Showing Her Colors The Extremely Clever Cuties of Western New York are so proud of their chapterette, Sally Scavone. Sally, along with the rest of the Cuties, works at Erie Community College, and in the fall of 2006, she struck up a conversation with some Army Reserve Recruiters who were on the campus. After discussing with her family, she joined the Reserve! She is now deployed as an active duty nurse in the United States, taking the place of another nurse who was sent overseas. The Extremely Clever Cuties are so excited that a Red Hatter is bringing her colors and enthusiasm to the armed services, and they wish her well!

A Colorful Welcome The Radiant Red Birds donned their purple outfits and bright red hats as usual, but for this occasion they added splashes of red, white, and blue as well! They had decided to spend one of their chapter outings welcoming troops home at a nearby airport. The Red Birds waited with a steadily growing group of greeters; as the troops emerged, a cheer went up, and the Red Birds moved in to hug and congratulate the soldiers. Linda Roth tells us: "Trembling with emotion, we gathered together, a mass of purple topped with red froth. We had come to offer support and welcome, but we found ourselves overwhelmed with appreciation, respect, and admiration." We're sure the troops appreciated the welcome and the Red Birds' bright colors!

Surprise! Nancy Harbison, Queen of the Red Hat Surprises of Surprise, Arizona, decided to host a special lunch for her members a few months ago. On each invitation, she had asked the chapterettes to bring a wrapped $10 gift for exchange. The chapterettes arrived, each bearing a beautifully wrapped gift; after lunch, the ladies sat in a circle, and someone suggested that Nancy, as the hostess, open her gift first. Imagine her surprise when the package she received contained men's socks, beef jerky, and hand sanitizer! The ladies all began laughing, and explained that all of the packages contained similar items: the ladies had discussed it, and decided that instead of exchanging gifts that none of them really needed, they would put that money towards a care package for Nancy's son, who was stationed in Afghanistan. What a thoughtful gift!

The Flint Hills Floozies and Their Fabulous Flag Judy Hoover, of the Flint Hills Floozies, was so happy when her son, Doug, returned home safe and sound from his tour of duty in Iraq. While he was overseas, her chapter had sent him a care package which included an American flag. When he returned, he presented that flag to the chapter, along with a certificate stating that the flag had been on his Black Hawk helicopter while they flew one of their many missions. Doug, as pilot in command, and the rest of the flight crew had signed the certificate, and the flag and certificate are both on display at the local bank. Of course, the Red Hatters gave Doug a big welcome home: they decorated the front lawn in his honor, and wrote personal thank-you notes which they tied to the trees with yellow ribbons.

Memories We asked you for your favorite Red Hat memories, and what a response! We wish we could share all the great stories we received, but we only have space for a few. Here are some of our favorites!

Memories on the Metro Nancy Wyatt remembers a special trip on the Metro Link train to view the movie Freaky Friday: it was her very first Red Hat Outing! 20 Hatters were present, dressed to the nines in regalia, and definitely turned some heads. After the movie, the group headed over to a luncheon where they were greeted by a group of Disney princesses, including Snow White and Cinderella. Nancy tells us that the real "icing on the cake" came as they were waiting to catch the train home. A young man stopped them to ask what their bright colors were about. When they explained, he grinned from ear to ear and asked his friends to take his picture with the beautiful women!

Memories of the Drama Queen What's a Red Hatter to do on a cold and windy night? Why, grab another Hatter and go out on the town, of course! Linda Lohman emailed a woman she had recently met at a Red Hat event, and the two arranged to see a movie together. They wore small red whimsies so as not to block the view of the other patrons, and after the movie, sat in the lobby talking for over an hour. Linda writes, "Delores is one year older than I am, and the only one in the group that can keep up! We quickly learned that we could be giddy, giggling schoolgirls with each other. Her spontaneity was infectious…She would meet meet up anywhere or any time and with the least notice. No wonder we became such friends!" Linda dubbed Delores the Drama Queen, and the friendship has stayed strong, even though Delores now lives across the country. That's real sisterhood!

Memories of a real Red Hat Sister Dorothy Emerson was convinced that she could never be a queen, but her sister Becky wasn't so sure. Dorothy lives in a small town in Ohio, and wasn't sure that anyone else in town would be interested, but Becky kept pushing. Finally, Dorothy decided to start a chapter, and held an informational meeting; to her surprise, all of the women who attended were eager to start Red Hatting! The Hatters That Matter are now 22 strong, and 6 more chapters have started in that little Ohio town! Becky passed away on May 31, 2006, but her sister is still grateful: "Had she not convinced me I could do it, I would have missed out on a wonderful experience."

Let Us Eat Cake! So many of our chapter held parties to celebrate the Red Hat Society 10th Birthday that we simply can't show all the pictures we received! However, we did some pictures of lovely Red Hat cakes, and we couldn't resist sharing those! Cakes are from The Red Chapeaux of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada; The Red Hat Q. T. Pies, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada; The Red Hat Mad Hatters and the Red Hat Jewels of Mayslake, in Oak Brook, Illinois; The Cambourne Country Cardinals, in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada; The Foxy Rambling Red Roses of Louisville, Kentucky; The Damsels in Dis-Dress of St. Louis, Missouri; the Red Hat Tamales, of El Paso, Texas.