The Century Club 100, which once served as the governing board of AASA and now functions as an honorary organization for superintendents and others, will convene for the 95th time for a luncheon on Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Omni Hotel.
The Century Club luncheon and annual meeting represents one of the longest ongoing traditions associated with the AASA National Conference on Education. It began in 1927 when Joseph Saunders, superintendent in Newport News, Va., convened the group in Dallas, Texas. The organization has met every year since, other than a four-year break during World War II and in 2021 when the AASA national conference was a virtual event.
The 2022 meeting, sponsored by ProtectEducation, features a panel of school system leaders about their dealings with the COVID-19 pandemic, racial equity and school board/parent disagreements on these issues. The panel will consist of someone with a statewide perspective, a new superintendent and a veteran superintendent, according to luncheon organizer Peter Flynn, a past president of the Century Club.
“We are excited and hope that the attendees will come for the luncheon and be uplifted by the program,” said Flynn, a retired superintendent who led school districts in Scranton, Pa., Davenport, Iowa, Lexington, Ky., and Freeport, Ill., over a 34-year period.
Opening remarks will be made by Chuck Ledbetter, superintendent of Pike Road School District in Alabama, who is Century Club president. Sharing the dais will be Rick Schmitt, superintendent in Sandwich, Ill., and Jerry Thacker, past president and superintendent of the Penn-Harris, Ind., schools.
Century Club consists of about 125 members including active and retired superintendents, educational partners and honorary members. AASA members who are interested in joining the Century Club can contact Tom Shelton (tom.shelton13@gmail.com) or Flynn (p.flynn2@comcast.net).
(Liz Griffin is senior editor of Conference Daily Online and managing editor of AASA’s School Administrator magazine.)