The holiday season may be right around the corner with our Ladies' Holiday Escape thanks to Jennifer Mott & Timea Kovaks, but let’s not forget our accomplishments from November. The combined efforts of the Thanksgiving Basket & Thanksgiving Senior Meal committees raised enough funds to contribute to both local and surrounding community organizations. A big thanks to fellow committee members - Katrine Giroux, Christine Charette, and Amy Forman.
 
Looking forward to next year - and boy are we looking forward to next year - we may not be able to have our regular family fundraising events right away, but we are bringing back our Month of Prizes! Plus we are looking into organizing one or two ‘Restaurant Days’ and a ‘Dinner Take-out Night'. If you are interested in getting these new endeavors going, please email hnnexecutiveboard@gmail.com.
 
Although 2020 has been a year like no other, HNN members still accomplished much for the community and continued to stay in touch - even if it was through a screen. Thank you for continuing to promote the HNN mission of community and connection, and we will continue to look for ways to help others and each other in 2021.  

Wishing all of you a happy holiday season!

Debbie
President
Debbie Colburn   president.hnn@gmail.com

It’s time to think about sponsorship for 2021. We will be contacting our 2020 sponsors for their renewal in December and mailing to other community businesses after the first of the year. If you or someone you know would like to sponsor HNN, please email committee.newcomers@gmail.com
 
We would like to thank our 2020 sponsors and hope they will continue to support us in the coming year.
 
● Gold

Harelick Dental and Goldfish Swim School in Milford

● Silver

Tink’s Magical Vacations with Donna & Jensen Sheehan Insurance Agency

●  Bronze

Blessed Beginnings Preschool, Dr. Preussner Aesthetic and Family Dentistry, The Bloom Center for Esthetic Dentistry, Prana Center, Archambault Construction, and Farrell Pool Service

 
The details of the sponsor benefits are on our webpage at https://hollistonnewcomers.org/Become-a-Sponsor

Warm wishes to all as you find new and safe ways to celebrate the holidays with those dearest to you. The HNN book club will be taking a break from reading this month, and we look forward to catching up with you on Wednesday, January 20, at 7:30pm to talk about The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead.
 
If you’d like to get a head start on the January selection, you should find it on hold for HNN at the Holliston library by early December. Check out hollistonlibrary.org for pick up options. You may also want to explore the library website for instructions on using the Minuteman network to borrow digital versions of this and upcoming titles. Some selections may be available via the HOOPLA app.   
 
Looking ahead to February, we hope to read along with the annual One Holliston book selection, and that title is not yet selected. The March book is The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory, and the remaining months depend on recommendations by book club members. What’s your idea?
 
Cindy and Sue
Book Club Co-Chairs 
Cindy Carr   carr.cynthiad@gmail.com
Sue Hatton   hncbookclub@outlook.com

There is no Board meeting in December. Our next HNN meeting will be a General Meeting for all members on January 27th at 7:30 pm.  More details and Zoom information will be in the January Newsletter.
 
Thank you, and may you have a very healthy and happy holiday season!

Julie
First Vice President
Julianne Catlin   juliannecatlin@gmail.com

Just because we aren’t getting together in person - doesn’t mean HNN members are sitting idly by.
 
We had a fun Welcome New Members Zoom get-together in October thanks to the Ladies' Escapes team of Timea Kovacs and Jennifer Mott. We met a couple of new members and talked and talked - and exchanged ideas for future get-togethers as well. And Book Club keeps us reading thanks to co-chairs Sue Hatton & Cindy Carr.
 
The Thanksgiving team is moving along nicely! We hope to make this a successful donation drive to give a boost to those families and organizations in need. Thanks to my co-chairs Katrine Giroux, Christine Charette & Amy Foreman.
 
We are still looking for volunteers to investigate and organize ‘Restaurant Days’ to benefit the HNN Grant Fund. ‘Restaurant Days’ is when a local restaurant donates a percentage of their sales for the day to a non-profit. If you are interested - please email hnnexecutiveboard@gmail.com.
 
Although for some it may be a quieter day than usual, wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Debbie
President
Debbie Colburn   president.hnn@gmail.com

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, November 17, at 7:30pm when we will meet up, catch up, and discuss The Book of Lost Friends, by Lisa Wingate. BYO beverage and snacks, and join us on Zoom!  Registration is required in order to receive the meeting link, and there are two ways to do this. If you are on the HNN Book Club Facebook page, you may register there, or just send an email to the co-chairs at the addresses listed below.
 
