Group Spotlight: Greater Dallas & Fort Worth

Enjoy this personal conversation with group leader Janice Fowler!

By
Women sitting at a table on a pink background
AARP (Courtesy Janice Fowler)

A Conversation With Janice Fowler of the Ethel Gathering Group: Greater Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX. (The Ethel Gathering Groups are local in-person gathering groups that are now in 45 states. They are an offshoot of our closed Facebook group for older women, The Ethel Circle.)

When did your group start and how many members do you have?

The group was created on Nov. 16, 2023. I became the moderator in April 2024. We now have 604 members with 500 active participants. I have two AARP administrators. We have eight local group hosts who have monthly in-person luncheons and gatherings and four group experts who have been actively involved and can answer many questions. We have a three-member welcoming group that welcomes new members. In November, we added Uplifting Ethel roles. These three ladies are available to talk with Ethels in a non-medical capacity. They’ve received guidance from the AARP Friendly Voice team. (Find out more about Friendly Voice here.)

What has being an organizer meant to you?

I have experienced a wonderful transformation. I struggled with diabetes and did not want to do many things. This, along with my natural shyness, made me isolated with my books and TV. The decision to become an organizer was a game-changer. It’s meant that I am a part of something bigger than myself. It is giving me the opportunity to live the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” I am deeply humbled to be a part of an amazing organization and in the company of caring and resourceful women.

What are a few of the group’s most popular activities and events?

The group originally started with regular brunches or lunches. Several Dallas Ethels attended the State Fair of Texas on Senior Citizen Day and The Senior Expo at The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Our main event in 2024 was to host a virtual fundraiser for The North Texas Food Bank Peanut Butter Drive to help hungry children for National Child Hunger Month in September.

We also host a monthly caregivers meeting. This 45-minute virtual meeting is talk, laughter and an opportunity for caregivers to be with others and relax.

In December, a 24-year-old graduate student at the University of North Texas frantically approached me because she was taking a three-week class and needed a project. I thought: What would Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus do? The Ethels had no problem with helping her and she made a PowerPoint specific to our group. She received an A in the course.

Would you say real friendships have formed in the group?

There are real friendships being formed in the group. Most groups have core members who are always there. If an Ethel posts she is lonely or bored, others will offer conversation, a lunch or coffee gathering, or just a chat.

What do you have planned in 2025?

Many things including: Monthly Movies for Grownups Sip and Chats; Monthly Garden Club; Monthly Pets You Bet will be a Zoom meeting for Ethels and their pets; the Texas AARP state office has sent us information for caregivers and we will have a monthly caregiver hybrid meeting; we also will connect with the state office to make certain our members are connected with all AARP activities.

 

Would you like to find out more about our Ethel Gathering Groups? Just go here. Or are you already a member of a group? Let us know in the comments below.

Shelley Emling, Editor-in-Chief of The Ethel Newsletter and The Girlfriend Newsletter from AARP

Shelley Emling is Senior Director, Specialized Media at AARP, and Executive Editor of The Girlfriend, The Ethel, The Girlfriend Book Club, Instagram, The Ethel Circle and The Ethel On-The-Go. Previously she was a longtime foreign correspondent for Cox Newspapers, based first in Miami — covering Latin America and the Caribbean — and then based in London — covering Europe. She's also the author of five books and has three children. She and her husband divide their time between Montclair, NJ and the Catskills. More information can be found at shelleyemling.com.