Highlights: 2026 Mid-Year Member Meeting

On January 26, the Summit College Club held its first Mid-Year Member Meeting with two goals in mind: To let Club members know about all the activity that’s happening, with plenty of opportunities to contribute; and to invite members to provide suggestions, ideas and feedback on what they’d like to see from their participation in Summit College Club.

After a brief introduction, co-President Karen Kaplan invited members to identify their top two reasons for joining and/or renewing their membership in the Summit College Club. The two reasons most-often selected were being part of a “Community of like-minded women,” and our “Mission of equity and opportunity for women and girls.” Several people also mentioned our “interesting programs, interest groups and other events,” the book sale, and “opportunities to contribute.”

Follow-up: the SCC Board will be inviting all members to provide their perspectives on this and other questions, through a separate survey this spring.

After the initial poll, the leaders of various committees provided a brief look at the work they are doing, and opportunities for others to join or contribute. We began with a review of new

initiatives:

• Lynne Rogerson, chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, noted that the primary areas of focus for planning a strong future are (1) attracting new members and retaining current members; and (2) stronger communication and connection with our communities. The committee, which includes Lynne, Hedy Tukey, Diane Russo and Karen Weis, anticipates having a final report, including a recommended implementation plan, before the end of the 2025/2026 year.

• Co-President Hedy Tukey explained the requirements by National to update our bylaws to comply with new National bylaws governing the relationship with branches. Reviewing and updating the rest of our bylaws and policies is a much lengthier process. Since the last update was in 2017, a review seems timely. This effort will require a committee; the committee might begin its work this spring. If you’re interested, reach out to Hedy Tukey.

• Karen Kaplan talked about our interest in creating stronger community connections. One opportunity is through support for STEM education for young women and girls, either through an existing National AAUW program (‘Tween Tech and TeenTech) or something we develop on our own. If you’d like to help with this effort, reach out to Karen Kaplan or Leslie Carson.More broadly, there are opportunities beyond STEM to partner with local service organizations, schools, and affiliation groups to work together on a program or longer-term initiative. Several members mentioned examples of such efforts from the past, or named specific groups we might collaborate with. If you have an idea to share or an organization in mind, contact Karen Kaplan. We want to hear from you!

  
  

Then the meeting turned to a quick look at our ongoing committee work. Reports from Lorna Ness, VP of Communications, Janice Hartman on Membership, and Karen for Ginny Johnston (who could not attend) on Programs described lots of good work – and an invitation to anyone who would like to participate.

On the Foundation side, Susan Abely and Andrea Stein described the work of the Scholarship Committee, with applications now in the hands of the high school guidance counselors and applications from students expected by the beginning of March. The application has been updated to focus the applicants on describing selected activities and contributions that best demonstrate their initiative, leadership, and service.  Lynne gave an update on our scholarships for women returning to higher education after a break, through the Union College of New Jersey (formerly Union County College), as well as the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) that we support. Leslie Carson described the Tech Trek selection process for rising eighth-grade girls interested in STEM (see the separate article in our Newsletters page on our website). Lynne provided updates on our Book Sale (see the lead Bulletin article for March/April).

Throughout the reports, meeting participants were invited to provide input on programs they’d like to see, what most often prevents members from attending programs (answer: schedule conflicts or, less frequently, that month's program wasn’t of interest), and what other interest groups members would like to see. The discussion surfaced some great ideas! And it’s not too late: Have a suggestion? Reach out to Karen Kaplan.

One suggestion was to expand the process beyond the Member Meeting and send a survey to all members to invite input. The Board plans to distribute the survey in the next month. Even without a survey, your input is always welcome! Every board member is listed in the directory, so call or email with anything on your mind. Let’s keep the conversation going.