AUGUST 2020 | PLANNING FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING AND MORE!
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VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION |
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The virtual Annual Meeting of the Smith Club will be held on Sunday, September 13, from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Details follow below.
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The Annual Meeting is normally when we elect the new officers who will oversee the Club’s activities—President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary—for the fiscal year that begins September 1st. It also provides an opportunity to discuss proposed events for the year, give suggestions, collect member dues, and see new and familiar faces while enjoying delicious food. |
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Annual Meeting of the
Smith College Club of the Peninsula, 2019
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Because of the pandemic, California has prohibited large gatherings of persons who are not living in the same household, thereby precluding the Club from holding its Annual Meeting in person and preventing the in-person election of incoming officers.
Therefore, the Executive Committee and the Board have authorized an alternative process for Officer candidate approval via electronic voting by all Club members of record as of August 31st. In the same ballot, members will also vote electronically on a proposed update to the Constitution and Bylaws that would add the Secretary to the Executive Committee, among other minor changes.
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On August 31, 2020 club members will receive an email link to the Survey Monkey ballot for the election and they will be able to vote until Saturday, September 12, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. PT. Each member’s vote will be anonymized, and results of the election will be announced at the virtual Annual Meeting.
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This year, the Nominating Committee was comprised of Marylou Cronin, Arian White, Erika Rodriguez, Melodye Serino, and Laura Hyatt. A heartfelt thank you to the Nominating Committee for their energy, ideas, and efforts recruiting alumnae for open positions this summer. The Committee hereby proposes the following slate of Officer candidates to the Executive Committee and to the Club’s membership for their approval: |
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President: Alix Davie ‘08
Vice President/Program Chair: Jun Helzer ‘02
Secretary: Indira Deonandan ‘08
Treasurer: Marylou Cronin ’88
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The Nominating Committee hereby proposes to the Executive Committee the following slate of candidates for Standing Committee Chairs for their approval, which shall be announced at the virtual Annual Meeting: |
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Alumnae Admissions Coordinator: Joy Silver ‘96
Communications/Newsletter Coordinator: Amy Gardner ‘92
Membership Chair: Nisha Thatte-Potter ‘88
Student Care Packages Coordinators: Christine Hoffman ‘14 and Trang Le ‘20
Young Alumnae Coordinator: Donna Dong ‘14 and Reem Ladadwa ‘18
Webmaster: Amy Gardner ‘92
Book Awards Coordinator: Eugenia Yee ’16
Book Club Coordinator: Sally Smith ’64
New Book Club Coordinator: TBD; We are looking for a volunteer to assume the new position of Coordinator for our second Book Club. Please contact a board member if you are interested.
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DETAILS FOR ATTENDING THE VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING
The Smith College Club of the Peninsula invites all Peninsula alumnae to attend its virtual Annual Meeting on Sunday, September 13, 2020 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. PT.
If you are already a Club member, you will automatically receive an Evite with the Zoom link. If you are not a member, either join the club through our website to get the automatic Evite, or email the club at thepeninsulasmithclub@gmail.com by September 11 to get the Zoom link via email. You do not need to be a member to attend the meeting, but you must be a member in order to vote. We look forward to seeing you there!
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UPCOMING VIRTUAL SOCIAL EVENTS |
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Follow us on social media to stay up to date on our [currently virtual] gatherings.
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We're excited to report that 74 students from the Peninsula applied to Smith College this year, 14 of whom will matriculate in September. The incoming students hail from Archbishop Mitty High School, Carlmont High School, Crystal Springs Uplands School, Henry M. Gunn High School, Lynbrook High School (2), Los Altos High School, Menlo-Atherton High School (2), Monta Vista High School, Mountain View High School (2), and Palo Alto Senior High School; there is also a transfer student from Santa Clara University. |
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On August 5th the College announced updated plans for an entirely remote fall 2020 semester. The Smith College Club of the Peninsula is making plans to support our local new Smithies in various ways to ensure that they feel the unique culture of care that Smith College and its alums provide. Please become a member of the club and give us your ideas and provide your skills and talents.
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LOOKING FOR SMITHIES TO SPOTLIGHT |
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In an effort to adapt our programming and bring our community together in this virtual world, we are contemplating a new series of virtual events where we spotlight our club members! Do you have something you would like to share with our community? Do you know a local Smithie who would be interested in showcasing their work with our community? |
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Please take note that the book club meeting time has changed to 7:00 p.m., generally on the third Wednesday of each month.
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JULY 2020
Seven of us gathered [virtually] on Wednesday, July 15, to discuss Dava Sobel’s “Galileo’s Daughter,” which we agreed is mistitled. Although some of us found it dry and/or hard to get into, we all were glad we’d read it, learning more about Galileo, science and his contributions to it, and life in medieval Italy. We admired a lot about the writing: informative, accessible, sometimes “exquisite.” We were impressed by the very close father-daughter relationship, sustaining to both of them, and some of us responded to the daughter’s letters with a determination to hand-write meaningful letters of our own.
AUGUST 2020
A group of seven met [virtually] on Wednesday, August 19, to discuss Bryan Stevenson’s book “Just Mercy” and the movie based on it. We found the book upsetting, sad, engaging but not eloquent, impressive. Its structure, with the central story stretched out and interrupted, was frustrating but also created suspense. We liked the fact that, although it has plenty of statistics, it highlights individuals to whom we can relate. As is usual with movies based on books, the movie omitted many things we would have liked to see, but it made Stevenson more relatable. Our discussion ranged from the focus of the book and movie—the justice system and its racism and inequities—to reparations, anti-racism, and unconscious bias.
UPCOMING IN SEPTEMBER 2020
September 16: “Washington Black” by Esi Edugyan
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