originally posted on 4/7/2023
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On March 9, the day after International Women’s Day, ACE hosted an online Women’s history month event with an esteemed panel of respondents, including historian Jennifer Sopko and past ACE presidents Carole Sanderson and Jan Schnoor. This event was attended by dozens of ACE members who heard stories from the past and ways that ACE has evolved through the years. Some questions were directed toward what these women remembered about the ways the club has changed.
Digital Team Member Leigh Weber hosted and encapsulated some of the emotion of the event: “I was so excited to hear the experiences of some of our former presidents, Jan and Carol, and to learn about the preservation efforts of Jennifer.”
Sopko shared stories from her research that were surprising for panelists, who learned interesting facts about the parks they have come to love. She is currently working on a project on Lost Parks of Western Pennsylvania and has been deep in research mode. During the event, she shared some of the items she has been analyzing, including not only photographs and articles but also postcards, old tickets and even flyers for events from decades past.
Sanderson and Schnoor reminisced about their time on the ACE Executive Committee and related stories and action items they were a part of during their term in office. Some of the decisions they made were for policies ACEers currently take for granted, such as convention guidelines and revisions to the code of conduct still applicable today. A significant achievement was hiring a management company to allow the Executive Committee to focus on moving the club forward rather than writing out membership cards and reading registrations.
The two past presidents also spoke about some of the challenges they faced, including public relations issues and actions they believed were their best accomplishments. There were moments of seriousness in which they shared their disappointments.
Some of the shared experiences involved carrying out the duties of their particular offices, some were the result of their gender and others were simply a part of ACE’s history. The stories ranged from lighter issues, as in deciding not to move forward with the suggested “Ladies of ACE” calendar, to the more serious, when they considered coaster restraints from the point of view of women, including the physical hurdles and how that translates into comfort on a ride.
Attendees asked questions on a variety of topics and were able to learn a great deal from these women. As Weber explains, “Every time we host an online meeting, I learn something new and hear some hilarious stories. I appreciate that we have such a diverse group of members. If you have a question, someone out there will have an answer.”
Join the ACE Digital Events team for the next digital gathering: a Pictionary-like game night on April 20, 2023, at 8:30 p.m. EDT. There are also a series of pre-Coaster Con digital meetups members can attend, including a Q&A for first-time attendees, a family meetup, a young adult meetup, a mature ACEer meetup and a teen/tween meetup. Members can register for these and all ACE events on the ACE events calendar at aceonline.org/events.
— Jes Niemiec, Digital Events Coordinator
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