During the years 1958 to 1964 a small group of Smith Alumnae met for informal luncheons at a local restaurant. Soon they wrote and phoned other area alumnae to enlarge the group. They were officially recognized by the Alumnae Association in June 1965 and were known as the Smith College Group of Palm Beach. In 1968 the group was officially named the Smith College Club of the Palm Beaches. Bylaws were revised and area enlarged to include Boca Raton on the south and Stuart-St. Lucie on the north. There are approximately 250 alumnae in the area including year around Florida residents and some who spend some winter months here. The number of active members varies each year.
December 2017 LuncheonThe club objectives are to offer intellectual pursuits for our members and guests, create friendships among alumnae and former Smith students, promote the college to local high school students, raise money for the Smith Fund, encourage individual donations to the college and increase members’ awareness of Smith’s new programs, goals and achievements.
Club President: Beth Seidman Nelkin
Email: palmbeachesclub@alumnae.smith.edu
Other Club Officers are:
Vice President and Program Chair: Deedy (Diane) Appel Tohn
Treasurer: Harriet Bogin Yogel
Recording Secretary: Carol Triggs Whalen –
Membership Chair, Newsletter and Directory: Julia Burroughs Norris
Board Members: Rosalie Horne Franks and Ellen Feuer Lehrer
Programs and Services
Student raising. We promote Smith to local students who are considering attending a prestigious college out of state, attend college fairs, and handle requests for interviews of prospective students. The club supports the Smith Fund with an annual contribution.
Save the dates for these three scheduled events:
Wednesday, December 11, 2019 – 10:15 A.M. Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach– Docent- led tour of the special exhibition Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern. It explores how Georgia O’Keeffe proclaimed her progressive, independent lifestyle through a self-crafted public personna using her art, clothing, and the way she posed for the camera. A private luncheon served family style will take place in The Restaurant at the Norton. Cost is $60 for museum members and $75 for non-members.
Thursday, January 2020 – 12 noon. Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.
Kathleen McCartney, Smith College President, and Denise Wingate Materre ’74, new Vice President for Alumnae Relations will talk about all that is happening on campus -from the renovation of the Neilson Library to the campaign, “Here for Every Voice” which aims to raise $75 million in scholarship aid for students. Watch your email for the invitation that will arrive from the college which will handle all reservations. Lunch will be free for students, $10 for graduates from 2009 to 2019 and $20 for the rest of the attendees.
Friday, February 21, 2020 – 10:30 am Luncheon at Benvenuto’s Restaurant in Boynton Beach. Nancy Weiss Malkiel ’65, Professor of History, Emeritus of Princeton University will speak about her book, “Keep the Damned Women Out”: The Struggle for Coeducation, a groundbreaking history of how elite colleges and universities in America and Britain went coed. Cost of this luncheon will be $45.
Questions? Please contact Beth Nelkin at bnelkin@worlddesign.com. Dues for 2019-2020 will be $25. The dues form will appear near the end of each newsletter beginning with the first issue in the fall.
Newsletters:
SCPB annual welcome 2019 v6
Club Feb 2019 program
Smith Club December-January Newsletter
February 2018 Smith Club Newsletter
January 2018 Smith Club Newsletter
November 2017 Newsletter
March 2017 Smith Club newsletter
January 2017 Smith Club Newsletter
December 2016 Smith Club newsletter
November-2016-smith-club-newsletter
February 2016 Newsletter
January 2016 Newsletter
Help us reduce our mailing expenses. Please send your current e-mail address to Carol Whalen at Carol Triggs@aol.com and we’ll send you our newsletter electronically.
Club Directory
An updated directory with contact information of alumnae in the Palm Beach area was published in the fall of 2015 and distributed to club members as soon as they paid their dues for 2016 – 2017 . If you find errors in the directory or some of your contact information has changed please let Julia B. Norris know about them. Contact her at JB4Norris@bellsouth.net.