"Yep. I ran over it. It was under my back tire. In my carport."

"Was everything in it?"

"Everything except the money. I only had about forty dollars in it. So it wasn't that much of a loss. Everything else was there, though."

"And you think you dropped it out there?"

"I can't remember. I swear I can't," she said. "You sure wear some tough hats, girl. I'd feel stupid in one."

Just then Gloria and Bernadine came out. "Hi, Robin. Hi, Savannah," Gloria said. "Sorry about Sisters' Nite Out. I didn't know we were going to have to cancel it."

"It's okay," Savannah said. "Shit, we can have our own. Right?" she said to her friends.

"What the hell," Robin said.

"Why not?" Bernadine said.

"I'm up for it," Gloria said. "But right now I'm hungry. I haven't eaten a thing all day. You all can stand out here all night if you want to, but I'm going home."

"We're right in back of you," Robin said, and waddled behind her like a duck. Savannah slapped her on the back, pushing her forward. Bernadine was just glad that it all made sense.

Chapter
16

WHY ARE YOU HERE?

I was too anxious. And so nervous I forgot all about the appointment to get the oil changed in my car. I've smoked eighteen cigarettes today. That's almost a whole pack. I've never smoked so many in a day before, and the day's not over yet. If I remember correctly, Kenneth was always punctual. He got in early yesterday morning, but had to go straight to his seminars, which went on all day, into the evening and then he had a slew of them today, too. He's supposed to be here at eight o'clock. It's now seven-thirty, and I still don't know what to wear. I don't want to look too suggestive, by wearin g s omething tight, but then again, I don't want to look like I just got home from work, either. Bluejeans would be tacky, and a dress might be too corny. Shit. I don't know. I called Robin. Why, I'll never know. "I can't think straight," I said, "and this is ridiculous. You'd think I was on my way to my senior prom instead of dinner."