Summer 2021· Torch: U.S. · SPIRIT 2020-2021
22
Spring Planning Meeting
By Irene Calderon
2020-2021 NJCL Editor
"All in all, though it was markedly different from the in-person planning meetings in years past, Spring Planning Meeting was a success!"
Ever since the national convention in my home state of Ohio, which was my first opportunity to see the NJCL officers on stage, I always thought that they were more than a little mystic. I could sense their poise and gravitas even from as far as I was in the audience, and as General Assembly after General Assembly passed without a hitch, my awe of them only grew. I still have that sense of awe for my fellow officers and the members of the national committee, especially since I now know exactly how much work goes into running the NJCL smoothly. But being an officer myself has given me the gift of knowing how refreshingly human the officers and committee members are and how enjoyable their company is. We can rave about the fuzzy socks we get as holiday presents and coo at the pets that make their guest appearances on camera just as well as we can debate constitutional revisions. The opportunity to reunite and catch up with one another, even through a computer screen, is one of the many things that made me excited for this year’s Spring Planning Meeting.
Creativity and problem solving seemed to be the two main themes for the day. Most of the meeting was centered around getting creative juices flowing, as the officers and committee members thought of incentives for convention registration (a friendly reminder that students can register here and adults can register here) as well as more events that the NJCL could host in the future. Nothing has been set in stone yet, but a couple of ideas that were floating around included more virtual events and colloquia held throughout the year. After the brainstorming session and a short break, the officers got together and met to hammer out the details of convention, from spirit and service to activities and colloquia. Between business items, they snuck in moments of levity, congratulating each other on college acceptances (two officers even discovered that they were going to the same university with the same major!). The officers then regrouped with the committee members, and together they concluded the meeting by finalizing details of the first-ever Classicalia event (which you can read about on the next page!).
All in all, though it was markedly different from the in-person planning meetings in years past, Spring Planning Meeting was a success!