b'C H A P T E R T W OFrom Different Walks of LifeIn the beginning, brand new bylaws authorized the Friends to have a board of 21, but during the first months only seventeen men and women were recruited. Of them, two-thirds were summer residents. In contrast, the board of 2002-03 has the full slate of 21, and only four (19 percent) are summer folk only, testimony to how the complexion of Chathams population has changed in recent time, with more and more retirees settling in the community.First president of the organization was Mrs. John (Joan) Kimball, a Chatham summertime visitor ever since 1943. She had been president of the League of Women Voters in two Massachusetts towns, and had also presided over a forum charged with deciding on future land use in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Without question, she had excellent qualifications to be FCWs first head. One fellow director put it succinctly:Joan Kimball probably is a genius. But with the arrival of fall, she and three other officers of the board left town for primary homes elsewhere. Today, all of the boards six officersJoan Channing Kimball live in Chatham year-round. And even in thesummered in Chatham since chilling grayness of a typical winter, they and1943.When a group came their fellow board mates can focus theirtogether in 83 to protect energies on ongoing Friends initiatives. SeasonStage Harbor and its no longer shrinks the output of these volun environs, she emerged as a natural leader and was teers. elected first president. This evolution notwithstanding, theCourtesy of Mrs. John Kimballmakeup of the board has continued to reflect strength and diversity. And whenever possible, a distinct effort has been made by nominators to include Chatham-area natives and job-holders. The backgrounds of Mrs. Hoyt (Debby) Ecker, Hillary LeClaire, Bob Denn, James Blankenship,and John Pappalardo suggest the blend of uniqueness and variety that marks recent FCW boards.Former director and president Debby Ecker entered the realm of FCW activity with an almost ideal background. With degrees from Vassar College and Brandeis University, and living in the Boston suburb of Weston, she had immersed herself in affairs of the statewide League of Women Voters; at her26'