WCC Celebrates 101st Annual Meeting

Outgoing president Wendy Sturm receives flowers from incoming president Kathy Barnett

PASSING THE TORCH…
by Adrienne DeMilner

Longstanding WCC member Carol Dodge once promised Kathleen Ray that stepping up to serve as President of WCC would be one of the most rewarding things she would do.  Little did Kathleen know just how much she would enjoy it.  The Annual Meeting began with testimonials from past Presidents of WCC. 

Carol Dodge

Beginning with Carol Dodge, (2005-07) who had many fond memories and said her life has been enriched by her presidency in which she answered Crisis with Change.  Irene Nowak (2011-2013) created friendships from her bulletin posts and enjoyed the connection with ArtPrize which brought revenue to the club.  She also instituted “Book Week” to enrich the club with her own love of books.  Margaret Burrows-Getz (2015-17) Had a difficult transition with a WCC tax issue but overcame it and continued to provide enrichment and camaraderie, encouraging members to use their talents to serve.  Kathleen Ray (2019-21) faced the Covid years and came up with creative solutions to reach out to each member.  She stressed how much we make a difference in each other’s lives and soon found that her mentor, Carol, was right about this being a rewarding position.  Linda Girard (2021-23) said that joining a committee will change your life!  She was also able to find other venues and caterers for our meetings. Our current president, Wendy Sturm (2024-25) ran the meeting in her most elegant way and passed the torch (gavel) on to our new president Kathy Barnett who stepped up to take the reins over and share her special form of leadership. 

The Annual Meeting finished with flowers for longstanding members, a delicious lunch and a box of chocolates from Sweetland for everyone.  We hope members will be inspired by these stories and consider joining a cause or committee and share your talents.  Our lives will be enriched even further.

Past presidents: Linda Girard, Margaret Burrows-Getz, Wendy Sturm, Kathleen Ray, Irene Nowak, Carol Dodge

2025 Impact Awards

Union High School juniors, Aurora Leon Mull and Finnick Coburn, were called down to Principal Aaron Roussey’s office on a recent Monday to let them know they are the recipients of this year’s Impact Awards. WCC President Wendy Sturm, President-Elect Kathy Barnett, and WCC member Deborah Reed were waiting to give them the good news!

These 2 students were chosen by administrators and counselors at the school to each receive a $750 cash award. Aurora Leon Mull’s entry is an essay describing a very important person in her life, her stepfather. She writes, “This is the man who I call dad, and the only man who will ever secure this title because he has earned it from the start. I would choose him to be my father in every life I live. He has been my biggest inspiration, and has been by my side since day one.”

Finnick Coburn’s entry is a watercolor portrait of artist and online content creator, Scott Christian Sava. Coburn is inspired by Sava’s art, his character, and his views on life. His painting honors his love for art and artists in general.

Mull plans to study law or forensic crime scene investigation. Coburn plans to study illustration.

For more information please view WKTV’s online article by editor Deborah Reed.

Photo Credit: Deborah Reed

"The Lake Huron Mermaid"

Linda Nemec Foster spun a wonderful story for us about her latest book "The Lake Huron Mermaid".  This is the second book in her Mermaid series, co-authored with friend Anne-Marie Oomen, that was inspired by our own great lakes. She shared the tale of the mermaid and the poems that are contrapuntal in nature between the characters.  Inspiration can come from many things in life, and Linda provides the most beautiful words to describe them.  Her longtime friendship with Wendy Marty brought Linda to us to share this book and her deep feelings for our loss.

Will there be more Mermaid stories to come?  Time will tell...

“Linda Nemec Foster is the author of fourteen collections of poetry including The Lake Huron Mermaid (a collaboration with Anne-Marie Oomen and artist Meridith Ridl), The Blue Divide, The Lake Michigan Mermaid (another collaboration with Oomen and Ridl), Talking Diamonds, Amber Necklace from Gdansk, Listen to the Landscape, and Living in the Fire Nest. Her first full-length book of prose poems, Bone Country, was published in 2023 and nominated for 20 book awards including the Pulitzer Prize. Foster was selected to be the first Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids, Michigan from 2003-2005. She is the founder of the Contemporary Writers Series at Aquinas College.”

