Six years into their venture, members of the Imani Investment Club continue a learning experience that has brought them success and pleasure. &uot;We didn’t get into this to get rich overnight but as a learning experience,&uot; said Jacqulyn Williams, vice president of the club.

Ten friends formed the club in 1998, hoping to learn more about earning money in the stock market but setting realistic goals. They chose the name &uot;Imani&uot; because it means &uot;faith&uot; in the Swahili language.

&uot;This was to be a long-term investment experience,&uot; said Minnie Dinelli, club secretary.

Gradually accumulating a modest amount for the initial investment, club members bought their first shares of stock in October 1998, when they purchased 10 shares of Wal-Mart, an investment that has turned out to be one of their best, they said.

Meantime, their studies had begun, starting with on-line research to find out what other investment clubs do to become successful. They joined the National Association of Investors Corporation, benefiting from the association’s monthly magazine.

They read and discussed books, including &uot;Starting and Running a Profitable Investment Club&uot; by Thomas E. O’Hara and Kenneth S. Janke Sr.

They sought advice from investment brokers and attended conferences. And the quest continues to learn more about the market.

&uot;We trade with Price Waterhouse,&uot; Williams said. &uot;We now own about 30 different stocks.&uot; Those stocks include technology, airline, energy and pharmaceutical companies.

Decisions about which stocks to purchase are made through careful planning, as club members come to each monthly meeting prepared to discuss specific stocks, Dinelli said.

For Dinelli, the investment club has satisfied an interest she always had in the stock market.

&uot;I was always interested in investments and stocks, but I just hadn’t gotten into it.&uot;

The 10 members have been friends for many years, through church, neighborhood and professional connections. All are retired educators.

Mildred Grimble, the club’s financial secretary and tax adviser, is a retired high school mathematics teacher. &uot;I had been teaching about the stock market and making investments, but I never had the initiative to go out on my own,&uot; Grimble said.

One of the first hurdles to overcome for a new investor is fear, she said. &uot;First we learned that it is not something you have to fear, that it is something rewarding and something that is an experience many people need to be involved in doing,&uot; Grimble said.

As teachers, the women have a natural desire to instruct others in what they have learned. They are doing that by holding periodic workshops, to which each club member invites several younger people.

An example of such endeavors will take place today, when the club

hosts invited guests and speakers who will discuss budgeting, finance and investment.

&uot;We hope to educate younger people in how to budget and how to invest,&uot; said Betty Bowser, the club’s treasurer.

Bowser said club members continue to look for ways to strengthen their own knowledge, such as attending workshops. &uot;We’ve attended the Mississippi Women Money Conference put on by the Department of the Treasury,&uot; she said. &uot;It was designed to initiate programs that empower women.&uot;

They do not distribute profits but, rather, re-invest them. They have learned the importance of diversifying and the importance of patience with an ever-changing stock market.

Their own experience &045;&045; and a hesitancy on the part of many to plunge into market investing &045;&045; tells them that instruction in finance should begin early.

&uot;I think we should start with children in grade school so they can get an early understanding of it,&uot; Dinelli said.

Other members of the club are Georgia Oliver, president; Ruby West, chaplain; and Emma Jackson, Clementeen Youngblood, Hilda Little and Dorothy Hogans.