Happy Anniversary WOSIB!!!

A little history of WOSIB...
along with links to our previous anniversary pages.
(You might want to grab a drink or a snack first - it got
REAL long in the writing this year.)

WOSIB - May 25, 2000

Our Founder, Star Gaze, had recently turned 15.
She wanted to join an online women's group - and started looking.
None of them were exactly what she had in mind - their beliefs
weren't quite in line with hers - or they didn't accept members
under 18.  So, she decided to start her own group.  A pretty
ambitious undertaking for a High School student.

So she decided on the name of Women of Strength and
Inner Beauty.  She developed the website - on Angelfire
 - created a webring on the original Webring system -
and started signing guestbooks (sometimes as many
as 200/day - so the story goes), inviting
ladies to join her new group - WOSIB.

And join they did - in tremendous numbers.
The ring grew - Committees were formed (and later became Gardens) - 
Staff members were appointed...  And WOSIB took off.
When Webring was taken over by Yahoo, we
moved the WOSIB webring to RingSurf.
By 5/25/01 - the first anniversary -
there were 890 members in the webring.

Our First Anniversary was great fun.  It was the first time that
the WOSIB Staff got together, and worked on a project together.
And we did it without Star Gaze knowing!!
The theme for our first anniversary was
"Headed for the Future".
And the "future" was ownership of the
wosib.org domain name - and paid hosting.
It was an excellent surprise for Star Gaze - who
had NO idea what we all were up to.
It was also a big step for a group that was only a year old.

During the next year, the webring at RingSurf disappeared!!
So, we moved the ring to a Ringlink installation on the wosib.org
server.  And we started rebuilding.  Everyone had to join again.
We had a Digging Contest - which resulted in lots of new members.
During this year the Designers Garden was born - and the Garden of the
Fae began flitting about to dust our guestbooks.

Since our Second Anniversary, WOSIB continued to grow.
We got more organized and have added several new Gardens.

Thanks to Becca's organizational skills - and obsessiveness -
we had a database of all of our members.

The Angels added more staff - and in addition to the Spoiling Crew
created a new Support Crew - for providing special care to our
members in need.

The Designers added a Blinkie Club and SigTag Club
to go along with the Charm Club.
Their Adoption section had lots of new selections,
and there were lots of beautiful websets available for
the WOSIB members to use to decorate their sites.

Our newest Gardens during the second year were the Quilters,
the Literary and Recipe Gardens, the
Causes Garden and WOSIB Revue.

Becca accepted our invitation to become a Co-Leader,
to join Star Gaze and myself in managing this group.

And, also thanks to Becca, our website got a great new look.

We moved to a new webhost so we had more room to grow.
And this year started a Banner Exchange and held our
first raffle.

Which brought us to our Third Anniversary! 
And the theme for this anniversary -
We've Come a Long Way Baby!!

By then we had become a huge organization - with 1140 members -
with 959 sites in the webring - 17 Gardens/Clubs -
and 32 staff members - including two co-leaders.

And then we arrived at our Fourth Anniversary! 
And the theme for this anniversary -
"Time Flies When You're Having Fun!!
WOSIB 4 Years Strong"

This year, our new gardens, were all based on the theme of
Sisters To Sisters. The Big Sis Garden, who help our new members
learn about the various activities, and find the right fit.  The
HTML Helpers - who will answer questions about HTML
and help their sisters build webpages.  The Translators,
our wonderful multi-lingual ladies who will help with translations.
The Researchers, who find useful information out there on the WWW
and categorize it in helpful ways.  The Snail Mail Gardeners
send cards and letters to fellow members around the world.
And the Angels Garden changed its name to the
TLC Garden - as a better reflection of its activities. 

And now we are FIVE!!
Our anniversary theme is WOSIB: A Diverse Sisterhood

What started as a dream - a webring, a website, and a few members -
has become a huge organization - with almost 1300 members -
with 968 sites in the webring - 21 Gardens/Clubs -
and 50 staff members - including the two co-leaders.

This year the Diggers became the Social Butterflies, flitting
around the web, inviting new members to join.
We opened a Critters Garden where members celebrate their pets.
And three of our Staff members accepted the position of Senior Staff
to work on special projects, and lend Becca and me a hand in running the group -
special thanks to Natalie, Carol, and Sadie for agreeing to take on the
added responsibility.

Each anniversary has become a time to reflect on where we have
been, how we have grown, what we have become.  But
most importantly, it's a time for us to appreciate each other,
and what we and WOSIB have become together.  WOSIB is not the staff,
it's not an individual person, it's all of us.  It's every woman
who has needed a sister, and has found one within our group.
The internet has provided the opportunity for people to
connect with others in a way that many of us have never been able
to do in real life - without any judgments based on our age, color,
or physical limitations.  The internet is truly a miraculous
thing - and WOSIB is one of the best things about the internet. 

All of this has been possible because of all the wonderful
ladies who have chosen to be part of this organization -
that started as a dream and became a reality.
Our membership is made up of wonderfully loving and
talented ladies, who are always there to share their
support and their talents. 

As I read the writings throughout the anniversary pages each year
- the memories that the staff members submitted - the poems and the stories
of "What WOSIB Means to Me" - the poems written and contributed by the members -
I am always impressed by how important this group has become to so many people. 
The stories of lonely women who found friends here, sometimes for the first time.
The women who have suffered, and found support here.
The ladies who learned and found a place where their talents
were appreciated - and where they could grow and be shared with others.
I am repeatedly touched by the love that they describe.

In each Garden, I see more than women working on common
projects - I see friendships develop - true caring about
each other - and a wonderful sisterhood.

This is what makes WOSIB,
as our Head Judge KimTx always says: 
"WOSIB - the best women's group on the net - A FACT!!"

Happy Anniversary to all
Hugs,
Pamster - WOSIB Co-Leader

Now come along and enjoy the celebration.  See
all the wonderful contributions by the various Gardens.
There are gifts, and memories, and games to play.