Visit Linda’s website

"The Music of Friends"

David Lockington and Robert Byrens

What better way to spend a cold, snowy January morning than attending a concert of heavenly chamber music in the beautiful atrium of Mayflower Church!

Kent MacKay, David Lockington, Dylana Jenson

David Lockington, cellist and conductor, and Robert Byrens, concert artist and collaborative pianist, were our guests for an intimate cello and piano concert. The musical selections included the following: a J.S. Bach’s G Major Gamba Sonata, Augustus Hailstork’s Cinque’s Song, Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, Robert Schumann’s Fantasy Pieces Op.73, and a composition by David Lockington called For Edith, for the late Edith Blodgett, a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra Board for several decades.

David Lockington began his career as a cellist at the age of 16. Born in Great Britain, he moved to the United States to study cello performance and conducting at Yale University in 1978. David was the Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra from January 1999 to May 2015. He took the Grand Rapids orchestra to Carnegie Hall and produced five recordings, including “Invention & Alchemy,” a collaboration with harpist Deborah Henson-Conant which was nominated for a Grammy. We were delighted to have David’s wife, Dylana Jenson, renowned concert violinist and violin teacher in the audience.

Robert Byrens has more than forty years of experience as a concert artist and is a popular and sought-after vocal and instrumental partner. He is a faculty member of Grand Valley State University as an artist faculty pianist and vocal coach. Robert is also the rehearsal pianist and vocal coach for Opera Grand Rapids.

David Lockington cellist, Robert Byrens accompianist

The music, along with anecdotes and personal stories presented by David and Robert, was delightful. After lunch they graciously circulated among the audience of our members allowing us time for comments and questions.

Click below to listen to a couple of beautiful musical excerpts from the program.

WCC Mourns the Death of Wendy Marty

On the evening of November 23, 2024, Wendy Marty, member of the Women’s City Club since 2010, died suddenly of a heart attack. Her enthusiasm and excitement for our Club was huge and she will be deeply missed. She coined the phrase, “The city is our Clubhouse” which is used on our website.

Wendy has been on the WCC Board of Directors numerous times, serving in a first vice presidential capacity as recently ago as 2015 – 2017, where she gave support and encouragement to the President. She used her outstanding organizational skills to help committees write and follow job descriptions, and worked on teams tasked with restructuring the club.

Most recently Wendy was an essential member of our Enrichment Committee, using her extensive connections in the academic and arts communities to schedule exciting and relevant programming. An avid reader, Wendy actively read and reviewed books for the Club and was a proofreader every month for our monthly newsletter, The Bulletin.

In her professional life, she was an Academic Coach specializing in standardized testing, a retired Learning Assistance Professional at Aquinas College, GRPS Out-of-School Time Curriculum Designer and Academic Manager, and a Middle School English Language Arts (ELA) teacher.

The loss of our friend Wendy Marty will have an impact on our community for years to come.

New Year, New Topic: Generative AI

Julie Goldstein, Associate Professor in the Department of Visual & Media Arts at Grand Valley University, was the first presenter of the new year at our weekly Enrichment Series. Her work focuses primarily on film and video production. Generative AI (artificial intelligence) is a relevant topic in that it is an evolving technology impacting the creative process and contributing to dialogue around many aspects of our daily lives.

In an interactive presentation, she explained the concept of how an image or text can be generated using general language prompts through a system such as Chat GPT. It creates new content based on patterns in data. The concept raised many questions and concerns over where the information comes from such as, “how do we respect someone’s copyright? or Is there a built-in bias? How is my information being used to show me someone who looks like me? Is someone of another race going to get a picture of someone who looks like them?” The conversation was ongoing and interesting.

