Despite being disbanded after founder’s death, group holds final holiday festivity

(Dec. 19, 2019) Longtime members of Star Charities gathered last week for a holiday luncheon to honor the memory of recently departed co-founder Anna Foultz, while also agreeing to carry on one of the group’s signature charity drives next year.
Sue Walter, who worked side-by-side with Foultz on numerous Star Charities initiatives over the last four years, said the gathering at the Pines Public House last Wednesday was bittersweet.
Foultz, who launched Star Charities in 2007 with her husband, Carl, died in late September.
“We remembered Anna and I brought a picture from last year’s luncheon,” she said. “Everyone was thrilled.”
Walter said every member in attendance was provided with a personal copy of the group photo from last year’s event.
With Star Charities officially disbanded after Foultz died, the group members were able to reconvene and share a wealth of warm memories of their departed figurehead.
“We all ended up sharing our favorite stories,” she said. “There were lots of one liners.”
Walter said the remembrances were unplanned and occurred organically as people began to recall past bright spots from interacting with the ever-smiling Foultz.
“One thing we agreed there was no one like her and probably never will be,” he said.
One issue that was settled during the luncheon, despite the dissolution of the Start Charities organization, the assembled members agreed to continue the annual “

Greg Ellison/Bayside Gazette
Long-aligned members of the now defunct Star Charities toast the memory of departed co-founder Anna Foultz during a holiday luncheon at the Pines Public House in Ocean Pines, Wednesday, Dec. 11.

,” next fall.
Looking to the future overall, after conferring with Barbara Peletier and several other members, Walter said there appears to be little sentiment to form another group.
“The buy-in was minimal,” she said.
In addition to selecting a name for a new organization, the group would have to apply for nonprofit status through the IRS.
“No one wants to take over doing that,” she said.
Walter said although uncertainty still surrounds precisely what the future might hold for the assorted group members, at this point the general sentiment is that Anna would be a hard act to follow.
“No one thinks we could do her legacy justice,” she said. “No one thinks we could follow in Anna’s footsteps to sufficiently fill her shoes.”