Leaguers roll up their sleeves to help others

Throughout the past week the dedicated women of the JL spent their time volunteering at The Salvation Army sorting through donated food, toys & clothes to fullfill the angel tree wishes from area families and children. Many members donated their time and energy to a very valuable resource for those struggling this holiday season. With so many in our community facing difficulty in tough economic times, I am even more touched by the generosity and fortitude of our members. Many requests are made of these superheros and I am so amazed! Volunteering included sorting through dontated food, toys & clothes and forfilling angel tree wishes from area families and children. Donations provide Christmas dinners, clothing, and toys for families in need.

Pottery Playdate at Studio 6

At our kid-friendly cluster meeting on Thursday, we were excited to qualify for the group discount on some crafty painted pottery. Home made Christmas presents were in the making as moms and kids alike found a creative outlet during this busy time of year. Emily Morris (pictured above) made the perfect gift for coffee drinking mom (no doubt JL moms need their caffeine right?)

Cluster Meeting Fun @ Blue Sapphire

Peggy Threlkel, Sharon Garber, Shannon Wood and Jae Lynn Akin and enjoyed their favorite roll with a little "catch-up" Provisionals Angela, Jeannie and Mary Beth dish about the year ahead. Sushi and socializing were the perfect combo as members enjoyed last Tuesday's December cluster meeting. Awesome attendance, our meeting at Blue Sapphire was very productive and a wonderful chance to evaluate our latest fundraiser, think about our future league career, and yes socialize with those members, new and well... not so new :-) It was so wonderful seeing everyone!

Busy Sustainers

Sustainer, Katie Collany recently launched her very own child's clothing line with a preview party last week. The adorable designs are whimsical and fun (just like Katie!) and are sure to be a hit with the little ones and moms alike. The holiday collection are among my favorite and I just can't wait to tell my son he can wear a Tshirt to church on Sunday. Don't worry, the T-shirt is complete with necktie! To see Katie's line visit her online store at www.middlechildclothing.com. A big "You Go Girl" to Katie and family!

Board Holiday Dinner Meeting and Celebration

As tradition, the Board's December meeting is a celebration of these wonderfully generous women. Our Board's dinner meeting was at Arabella's this past Tuesday and we each enjoyed a wonderful kick off to the Holiday Season with girlfriends, complete with a "white elephant" gift exchange.

Eat, Shop and be Merry!

An unprecedented success, the first inagural Merry Market was truly ground breaking. With the fundraising tally still in the works, there is no doubt that our vendors were thrilled, our guests were dazzled, and our members were merry. Like all good things, it certainly did not come with out a lot of hard work and talents on the part of our committee lead brilliantly by Chairperson, Angela Moore. Angela, we hope you are relaxing with your feet up today, but if I know Angela... she is probably crunching the numbers! It was truly an honor to be a part of this organization for such an exciting event, and what memories we've made together! Strengthening friendships and creating new bonds, the community will enjoys the fruit of your labor for years to come. Congratulations guys! Click on "comments" below to post your favorite MM memory!

Grant Recipients Recognized at Meeting

Awstruck as 6 (of the 8) attending grateful grant-earners described the projects and tasks, that have been enhanced by the JLGWH Grants as well as the great strides these teachers are making, on the students in our community. It was truly an honor to have them at our meeting, and we were inspired by their dedication and committment to our children's education.

Healthy Lifestyles themed our GMM

Our November GMM was an introduction to our Kids in the Kitchen project. With a little Yoga and a fun and easy nutritious dessert, we were better able to adress the business at hand. Each member made their delicious (KiK recipie) Strawberry Trifle themselves for a live "cooking" demonstration. See Below for the recipie...and this is my kind of recipie! We enjoyed some great stretches and brief yet rejuvenating excersizes to get the blood flowing. Strawberry Trifle: In a small tumbler layer the following (alter the ordering to taste) Graham Crackers - crushed in plastic baggie (very fun for little cooks!) Fresh Strawberries - sliced Light Whipped Topping

A new president... of the Junior League of NYC

The New York Junior League President, appointed in January of this year, is the first black president of the NYJL. Characterizing the move as a groundbreaking one for an organization that has tried for years to cultivate a more socially and racially diverse image, as noted in the NY Times. The newly elected president, Gena Lovett, the chief operating officer of a Manhattan hedge fund company, will be taking over at a time when the league is struggling with internal allegations of financial mismanagement. Recently making nation news in the Forbes Life magazine, click on the link below to read more about this interesting story. http://www.ajli.org/ama/orig/ForbesLife.pdf

Did you know that you can log your volunteer hours on our website? Keep track of all your hard work and log your hour credits on our website at www.jlgwh.org and sign in under member section.