There are many exciting and creative uses for this new technology, but also many challenges, risks, and the potential for misuse. As Julie stressed, we must remember that when asking questions and receiving back a human-like response in a chat, you are not talking to a real human being. Those of us who have been around before all of this technology and remember life without it, should remind the younger generation that we must retain our own brain capabilities, our own human creativeness, and remember what it is like to be human.

We’ve only scratched the very surface of this topic and we have already decided that we must have Julie back again. This talk marks the second time we’ve had Julie at our speaker series. Last year she joined us with a fascinating presentation on animation.

Final Celebration of our Centennial Year!

The extraordinary final Celebration  of the Women’s City Club’s Centennial Year is coming soon. On Wednesday, September 18, we turn our attention from the past to the future, beginning with A Magical Evening of fine foods and entertainment at Thousand Oaks Golf Club.

6:00 PM --The enchantment begins with delicious appetizers as WCC members and guests are entertained by world-renowned Magician P.J. Weber. He will move from group to group while you enjoy a deluxe Cheese Board and assorted crackers, Caprese Skewers, Stuffed Mushrooms, and Bacon Burnt Ends with cocktails from the cash bar.

7:00 PM -- Dinner begins with the Red Water Salad: Mixed greens, dried cranberries, candied pears, bleu cheese & strawberries, followed by your choice of three exquisite entrées: (1) a 6 oz. Bistro steak, served with red wine demi-glace; members $58, non-members $70; (2) Herb-grilled Mahi-Mahi with roasted Mediterranean vegetable tapenade and Romesco sauce; members $52, non-members $63; and (3) a Roasted Half Acorn Squash filled with quinoa, hearty  greens, goat cheese, dried cranberries and toasted pecans, served with roasted carrots; members $52, non-members $63. All entrées are served with Green Beans in Herb Butter and Roasted Garlic Yukon mashed potatoes. Also included is your dessert choice of Flourless Chocolate Torte or Key Lime Pie. 

8:00 PM --After dinner, our unforgettable evening continues with more astonishing feats from P.J. Weber, who has performed his high energy show of magic and comedy around the world. All told, members and guests can expect to be fully entertained during our Magical Evening Celebration. Let’s look forward to where the magic takes us next!

Paid reservations are due to Sondra at 616-459-3321 or wccgrbusiness@gmail.com by September 9.

Mahjongg!

Mahjongg is a tile-based game dating back to ancient China. It requires both luck and skill. Mahjongg is typically played with 4 players, using a set of 144 tiles. The game involves matching tiles to create sets and runs, with the goal of being the first player to get rid of all your tiles.

Did you know that the Women’s City Club has an active and enthusiastic Mahjongg group? Every Tuesday WCC members gather to play.

Contact us if you are interested in joining us! Call Sondra at 616-459-3321.

You can find a brief history of Mahjongg with slides on a previous post HERE.

A Proud Tradition

The Women’s City Club recently held its 100th Annual Meeting, a tradition dating back to its founding in 1924. Past presidents and legacy members were honored. The Board was recognized, with outgoing board members thanked and incoming members announced. Finances were reviewed and the minutes approved from last year.

Business aside, this year was special. Each member received a memento from the 70s, a silverware place setting monogrammed with “WCC.” Silver serving pieces were displayed, as well as copies of “Our First One Hundred Years.” A quilt made by past ladies of the Club was on display. Commemorative jewelry and other 100-year logo merchandise were on a table for viewing.

Entertainment was provided by the extremely talented a Capella singers, From the Top, a group of students from Northview High School. The setting was the beautifully remodeled Kent Country Club where lunch and dessert rounded out the event.

Annual Meeting favors

From the Top a Capella singers from Northview High

Past presidents L-R: Margaret Burrows-Getz, Irene Nowak, Kathleen Ray, Linda Girard, Carol Dodge

Impact Award

The Women’s City Club held its fifth award ceremony on Thursday, April 18, 2024. Our 2 winners, Dilanny Perez and Nebyat Gebrehiwot, each were honored with the presentation of a $750 cash award.

