QotM – Wanda Goldson – August 2024

Let us tell you about Queen Wanda Goldson’s delightful Red Hat adventures! Wanda, also known as Nzinga, is the Awesome Queen of Inspiration for the Royal Queens of A.W.E (Awesome, Wonderful, Empowered) Chapter of Lake Charles, LA USA. Born in September and hailing from Shreveport, LA, Wanda is a proud alumna of The Booker T. Washington Senior High School and Dillard University in New Orleans. She is a retired USPS worker and an active community member, especially with the Council on Aging, where she finds fulfillment in providing services to the elderly and helping new Red Hatters find chapters to join.

Wanda’s hobbies include shopping, traveling, photography, event planning, and collecting plants, tote bags, and teapots. She is also a motivational speaker, mentor, relaxation and self-esteem coach, and facilitator of retreats and rites of passage.

Her Red Hat journey began like many others, with an invitation to a chapter party. She joined Charlie's Ladies of B.A.N. in 2010 and started her chapter in 2012. As an Ambassador Queen, Wanda cherishes the opportunities to be creative and inspire others. One of her proudest moments was when her sister, Ersie Franklin, joined the High Desert Sophisticated Ladies of Antelope Valley of Littlerock, CA USA, due to Wanda’s enthusiastic tales of her Red Hat adventures.

What Wanda loves most about being a Red Hat Society Queen is the sense of community and the encouragement to be uniquely oneself. She believes in creating her path, staying on it, and being part of the solution when problems arise.

One of Wanda’s favorite memories is her first encounter with ladies from all over at Magnolia Glitz in Baton Rouge, LA USA, in 2011. This event led to her attending her first RHS International Convention in New Orleans, USA, where she experienced the birth of the Red Hat Caftans chapter, and witnessed Queen Tootoo being crowned the first Hatter of the Year. This unforgettable weekend cemented her love for the Red Hat Society.

Wanda’s best project is her chapter's annual Go Red for Women Heart Awareness Fun Weekend in alliance with the American Heart Association, held every February since 2013.

Wanda’s advice for sister Red Hatters is to be creative, respectful, and supportive, follow the Red Hat Society guidelines, and enjoy wearing your regalia. For Wanda, everything is about the hat, and she embraces every moment of it!