eConnection 8/4: Summer Conference Review & More News
by Jan W. Hanson, NJSFWC President
Summer Conference
I hope everyone attending the Summer Conference was able to enjoy some summer fun. Congratulations to the Cecilia Gaines Holland awardees, Jane Mackesy and Marie Sullivan. It was nice to finally meet and hear from the Women of Achievement winners. What an outstanding group of women! You can check out their bios on the NJSFWC website under PROJECTS/WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT. We were thrilled to have the women from the Associate Alumnae of Douglass College join us once again and to welcome Meghan Rehbein, Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives at Douglass, who represented Douglass Residential College.
Thank you to the Women of Achievement Patrons. Due to your generosity, we were able to contribute $5,000 to the Douglass Residential College Continuing Education Scholarship.
Congratulations to our Honor Roll and Order of the Lily Recipients. Amazingly enough, there were some surprises indicating some of you can really keep a secret.
The District Vice Presidents showed their creative side when they bragged about all of your activities. And there was a lot to brag about.
We had a total of 147 members in attendance and I personally would like to thank you for your support. I could not have done it without you. Oh and of course, there was Susan Fosdick, Convention Chairman, and her Committee and Cynthia Blumenthal, Credentials and Registration Chairman and her Committee who did an amazing job under unusual circumstances.
The Tribute book was distributed and many thanks to Karen Manneback who did a fantastic job putting it together. Copies will be distributed at upcoming events.
Pictures
Conference Pictures can be viewed and bought on line. Go to www.jamesphoto.com, click on CLIENT LOG IN, select NJSFWC Summer Conference. Photos will be on line, Saturday, August 7th for 90 days. For more information contact Jen James at 609-994-4886, jen@jamesphoto.com. Don’t miss out on having a memento of this historic conference. For those of you who do not like to write, a picture says a thousand words.
New Club
Welcome to the newest member of the NJSFWC, the Junior Woman’s Club of Belleview. We wish them success and offer our assistance and friendship.
Highlighted Projects
Each week in the eConnection we will highlight projects selected for the GFWC reports. These projects can also be found on the NJSFWC website on the MATERIALS page listed under each of the subcategories.
Women’s History
- The Metuchen-Edison Women’s Club with a membership of 18, has a member who served on the Women Who Reach for the Stars Committee, which created the Shining Future Campaign. She designed, developed, and donated the funds to create the njsfwcshiningfuture.org website. After researching the extensive NJSFWC history of giving, advocacy and saving the Palisades, along with images from the 1944 Convention, the website was completed. It enabled the public to view the rich 126-year history of the NJSFWC 1 project, 100 hours, $350 in kind.
- The Porch Club of Riverton with a membership of 165, researched the history of Women’s Suffrage at The Porch Club. The Porch Club formed a Suffrage Section in February 1904. In February 1907, a meeting was held at the Chairman’s home where over 100 attended. The guest of honor was the President of the NWSA, Reverend Anna Shaw. Shaw was later inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. They were active members of the New Jersey Woman’s Suffrage Association and in 1915 offered cash prizes to students for the three best essays on Equal Suffrage. They continued to petition for the enfranchisement of women. The women of Riverton have close ties with Alice Paul, as she came from Moorestown. Several members went and placed flowers on Paul’s grave at the Westfield Friends Cemetery on August 26th. 1 project, 55 hours, $0 donated, $0 in kind.
- The Woman’s Club of Woodstown with a membership of 41, honored Women’s History Month by the Borough celebrating an over 50-year club member who was the first woman who served on their Town Council and served for 25 years as the chairman of the Beautification Committee. The town selected 2020 to honor this woman to coincide with the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote. Proclamations were read, and a plaque and restored vintage water foundation was placed in the town’s memorial garden. Eighty people attended. 2 projects, 15 hours, $100 donated, $500 in kind.
Deadlines
- August 4th-Deadline for GFWC Convention
- September 1st-Middle Atlantic Region Conference registration deadline