Dilanny and Nebyat are juniors at Union High School. To earn the award, the students were asked to identify and describe a personal role model, the one who most inspired them to achieve their own excellence. Their entries were chosen by a committee of administrators, teachers, and counselors at their school.

Dilanny wrote an essay about William D. Swenson, a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013. She learned about bravery, loyalty, and courage, and is inspired to strive for those things in her own life.

Nebyat, who is from Eritrea in northeast Africa, made a painting of a woman from her country. She is inspired by the women of her country who strive for gender equality and work to empower other women. She aspires to be a role model of her Eritrean culture.

The girls, along with Women’s City Club president, Wendy Sturm, and Union High principal, Aaron Roussey, were interviewed by Shelley Irwin on the Shelley Irwin Show on WGVU. Listen to the interview here.

The Impact Award is funded by generous donations from the Women’s City Club members and the community. For a list of past winners visit our Impact Award page.

Dilanny Perez and Nebyat Gebrehiwot

Union Principal Aaron Roussey, Nebyat, WCC President Wendy Sturm, Dilanny

Nebyat, Union Asst. Principal Dana Calhoun, Dilanny, Sgt. Ron Voisinet, Union Principal Aaron Roussey

A Grand Evening

Carol Dodge and Marcie signing Our First One Hundred Years

We celebrated a momentous event on March 14 at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The tale was told of 100 years of the Women’s City Club by Club Historian Carol Dodge and Bulletin editor Marcie Woods at a program in the Museum’s Meijer Theater.

Our book, Our First One Hundred Years, authored by Carol and Marcie, was for sale and a book signing followed the presentation. WCC favorite, the Honorable Judge Sara Smolenski, was our special guest host. Carol and Marcie alternated in the telling of our story by decade beginning with our founding in 1924. Each decade was introduced by songs of the era performed by Rebecca Sneller, pianist and WCC member.

Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and dessert and a cash bar were available. Thank you to the Public Museum for the wonderful space and for taping the presentation as part of your GR Stories feature.

Watch the presentation here.

Our guests in the Grand Rapids Public Museum Meijer Theater lobby

WCC mementos were displayed in a museum display cube

Women's City Club on eightWest!

Wendy Sturm, president of the Club, along with Kelli Rosecrans, Director of Marketing at the Grand Rapids Public Museum were interviewed on eightWest to highlight our upcoming event, “Our First One Hundred Years” on March 14. A little history of the Club, along with a teaser about our book of the same name, were beautifully presented. You can watch the television segment here.

100 Year Anniversary Party!

Cheers to 100 Years!

Members and guests celebrated the Women’s City Club’s birthday on January 24, 2024 at Blythefield Country Club. Special guest speaker, Judge Sara Smolenski, was delightful and funny. A wonderful lunch followed by dessert and a champagne toast rounded out the afternoon. Deborah Reed, WKTV Managing Editor, covered the event. You can read her article here.

“I just wanted to tell you what a wonderful program and luncheon we had today. I sat there and just imagined what the first ladies of WCC would think of us celebrating what they started one hundred years ago. I’m sure they would be smiling. The food was wonderful and Sara was pure delight.”

— Marilyn L.

“Everything about yesterday’s celebration was perfect. So beautiful and elegant.
The gift bag was filled with treasures; so fun. I’m sure that Nancy’s cards brought smiles and will be a joy to send to others.”

— Pat C.

Something Grand is Here!

Happy New Year!

Let the celebration begin!

We’ll kick it off with a special Coffee Time on January 16 to launch our Anniversary Jewelry. Nancy Bailey, our member and inspiration for the design, will be the guest of honor. Diane Jones will present the story of the design and the artist, Emily Chesick, who designed our cloisonne piece. Members will be able to order a pin or pendant, customized to reflect their individual style.

Our 100th Anniversary Luncheon will be held on January 24 at Blythefield Country Club. A special speaker, Judge Sara Smolenski, a special toast, and a special lunch with friends, will make this a wonderful event to attend!

