Meetings
Club members meet once a month, usually on the second Monday evening. Topics of recent general membership meetings have included: evaluations of election results, polling, Covid-19 vaccine distribution, state legislative reports, updates from township and county officials, platforms of ward and board of education candidates, and issues of current interest (inc. cannabis, clean environment, increasing voter turnout, eradicating racism and gun violence).
Meetings will be held at:
Bhog Restaurant
2 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
Somerset, NJ
Guests are welcomed to attend meetings after contacting the Club by phone (848) 305-7815 or email.
January 9, 2023
Congratulations to Michael Beals and Erika Inocencio!
They were honored at our January meeting in recognition of the time and talents they’ve contributed to the JFK Club -- Mike as recording secretary for three years and Erika as corresponding secretary for three years. They are shown here with the Club’s president, Deana Luchs (center), holding their certificates of appreciation.
The Club's election took place on Monday, Jan. 9, with all officers being reelected to their current roles except for Erika who is stepping down as Corresponding Secretary. Jocelyn Thomas is the new Corresponding Secretary and Vanessa Davenport is the new Assistant Corresponding Secretary. Congratulations to this year's Executive Committee!
Also at the January meeting we heard from Wayne Dibofsky, Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Danielsen, about new and pending legislation as well as recent court decisions and their implications on our community.
February 13, 2023
Connection of Franklin Township and surrounding communities to the American Revolution.
Speaker: Brad Fay, Somerset County Chief Communications Officer and president of the Millstone Valley Preservation Coalition
March 13, 2023
Benefits of Clean Renewable Energy.
Speakers: Sunni Varga, campaigns organizer for New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, and Yvette Viasus, outreach manager at Community Solar
April 10, 2023
School safety.
Speakers: Dr. John Ravally, Franklin Township superintendent of schools, Orvyl Wilson, director of school management and student advocacy
May 8, 2023
The Role of County Government.
Speakers: Dylan Contrino, Paul Drake, Tina Jalloh, Melonie Marano, Steve Peter, Darrin Russo, Doug Singleterry
June 15, 2023
NJ Public Education: The Players, the Agenda, and the Plain Old Truth.
Speaker: Mike Gottesman, founder of NJPEC NJPEC (njpecoalition.org)
August 14, 2023
Board of Education forum.
September 9, 2023
JFK Club picnic.
October 9, 2023
GOTV (Get Out the Vote) kick-off.
November 13, 2023
Commemoration of President Kennedy on the 60th anniversary of his death.
December 11, 2023
February 14, 2022
We thank our guests Sarah Best, deputy director of legislative and political affairs at Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central and Southern NJ, and Sarah Fajardo, policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, for giving an informative presentation on Monday about the Freedom of REproductive Choice Act.
The speakers described current efforts and challenges as well as the future work that needs to be done in N.J. to protect reproductive rights and expand access.
March 14, 2022
Four guests joined us for a panel discussion on the topic “What will it take to save our democracy and ensure justice and equality for all people? Honorable Dauda Mansaray, former Franklin Township 3rd Ward chair, Jerijah McCray, real estate professional and community activist, Rev. Sonya Redd of the New Brunswick Area NAACP, and Maria Santiago, founding trustee of Atlantic Climate Justice Alliance, reflected on these questions:
1) What are the three most pressing issues inyour community?
2) What are some of the barriers to voting and how can they be resolved?
3) What needs to be done to save our democracy?
May 9, 2022
The JFK Democratic Club of Franklin Township and the United Democratic Coalition of Hillsborough co-sponsored a virtual discussion on the recent revisions to New Jersey's congressional districts and how these changes could affect future elections and our ability to elect Democrats to office.
The program featured two speakers widely respected in the fields of public policy and political strategy. Scott Snyder, the ultimate political strategist in our state today, and also the Assembly Speaker's most trusted political advisor - and a political strategist and Principal at SJS Consulting. Ingrid Reed, a policy analyst, and associate with Eagleton Institute of Politics and past Assistant Dean of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
July 11, 2022
Three guests will speak about land use -- Theodore Chase, Jr, member of Franklin Planning Board and Environmental Commission; Mike Orsini, Chair of Township’s Planning Board; Robert Thomas, chair of Franklin Zoning Board of Adjustment and member of Planning Board.
August 8, 2022
Meeting was dedicated towards understanding the positions of the Franklin BOE candidates. They were asked to present a three minute opening statement followed by questionspresented by our moderator and JFK Club Treasurer, Dalya Youssef, Esq. Of the six candidates running for the Board of Education this year, five of accepted our invitation to participate, including: Nancy LaCorte, Ardaman Singh, Walter B. Jackson, Jr., Marco Bruno, and Loren Long.
Meeting Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/BChz8WUC7wI1_T6ipxNZ0dRVWIjoWDxQIoV8h4uaWTc0y-7j1GJGaKNoh0E2U6rb.vgMuKcZcC8CjPNrt
Passcode: 93+z@BGJ
NO MEETING IN SEPTEMBER
October 10, 2022
“Back Together Again” gathering will plan ways to work together to “Get Out the Vote” for the Nov. 8 election.
Location: Fairfield Inn & Suites, 315 Davidson Ave.
Time: 7-9 p.m.
November 14, 2022
December 12, 2022