On the second Tuesday in August, after a two-month summer break, something wonderful happens at Spring Lake Pavilion.
Women begin arriving.
Some are longtime members who immediately spot familiar faces across the room. Others are newcomers, perhaps still learning their way around, walking into their first Hilton Head Plantation Women’s Club event not quite knowing what to expect. There are hugs and introductions, conversations picked up where they left off in May, and plenty of laughter.
And there is ice cream.
The Women’s Club’s annual ice cream social officially kicks off each new season, and in keeping with tradition, the husbands of the club’s board members step behind the serving tables to dish it up. Meanwhile, members circulate among tables representing the club’s many activity groups, deciding how they might spend the year ahead.
Book club? Pickleball? Hiking? Canasta? Gardening? Lunch? Theatre? Cooking? Bible study?
For returning members, it is a reunion. For new members, it can be the beginning of something much bigger: Friendship.
That scene is especially meaningful in 2026 as the club celebrates its 40th anniversary. Today, the organization numbers more than 650 women and offers more than 20 activities and special-interest groups. But strip away the numbers, programs, and events, and its purpose remains remarkably similar to the one envisioned by six women four decades ago: Bring women together. That simple idea has proven to have extraordinary staying power.
Members enjoy a private class about plant-forward eating at Hilton Head Oils & Balsamics in the Village at Wexford.
Six Women, One Vision
In the summer of 1986, Hilton Head Plantation was a much different place. Many residents had relocated from somewhere else, often leaving family and established friendships behind.
Six women – Dorothy DeTorre, Jo Ann Dikeos, Louise Gault, Olive Sue Linkletter, Laura Turner, and Anne Werner – answered a call for volunteers to organize a women’s club. Werner served as chairman during the organizational period, and Gault would become the club’s first president.
Their first gathering was an elegant tea held September 9, 1986. Two hundred fifty women attended. By the end of the first year, membership had reached 328. Clearly, those six women had recognized a need.
The original purpose was described simply: to bring women of the plantation together in a spirit of friendship, fellowship, and fun. At a time when many residents were building new lives far from longtime friends and family, the Women’s Club offered something invaluable – a way to belong.
Forty years later, the plantation has changed dramatically. So have the women who call it home. Yet the desire that inspired the club’s creation remains remarkably universal. People need people. Perhaps that is the first secret to the women’s club’s staying power.
The Current Board of the Hilton Head Plantation Womens Club. Top row (l-r): Tracy Elizabeth, Polly Kyle (Past President), Julie Austin (VP); Third Row (l-r): Diane Mills (Activity Director), Gretchen Griggs (Treasurer), Jennifer Morrison (Hospitality Director); Second Row (l-r): Debbie Winters (Hospitality Director), Marilyn Bailey (Recording Secretary), Mindy Rooney (Membership Director), Fran Fiorino (Publicity Director); Front Row (l-r): Mary Howe (Hospitality Director) and Cheryl Ricer (President). Not pictured: Laurie Gilbert (Hospitality Director), Heather Provost (Membership Director), and Kristy Graham (Publicity Director).
A Club That Changed With the Women
Organizations that last rarely do so by remaining exactly the same. Over four decades, the Women’s Club has retained its identity while continually adapting to the interests and lifestyles of its members.
Monthly meetings remain central to the club. Throughout the years, speakers from Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, and beyond have informed and entertained members with programs about history, art, nature, culture, and personal experiences. Some programs became part of club lore.
Emma Kelly, known as the Lady of 6,000 Songs, was among the earliest speakers, charming members with her music and Southern personality. Newsweek photographer Wally McNamee offered an inside look at presidents, politics, and personalities. Other programs have ranged from ballroom dancing and fashion to local history and the Lowcountry environment. But today’s Women’s Club also looks different from the one created in 1986.
During the 2025-26 season, evening socials were introduced to better accommodate working members. The events quickly became another opportunity for women to connect while enjoying local performers.
Technology changed communication as well. A website was launched for the 2021-22 season, helping streamline club administration and communication with a rapidly expanding membership.
The willingness to ask “What do our members need now?” has helped keep a 40-year-old organization feeling anything but old.
“We’ve been through hurricanes, a pandemic, personal losses, and health challenges – all the things life brings,” Balog said. “We all need our girlfriends, and I have found many in this club.”
Members of the Hilton Head Plantation Women’s Club are photographed at their May luncheon, held at USCB on Hilton Head Island. Today, the organization numbers more than 650 women and offers more than 20 activities and special-interest groups. But strip away the numbers, programs, and events, and its purpose remains remarkably similar to the one envisioned by six women four decades ago: Bring women together. That simple idea has proven to have extraordinary staying power.
Something for Everyone
Perhaps nowhere is the club’s evolution more visible than in its activity groups. In 1986, there were two. Today, there are more than 20 activities and special-interest groups spanning books, cards, exercise, cooking, theatre, gardening, Bible study, knitting, philanthropy, and social outings. Within some of those categories are multiple groups.
