The Olympic Newcomers’ Club board of directors holds ten regular meetings every year, plus any additional meetings required to manage the Club’s business. Any Newcomers’ Club member can attend and actively participate in these meetings. The board welcomes all input (positive or negative) from our members. The organization and operational procedures of the Olympic Newcomers’ Club are defined in the club’s constitution and by-laws. These two documents are available for all members to review:
Congratulations to the Newly Elected Board Members!
Board President
Tom Peet was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota but raised a few miles north of Columbus, Ohio near Galena. He attended the Ohio State University from which he earned four degrees. He paid for the first two years of his undergraduate program at Ohio State by working at the Nestle Coffee Plant in Sunbury, Ohio and the second two as an automotive machinist at S&A Auto Parts in Westerville, Ohio, staying after graduating in 1972. When Westerville North High School opened in 1975 he was hired as one of two auto mechanics instructors, and Tom transferred to the social studies department where he specialized in U.S. and World History. Tom served as chairman of the social studies department from 1999-2012, was named Westerville’s teacher of the year in 2000, and Wooster College’s National Teacher of the Year in 2003. Tom is a car guy, computer hardware geek, and a Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and JFK Assassination expert. He and his wife Georgia are in love with the Olympic Peninsula; their two sons, Chad and Alex, still live in central Ohio.
Board Vice President
Paula Jellinghaus
hails from the East Coast and is a true Easterner, having lived in Wilmington, DE; Chapel Hill, NC; Washington, D.C.; New York City, Boston, and Cape Cod. She moved to Sequim sight unseen at the very end of 2019 from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she had lived for the previous eight years. Her early career years were in the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. Then she moved on to strategic planning and marketing for American Express, Sears, General Electric, and a Big Four Accounting Firm. Her interests involve sailing, tennis, exercising, Great Decisions, and volunteering at OTA and the Northwest Maritime Center. She is excited about joining the leadership of the Newcomers’ Club and contributing to its future development and activities.
Board Secretary
Paula Topjun lived most of her life in Florida, graduating 
from the University of South Florida. She has been an insurance agent and practice administrator of a large medical practice. She is a die-hard Florida Gator fan, avid Mah Jongg player and boater. She and her husband, Terry, moved to Sequim in 2009. They love cruising in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. She has served on the Board previously, and enjoys helping Olympic Newcomers thrive.
Board Treasurer
Andrea Williams was born an Air Force brat in Albuquerque and lived most of her early life in Champaign and San Antonio (twice each). Her family moved to California in 1967. She considered Sacramento home for almost 30 years and Redding for 20. She and her husband Ken moved to Port Angeles in February 2017, and they plan to make this their last home. Andrea had three major careers: the US Army, Human Resources, and finally a college professor. She was the treasurer for the American Association of University Women (AAUW) in Redding for two years and, more recently, the treasurer for Phyllis Bernard’s successful campaign for PUD Commissioner. Ken and Andrea joined the Newcomers’ Club in 2017. They are members of the Port Angeles Yacht Club and the Crescent Grange in Joyce. She also volunteers with the Master Gardeners and for hospice.
Board Member
Lani Butcher Smith was born and raised in western New York State, married in Key West, FL, lived most of her adult life in San Diego, CA, and moved with her husband, Gary, to Port Angeles, WA a few years ago. Her sister once asked her why she keeps moving to lands end. Having seen the four corners of the continental USA, she’s found her home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Her corporate careers, lasting 25 years, were as a manager and trainer at Pacific Telephone and as a manager and technical writer at Xerox. She found her best career last, as a dog trainer, where for 13 years, she taught basic and advanced obedience classes, conducted private lessons, and was a certified evaluator for the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen Program. She was a regular volunteer at a local animal shelter, where she worked with dogs who were waiting for adoption. She enjoys reading, especially mysteries, volunteering, and exploring this beautiful area with Gary and her dog, Ruff.
Board member
Kathy Metz-Carson was born and raised in Chicago, IL. After attending the University of Illinois, she became Product Manager of Studio Girl Cosmetics. After receiving her mixologist certification, Kathy and her husband, Wayne, moved to Glenwood Springs, CO, and pursued a real estate career. She and Wayne then moved to San Diego, CA, in 1985 to take advantage of the “building boom.” After retiring, Kathy and Wayne moved to the beautiful Olympic Peninsula to get away from “The Madding Crowd” and a hectic big city life. She is now enjoying her surroundings and is an “artist in progress!”
Board Member
Nancy El
wert was born and raised in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. She earned her B.S. in education at Northern Illinois University where she met Warren the second month of our freshmen year. She received a M.S. Ed in special education at DePaul University and taught for eight years before her next career, motherhood and volunteering. We have two daughters, one spoiled granddaughter and a grand dog. After the girls left for college Nancy became a foster mom enjoying her babies for ten years. We moved to Sequim in 2013 for the weather and scenery and have met so many wonderful people. When not doing volunteering for Newcomers, CERT, Red Cross and the Guild for Seattle Children’s Hospital she enjoys swimming, sewing, crafting, gardening and all the fun club activities
Board Member
Dale E. Jackson: My wife and I moved to Sequim, WA in May 2023, migrating from Rancho Murieta, CA to be closer to our daughter who lives in Kent, WA, although our son still resides in Northern California. I attended UCSD, graduating in 1974, and completed some Post Graduate Education courses at the UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning. I have worked for over 40 plus years in Real Estate, first as a Redevelopment Planner for the City of Long Beach, CA and later as a Designated (SRPA/SRA Appraisal Institute) Commercial and Industrial Property Appraiser. I ended my career with the Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, retiring in 2016. In 2006, I became a Licensed RE Broker with the State of California and have been active until February 2025. It’s not certain that it will be renewed after this term.We thoroughly enjoy exploring and visiting many of the scenic locations around the Northwest Peninsula and Washington State.
Board Member
Joan Putnam: I am originally from Pennsylvania but 
a Southern California gal for most of my life. I worked at San Diego State University for 30 years and had the privilege of serving as the Director of the Barron Veterans Center for 18 of those years. I moved to Sequim in July 2022 to be close to my daughter and my three teenage grandchildren. In addition to the Newcomers’ Club, I’m currently a member of the Grand Olympics Chorus, the Soroptimist Club in Port Angeles, serving on the board of directors, and I am a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I enjoy traveling, walking, antiquing, and theater.
Board Member
Gary Allen Smith was born in Western New York State. He lives in Port Angeles with his wife, Lani, whom he married 50 years ago in Key West, Florida while Gary served in the US Navy. They relocated to the Olympic Peninsula in 2013 after Gary’s retirement from a 30-year career in Software Engineering, working at several companies in Southern California. A graduate of the University of California San Diego, where he majored in Visual Arts and Computer Science, Gary spends most of his time between his extensive garden and greenhouse and his art studio, in which he is developing computer-based digital art and microcomputer-driven kinetic sculptures. He has been a member of the Newcomers’ Club since 2013.