Outgoing 1st Vice Chair (Governance) Joan Alderson introduced new board members Joen Garnica (an alumnus of LBDN), Michele Dobson, Lynn Shrum, and Gina Ballard. Board Chair Melanie Werts recognized new honorary board members Elaine Thompson, Brian Russell, Linda Silver, and herself.
Honorary board member Daphne Ching-Jackson installed new board officers for 2012-2013. They include: Chair Deloris Mayuga; Chair-elect Jon Gotz; 1st Vice Chair (Governance) Julie Taboada; 2nd Vice Chair (Resource Development) Joan Alderson; Recording Secretary Michael Soutar; and Treasurer Steven T. Romeyn.
“When I began my year as board chair, my theme was ‘Celebrating Our Past and Securing Our Future,’ to best position LBDN for the next century,” said Werts, during her final report, to those in attendance. “And we have been busy working on doing just that.” Werts gave an overview of all the centennial activities and thanked the chairs of the various events. To date, through the 100th Anniversary Steering Committee’s Investment in the Future strategy, more than $100,000 has been raised to help assist LBDN in securing the future and positioning the nursery for the next century.
Executive Director Patrice Wong presented brief highlights of the past year and emphasized that despite the deep cuts in state funding for early childhood education, LBDN continues to provide high-quality services for the families and children they serve. “We remain confident that LBDN will continue to weather these tough economic times,” Wong said. “This is only possible because of the terrific team that we have: staff, volunteers, board members, and donors.”
New Board Chair Deloris Mayuga thanked outgoing Board Chair Melanie Werts for her dedication and hard work for LBDN, and for also taking on the responsibility as the chair of the 100th Anniversary Steering Committee. Werts was presented with the chair’s pin, which is a circle of children holding hands, set in sterling silver with a small diamond. This pin has been a tradition for many years, presented by the incoming chair to the outgoing chair.
LBDN was founded in 1912 by a group of prominent Long Beach women who felt that working mothers needed quality child care, a radical idea at the time since very few women worked outside the home.
Source: LBDN
