Hey Linda! This club and convention is for you.
Jul. 21—If your name is Linda or Lynda, then there's a club that will soon be heading to Niagara Falls that's just for you.
If you live in the area, then you can learn more about Lindas Involved in Network Development Association — "L.I.N.D.A. Club" for short — when members of the group visit the Cataract City this weekend for their 2023 annual convention.
A total of 46 Lindas and Lyndas and their family members from across the United States and Canada are spending three days in Niagara Falls, today through Sunday.
While in town, they'll hold their formal convention at the Sheraton Niagara Falls on Third Street. They're also booked to take a Grayline sightseeing tour and plan to do all the touristy stuff, including a ride on the Maid of the Mist.
"Tell them the Lindas are coming," said this year's Linda Convention organizer, Linda Norris, a Tonawanda native and Kenmore East High School graduate who has lived in Radcliff, Kentucky, since 1989. "For many of them, this is on their bucket list. We were supposed to do this in 2020, but with Covid we had to cancel. They are excited to see the falls."
L.I.N.D.A. Club started in the 1970s when a group of friends and co-workers from Iowa, all named Linda, decided it would be fun to have a get together where they celebrated their first name.
In 1987, group founders Linda Lou Pasvogel and Linda Rae Eaton organized the First Ever Linda Convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The gathering drew 160 Lindas.
"A bunch of Lindas got together and made themselves a club and it has grown and grown and grown," Norris said.
Norris got involved after her mother saw a story about the club on television. She attended her first convention, in Nebraska, in 2009.
She was asked to organize this year's Linda Convention, in part, because she's from Western New York.
So, what's so special about Lindas?
Well, for starters, Norris said, the name means "beautiful" in Spanish.
It is also among the most popular names for female children born in the 1950s and 1960s, which means there are a lot of Lindas — and quite a few Lyndas — around.
"We just enjoy our name," Norris said. "We've all made friends. We tend to visit each other throughout the years. I've made a lot of good friends here."
And then there are the songs.
Lindas have been the sources of inspiration for musical artists for decades.
Norris has a CD she made of many of the more popular Linda tunes. She's planning to play it on a loop during the L.I.N.D.A. Club banquet Saturday night.
While there are many musical tributes, Norris said it's the song "Linda," written by Jack Lawrence in 1946, that is considered the quintessential "Linda" tune. It has been recorded and performed by many singers over the years, Frank Sinatra among them.
On the first night of the convention, all of the Lindas will put on their official L.I.N.D.A. club convention T-shirts and participate in a meet and greet. On Saturday, they'll take the sightseeing tour and join in other group activities before their formal banquet.
The Lindas and Lyndas will also hold a silent auction and raffle, with proceeds benefiting the L.I.N.D.A. Club scholarship program and, as is the case with every annual convention, a local charity. This year's charitable funds will be donated to Nickel City Canine Rescue, an animal rescue group in Williamsville.
Any Western New York Lindas or Lyndas who are interested in learning more about the club are invited to stop by and meet members during their stay in Niagara Falls. Those who do will get a card with information about the organization and a chance to have their picture taken with club members. They can also learn more about plans for next year's convention, in Frankenmuth, Michigan, known as "Christmas Town" where the holiday is celebrated all year long.
"We're looking for other Lindas," Norris said. "If they are curious abut the club, just swing by and see us."
More details about the club, including how to join and participate in future conventions, can be found at lindaclub.org.
