The Wild Wacky Wonderful Women of the World
Never underestimate the power of great girlfriends united
It all began back in 2003. I had worked my entire career…almost 30 years…. for Bayer HealthCare and now the company was selling off our division. I could have stayed with the new company, but was given the opportunity to take a ‘package’, back when packages were really good. Although it made sense to take advantage of the offer….I mean, I had always worked even while raising all of my children, the package was generous, career transition coaching would be paid for and this break would offer me the chance to finally spend some time with my family while they were still in school and, who knows, maybe someday launch a new career….the problem was, I didn’t want to lose touch with all my wonderful girlfriends, those gals I had worked with for almost 30 year and had grown to love! We had literally all grown up together! We knew everything about each other…We had shared in the joys of marriage(s) and births of our children…the sadness of breakups, the loss of family members…We were like sisters! I had to do something to keep us together!
So, once my decision to leave was finalized, I invited all of those girlfriends out to a Saturday morning brunch at lovely restaurant on Glenwood South in Raleigh. I didn’t want this to be our last get together, so I suggested we might do this monthly to ensure that we never lost touch with each other! They liked the idea! In fact, one of my girlfriends suggested a monthly evening event, too, for those who couldn’t make it on Saturday mornings! I LOVED that idea! So, that was it! We were going to meet the first Saturday for brunch and the third Thursday for dinner every month. Those who could come…Great! If you couldn’t make it, that was OK, too!
I felt like we needed to give our small group a name….Something that gave us an identity. It was then that I noticed a stitched 
embroidered saying on a tiny pillow in my bedroom that my girlfriend and a member of the group, Betsy, had given me. It read: Here Lives a Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Woman. THAT WAS IT! Our group would be called The Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Women …not of Wake County…but of the WORLD! And, we would invite all wonderful women to join us! There would be No Rules, No Dues & No Men! We wouldn’t incorporate, we would trust our friendships and energy to keep us together. No board of directors, I would essentially be the Big Sister or Mom of the group! I sat up a public forum…a Google Group… where you sign up online to join our group. I made myself the administrator, set up an application process that allowed me to approve new members who ARE actually Women ? and those who took the time to fill out the brief application. Our online communication via our Google Group started out as and still remains, super simple…You can talk about anything except religion and politics ….You must treat each other with respect….and you can only advertise once a month on the 15th! Based on that foundation, we have invited hundreds into our group, primarily in the Triangle area of North Carolina…but we have members across the country and around the globe, as well…and we now number over 1,000 members!
Given these incredible women combined with their collective energies, there was no doubt that we were destined to do great things! And, great things we have done!
- Holding our Annual Bachelor Bid for Charity for 7 years, benefiting the Women’s Center of Wake County raising tens of thousands of dollars!
- Bridesmaids Bowling benefiting the SPCA
- Adopt-A-Highway
- Holiday gatherings and other events benefiting non-profits to include the USO, Triangle Family Services, I’m a Great Child Worldwide, Pharaoh’s Daughter and many more…
After 15 years, we still operate as a loving and caring sisterhood. We are here for each other and for our communities! Love, respect and genuine friendship keeps us together….No matter how many miles separate us!
About our Founder and Original Wild & Wacky, Deborah Harrell Meehan……
Deborah is a North Carolina native, born in Winston-Salem and living in the Triangle Area since 1974. She considers herself the Ambassador to newcomers to the area and welcomes everyone with a hug and a smile. The oldest of 8 children and mom to 4 birth children and 4 stepdaughters, Deborah is no stranger to organizing, motivating, planning and executing fun and exciting things to do! It’s been said that there’s a party wherever she goes ?
You might be curious about the direction Deborah’s career took after leaving Bayer….Well, in early 2006, after spending lots of time with family and getting the Wackies on the road to success, Deborah discovered her new career path as a commercial real estate broker. She was able to learn from some of the best, and finally in 2011, she launched her own company, NC Medical & Commercial Realty which continues to thrive still today. Although Medical Real Estate is her forte, Deborah readily assists anyone seeking to buy, lease or sell commercial real estate properties.
With all the children now having left the nest, Deborah now resides in Cary with her little pug, HoneyBun! Life is Good ?
