We are entering the 125th year of the Stanford University Women’s Club with a bit more uncertainty than last year. Students will be back on campus (fully vaccinated and routinely tested) and many activities are getting back to normal, but there are still limitations due to COVID and the situation remains fluid. You should have received an electronic invitation to this year’s Hoover House Brunch hosted by Dr. Hynes. Details are forthcoming on the event so watch your inboxes for any updates on the specifics.

As you all know, we had a wonderful last year in spite of COVID. Our sections remained strong through the use of Zoom and our ability to adapt to the unprecedented times. However, we are all anxious to get back to some things in person. Going forward, we will try to combine the best of all worlds so we have many options for people to participate in and feel a part of the group. Some sections will meet in person, if possible, others will offer their programs on Zoom, or we will experiment with a hybrid approach. In addition, our Program Committee is working hard on a variety of interesting programs while being mindful of the COVID limitations. As always, we encourage our members to invite prospective members who are eligible to join SUWC.

No matter what, either virtual or in person, we are certain to have another exciting year! Please let us know if we can answer any of your questions regarding our programs and do let us know if you have some events or programs you wish we might possibly schedule. We are always interested in your input.

Linda and Ronna

Elected Positions

Co-presidents – Linda Kraemer and Ronna Widrow

Past presidents – Amy Krehbiel and Lou Ann Glader

VP Sections – Katie Vigeant

VP Programs – Kathryn Kim, Bev Sarver, and Shannon Rose McEntee

VP Membership – Letitia Lai

VP Communications – Theresa Chung

Treasurer – Abi Fafchamps

Recording Secretary – Cheryl Houston

Corresponding Secretary – Ellen McLennan

Preview Editor – Marina Lewis

Appointed Positions

Refreshments: TBD

Hospitality: Joan Hancock, Teresa Judd

Decorations: Gerda Wilson

Mailings: Ann Vosti

Parliamentarian: Allyn Taylor

Historian: Estee Greif

New Members: Kelly Zhang Steele 

The August Preview, electronic version only, will be emailed to members towards the end of August. The first issue for the new academic year 2021-2022 will be mailed in mid-September.

June 2021

When we started our year we were hopeful that we would be going back to normal activities in the Fall of 2020. Alas, that was not to be the case.

The welcome tea at the President’s House became a wonderful Zoom event with breakout rooms which gave a chance for members to chat in smaller groups. Our Program Committee continued on with some other terrific programs on Zoom, including a fitness program, a make-up demonstration, a Valentine exchange, and a St. Patrick’s Day party.

Our sections continued to develop on Zoom and most continued on throughout the year. It was great to be able to have members who live out of the area join us. We added a new Bollybhangra section and the other sections kept things lively and going strong. All of our section leaders became very proficient on Zoom and added new capabilities, such as doing cooking demos in the Cuisine Club. Author’s Coffee opened up to the whole membership so we were all able to hear the speakers. There were many comments on how well we were able to keep things going in an exciting way and how much people looked forward to the Zoom sections. Additionally, membership in our book clubs grew, both our afternoon and evening sessions.

We are not sure exactly what the next year will bring. The board will be working on how to keep things going as we are able to get back to meeting in person and perhaps still offer some things on Zoom – so stay tuned!

With many thanks to everyone,

Ronna and Linda

St. Patrick’s Day on March 17^th, members joined together on Zoom for a fun St. Patrick’s Day Gathering.  Everyone came dressed in green and prepared to celebrate with everything from Irish whiskey to green tea. 

Many members contributed to a wonderful hour of Irish culture. We shared limericks, poetry, art, music, humor, history and personal memories of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.  We concluded with a toast and a fun limerick from Kathryn Spitzer Kim: 

The 2021-2022 slate proposed by the nominating committee was announced and will be voted on at the Open Board Meeting on April 8^th.  Hope to see everyone there!

Bev, Kathryn, and Vicki

Programs Committee

On November 12, sixty-five members joined our virtual Annual SUWC Welcome Reception: Tea, Cookies and Conversation.  We launched the party with a welcome remark from our presidents Linda Kraemer and Ronna Widrow.  Daxue Xu led a discussion of the teas that she and Meng Sui had selected for our party bags.  We then separated into breakout rooms to sip our tea and munch on our treats while discussing our club activities and catching up with friends.  Everyone had such a good time during the two breakout sessions that we decided to have a third chat before saying goodbye for the day.  Stay tuned for another club-wide Zoom party in March!

Happy New Year!

