Paul Huntsman addresses the largest Newcomers Club yet

From left to right: Newcomers Club President Sue Niblock, First Vice President Mary Lynne Hulme, Paul Huntsman, First Vice President Ariela Shani. Photo: courtesy of the Newcomers Club

PARK CITY, Utah — Working as a Senior Diplomat for the U.S. State Department for 30 years certainly prepared retired Sue Niblock to be the President of the 536 people in Park City’s Newcomers Club and host speakers like Utah’s Paul Huntsman. 

Since its inception in 1995 and with members from across Summit and Wasatch Counties, membership in the club is at its highest level ever.

After Niblock, a Maryland native moved to Park City from her last post in New Zealand in 2019, she joined the growing number of Newcomers.

Park City attracts countless newcomers from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East; having worked in all those places, she’s more than comfortable introducing them to the Newcomers.

Her single-digit-aged grandchildren in Park City endear her and many other Newcomers to support local nonprofits like PC Tots and the Solomon Fund.

She told TownLift, “Since there’s no participation time limit at which we kick people out, some of our members have been a Newcomer for decades. We have something for everyone. I thoroughly enjoy this new volunteer gig. It’s simply a lot of fun.”

One hundred and forty people attended 2022’s final luncheon at Park City’s Pendry Hotel to hear an address from Paul Hunstman. Chairman of the Board of the Salt Lake Tribune, Huntsman, discussed his decision to make it a nonprofit newspaper and his thought process and decision-making moves therein, along with his high respect for truth and integrity in journalism, news gathering and reporting. He spoke about his famous family’s relations to Mr. Parley of Parley’s Canyon and Parley’s Park Elementary and other long-time ties to and affection for the Park City area.

Huntsman addressed the nationally renowned Hunstman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, started by his late father, and touched upon his brother John’s state and global political journey. Lastly, Huntsman talked about his family’s near future plans with a significant focus on improving mental health for all Utahns.

There’s a public coffee on the second Wednesday of every month, and some member luncheons feature impressive locals like Olympic athletes. The club invites newcomers to the Newcomers to participate in up to three of most of their activities before joining.

Activities offered include, but are not limited to, a book club, hikes, skiing, snowshoeing, game nights, horse-drawn sleigh rides, art exhibit visits, tours of places of interest like the Ritual Chocolate Factory in Park City, and tulip walks at Thanksgiving Point, the Governor’s Mansion, and concerts at the University of Utah’s Red Butte Gardens.

An inaugural group multi-day trip to the 2023 Utah Shakespeare Festival is of particular excitement for Niblock and many others.