Results of 2025 Newcomers’ Club Election of Officers and Board Members
The results of the Newcomers’ Club Election of Officers and Board Members are in.
Everyone on the ballot was elected.
President — Tom Peet
Vice President — Paula Jellinghaus
Secretary — Paula Topjun
Treasurer — Andrea Williams
Board Member — Nancy Elwert
Board Member — Dale Jackson
Board Member — Joan Putnam
Board Member — Gary Allen Smith
Two Board Members, whose terms of office have another year to run, will also serve on the Board.
Board Member — Kathy Metz-Carson
Board Member — Lani Butcher Smith
Twenty-two members voted online. Nineteen members voted in person at the Membership Appreciation Meeting on April 3, 2025.
Thank you to all members who voted.
Thank you to all the members who participated in the Membership Appreciation Meeting. The Board gathered valuable input from members that will help guide the Club forward into the next year and beyond.
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.
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
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 was 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.