By Susan Thompson | Times Vedette
On Wednesday afternoon, April 15, members of the Panora Women’s Service Organization (WSO) hosted their annual senior tea for Panorama Community Schools senior girls. The girls were encouraged to invite as many women guests as they wanted. The group of 89 included 26 senior girls plus their mothers, grandmothers, aunts and family friends.
Mary Jane Sprague, WSO president, welcomed the girls and their guests to the Panora Church of the Brethren sanctuary at 2 p.m. She asked each senior to stand and introduce herself and her guests, and tell something about her future plans.
The afternoon’s guest speakers were Kylee Boettcher and her daughter, Tyme Boettcher. Kylee is a Panora native and graduated from Panorama Schools. She graduated from Buena Vista University (BVU) in Storm Lake in 2002. She joined the faculty at Panorama in 2007 and was the head women’s basketball coach for five years before taking the same position at BVU in 2024.
Tyme Boettcher graduated from Panorama Schools in 2024 and enrolled at BVU, where she is a member of the women’s basketball team.
Their speech focused on the strength of supporting women. They described this through a team scenario, supporting each teammate, no matter their role. They also used scenarios of general life situations, suggesting that positive outcomes come from success of women friends and coworkers. Through the examples shared, the mother-daughter team encouraged the seniors to be there for other women, during both good days and rough days.
Following the guest speakers, photos of the seniors were taken as the WSO women made final preparations in the Fellowship Hall for finger sandwiches, cookies, candy, tea, coffee and lemonade. Once seated, WSO members served drinks and the guests helped themselves to the food displayed on their tables.
Funds raised by WSO with an annual home tour in June and a salad luncheon in December are used for a variety of community causes. One is an annual scholarship presented to a Panorama senior girl each spring. This will be the 44thyear this WSO scholarship has been given.
Twenty-six young women in the 2026 Panorama Community Schools graduating class attended the annual senior tea April 15 hosted by the Panora Women’s Service Organization.
Kylee Boettcher and her daughter Tyme were guest speakers at the WSO annual senior tea. Kylee graduated from Panorama Schools in 1998. Tyme graduated from Panorama in 2024. Their family moved from Panora to Storm Lake in 2024 when Kylee was hired as the head women’s basketball coach at Buena Vista University. Tyme is attending Buena Vista and is a member of the basketball team.