More details for the major presentation of our 100 year history at the Public Museum’s Meijer Theatre on March 14 will be coming soon! Contact Diane Jones at diane@cjonesgroup.com to receive your invitation to this complimentary event. Open to the public.

President Wendy Sturm was on the GVSU Morning Show with Shelley Irwin to give a rundown of our special activities for this centennial year. Listen to the interview here.

Expanding Curiosity

Earlier this month we had an exclusive presentation on the planned expansion of the Grand Rapids Public Museum. GRPM President and CEO, Dale Robertson; VP of Science and Education, Dr. Stephanie Ogren; and GRPM Board of Directors Chair, Marlin Feyen shared the exciting plans and insider information about new spaces that will elevate the museum to new levels.

Museum visits have increased, and the demand is outpacing the current resources which has precipitated the need for more physical space, digital upgrades, and experiential and educational expansion to better serve the community. Outdoor areas will be upgraded and integrated with the river and surrounding walkways, the iconic carousel space will be detached from the museum so it can be enjoyed by the community even when the museum is not open, and indoor spaces will be refreshed and reimagined with accessibility in mind. An important piece of this expansion will be the ability to increase their educational programming.

The museum opened in its current location in 1994 and this $50 million expansion project is the first since then. It’s bold and inspiring and will have an impact on generations to come!

For more information go to their website at https://www.grpm.org/expansion/.

Women's City Club Prepares for Centennial Celebration!

One hundred years! The Women’s City Club is planning a celebration beginning in January and continuing throughout 2024. The first premier event for our members is a birthday party on January 24, 2024, “Cheers to 100 Years!”, Special guest speaker, Sara Smolenski, will be joining us to entertain and reminisce.

Next there will be a special event at the Grand Rapids Public Museum during Women’s History Month on March 14, 2024. Featuring our book, “Our First One Hundred Years,” an illustrated book tracing the history of the Club written by our talented Club authors. The event will include cocktails and snacks, a reading from the book, music, and a book signing. This event is open to the public.

A tradition since the beginning is the Annual Meeting held in May. A recap of the year, honoring long-standing members, installing new Board members, food and fellowship is the focus of this event for members only.

On September 19, 2024 we roll out the red carpet at Noto’s for a glittery event with emcee Mike Smolenski as we honor the contributions of the women who came before us.

We’ll cap off the year of celebration with our Evergreen Gala in December. Good friends, great conversation, delectable food, and lively jazz will entertain us as we revel in the joy of the season and reflect on the year.

This will truly be a year to remember! Cheers to 100 years!

Mahjongg: A Brief History

On Thursday, October 19 Susan Coombes spoke about the history of Mahjongg, a game developed in the mid 1800s in China’s Yangzi Delta. She brought along some Mahjongg games, books about Mahjongg, and a travel Mahjongg set which was won in a raffle by our member Nancy Court. Susan has lived and traveled abroad and is a local business owner of a downtown Grand Rapids shop called Periwinkle Fog.

Susan prepared some slides to use during her talk. You can view the pdf here.

Exceptional Music Program!

A recent musical program, MUSIC for THREE, at Mayflower Church was thoroughly enjoyed by our members. The program featured 3 talented musicians, Todd Wilkie on piano, Andrew Plaisier on cello, and Ruth VandenBos on violin. We listened to Fazil Say’s "Four Cities," Carl Reinecke’s "Trio No. 1 in D Major, Op. 38," and Astor Piazzolla’s "Four Seasons of Buenos Aries" and "La Muerte del Angel."

We sincerely thank Wendy Marty and other club members who made generous donations toward this musical program. Members are reminded that they can make donations to future musical programs if they wish to do so.

Listen to a beautifully performed portion of Astor Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aries” below:

Grand Rapids Sister Cities

Denise Taylor, a member of the Grand Rapids Sister Cities International Board, presented a program on our Sister City connections in Italy, Poland, Ghana, Mexico, and South Korea. Dnipro, Ukraine was just announced as a “friendship” city in June of this year.

