Fall 2019 Newsletter

MOUNTAIN MESSAGES 18 CALIFORNIA AVENUE

JLCHARLESTONWV.ORG

FALL 2019

League Hosts Fourth Annual All Aboard!

Despite the weather, more than 230 kids attended All Aboard! on Oct. 26 and raised nearly $1,400 for the Ronald McDonald House of Southern West Virginia.

The family-friendly, hands-on event offers opportunities for children to climb, discover, and learn about trucks, planes, emergency response vehicles, heavy machinery, and more, as well as meet the people who protect, serve and build our community.

Learning came alive when children connected these gigantic vehicles to our Charleston economy and possible

The fourth annual All Aboard! event was held Oct. 26 in the lot adjacent to the Ronald McDonald House, which proceeds benefitted. careers like first responding, manufacturing, and construction.

Participants included Yeager Airport,

Kanawha County Ambulance Authority, Charleston Sheriff’s Office and Bomb Squad Unit, Baker Truck, Bos-

ley Construction rental, the Kanawha County Mobile Library, Chickfil-A, Adventure Grill food truck and more.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

LETTER FROM PRESIDENT ASHLEY MILLER PAGE 2

NEW FALL 2019 PROVISIONAL CLASS PROJECT PAGE 3

JUNIOR LEAGUE OF CHARLESTON EVENT UPDATES PAGE 4

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JLCHARLESTONWV.ORG

FALL 2019

Letter From President Ashley Miller Happy Fall, y’all! The leaves are turning, the air is crisp and sweater weather is finally here.

Not only am I excited about the weather getting cooler, but also because our 2019-20 league year is in full swing and off to an incredible start! I’m happy to announce that we have 10 wonderful provisional members joining us this year, not to mention many activities in the coming months.

Our volunteer opportunities are abundant! We have All Aboard, the Ronald McDonald House monthly dinners and our signature Backpack Buddies project, now directly supporting Mary C. Snow Elementary. I am very proud to say we’ve already volunteered a total of 242 hours this year and it’s only just begun.

Keep up the awesome work!

In JLC business news, the General Membership voted to approve a revision to our bylaws

and membership policies, focusing on one of our goals in our Annual Plan - becoming a more “member-centric” league. And another fun, yet important item we’ve decided to bring back, is the monthly Membership E-Awards (E for excellence).

Each month, we will recognize a member for their overall excellence in service to the JLC and highlighting them on our Facebook and Instagram. Our members work very hard, inspire each other every day and deserve to be recognized.

In addition to our volunteer and fundraising events, our social events are on fire! It was a pleasure attending the sustainer membership event at Spring Hill Cemetery and I look forward to building more of a relationship with you sustainers as the year progresses. We also met with members of the Junior League

of Huntington to carve pumpkins at Kenova’s Pumpkin House.

When I think back on all that we’ve already accomplished in so far, I smile from ear to ear.

I’m filled with inspiration from our progress, leadership, social and volunteer events and look forward to seeing what we can continue to achieve.

Cheers to a great year, Ashley Miller

Junior League Book Club The Junior League of Charleston has begun a book club.

They rotate visiting local businesses and discussing the monthly reads.

Books that the group has covered include: • “The Whisper Man” by Alex North • “The Last Houseguest” by Megan Miranda • “The Farm” by Joanne Ramos • “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides, among others.

Keep an eye out for upcoming book club selections and meeting times.

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JLCHARLESTONWV.ORG

FALL 2019

Activity

Sustainer Event

1st Row: Judy Pugh, Laura Suppa, Lesley Shamblin; 2nd Row: Stuart Smith, Beverly McElroy, Patti Bivens, Vicki Johnson, Ashley Miller; 3rd Row:Teddi Smith, Charlotte Stallard, Cathy Rice, Susan Harpold The Junior League of Charleston hosted a sustainer membership event on Sunday, Oct. 13.

The group participated in a a Historical Walk-Through and

re-enactment at Spring Hill Cemetery.

The Sustainers and Actives enjoyed the ‘walk and listen’ up in The Spring Hill Cemetery Park.

They heard stories

from the Dickinson, Davis, Hale and Frankenberger families through entertaining reenactors.

Thank you, SHCP committee for organizing this enlightening event.

The Junior League of Charleston partnered with the Junior League of Huntington to carve pumpkins for Kenova’s Famous Griffith Pumpkin House.

Fall Provisional Project The Junior League of Charleston Fall Provisional Class has planned their project for the season.

The women will be completing an activity

for the Meadowbrook Acres Nursing Center in Charleston.

The group will be hosting a BINGO night for the members of the community.

The provisional class each season creates a project of their choosing to benefit the community in some way.

Past provisional classes have created fund-

raising projects, visited community members and packaged goods to help school children, which has evolved into a permanent activity for the league.

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JLCHARLESTONWV.ORG

Volunteer Updates

FALL 2019

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JLCHARLESTONWV.ORG

RHODODENDRON AWARD

[Left to Right: Current President Ashley Miller, Former President Laura Suppa and President-Elect Lesley Shamblin] Former Junior League of Charleston President, Dr. Laura Suppa accepted the inaugural Rhododendron Award from First Lady Cathy Justice for her outstanding work in our community. President Ashley Miller and President-Elect Lesley Shamblin accepted the Governor’s Certificate of Recognition on the Junior League of Charleston’s behalf. The Junior League was recognized for 95 years of service to the Charleston community.

FALL 2019

Placements 2019-20 President: Ashley Miller President Elect: Lesley Shamblin Secretary: Lindsay Silbernagel Treasurer: Taylor Bailey Treasurer Elect: Erin Deegan Membership Vice President: Ryanne Ball Communications Vice President: Lauren Gates Community Vice President: Kristen Ross Ways and Means Vice President: Megan Kueck Placement Chair: Emily Spradling Provisional Chair #1: Candice Harlow Provisional Chair #2: Jessica Westfall Director at Large: Maggie Payne Nominating Chair: Laura Suppa Sammons

Member Spotlight Q&A

Volunteers spent weeks creating decorations and other materials for the YWCA’s fundraiser “Girls Night Out,” which raised money for the Resolve Family Abuse Program’s shelter, crisis hotline and emergency intervention for victims of domestic violence.

Other regular volunteer activities include serving dinner at the Ronald McDonald House, helping with Capitol Market events, and more.

1. Name: Elizabeth “Beth” Belcher 2. Hometown: Pinch, WV 3. Occupation: My title is Grants Management Specialist. I monitor numerous subrecipients that receive one or more of our three federal grants dealing with homelessness and poverty for programmatic and fiscal compliance.

8. JL Position: Historian/Website Coordinator, Communications Council member, and Community Council member.

9. Years in JL: Almost 2 years (Spring provisional Feb. 2018) 5. Hobbies: Crocheting, quilting, traveling, volunteering, reading, occasionally writing

6. Favorite JL Memory: When I volunteered once at Ronald McDonald House to cook dinner, my fellow JLC member tried to run the garbage disposal (without running water) and we learned that tv moments like a sink blowing back up everything in it which seem to move plot lines along or for extra laughs actually happen in real life.

7. Favorite Volunteer Activity: This is a throwback, but my favorite thing was as a teenager volunteering in the local library’s VolunTEEN program. I assisted a lot with the children’s summer reading programs and special events.

9.Favorite Movie: Sweet Home Alabama and Pride & Prejudice.

10. Favorite Fall Activity: Riding an excursion train and seeing the beautiful leaves in undisturbed parts of the state. I’ve loved trains since I was a kid. Plus, it’s a chance to escape from the world for a while and appreciate what’s around me.