Book clubs were among the earliest activities and remain enormously popular. Bridge followed, including the longtime Marathon Bridge group. Mah Jongg classes began in 2000 and introduced countless members to a game many had never played before moving to Hilton Head.
Green Thumbers carries on a gardening tradition that dates to the club’s earliest years. Knit Wits brings members together over knitting and crocheting. Culinary groups have evolved from the original Culinary Cut-Ups into today’s Mangia Con Noi, Cookbook Club, and Plant Forward.
Then there are women who would rather move than sit. Beach Walkers, HHP Walkers, S-low Country Hikers, Biking Buddies, and Pickleball members prove just how much interests have changed. Interestingly, early attempts at some exercise-oriented groups faded because there wasn’t enough participation.
Today, they’re among the club’s popular offerings.
The Roadshow Adventures Club enjoys a luncheon and cruise along the Savannah River.
Social groups flourish, too. Out to Lunch Bunch dates to 1991 and continues to bring women together around restaurant tables. Happy Hour Gals can attract more than 100 members to monthly happy hours. Drama Queens and Chick Flicks head out to performances and movies.
Adventure has always had a place. In 1989, then-vice president Joan Israel helped launch Island Hoppers, a travel group that began with day trips to places such as Daufuskie Island, Beaufort, and Savannah and eventually expanded to overnight excursions to The Biltmore House, Epcot, Callaway Gardens, and Charlotte.
Today, Road Show Adventures continues that tradition under Jean Conroy, planning excursions near and far, while the club’s Road Rally turns Hilton Head Plantation itself into the setting for a scavenger hunt.
For Conroy, however, the activity groups have always been about much more than filling a calendar.
“HHP Women’s Club has always been an integral part of living here,” Conroy said. “It was a place to go when I knew no one else on Hilton Head. When I went to my first meeting 13 years ago, little did I know I was making friends from all over the country and all walks of life. We all had something in common – we all chose to live on this beautiful island and in this beautiful neighborhood.”
During the years that followed, Conroy served on the Women’s Club board for six years and participated in several activity groups, discovering along the way what she describes as some of the most appreciative and kind women she now calls friends.
“Everyone is always willing to help, lend a hand, and offer words of encouragement if things don’t always go as planned,” she said. “I presently co-chair the Road Show Adventures group. Our motto is, ‘Life is meant for good friends and great adventures!’ And that is what I have found.”
Conroy’s experience illustrates something that cannot be measured on a membership roster: Relationships.
A woman signs up because she likes books and finds her closest friends. Another joins a walking group and suddenly has people expecting her every week. Someone new to the community attends lunch and leaves with plans for dinner. Activities might be what brings women through the door. Friendship is what keeps them coming back.
The Women Behind the Women’s Club
An organization serving more than 650 members does not operate by accident. Behind every meeting, luncheon, social, speaker, membership drive, activity group, and charitable initiative is a network of women volunteering their time.
For 40 years, presidents have provided leadership, but no president has worked alone. Vice presidents, secretaries, treasurers, directors, committee chairs, activity group leaders, and countless volunteers have carried the organization from one generation to the next. They reserve venues and plan programs; coordinate speakers, entertainment, and volunteers; manage memberships and budgets; organize food; collect donations; welcome newcomers and communicate with members. They solve problems – often before most members ever know there was a problem to solve.
“Serving as president was a rewarding experience,” said Fran Fiorino, who has held multiple board positions, including president. “A new president serves each year, and while you would think that would be disruptive, it is actually quite the opposite. Each president brings fresh ideas and builds upon the successes of previous ones, so our club continuously evolves and just keeps getting better and better.”
The history of the club is therefore not simply the history of its presidents. It is the collective history of hundreds of women who repeatedly raised their hands and said, in one way or another, “I’ll help.”
That spirit of volunteer leadership has created continuity while allowing every board to bring something new.
Thirty-nine women have served as president since 1986. Each inherited something built by the women before her and accepted responsibility for leaving it stronger for the women who would follow. That succession of service may be one of the most important reasons the club is still thriving.
When Staying Connected Became Harder
Over 40 years, staying connected has sometimes required more than organizing meetings, luncheons, and activity groups. Members have weathered hurricanes, illness, personal losses, and, eventually, a pandemic. Through it all, the friendships created within the club have often mattered most when life became difficult.
Past president Joan Balog discovered how quickly those relationships could take root. She moved to Hilton Head in 2014 and first heard about the Women’s Club from a woman in her Zumba class.
“She said, ‘You should join! It’s fun!’” Balog recalled. “By 2015, I was on the board, by 2016 I was vice president, followed by president in 2017. I met so many glorious women – so smart, so accomplished, so willing to invest in each other and HHP.”
Over the years, Balog discovered that those friendships extended well beyond the social side of the club.
“We’ve been through hurricanes, a pandemic, personal losses, and health challenges – all the things life brings,” Balog said. “We all need our girlfriends, and I have found many in this club.”
That sense of connection became particularly important in spring 2020, when COVID brought meetings and activities to a sudden halt.
