Tracey Kelley Wins AEU Anna Garlin Spencer Award

The winners of the Anna Garlin Spencer Award for volunteer-of-the-year from the Ethical Societies were recognized at the American Ethical Union’s 101st Assembly in St. Louis, MO, in July 2016.  The winner from Bergen was Tracey Kelley, and the AEU President, Jan Broughton, read the following statement:
   “Tracey has truly been one of the pillars of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County. In her more than 25 years as a member, she has served as board secretary, treasurer, vice president, and president. She has served on numerous committees, including Social Affairs, Caring, Membership and Nominating.
“She served for almost ten years as our office manager. When she began in the early 90s, she was the first to hold the position in many years. She had the challenging responsibility of organizing the office, setting it on its course, and thereby contributing mightily to the ongoing organizational and administrative strength of the Society. Her innate talents as an organizer made her perfectly suited to this job. Among her initiatives was to generate a solid rental structure for the Society and serve as liaison to the day care center.
“She also worked closely with the then treasurer to implement our first electronic bookkeeping system. Prior to her time as office manager, the Bergen Society had fallen seriously in arrears in the payment of our annual apportionment to the American Ethical Union. After our president negotiated a several year-long repayment plan with the AEU Board, she carefully oversaw our finances to successfully bring us back up to date.
“Tracey also contributed significantly to the project of rewriting our Constitution, serving on a committee that met repeatedly for months to craft what remains the thoughtful and thorough basis of our organizational stability.
“Along with Diana Gross, she developed a course on inter-religious parenting, supporting families that seek to honor and respect a mixed heritage while affirming their Ethical Culture identities. And, for a number of years, she created ceremonies for our Installation of officers that combined meaningful symbols with dramatic flair.
“Tracey has always worked closely and well with our Leader and members of the Society. She is a hub of information and concern about the community and its individual members. After her presidency, she continues on several committees, has served as the director of our scrip program for several years and supports our financial health by chairing our Skills Auction, a locus for community building and fund raising.
“After serving as our office manager, Tracey began working for the ACLU of NJ as the assistant to the director. Her work with the ACLU has enabled us to sustain a linkage with the Society and has brought several of its representatives to us for Platform addresses.
“Tracey and her husband, Peter, have been deeply invested in the Society as a family. Their sons, David and Aaron, attended and graduated from our Sunday School. Tracey has always been socially involved with members of the Society through its social activities and by looking after members with needs.”