Cristina Eury of Ancient Flow Therapy was our Spotlight Winner at the August Luncheon!

Cristina Eury is a licensed massage therapist with over 25 years of study in natural health and healing the body. Her methodology is through the principles of 5-Element Traditional Chinese Medicine and as a healing art practitioner of Jin Shin Jyutsu.

As an acupressure therapist, Cristina supports people with chronic health conditions to stabilize and improve their quality of life. She also serves people who are getting ready for and recovering from surgery, who seek holistic support to lower their stress pre- and post-surgery, lower their pain levels, and optimize healing time. Her clients are interested in upgrading their overall health (for example, in trying to increase their fertility or in maximizing their athletic performance). Her practice aims to relieve mental and emotional stress manifesting in depression, anxiety, etc. Cristina’s clients find that when they get back to their busy productive lives, they have an elevated ability to heal and recover.

Cristina’s practice, Ancient Flow Therapy, is based on proven, time-honored healing techniques, such as acupressure, meaning no needles as she uses her fingers. Ancient Flow Therapy enhances your body’s innate ability to heal. She works with her clients to help them feel more balanced, grounded, and energized.

Ancient Flow Therapy compliments modern medicine and partners with your medical team to provide the best support for your physical and emotional needs. This style of bodywork cultivates self-care, nurturing even for those considered in good health.

Cristina had struggled with adrenal fatigue, back pain, and depression. Her introduction to JSJ allowed her to shift her body and mind to feel energized, out of pain, and herself again. Wanting to share these new tools and ideas led her to open her practice.

Cristina never imagined that she would become an entrepreneur. “Honestly,” she said, “it was learning this healing art and wanting to share it with others that put my back against the wall into starting a business because I am the only one practicing this modality in North Central Florida. I've learned that it takes lots of time to learn the business side of things. Getting lots of support, and asking for help to keep moving forward, is so important. This is why GAWN, whose aim is to support women in business, is so powerful.”

Born in Costa Rica, Cristina remains connected with her roots through language and community service. Raised in Gainesville, from Baby Gator to UF Gator grad (Cultural Anthropology/Women’s Studies), Cristina is also an active member of professional associations including GAWN and the Florida State Massage Therapy Association (FSMTA). 

Since 2010, volunteering with the Gainesville High School Marching Band and substitute teaching have been her focus while developing Ancient Flow Therapy. She and her journalism teacher husband have three young adult college kids. Cristina has lived in a few other places (Atlanta, Phoenix, and Germany) and loves to travel, but Gainesville is home, where her garden, dog, and cat keep her on her toes. 

For more information:  https://ancientflow.com/

During our July 20th luncheon, we welcomed the new GAWN Board!

Chair: Jane Harris

Vice Chair & Website and Social Media: Caitlyn Adams

Treasurer: B Samantha Bacchus

Secretary: Christine Damm

Member Services: Lisa Hoover

Registrar: Sarah Chrest

Advisor: Kristy Moffat

Programs: Robyn Brewington

At Large Director: Slate Jackson

We have a couple of board positions open and are looking for energetic members who would like to join our board and make a difference in how GAWN operates.  We would love fresh ideas.  If you are interested in serving on our board, please reach out to one of our current board members.  More information, including an application can be found on our website.

Our June silent auction fundraiser raised $2897 for the Displaced Homemaker program at Santa Fe! Thank you to all who donated auction items, bid on the items, and came out to network and do good together!

Our June monthly meeting will be a silent auction to benefit the Displaced Homemaker Program.

We will be accepting auction items from our member and community businesses until June 10.  If you would like to donate one, or if you know a business who could benefit from branding themselves at our luncheon, please note the following:

• What to donate:  Items should have a $50 minimum value and be ready to be on display (if you want to donate a lower-value item, it will be paired with another item)
  
• Deadline to donate:  Friday, June 10
• Drop off location:  Brightway Insurance, 9127 SW 52nd Ave, Suite D-103, or contact Jane Harris at 352-283-9512 to arrange pick-up
• Event contact: Jane Harris, 352-283-9512

GAWN's Holiday Showcase is back for 2021!  This event is the perfect place to highlight your products and services to GAWN's members and guests.  It's always a fun-filled event with great food, door prizes, and a relaxed environment to learn about local businesses and do a little holiday shopping at the same time.

The event will be held on Wednesday, December 8, from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm at Sweetwater Branch Inn.

