Voting is Now Open for a New Class Secretary

Voting for a new class secretary will be open until 12pm EST June 30.

Please send your vote to smithcollege99@gmail.com.
Please place your vote's name in the SUBJECT LINE.
Please put your name (as it exists on the class roster) in the BODY of the message.

Only members of the Smith College class of '99 can vote and each class member may only vote once. Please note that we will not be able to count any vote from a name that does not match the class roster.

Candidates are listed alphabetically by last name. Most have elected to write a short statement (listed below) as to why they would like to be class secretary. Please read all statements before voting. We will tally all votes on the afternoon of the 30th and post the name of the new secretary Saturday morning.

Good luck to the candidates and thank you all for voting!
Your Class Officers

Our Candidates are...

• Emily E. Farrell
• Jen Grady
• Ingrid Howard
• Monique King-Viehland & Ernessa T. Carter
• Katy Tierney
• Sarah (Hopkins) Tolch
• Katrina von Hollen Weaver

Candidate Statements...

• EMILY FARRELL
My name is Emily Farrell and I am eager to serve as our next class secretary. Maintaining connections among our class and with the Smith community is important to me, and I will approach the position with enthusiasm and dedication.

At Smith I lived in Tyler House, majored in Art History and French Studies, and spent junior year abroad in Paris. After Smith I joined the Peace Corps and served in West Africa. I now work as a Peace Corps recruiter and am used to taking on a public role and interacting with a variety of people. My strong communication and organizational skills will be an asset when working as class secretary.

Like many of you, I look forward to reading the class notes section of the Alumnae Quarterly and will make sure each issue contains news and information about our class. I have a curious nature: I want to know what is going on and I want to share that information with our class. Email Emily

• JEN GRADY
Dear fellow 99-ers,
I, Jen Grady, would love to be your class secretary!

Qualifications: Unlike a disturbing percentage of Americans, I know how to read and write! In fact, I even majored in English. I have work experience in the literary field: I spent the first 2.5 years post-graduation toiling away at Oxford University Press, and I was kindly acknowledged in the Editors’ Prefaces of the books on which I worked (if you want to verify this assertion, the ISBNs of said books are 0195297512 and 019528478). More important than all that academic hoodayhaw is the fact that I love to write, and I do so passionately and prolifically. I wrote my first book in Kindergarten; all the teachers thought I was very bright. I have continued writing poems and fiction ever since. In fact, Alicia DiPietro ’99 and I are about to publish the second volume of our combined poetic works.

I love Smith, and I look forward to receiving the Quarterly. My favorite part is the Class Notes section. I would be honored to be the gal responsible for the ‘99 Notes. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE vote for me!! Email Jen

• INGRID HOWARD
I started out in corporate retail merchandising and currently find myself on the editorial board of my law school journal. Thus, for quite some time, my days have been very minutiae-intensive and deadline-driven, leaving me very much familiar with management of the details, projects and procedures required of a nicely executed end-product.

One area of the secretary position that I'd like focus on is our Alumnae Quarterly class update column. Technology issues, full email inboxes and other problems aside, none of the other class columns appear to have taken such a hit in the past several issues, and I feel it is time to get our column back on track. Simply put, advance preparations and regular management of secretarial responsibilities are the best way to guarantee smooth operations. Some of my ideas include (1) updating the submissions account to Gmail in order to accommodate the large number of emails/photos that are to be expected; (2) sending confirmation emails upon receipt of each submission to avoid confusion about receipt of submissions; and (3) adding a note in the column that redirects readers to our class website, a source for full-length submissions, more photos and whatever didn't make the publication deadline. Email Ingrid

• MONIQUE KING-VIEHLAND & ERNESSA T. CARTER
We would like to nominate ourselves as co-class secretaries for the following reasons:

1. Two people would make the many duties of this job a lot more manageable.
2. We're both super-duper organized, but in completely different ways. I produce plays. She works for the Governor of New Jersey.
3. Opposites are fun! Monique rocks suits and I rock flip-flops. Monique gives speeches, and I write lots of words for actors. Monique lives on the East Coast, and I'm happy in the West Coast Sunshine.
4. How cool would it be to have secretaries representing Smith on both sides of the Mississippi.
5. We call each other at least once a week anyway, so this would ensure that we never run out of things to talk about.

Most importantly, we have both been wanting to get re-involved with Smith for a very long time, and this job would not only allow us to use our very different skills sets, but it would also allow us to serve our class. Viva 99! Email Monique and Ernessa

• KATY TIERNEY
YOU WANT ME! YOU REALLY REALLY WANT ME!
You want me because: I am freakishly organized. I have a nearly unhealthy passion for all things Smith. I have extra time to play on the computer, track you down, and return emails. I fancy blogging. I can help you make what sounds boring or routine seem like a broadway musical or hollywood movie (your choice). I promise you a kick a*$ party at our 10-year reunion.
Help me spend less time cleaning my house and watching TV! Vote for Katy Tierney for secretary! Email Katy

• SARAH (HOPKINS) TOLCH
My name is Sarah Tolch (nee Hopkins,) and I think I would be a good choice for class secretary for a variety of reasons. First, I have good organizational skills and am a champion e-mailer. Ask my family who get more electronic messages from me than phone calls. Second, I am pretty tech savvy. I know I would be capable of working on the online portions of the job. Finally, I think I have a good relationship with most of my classmates, and I know I would always interact with everyone in a professional and respectful manner. I would love to be your class secretary. Email Sarah

• KATRINA von HOLLEN WEAVER
Every time I try to write why I want to be our class secretary it sounds, well, sappy. A little bit of sugar consumprion gave me this…I love Smith, and I love reading “classnotes” – maybe I’m just nosy about good news and the cool stuff that other Smithies are doing. I can be annoyingly organized and hyper at the same time. I love planning anything and everything. Lists and notebooks make my life go round. I want to be your class secretary so I can cheer us all on, get you excited to come back for reunion, and help keep us all in touch. I’d even like to help us get acquainted with one another, even if we didn’t know each other at Smith.
Thanks for your consideration. Email Katrina