SEPTEMBER 2021 | ANNUAL RECAP AND UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Mountain Day Celebratory Hike
Saturday, October 9, 2021
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Let's celebrate the tradition of Mountain Day with this easy out-and-back hike on the Schilling Lake Trail located above the town of Woodside in the Thornewood Preserve. There's a small parking lot (map), but carpooling is recommended. Pack a lunch or bring a few snacks.
All are welcome, including family members. Club members will receive a proactive Evite.
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This trail head is also near the lyrical Alice's Restaurant in Woodside (map) and there's talk of a post-hike side trip to check it out. If you're interested in finding out what the fuss is all about, plan your time accordingly!
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Tea Date with a Smithie!
Sign-ups available through October 15, 2021
This is a new event format where you can go on a "blind date" with another Peninsula Bay Area Smithie! Click here to sign up before October 15. After you've signed up for a tea date via the Google form, every month you will receive the contact details for your tea date. The two if you agree upon a day and time that works for your tea date, and then meet up and have a wonderful time getting to know each other! You can even keep it anonymous until you meet up -- it’s all up to you!
Please be sure to schedule your tea date for that month - as you will receive a new tea date partner next month. If you want to be extra helpful to the organizers, send us a photo or a note. We'd love to know how the meetup went and new content for our website and newsletter!
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STAY APPRISED OF MORE UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Follow us on social media to stay up to date on our virtual and in-person gatherings.
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SUGGEST A GROUP EVENT
As opportunities to gather in person emerge, we're always looking for new ways to meet up and connect. If you have great ideas for group events, there's a new way to make those suggestions: Go to our website under the Events tab, or just click here, and you will be presented with a Google form to guide you through your event suggestion. Please complete the form, including as much information as you can. After you submit the form, someone from the club's events team will contact you.
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The book club meets at 7:00 p.m., generally on the third Wednesday of each month.
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SEPTEMBER 2021
After the fun of our in-person Movie Night in August, the book club returned to virtual meetings, made possible by the Smith Club Zoom subscription (thank you, Smith Club!). On Wednesday, September 15, we discussed Deacon King Kong by James McBride, which we loved. McBride’s style is verbose, with long, complicated sentences, digressions, a vast cast of characters, wonderful language, and multiple plot lines. Some of us found this a bit scattered and crowded but most of us enjoyed its richness, humor, and generosity of spirit. We responded to McBride’s love for his characters; he treats them with respect and his book is energized by his appreciation for their vitality and resilience. The book has violence, death, and crime, but to us it was a moving, positive experience.
UPCOMING IN OCTOBER 2021
On October 20th the Smith College Club of the Peninsula Book Club will meet virtually to discuss In the Land of Men by Adrienne Miller. It’s available at Kepler’s and can also be ordered online at keplers.com. Remember that we get a discount at Kepler's. You can also order at bookshop.org, which supports local, independent bookstores. To join us, head over to our book club page on the website and sign up! We will send you the Zoom link proactively.
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RECAP OF THE 2021 ANNUAL MEETING |
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The Annual Meeting of the Smith Club of the Peninsula was held on Sunday, September 26 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. |
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What an amazing in-person gathering for the Smith College Club of the Peninsula Annual Meeting 2021! An ENORMOUS thank you to Joy Silver '96 for offering up her beautiful home and backyard, and for proving an unbelievable spread of quiche, scones, finger sandwiches, and desserts. 24 members gathered on Joy's back patio, reviewed the club's previous 12 months, and planned for the upcoming year.
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Attendees of the 2021Annual Meeting of the Smith College Club of the Peninsula enjoyed the sunshine and sisterhood provided by our excellent host Joy Silver '96. |
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Treasurer Marylou Cronin and Communications Chair Amy Gardner gave us a recap of the 2020-2021 year which included virtual cocktail hours, networking and resume workshops, game nights, and a reimaging of the club's annual cookie exchange into an online gathering to decorate gingerbread houses. Additionally we gathered online for a movie screening of Borderland: The Life & Times of Blanche Ames Ames and a subsequent discussion with the filmmakers, participated in a wildly successful clothing drive for Grateful Garment Project and were educated by an online presentation from its founder and executive director Lisa Blanchard, and partnered with a few other Smith clubs to sponsor a faculty presentation by Jen Malkowski: No Such Thing as Neutral: Racism and Technology Design.
Marylou also provided a financial update for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2021:
- Total receipts are $13,571 which include:
- $9,565 carried forward from the previous fiscal year
- $3,045 in prepaid dues/alumnae donations
- $940.70 donations from the Benevity Fund
- Total expenses $2,554.56 include book awards, programs and events, student welcome and care packages, and general administration costs.
- Total cash remaining on hand $7,592 after allowing for $3,424 in reserves for 5-year membership fees.
Alumnae Admissions Coordinator Joy Silver presented this year’s application, acceptance and admission numbers. For the six first-year students from the peninsula who matriculated this Fall, the club repeated a new tradition of sending them a custom-made mug with a few goodies tucked inside each, and a note to let them know if they need anything from home, we're here to support them in whatever way we can.
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Nisha Thatte-Potter, membership chair 2020-2021, informed us that we had 67 members this year, and 44 have already pre-paid for the 2021-2022 year. If you aren't a member, or if your membership has expired, update your membership today!
Book Club Coordinator Sally Smith shared that the book club has continued throughout the year, meeting regularly via Zoom and reading a wide variety of books. Upcoming, the club will read and discuss In the Land of Men by Adrienne Miller on October 20. This book is available at Kepler’s; remember to ask for the book club discount. Everyone is welcome to join the book club! https://www.peninsulasmithclubca.org/book-club
Amy Gardner presented this year’s voting results for the 2021-2022 executive committee and appointive positions. The Executive Committee is presented as a single slate for approval as a team. That committee approves additional board members who oversee the Club's finances, event coordination, member recruitment, book club, communications, and high school and prospective student outreach. This year the Nominating Committee included Laura Hyatt and Arian White, with assistance from Sally Smith, Nisha Thatte-Potter, and Marylou Cronin.
With 100% approval, the executive committee was elected as follows:
- President: Donna Dong '13
- Vice President/Events: Alix Davie '08
- Secretary: Indira Deonandan '08
- Treasurer: Marylou Cronin '88
Additionally, the following individuals have been confirmed in non-executive roles:
- Alumnae Admissions Coordinator: Joy Silver ’96
- Membership Chair: Pasha Dahncke '97
- Communications/eNewsletter Coordinator: Amy Gardner '92
- Webmaster: Amy Gardner '92
- Young Alum Coordinator: Juliane Donahue Bombosch '20
- Student Care Packages Coordinators: Christine Hoffman '14 and Trang Le '20
- Book Awards Coordinator: Eugenia Yee '16
- Book Club Coordinator: Sally Smith '64
- Board Members at Large: Nisha Thatte-Potter '88, Laura Hyatt '89, Arian White '92
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The Club would like to send out a huge thank you to 2020/2021 President Alix Davie who is transitioning to Vice President and Events Chair, Membership Chair Nisha Thatte-Potter who is transitioning to Board Member at Large, and to Vice President & Program Chair Jun Helzer who is leaving her board position. These amazing individuals continue to be incredibly generous with their time and energy, making themselves available for advice and guidance as others take over these roles.
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