If you're interested in becoming a vendor at the event, please complete the application and email it to Kristy Moffat at kristy.moffat@brightway.com.  Registration as a vendor can be completed (and paid) online on our event page.

We look forward to seeing you there!

In the past, we have received feedback from members that there's not enough time during our luncheons to get to know people outside of the lunch tables. GAWN offers a closed Facebook group for our members to easily communicate with one another, share ideas and goals, and ask for advice. It's also an informal way for GAWN leadership to share updates about the organization a solicit feedback from our members.

The goals of the group are to provide a forum for us to introduce ourselves, connect better, and lean on each other for networking, advice, and empowerment. Here are a few examples of what might posts might look like in the group:

• My business needs to hire an accountant.  Do we have anyone in the group who does this, or can you provide some recommendations for someone outside of our group for this type of work?

• I just read this article about leadership styles and thought it would be helpful for others in our group.

• Our last luncheon speaker made me really think about the way I work with my employees. Would any of you like to meet for drinks one afternoon to discuss further and bounce ideas off each other?

• I have a great idea for a future workshop that GAWN could host. Who can I contact about this?

To join the group, make sure you're logged into your Facebook account and then click here to request to join the group.  You will be prompted with a few questions to make sure you're a current member, you understand the group isn't primarily to market your business to others, and that you agree to the group rules. Once you're approved by an administrator, you'll be a member and can post in the group. Make sure to accept the group rules, or you will not be added. We look forward to connecting with you!

We continue to work on the lineup for speakers in 2021, and would love your help! We are focused on finding engaging professionals to speak about business and personal growth topics for our membership. We currently are in need of two types of speakers:

• Experienced speakers with a proven portfolio of past engagements interested in speaking at one of our in-person luncheons or leading an in-person or virtual evening workshop. If this fits you or someone you'd recommend, please let us know!  The prospective speaker can complete our speaker application in order to be considered.

• GAWN members who are interested in providing professional tips and tricks during an in-person luncheon or in-person or virtual evening workshop.  Do you have an app that your business can't function without?  Have you changed your business practice recently and want to share your success with others?  We'd love to have you present to us.  If interested, please email Kristy Moffat, Interim Programs Chair.

After such a successful monthly meeting in July, we are sad to say that we will not be hosting a meeting in August. As you know, our meetings are generally on the third Wednesday of each month, but we waited to open up registration for the August meeting until we saw how local Covid-19 numbers looked.

Based on increased positive cases and hospitalizations along with the contagious nature of the Delta variant, we do not feel it's prudent to hold the meeting. 

We will watch the numbers and determine in late August whether to hold our September meeting, and will open up registration if it makes sense to do so.  As always, our contacts will receive an email invitation once registration is available.

Thank you for your understanding.

Our membership numbers decreased over the past year, due to fewer numbers of people meeting in groups to network.  As more people get comfortable networking in groups again, we are seeing our meeting attendance increase, which is great news.  Now we're ready to work on our membership numbers!

We are having a membership drive this summer, starting with our July luncheon.  Attendance is free to everyone, and we’re asking our members to invite guests so they can see all that GAWN has to offer.  We will be limiting the number of free spots to 60, so if you are interested in attending, make sure to register early.

To encourage people to become members, if a guest joins during the meeting, the guest AND the person who invited them will be entered into a drawing to win an iPad and potentially other prizes at our September meeting.

So start inviting!  We can't wait to see you there, and to meet your guests!

This month's spotlight is Leslie Merryman and she is a self professed travel addict. Whenever she can, Leslie is traveling somewhere.  She enjoys spending her time seeing and experiencing the world and all it has to offer, visiting with friends and planning trips. Leslie can be found on a cruise about 6 times a year and spends 3 months wandering around Europe every summer.   She works part time as a web designer at the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and this allows her to work wherever there is an internet connection. As an independent  travel consultant for Cruise Brothers she is the one to call if  you need help planning your own travel adventures (by land or by sea)  it’s not just her my job and it’s her passion!

Leslie has been a member of GWAN for 7 years and has been on the board for 3 years as the Website and Social Media Administrator.

Cruise brothers is a full service travel company so don’t let the name fool you. They are one of the largest family owned cruise agencies in the country and have been in business since 1972 making them YOUR cruise experts. They expanded the business to include land based world-wide travel and work with some of the best tour groups in the industry to get you the best deal on your ideal vacation.

So Don’t get soaked on your next cruise or vacation trip!

Contact Leslie to help make your dream trip a reality. (352) 870-9870 or by email at ldmerry@gmail.com