New Junior League Vision Statement

A new JL Vision Statement was unveiled by the Association of Junior Leagues International at last week's conference. This is the statement that is being proposed: The Junior League: Women around the world as catalysts for lasting community change. Discussion? What does the JL’s new vision statement communicate to you? This unveiling was a huge part of the AJLI conference recently attended. How does this speak to power of future of the Junior Leagues?

All American October Meeting

With a "Make your voice Count" themed October Meeting, I am thankful for the wonderful information provided by our Supervisor of Elections as this important Presidential race quickly approaches. Hope you enjoy the pictures from our last meeting.

AJLI Fall Leadership Conference 2008

Kansas City's Holiday Mart Wendy here with AJLI CFO, Martha Ferry, styling their goggles for a clearer perspective as the new AJLI Vision was unveiled! President Elect, Wendy Morris and I enjoyed this year's Fall Leadership conference beginning with the opportunity to preview and shop the largest league holiday market, compliments of the JL of Kansas City, who has enjoyed an 18 year stint with this profitable fundraiser. A behind the scenes tour and VIP preview event where we could shop till we dropped (and we almost did after a long day of traveling!). We gathered lots of great information and comparisons for our very own first holiday market, next month. The following day presented a whole new array of learning opportunities finding both Wendy and I with writer's cramp by lunchtime as we frantically took notes in our respective classes, on the exciting information. Our lunchtime plenary was a milestone in the weekend conference, as the focus shifted to a suprising unveiling of the newly proposed AJLI Vision Statement. An AJLI focus group invested millions of dollars and equally as valuable, resources of time in researching the trends in voluntourism, global communities, and exactly how a community will be defined in 2028, and what that means to our Junior Leagues. This expansive research was very interesting, and I will be sharing more of these exciting developments in the near future. Our classes included How to get the Best Results from your Board, Governance, Engaging Membership Meetings, Public Speaking, the Media and Internal Communications, along with a few Q & A formats for open discussion. This was sprinkled with wonderful networking opportunities with other League leaders where we could exchange ideas and further information share. Wendy and I were beaming with pride when we visited to the AJLI Boutique and rounded the corner to see our very own JLGWH Family Organizers making their National Debut! Pictured here are Wendy and I with the Organizers USA Founder and CEO, Amy Knapp. Additionally, making the Greater Winter Haven League's presence known was our blog (that's right this very sight!) was featured in our Social Media 101 Class! We are among the first leagues to utilize this channel of communication which is encouraged by the AJLI for efficiency, retention, and furthering our social outlets for commentary. Pictured here is our site on the overhead screen!

Announcing Daegen Reyd Carmichael

Mom says he is a "good sleeper"! Congratulations to David, Delight and family on their newest addition. Adorable Daegen was born at 2:44am on October 18th, and weighed 6lbs 14oz, and is 20 inches long! If you are interested in providing a L.I.N.K.S (Leaguers in Need of Kindness and Support) meal to the Carmichael’s please contact Jessica Fischer at thefischers3@me.com or call 651-5787.

The League Impacts over 600 Students with Teacher Grants

The Junior League of Greater Winter Haven is pleased to announce the winners of the “Grants for Greatness” project. These Mini-Grants provide funding and volunteer hours to local educators to assist with the implementation of projects and/or purchase of necessary classroom items not available through school funding. All the applicants demonstrated dedication to educate our children utilizing creative methods to engage the children’s imagination and interest in learning. The projects are expected to positively impact six hundred fifty three students in East Polk. The winning teachers include; Keith Hobbs, Bonnie Helms, Brandi Sackett, Gloria Jenney, Polly Burkhart, Vicki Herndon, Joan Jones and Kay Earls. The Mini Grants will be offered for the spring semester and all teachers in east Polk County are encouraged to apply online at www.jlgwh.com.