Multiple copies of this month’s book are on reserve for HNN members at the Holliston library. Check out hollistonlibrary.org for pick up options. You may also want to explore the library website for instructions on using the Minuteman network to borrow digital versions of this and upcoming titles. Some selections may be available via the HOOPLA app.   
 
Looking ahead, we will take our usual December break. In January, start off the New Year with The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead, and in February we will read along with the annual One Holliston book selection. The March book is The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory, and the remaining months depend on recommendations by book club members. What’s your idea?
 

"Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now-destitute plantation; Juneau Jane, her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister; and Hannie, Lavinia's former slave. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following dangerous roads rife with ruthless vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and eight siblings before slavery's end, the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the seemingly limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope. Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt--until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi river town. Augustine, Louisiana, seems suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything"-- Provided by publisher
 
Cindy and Sue
Book Club Co-Chairs 
Cindy Carr   carr.cynthiad@gmail.com
Sue Hatton   hncbookclub@outlook.com

Join the Ladies' Escape Committee for our Annual Holiday Party on the evening of December 5, 2020.  We will have a virtual holiday themed party with a festive cocktail (recipe will be provided) and gift-giving component.  Please RSVP to Jen or Timea at the addresses below as soon as possible and include your residential address, if you want to participate in the gift-giving component.  We will randomly select another participant and provide you with their address until everyone has a "secret Elf/Santa" assigned to them.  Shop locally for your gift and secretly mail or drop it off to your assigned person with a clue about yourself.  We'll then share our gifts and clues at our virtual holiday party on December 5th!

Timea and Jennifer
Ladies' Escapes Co-Chairs
Timea Kovacs timusch@yahoo.com
Jennifer Mott hncladiesescape@gmail.com

This year has brought many alternate plans for so many of our HNN and community traditions, but our committees are up to the task.
 
The Thanksgiving committees have joined together to organize the 2020 Thanksgiving effort detailed in this newsletter. The Holiday Fundraising committees have been brainstorming ways to involve the community while raising funds for the HNN Grant Fund. And the HNN social committees are working hard to keep us all connected. All so busy, and we have just begun!
 
On that note - we are looking for volunteers to investigate and organize ‘Restaurant Days’ to benefit the HNN Grant Fund. ‘Restaurant Days’ are when a local restaurant donates a percentage of their sales for the day to a non-profit. If you are interested, please email hnnexecutiveboard@gmail.com.
 
Enjoy the fall!

Debbie
President
Debbie Colburn   president.hnn@gmail.com

Join us for  a VIRTUAL WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS' ZOOM PARTY on Sunday, October 4 from 7 to 8 pm. Let’s virtually get together and celebrate this terrific club we have in our beautiful town. Think about all the reasons why you joined the club and what you love most about it and share it with our new members. Just because were are social distancing, doesn’t mean we have to drink alone! Pour yourself a drink and join us via Zoom!
 
Please RSVP to Timea at timusch@yahoo.com, and the link will be sent to you prior to the event!

Join us Wednesday, October 21 at 7:30pm when we will meet up, catch up, and discuss this month’s book, The Girls with No Names, by Serena Burdick. BYO beverage and snacks, and join us on zoom! Registration is required in order to receive the meeting link. Please check out the Book Club Facebook page or the emails below to register.
 
Multiple copies of the book have been reserved at the Holliston library. Check out hollistonlibrary.org for pick-up options. You may also want to check the library website for instructions on using the Minuteman network to borrow digital versions or try the audio version of this title, which is available for instant download via the HOOPLA app.   
 

“Growing up in New York City in the 1910s, Luella and Effie Tildon realize that even as wealthy young women, their freedoms come with limits. When the sisters discover a shocking secret about their father, Luella, the brazen older sister becomes emboldened to do as she pleases. Her rebellion comes with consequences, and one morning Luella is mysteriously gone. Effie suspects her father has sent Luella to the House of Mercy and hatches a plan to get herself committed to save her sister. But she made a miscalculation, and with no one to believe her story, Effie's own escape seems impossible--unless she can trust an enigmatic girl named Mable. As their fates entwine, Mable and Effie must rely on their tenuous friendship to survive.” From the MLN summary
 
Looking ahead to November, we will be reading The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate.
 
Cindy and Sue
Book Club Co-Chairs 
Cindy Carr   carr.cynthiad@gmail.com
Sue Hatton   hncbookclub@outlook.com