This link leads to a PowerPoint presentation update with more information. The picture descriptions are listed below. Enjoy!

Slides 1,2,3- The GRSCI logo and mission statement.  

Slides 4,5-Our participation in the city parades (flags of our sister city countries are on the back of the city float). 

Slides 6,7-Our participation in the Ethnic Heritage Festival held each year at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.  

Slides 8,9,10,11- Photos from the GRSCI Gala event held at the JW Marriott in June 2023. 

Slides 12, 13,14 – The Mayor and delegation trip to Omihachiman, Japan with the Mayor of Omihachiman. The Omi committee participating in the Asian-Pacific Festival in June 2023. 

Slides 15,16 –Polish Heritage Festival held August 25 and 26 at Calder Plaza.  

Slide 17- A group from the Ga West District of Ghana, including the Ga committee’s representative in Ghana, attended our gala in their traditional African clothing.  He is pictured here with the chairs of the Gangnam-gu committee, the Zapopan committee, and the Ga West committee.  

Slide 18-The Ga West committee collaborated recently with the Rotary Club to send a container of medical supplies to the Ga West District.  

Slides 19- Medical students from Calvin and GVSU go to Ghana as part of a volunteer program.  

Slides 20,21-The Korean Connection and the Gangnam-gu committee helped sponsor a celebrated graffiti artist, Royyal Dog from South Korea, to come here to GR and paint this mural on the Hopson Flats Building, across from Founder’s Brewery. It’s amazing and he created this with spray paint! 

Slides 22,23- Mayor Bliss and a delegation from GR traveled to Gangnam-gu this summer to celebrate the addition of our 6th sister city. 

Slide 24- There were three students from Perugia, Italy here this school year attending Grand Rapids Christian High School.  The Perugia committee accompanied them on a trip to City Hall to meet Mayor Bliss.  

Slide 25-The anniversary of the Perugia-Assisi peace march was commemorated by members of the Perugia committee at the St. Francis of Assisi Sculpture Garden on the ground of the Dominican Center at Marywood on Fulton St.  

Slide 26-The Zapopan committee sponsored several beer brew masters from Zapopan to participate at the Wine, Beer and Food Festival at DeVos Place in November.  

Slide 27-Perugia committee members at the Fiera dei Morti Market in Italy, selling goods from GR to support our scholarships and events throughout the year.  

Slide 28- Perugia committee and Club Italia members cooking at the Renucci House for the families of patients staying at Corewell Health (Spectrum) hospitals.  

Slide 30- Ukrainian community picnic this summer 

Slide 31- Map of Ukraine, showing the location of Dnipro, Grand Rapids’ newest “friendship” city, soon to be our 7th sister city.  

Slide 32-The skyline of Dnipro, Ukraine.  

Slide 33,34- The St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church on Gold St. Here in Grand Rapids.  

Club Historian Publishes Book!

Women’s City Club historian, Carol Dodge, has published a book. The Mayor, the Maestro, and the Mansion: Martin Sweet, Ottakar Malek, and the Sweet House. Carol’s book is the result of over 30 years of research into the history.

The Sweet House was built by Martin Sweet in the mid 1860s as the family home for his wife Desdemona and their three children, Mattie, Cassius and Frank. Martin Sweet was an influential Grand Rapids business man with many accomplishments who was mayor of Grand Rapids for one term in 1860. He passed away in 1905 and the house was used by Ottakar Malek for a music conservatory from 1914 to 1919.

In 1927 the Women’s City Club purchased the Sweet House to use as their clubhouse. The Club resided there until 2018.

Carol has dedicated many, many hours to make this book a reality. She is an amazing source of knowledge and history of all things Sweet House and Women’s City Club. We are proud to have her as Club Historian and long-time Women’s City Club member!

A signed copy of Carol’s book is available at Schuler Books