Delegates attend ODI Training in Orlando

Every year JL's across the country travel to reap the benefits of Organization Development Institutes' training geared specifically for League leadership. The Nominating and Placement commitee prepared a powerful slate of delegates to attend this year's ODI, right in our own backyard. This threesome traveled to Orlando this past weekend for a educational and inspiring ODI. Esteemed delegates, pictured above, attended 2 different tracks. Jancie Tucker, CRPD, and Paula Orcutt, Super Saturday Chair, attended the community impact course where they learned to create community impact by implementing significant, systemic change in our community. Through the identification of issues, development of programming, partnership and coalition building activities while involving our trained volunteers, we can prepare members to become effective volunteers and to take on leadership roles in the community as well as our League. Jill Barton, Treasurer, attended the fund development track. This track included information on creating a diversified revenue base, is essential to a healthy League. Key fund-development principles, and a how-to approach to traditional funding sources, will allow us to maximize the potential of new, cutting-edge fund-development. Building and sustaining a strong, mission-driven, diversified funding base by impleting these strategies is essential to our league during these economic times, and Jill was there to soak it all up. I am so proud of these ladies, as we continue to build strong leadership within our league and ignight the passions and the "Junior League Dork" in us all! You go girls! Look for a full report at our October meeting next week.

Ella G's now carries our custom organizers!

We are so excited to announce our first ever custom JLGWH Family Organizer. Perfect for any woman on the fly, these 18 month planners boast perforated grocery lists and to-do lists along with babysitter contact pages, and a chunky spiral notebook so your busy life is consolidated in one convenient format. The gorgeous cover was designed by local artist and noted Photographer, Lori Blaser. Pictured above are myself, and Ways and Means Chair, Jennifer Myers, on Friday while visiting the boutique to set up our "fly" display featuring the organizers. Visit local favorite, Ella G's, on Cypress Gardens Rd, and be sure to thank them for helping in support our fundraiser. Organizers are $19.95 + tax - get yours today! Available by phone, call (863) 899-4555. We will ship :-)

All work and no play? Naaahh-

Erin Emry (above), Nominating and Placement Chairperson, crafted the most adorable candy bags for her fellow Board members to ensure a nice superhero suger rush for our first meeting! Due to a heavy travel schedule with her CPA Firm, superwoman and SMM Chairperson, Angela Moore delivered her report via podcast. Well, sort of. Pre-recorded video on-location at event co-sponsor, The Wine Bar, made a huge impression. Here, the laptop is projecting the image on our white wall for the audience! Special thanks to our (unofficial) in-house broadcast producers, Jessica Fischer and Jennifer Myers for all their help with the technology. Jessica, Corresponding Secretary, (pictured)enjoys the show! A few fun pictures from the September General Membership Meeting. In delivering the announcements and business of our League, we implemented various multi-media techniques in hopes to keep the attention of our ladies in a fun and exciting way.

Central Florida Women's Expo

Like hundreds of other women in the area, President-Elect Wendy Morris and I strapped our babies in their strollers, threw on our comfiest day dresses and shopped until we (or at least our kids) dropped! The Women's Expo today in Auburndale was a huge event with even bigger attendance and we were eager to meet and greet those featured vendors that will also be participating in the League's own Santa's Merry Market this November. The Auburndale community was hopping and all of our favorite boutiques were accessible to share their products and concepts. Wendy's longtime friend Cindy Hummel is Auburndale's Special Projects Director. After chatting with her a bit about the success of the event, Wendy and I both agreed that we wished JLGWH had a booth to sell Outback and SMM tickets, organizers and of course recruit! We also learned that the event was the product of about 5 key women coordinators, which was also encouraging! Oh, and of course, the expo has a blog!! www.blog.thewomensexpo.com Please leave your comments if you attended. Your feedback and input is appreciated as we hope our holiday event will be just as successful!

Great First Meeting!

Our Superhero themed meeting was a great one and what a running start the League is off to. With so many exciting things ahead for our League, our memberships' enthusiasm was contagious!

September General Membership Meeting

General Membership Meeting is quickly approaching... Tuesday, Sept 9th. 6:30 Welcoming Superheros to a new League year!

Whoa!!!

Buckle your seatbelts ladies...our group is on the fast track to success. Wow- have I really become this much of a JL dork? I guess so! After a successfully productive 1st Board meeting, I can't tell you how very thrilled I am about the year ahead. With so many wonderful projects in store, and exciting fundraisers, (and work/bonding to be done!) we will all be BFF's gossiping about boys in our Flamingo P.J.'s, by the end of the year! I am so looking forward to seeing everyone at our first General Membership Meeting next week and meeting our new provisionals. This just keeps getting better... so please keep your arms and feet inside, and hang on for the ride!