By Susan Thompson | Times Vedette
The Women’s Service Organization (WSO) annual fundraising home tour for 2025 is Friday, June 6. Five Lake Panorama locations will be featured with four on the east side of the lake and one on the west side.
Tickets are $30 and include both the tour and lunch at the Lake Panorama National Clubhouse, 5071 Clover Ridge Road. Tickets can be reserved by contacting Toni Wright at 641-757-0886. Tickets also can be purchased at the Panora Library. There will be a maximum of 260 tickets available, and organizers say they expect to sell out quickly.
WSO was formed in 1972 when women who worked together to help pass a school bond issue decided they could benefit the local community as a formal organization.
The first WSO home tour was in 1974, and is the organization’s major fundraiser. The first tour group leaves the LPN clubhouse at 9 a.m. with three additional groups leaving on the half-hour through 10:30 a.m. Each group tours three homes before returning to the LPN for lunch, followed by tours of the remaining two homes.
Participants are asked to arrive at the LPN clubhouse 20 minutes ahead of their tour time, so they can join the vehicle lineup and receive instructions and description sheets. Several vendors will be at the clubhouse so tour guests can browse and shop during their lunch break.
WSO committees work in advance to gather information for a one-page description sheet, and determine the best order and route. The route isn’t always the most direct, but is designed for safety and to accommodate the parking of many vehicles at each home.
Money raised by this tour funds a renewable scholarship awarded to a graduating Panorama student each year, making four scholarships paid annually. Additional WSO donations go to the Panora Library, Food Pantry, Panora Garden Club, Guthrie County Historical Village, Heritage Park, Tori’s Angels, Relay for Life, Panorama prom and yearbook. Other contributions are considered as projects become apparent.