The incoming board spent that summer determining how the Women’s Club could continue serving its members when gathering – the very thing at the heart of the organization – was suddenly impossible. The answer involved technology, creativity, and a considerable amount of patience.
For Bobbie Ventre, who served as president during the 2020-2021 season, one of the greatest challenges was ensuring that new technology connected members rather than inadvertently leaving some of them behind.
“This was a huge change, and not all members were very excited about it,” Ventre said. “We created step-by-step instructions and provided training by walking members through each step, either over the phone or safely in person. It was vital that all members – especially those who were technologically challenged – were not left behind.”
The learning curve included far more than Zoom. Members were adapting to an online directory, the club’s Facebook page, and new enrollment procedures, while the board worked behind the scenes to help women navigate each change.
At the same time, familiar traditions were being reimagined. Monthly speakers appeared via Zoom. The ice cream social moved outside to the Plantation House porch. The New Member Welcome became an outdoor happy hour rather than a luncheon, and Jingle and Mingle moved to a venue offering outdoor access.
There were, as Ventre readily acknowledged, some growing pains. But then she added a thought that might best summarize what happened next: “Look at us now!”
Membership remained strong. As restrictions eased and new residents arrived in Hilton Head Plantation, membership surged. Technology that once seemed daunting became part of the infrastructure supporting the organization that now serves its 650 women.
The Ripple Effect of 650-Plus Women
The impact of an organization this large extends far beyond its own events.
Consider what happens when more than 650 women actively participate in the community around them. They eat lunch. They meet for happy hour. They attend plays. They go to movies. They visit museums, gardens, and area attractions. They take tours, participate in classes, and explore neighboring communities. They bring friends. They return to places they discover through the club.
For decades, Women’s Club activity groups have regularly gathered at local restaurants and businesses, creating a quiet but meaningful economic ripple throughout Hilton Head and the surrounding Lowcountry. There might not be a single ledger documenting 40 years of activities in the greater community, but collectively, the impact is significant.
Economic support is only part of the story. These women volunteer. They donate. They serve. Multiply those actions across hundreds of members and four decades, and the reach becomes extraordinary.
A Legacy of Giving
Community service has been woven into the club almost from its beginning. In 1989, members Laura Turner and Joan Israel served coffee and buns to approximately 400 people attending the Easter Sunrise Service at Dolphin Head Park, beginning a tradition that continued for years.
The club has supported the Hilton Head Plantation community itself in tangible ways. Women’s Club funds helped purchase items for the Plantation House, and benches throughout the plantation were donated by the club. A bronze plaque and two benches were installed at the flagpole honoring “Veterans, Past, Present and Future,” as the plaque reads. The club also contributed $10,000 to the HHP Conservancy Foundation after members sold 2,500 packets of notecards featuring scenes of Hilton Head Plantation.
Beyond the gates, the reach expands considerably. Over the decades, recipients of Women’s Club financial support have included Deep Well, Volunteers in Medicine, Meals on Wheels, The Children’s Center, Memory Matters, Pockets Full of Sunshine, Programs for Exceptional People, Hopeful Horizons, the Boys & Girls Club, Hospice Care of the Lowcountry, Hilton Head Humane Association, and numerous other organizations.
Support has even extended beyond the Lowcountry during times of disaster and national need.
One of the club’s most beloved traditions is its holiday collection for Deep Well, when members arrive with toys, nonperishable food, and monetary donations. The generosity can be remarkable – but perhaps more important is what those collections represent. Hundreds of individual acts of giving become one substantial community response.
Today, monthly meetings feature a Community Spotlight, giving local nonprofit representatives an opportunity to explain their missions and needs directly to members. Those needs are shared on the club website, extending the opportunity to respond through donations and volunteer service.
At year’s end, the club also makes charitable contributions based upon its remaining treasury balance. It is philanthropy built not around one grand gesture, but around consistency – year after year, need after need.
Forty Years Later
And so we return to the Plantation House on that second Tuesday in August. The husbands are scooping ice cream. Activity leaders are answering questions. Board members are making sure everything runs as planned. Old friends are reconnecting after summer, while somewhere in the room a woman who has never before attended a Hilton Head Plantation Women’s Club event is introducing herself to someone new.
Six women began it in 1986. Hundreds more have carried it forward – not through one president, one board, one program, or one generation, but through a shared willingness to welcome, participate, and serve.
The founders could hardly have imagined a Women’s Club more than 650 members strong. They could not have envisioned Zoom meetings, online registration, pickleball groups, or happy hours attracting more than 100 women.
But walk into the ice cream social today, and they would recognize what matters. They would recognize the laughter. They would recognize women welcoming women, neighbors becoming friends. And they would recognize the generosity of people discovering that what they can accomplish together is far greater than anything they could accomplish alone.
Forty years after six women decided Hilton Head Plantation needed a place where women could find friendship, fellowship and fun, their idea hasn’t simply survived. It has become part of the fabric of the community.
And perhaps the greatest testament to the Women’s Club’s staying power is that after four decades, hundreds of women are still answering the same invitation: “Come join us.”
Learn more at HHPWC.org.