President’s Message – 4th Quarter 2024

 

Greetings to all my HCSC Alumni Club partners! I hope you’ve had a great 2024!

This is my final letter to you as President. It’s been an eventful year and as my term comes to an end, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to you all!

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-Thanks to our members who have contacted former JCPenney friends and told them about our club and added them to our membership! And also, thanks to our members have contacted former members and had them reactivate their membership!

-Thanks to our members who have participated in their Regional Meeting Group events, had fun, and enjoyed partnership with their friends old and new!

-Thanks to our members who have “phoned a friend” to stay in touch and catch up with friends and former partners!

-Thanks to our Board of Directors and RMG Presidents for their continued dedication to inform and engage their RMG members in activities and communications! (see our BOD and RMG Presidents list under “Club Information” on our National website.)

-Thanks to our Executive Board for their tireless efforts and hard work to keep our club operating efficiently and successfully!

We had four goals this year and here is a brief recap of progress on each:

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1. Membership Growth
   *Engage all Regional Meeting Groups in actively recruiting new members to achieve our annual goal of 120 new members.

As of mid-September, we have added 41 new members and are optimistic about a strong finish to the year so we can get close to our annual goal of 120 new members.

 

2.) Member Engagement – Get Togethers

*Encourage small group get togethers once each in the first half and second half of the year as well as the Holidays.

Thanks to our First Vice President, John Gresham, for working with many RMG’s to facilitate small group get togethers. We received great reports of fun lunches of members who numbered 6 to 15 attendees in localized communities within their regional area.

 

3.) Volunteerism

*Engage our members to contribute to their local communities through their volunteer efforts like the Feeding America Program in collaboration with the JCPenney Company and then to recognize their efforts through the new Golden Rule Award for Community Service.

Thanks again to John Gresham for leading our national Feed America campaign and working with RMG’s to facilitate their regional volunteer efforts.

We launched our first annual Golden Rule Awards for Community Service this past spring and had a great group of 7 nominees. Our national award winner was Donald L. Bartelmay volunteering for Sertoma International’s Hearing Aid Program and you can read his heartwarming story on our national website landing page.

 4.) Plan for the Future of the H.C.S.C. Alumni Club

*Bill Kruder, Past President, will create a special committee to gather member input and project where our Club will be in 3, 5, and 10 years and what actions we will need to take to ensure our future health.

Bill’s committee has been created and working since midyear gathering input from members and discussing the topics presented by those members as they build recommendations about the future of our club. Stay tuned for more details from Bill and his committee at the beginning of 2025.

 

John Gresham will be a great President starting his term on December 5, 2024. and John will be supported by First Vice President, John Chapman, as they lead our great Alumni Club through the next year!

 

Here are a few highlights that John and John will be informing you about in 2025:

-2nd Annual Golden Rule Awards for Community Service in April.

-5th Annual Golden Rule Days and Community Picnic in Kemmerer, WY on August 21.

-150th Anniversary of James Cash Penney’s Birth on September 15. There will be major Alumni Club observances!

-J.C.Penney Days in Hamilton, MO, Mr. Penney’s Birthplace on September 27.

-93rd Anniversary of the HCSC Alumni Club on October 18.

 

Best wishes to President, John Gresham and First Vice President, John Chapman and all our Club members for a great 2025!

 

Steve Strom

President - 2024