A HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT CHAPTER OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS

 By Robert Singer

The Connecticut Chapter of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists had its beginning in 1983 when three members of the Society met one evening at a local tavern.

Two members of the New York Chapter; to wit:  Bob Johnson and Don Feliciano complained to Bob Singer of the New England Chapter that the next evening they would have to attend a New York Chapter meeting in New Jersey .  This entailed a drive through New York City traffic, attendance at the meeting in Clifton , NJ and then another long ride back to their homes.

Bob Singer then suggested that Connecticut start its own chapter so that they could obtain all of the benefits of SCC membership without having to commute to New Jersey or New York .

He explained the simplicity of forming a new chapter by obtaining twenty-five valid signatures from current SCC members.  Once this petition was duly presented to the National Board, according to the laws of the Society, a Chapter  would then be forthcoming.

The next morning, Bob presented such a petition to the personnel at Clairol and, with the assistance of Martina Fernandez, quickly obtained the needed signatures.  Later the next day additional signatures were obtained from members at Chesebrough-Pond’s and Zotos International.  The petition was then forwarded to the SCC office in New York .

When said petition was presented to the National Board of Directors, it was followed up by Charles Janczewski, who was most instrumental in getting the Charter for the new group.

Connecticut now had its Charter, its own identity and that is when all the fun started.

Unknown to its neophytes, it takes more than a Charter to have a Chapter.  It takes officers, a constitution, technical programs and MONEY!  The National Office requested a copy of our constitution, a list of officers and a program.  Bob Singer accepted the duty of preparing a constitution and studied all of the existing ones from other SCC Chapters.  He then drafted a document that was accepted by the directors of the Connecticut Chapter and submitted it to National.

Originally, it was planned for Bob Singer to remain a member of the New England Chapter and Bob Johnson to accept the chairmanship of the new group.  However, it was voted unanimously that Bob Singer be named as the first Chairperson with Ron Bienik of Vicks as Vice-Chairman.  These moves required Bob Singer to leave the New England Chapter and join the Connecticut Chapter.

A slate of officers was then elected with Janet Bass as Secretary, Susan Nettesheim as Treasurer and Howard Stromberg as House Chairman.

Once the Chapter was formed, it was soon apparent that we could not function with the funds that were available.  The money promised by National was not forthcoming so Bob decided to have a special meeting.  The by-laws of the Society permit each chapter to have one special meeting where funds may be solicited from Industry.  Since it was now late in the year, it was decided to have a golf outing and plans were made to hold this in late Spring.

Funds were solicited from suppliers and the golf outing was held.  (Won by Bobby Harrison of Vicks.)

The chapter now had an operating budget to allow it to make plans for the forthcoming year.  Also it had several problems that were totally unexpected.  First, several area technical directors commented that the new Chapter was going to become just another social group and secondly, several suppliers commented that they felt they has been coerced into donating funds.

Bob Singer then held several meetings with all those interested, to explain the reasons for the fund raising and to assure all parties that the new Chapter would be technical in nature and would furnish the required scientific functions of the National Chapters.  In this endeavor, Bob was successful and received support from all technical directors in the area.

Later that Fall, under the able direction of Howie Stromberg, we started holding meetings at the Comedy Club in Westport .  This was a small, intimate room which most adequately served our initial needs.

Since those early times and trials, the Chapter has grown to its current stature in the National Society of Cosmetic Chemists.  We are now the third largest membership and growing.

Under the continued guidance of Ron Bienik, Jim SaNoguerra, Joe Varco, Jerry King, Joe Dallal and now Karl Krummel, its continued growth is assured.

One of our members, Joe Varco, has brought distinction and honor to himself and the Chapter by election to Area Director.  I feel that it is only a matter of time before one of our members is elected to a higher National Office.

I would be remiss however, in not mentioning some of the members who have served most admirably in the formation and maintenance of the group.  These are some of the unsung heroes and heroines without whose assistance this group would never have gotten off the ground.

First and foremost is Martina Fernandez.  Always ready to help whenever asked; always ready to offer sound advice and always ready to represent the highest degree of professionalism.  Without her there may never have been a Connecticut Chapter.

Secondly, and by no means in second place, is Janet Bass.  Another worker who has always been willing and able to stand up and be counted on whenever anything was asked of her.  (She even attended meetings and director’s groups when pregnant.)

Carl Eastman, while not a member of the Chapter, has also served as advisor, confidante and friend.  It was with great pleasure that we noted his election as Area Director recently.

Cleo Golding should also be remembered as a voice of reason and wise counsel.

There is no doubt many other names have been omitted, not by intention but due to a failing memory.  In any case, I thank them all for their assistance.

This summarizes a brief history of the Connecticut Chapter.

It has been one of my most cherished memories to have had the honor and privilege of serving as First Chairman.  I have been called the “Father of the CT SCC”.  If this is true, I can only wear this sobriquet with pride as I have seen my “child” grow and prosper to where it has taken its rightful place as the premier SCC Chapter in the country.  It now serves all of its members with exceptional technical programs and with social events that offer opportunities for friends to meet.  Overall, it offers programs that provide for the continued growth of each individual member.

I look forward to continuing to be an active member and to continue to have the same pride for the coming years.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert Singer