Bev, Kathryn, and Vicki

Programs Committee

As we have started our new academic year we have again asked our members to renew their membership to SUWC. Enclosed with last month’s Preview we sent to you a membership renewal form.  If you’ve not already done so, please do remember to remit your form. You know your options are to send a check or pay via Zelle (a payment service offered through most banks). Being a member is particularly important these days because we offer so many  interesting programs, and many of them are via Zoom online. If you have a friend who is eligible to be a member of our group and who is interested in one or the other section activity, then please invite her to one of the section meetings and then ask her to become a member. As you know our sections are open only to members. We welcome your introductions.  Dues this year are being used to offset the cost of Zoom subscription for our sections and programs. If you need help getting on Zoom or using it, please reach out to Linda Kraemer. 

As we enter the 124th year of the Stanford University Women’s Club, nothing could have prepared us for being in the midst of a pandemic. These are truly unprecedented times and as in so many things, life at Stanford is not business as usual. As you all know, at the time of this writing, undergraduates will not be returning to campus.

That being said, the Board has made a clear statement that we will continue as much as possible with our sections and programs. Little did any of us know we would be thrust into the use of the latest technology that allows for remote group participation, particularly Zoom. Some of us have perfected the efficient use of Zoom for the book group, movie group, the visual arts group, and other sections and we are all becoming fairly proficient. It’s allowed us to see each other and still carry on with some great discussions and learning. 

Unfortunately, although at first the President’s Office was willing to hold our annual brunch, it became necessary to cancel the event as the situation at Stanford became clearer. It is always such a lovely kick-off event, but we are working on ways for us to do some of it online including section sign-ups. 

Many of our sections will continue on using Zoom. In addition, we are encouraging people to suggest ideas for any Zoom groups they would like to start. Please contact our VP of Sections Katie Vigeant with any ideas for a section you would like to start on Zoom. The SUWC will provide support for a Zoom account if you need one and your idea is approved. 

We also encourage members to invite friends who may no longer live here to join. We now have members who retired and moved out of the area who have recently joined us so they could participate via Zoom in section meetings. 

In addition, our Program Committee is planning a number of exciting virtual programs throughout the year until we can get together in person. 

This is a time for us to be creative and we will continue to offer many activities as we best can. So, be sure to complete the enclosed membership form and include your dues (dues this year will help support the use of Zoom and other expenses for the sections and programs). 

We look forward to sharing an interesting year with you!           

Ronna and Linda 

Many thanks to the women who volunteered to give their time to our club. 

   

Elected Positions

Co-presidents – Linda Kraemer and Ronna Widrow

Past presidents – Amy Krehbiel and Lou Ann Glader

VP Sections – Katie Vigeant

VP Programs – Vicki Blayney, Kathryn Kim, and Bev Sarver

VP Membership – Letitia Lai

VP Communications – Theresa Chung

Treasurer – Abi Fafchamps

Recording Secretary – Cheryl Houston

Corresponding Secretary – Ellen McLennan

Preview Editor – Marina Lewis

Appointed Positions

Refreshments: TBD

Hospitality: Teresa Judd

Decorations: Gerda Wilson

Mailings: Ann Vosti

Parliamentarian: Allyn Taylor

Historian: Zhenhua Wang

New Members: Kelly Zhang Steele 

When we started our year last summer, little did we guess that we would all be facing an international pandemic that would not only disrupt our group, but the world at large. 

During our shutdown, we have learned to adapt in a variety of ways. Several sections have kept in touch. For example, the Movie Section is watching “The Two Popes” on Netflix and will discuss the film electronically, the Visual Arts Forum discovered that there is a virtual tour of the “Rooted Trees in Contemporary Art” exhibit at the Palo Alto Art Center https://canopy.org/rooted-exhibit-2020; Great Decisions found the electronic version of the series is available at this time free of charge on YouTube; the Book Group enjoyed the joys of Emily Dickinson Book Club: A writer ponders Emily Dickinson’s most pivotal moments. 

On a personal note, we became experts on a variety of electronic tools such as Bridgebase and Realmahjongg and we learned how to use Zoom video and audio conferencing. 

Of course we were hopeful that things would quiet down quickly, but at this point it feels as if it is best to cancel the rest of our activities through June, including the Spring Tea/Fashion Show and the Open Board meeting. If it looks as if we can hold either of these activities we will do so. In the event we cannot hold the Open Board meeting in June, we will vote by e-mail for the By-Laws change and the slate of officers for 2020-21. 

Stay healthy, 

Ronna Widrow and Linda Kraemer

Co-Presidents