November 2026 President’s Letter
Dear CSOC Members,
Happy November!! We have Thanksgiving approaching which gives us a chance to think about family and friends and how grateful we are to have them in our lives. By being a member of this club, you have the opportunity to enjoy connections with new friends and to explore the Grand Strand and beyond.
October events were planned by Sherry Walters and Roseanne Maglione. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate for several of the planned events and some had to be cancelled due to low registration. Several folks were able to enjoy the sunset Pie Eyed Parrot Happy Hour Cruise through Murrells Inlet Marshlands. Thank you, Sherry Walters and Roseanne Maglione for planning events for the month of October. Our October club meeting at the Giant Crab was a huge success. We had 70 members and guests in attendance. Thank you to Grey Culbreth for working with the folks at the Giant Crab to plan enough food and seating to go around.
The trip to Portugal and Madrid was amazing. On October 1st, we kicked off the trip by a “get to know you” gathering hosted by Charlene and Steve Dougherty. Maria Carinha, one of our club members, is from Portugal and gave us some great insight into the culture and food that we would be able to enjoy. We all brought food to share and some of us made Portuguese dishes. Thank you to Charlene and Steve for making this possible. Our trip to Portugal was from October 20 -November 1. Our volunteer trip coordinator, John Schwartz, spent almost three years working with a travel service to put together wonderful land tours and Douro River Cruise from Lisbon to Porto and points in-between. We were able to tour Lisbon before boarding our cruise. The ship would stop at prearranged ports and then we boarded a bus with a tour guide who then guided us about the city, winery, cathedral, palace or university we were touring. We learned a lot and saw so many beautiful structures and gorgeous landscapes. The river cruise was a delight as we were surrounded by vineyards that graced the surrounding mountains. We even went through several locks! The river cruise was a new experience for many of us. After the cruise, we hopped on a plane from Porto to spend a few days in Madrid. We had a walking tour of the heart of Madrid and then an audio guided tour of the fabulous Palace of Madrid. The night was topped off with a Halloween evening ghost story mystery tour that was a cool way to experience Madrid at night.
We are thankful to John for all that he goes through to gather information and plan trips for us. He is the liaison between our club and the travel agency, which requires a lot of time and communication throughout the planning period. He manages to get us into some interesting and beautiful locations. We are also grateful to Karen McCurry for keeping the deposits straight and handling all things financial for the trip. Take note, we are a club of volunteers and no one, no matter how well deserved they are, reaps a financial benefit from things they do for us. Remember this the next time you see John and Karen and really let them know how much what they do means to you.
November events are being planned by Peggy Christie and Fred Scott. These two certainly picked a variety of activities for us to enjoy. The have planned a fun “Any Excuse for a House Party” house party. The Songs of War and Peace performed by the Long Bay Symphony is a free concert taking place at the First Presbyterian Church. Register for this and arrive early so that you can find a seat. Elena Moglia is coordinating the Annual Fish Fry at Crabby Mike’s. The food is purchased at Crabby Mike’s and the proceeds will benefit the summer youth program at the Myrtle Beach YMCA. Peggy and Fred have planned a Happy Hour and Duck Pin Bowling event at Alley Oops in North Myrtle Beach. It’s a new fun venue, so check it out. Next comes the Barefoot Landing Scavenger Hunt and Happy Hour event. This will require a fully charged cell phone so that all photos of your group of 2 – 4 people with the items found can be texted to Peggy and Fred. There is no charge for the hunt. Afterward, we will gather at Taco Mundo for happy hour. A Ladies Brunch at The Famous Toastery in Carolina Forest will be a fun gathering and a chance for the ladies to get to know each other a little better. Remember to log on, sign up and show up for the events that you choose. If you are registered and cannot attend, be kind to the host as well as those on the waiting list by going to the website to unregister. The computer will automatically notify the next person waiting.
Our CSOC Thanksgiving Dinner and Meeting will be November 10 from 6:00 – 9:00 at the Beachfront Kitchen & Bar in Myrtle Beach. The cost is 25.00 which includes tax and tip will be paid by you to your server. A cash bar will also be available. Please sign up before 11:00 pm November 6. Due to space limitations, this will be a members only event. If you register and cannot come, be sure to go on the website to unregister.
Our Christmas Party has been scheduled for December 9th at Pine Lakes Country Club. You have all received a flyer about this as well as a reservation form. Please sign up on the website if you intend to come to the party but know that your registration is not complete until you mail your completed form along with a check. We have now opened the party up to accommodate the level of interest that has been shown. Go ahead and sign up if you have wanted to do so. The deadline for the reservation form and check to be received is November 16, 2026. No checks and registration forms received after November 16 will be honored.
Elena has done a great job organizing an amazing group of volunteers to plan events throughout this calendar year. If you have suggestions for an event, please pass them on to Elena. She is now looking for volunteers to host events in 2027. Please don’t shy away from this opportunity to get to know people a little better by hosting events that interest you. A board member will be glad to help you.
For several years, we have collected pull tabs from beverage cans to give to the Ronald McDonald House to help with their fundraising effort. We are still doing this! At our last meeting, there was a box of tabs donated in addition to several baggies with tabs. No matter how many you have, they do mount up! Please bring them to the meetings and give them to me.
There are rooms available for the France River Cruise scheduled for October 2 -12, 2027. Besides the cruise, we will also spend a few days in Paris. If you are interested, please fill out the trip form posted on our website and send it with your first deposit to John. There is a PDF on our website for the France trip.
Most of you have submitted your pictures to Kathy Britt so that she can post them on our Members Only Directory. No one else can see your picture except CSOC members. This helps our members put a name with a face. If you haven’t done so, you can upload your own picture, just make sure we can clearly see your face! If you want Kathy to upload it, send it to her and she will make it happen. If you come to the November Thanksgiving dinner meeting, Charlene or Kathy will be happy to take your picture. There are about 22 people whose photo is not posted.
Just one more reminder! When you register for an event, you must register each member attending. Do not register yourself plus a guest, if your “guest” is another member. Why is this? Many of our activities are member only events or many of them have a waiting list. If you are a member, but have been registered as a guest, the computer has no way of notifying you when you move up from the waiting list to being registered as an attendee.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Please consider upping your participation by attending more events or, better still, volunteering to host events for a month. Thank those who host events and those who work at the locations we visit. When we come from an attitude of gratitude, we have a lot more fun!
Thank you for continuing to make this club a memorable part of each of our lives. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Annie Laurie Lehman
President
annielaurie8486@gmail.com
267-261-0031
