As Secretary after only one year in the club, Jen set the example of a member wanting to get to know the club from the inside and make a valuable contribution from the beginning of her tenure. She kept impeccable minutes and shared them in a timely fashion. When there was no one to serve as Corresponding Secretary in 2018-2019, she also served in that position for a year, which helped her get to know all the other members and support our “social” role.

Perhaps her most important contribution has been as our “Pandemic President”. During an unprecedented time, Jen took on the role of President of the club during the beginning, middle, and downturn of the worst of the COVID pandemic. She navigated the transition of the Legends Luncheon from a physical in-person event to an online fundraiser while making sure stakeholders were involved in the decision. She learned COVID protocols, did everything possible to keep everyone involved, and engaged during Zoom meetings, reaching out constantly to all members through thank you notes, small gifts, and personal calls. She personally conceived of, chaired then executed the “Gift and Uplift” fundraising campaign. This was a first for SIC, to do a campaign that was entirely mail and email-based, then generate a sticker and personally thank the vendors who had contributed to the auction in the past. The result was tremendous and significant in that the “cost of funds raised” was minimal.

In 2020-2021, she wrote personal letters of congratulations to all the grant recipients. In 2021-2022, she took on additional duties for the Treasurer in the fall (sent out the grant letters, when that individual was ill with COVID, among other things). She personally delivered the stickers to each merchant in Coronado to thank them for donating in the past. She spent an enormous amount of time on problem-solving and positive solutions to conflicts (mostly small but in keeping them from getting big!), and due to her excellent skills as a “referee”, we didn’t have the attrition that we had experienced in the past, and that we could have had in two years of great stress for many of our members. Her calm and fair approach to each person in the club was key to our success during the pandemic.

Jen’s modesty would prevent her from accepting this, but I suggest that her exceptional leadership is responsible not only for the club’s success in the last year but also for its survival. Now we are not only surviving but also thriving, thanks to her leadership and guidance.

Depth and involvement:
2017-2018: Recording Secretary
2018-19 Recording AND Corresponding Secretary
2019-2020 Recording Secretary
2020-2022 President
Congratulation Jen…well-deserved award!