Annual Spring Luncheon

The College Woman’s Club of Westfield, their friends and guests gathered on Friday, March 20, 2026 for the Annual Spring Luncheon, for a much-anticipated afternoon of connection, conversation, and community, at the beautiful Echo Lake Country Club.

Guests enjoy a delightful three-course luncheon and an engaging program, all in support of the College Woman’s Club of Westfield Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance to deserving local young women pursuing higher education.

The Club was honored to welcome Carol Fitzgerald, President of The Book Report Network, as the featured guest speaker. Since 1996, her platforms—including Bookreporter.com and ReadingGroupGuides.com—have connected a national community of readers, authors, and book clubs. Carol is widely recognized for her thoughtful author interviews and her ability to bring readers closer to the stories and storytellers they love. She is also the host of the popular programs Bookreporter Talks To and Bookaccino Live. During the luncheon, she will share insights from her decades at the center of the literary world and offer a behind-the-scenes perspective on today’s publishing landscape and the power of reading communities.

Our guest speaker, Carol Fitzgerald of T.he Book Report Network, gave an enlightening presentation on the journey of a book from initial concept to the bestseller list. Using Allison Pataki’s It Girl as a guide, she pulled back the curtain on the publishing world—and one lucky attendee won a hardcover copy! Carol even gave our event a lovely shout-out in her Weekly  Update Newsletter. You can sign up for Carol Fitzgerald’s Weekly Newsletter here.

In addition to the luncheon program, guests had the opportunity to participate in buying raffle tickets for 20 uniquebaskets, and raffle tickets to win the Louis Vuitton handbag. The raffles were a tremendous success, with the Louis Vuitton Tote Bag and our themed baskets each generating nearly $3,000 in ticket sales. We want to extend a special thank you to the ELCC members, whose underwriting contributions totaled nearly $3,000, providing a vital foundation for this event’s success.

A huge thank you to Annmarie Puleio for suggesting and securing our Guest Speaker Carol, who was fabulous and to her generous donation of books that went into the Literary Swag Bags, which were given to everyone at the end of the event!  Thanks also to Alyssa Welsch-Rovito, the Chairperson of this lovely event. Thank you to Anne for donating all of the flowers and helping to make the beautiful floral arrangements, which also used the following day for beloved CWC’s Fran Faltermayer’s Memorial Gathering.

We are delighted to share that thanks to your generosity, we raised just over $5,000. Thank you again to all who attended and participated in making this a wonderful memorable event.