|
 The
Twenty-Five Year Club was established in 1958 by Grace Asserson, the college’s employment
manager, as a means of recognizing and expressing the college’s appreciation
to those staff members -- retired and still employed -- who had completed 25
or more years of service. Grace retired in 1971 after 30 years of service; she passed
away in 1983.
Although we now formally recognize employees with fewer
than 25 years of service, this present club has a special significance for employees
simply by its uniqueness and by the number of years required for membership. Our
records are not complete enough to know how many charter members there were in 1958
but by 1978 membership had increased to 116 individuals, in 1988 it had increased
to 167, by 1999 there were 213 members and in the past 10 years, membership has grown
by an additional 183 persons to today’s total of 320. The names of all current
members -- of whom 193 are retired and 127 are still employed -- are listed
in the membership.
The symbol of Club membership is a gold pin which is
a replica of the Grecourt Gates (in front of College Hall) with a diamond in the
center of the pin. Formal recognition and Club membership is accomplished at the
Years of Service awards held each October.
Regardless of your period of association with Smith,
just being among such friends and colleagues of so many years is an exciting and
heartwarming experience. I hope that you have that same feeling.
2009 25 Year Club Slide Show
The next banquet will be held at the Log Cabin in Easthampton, MA on June 22, 2014. Details to follow.
|
