The History of the Northern New Jersey Alumnae Club
The Northern New Jersey Alumnae Club was founded in 1927. The group is comprised of a number of women ranging in age, from recent graduates to Golden Arrows. In June 2016, the club was recognized as a Club of Excellence by Pi Beta Phi due to the club’s outstanding membership, events and collegiate involvement. The club serves Morris and Essex counties, as well as portions of Sussex, Union and Somerset counties. Club members support collegiate chapters at Princeton University and Lafayette College. The Northern New Jersey Alumnae Club has had 47 club presidents in the past 90 years. Numerous alumnae also have served Pi Beta Phi on the regional and national level.
Meaningful Mementos
Ceramic figurines of the Pi Beta Phi founders were created by club member Anne Kline Albright (New York Delta) in 1954. One set of figurines was donated to the Fraternity at the 1954 Convention and is currently on display at Holt House. The second set of figurines remained with the club for more than 50 years and were displayed prominently at the club's Founders’ Day celebrations. A few figurines were inevitably broken by the club; the remaining figurines were donated to the Pi Beta Phi Headquarters in St. Louis.
Awards and Club Recognition
- Club of Excellence
- Emerging Excellence Alumnae Club
- Excellence in Alumnae Engagement (2020)
- Ideal Club
Alumnae Original Song Award
Carolyn Helman Lichtenberg Crest Award
Emma Harper Turner Leadership Award
Notable Alumnae
- Anne Chestnut Bartlett (Michigan Gamma), Collegiate Province President; Chairman of Nominating Committee
- Kathleen “Katie” Hale Hein (Pennsylvania Beta), Traveling Graduate Consultant; Collegiate Province President
- Susan Crabb Johnson (Indiana Epsilon), Alumnae Province President; Province Coordinator; Crest Award Committee
- Karen Davis Jones (Pennsylvania Epsilon), Collegiate Province President
- MaryMargaret McDonough (Maryland Beta), Collegiate Province President; Province Coordinator; Director of Academics
- Julie Geiger Shannon Mercer (Kentucky Beta), Collegiate Province President; Director of Chapter House Corporations; Director of Collegiate Extension and Recruitment
- Kay Murray Pirrong (Wisconsin Gamma), Chairman of Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts Board of Governors; Alumnae Province President
- Joan MacBain Stettler (Pennsylvania Beta), Chairman of Loan Fund Committee
- Rena Rodeman Thorsen (Maryland Beta), Pi Beta Phi Foundation Trustee
- Jane Turner Campbell (Missouri Alpha), Collegiate Province President
- Nancy Salter Keene (Nebraska Beta), Alumnae Province President
- Anne Logan Heflin (Missouri Alpha), Province Vice-President and Music Chairman
Northern New Jersey Alumnae Club Presidents
- 1927-29 Vibert Potts Duncan
- 1929-31 Jessie Baker Wade
- 1931-33 Marguerite Harwood Elder
- 1933-35 Marion Hallowell Evans
- 1935-37 Margaret Bohn Rymer
- 1937-39 Elizabeth Landon Owens
- 1939-41 Charlotte Merwin Jordan
- 1941-43 Margaret Loop Deck
- 1943-45 Evelyn Miller Slifer
- 1945-47 Ruth Bridge Spence
- 1947-49 Helene Diffendafer Bower
- 1949-51 Edith Briscoe Smith
- 1951-55 Eloise Wright Clark
- 1955-57 Delores Coleman Cochran
- 1957-59 Marilyn Berg Spoerl
- 1959-61 Anne Logan Heflin
- 1961-63 Jean Dunbar Socolowski
- 1963-65 Helen Hodgkins Miller
- 1965-67 Peg Nicholson Ray
- 1967-69 Jody Cole Mines
- 1969-70 Jeanne Klier Storch
- 1970-72 Ann Dungan Newell
- 1972-74 Joan MacBain Stettler
- 1974-75 Yvonne Jividen Eisnaugle
- 1975-77 Judith Rogers Knight
- 1977-79 Anne Chestnut Bartlett
- 1979-80 Martha Gage Mayfield
- 1980-81 Ann Dungan Newell
- 1981-83 Margery Ryder Howes
- 1983-85 Nancy Salter Keene
- 1985-87 Ruth Davis Blakeney
- 1987-89 Susan Crabb Johnson
- 1989-90 Julie Geiger Mercer
- 1990-91 Kay Murray Pirrong/Nancy Bogenes Lau
- 1991-93 Karen Davis Jones
- 1993-95 Joan Michiels McCullough
- 1995-97 Cynthia Reilly Feeley
- 1997-99 Allison Brown McGeough
- 1999-01 Kathleen Hale Hein
- 2001-03 Bonnie Borton
- 2003-05 Yvette Ruiz Hober
- 2005-07 Bevan Ovens Ruland
- 2007-09 Jennifer Carlson Jaruzelski
- 2009-11 MaryMargaret McDonough
- 2011-14 Betsy Hughes Phillips
- 2014-16 Leslie Magnus
- 2016-17 Laura Purcell