Junior League of Cincinnati Perspectives Spring 2016 Issue

Perspectives Spring 2016

MAGAZINE OF THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF CINCINNATI

Women Building Better Communities

GrinUp! - Page 6 Fashion Show - Page 12 RefugeeConnect - Page 15

Contents In this issue ...

9

JLC Milestones

11

A JLC Dynamic Duo: A Power Friendship &

1

President’s Perspective

Partnership Rooted in the JLC

3

The Making of the Fashion Show

Mindpeace: A JLC Signature Project Working in 12 Over 60 Schools 13

4

Karen Wellington Foundation: Creating a

15

JLC’s RefugeeConnect Program

“Fun-Only” Mission

17

New Member Profile: Lauren Pfister

6 GrinUp!

21

Catching Up With Haley Titus

8

22

Summer Perspectives...What’s Next?

Active Member Spotlight: Kara Sewell

Look Book: Spring Forward. In Style.

tag share y& experie our nce

Perspectives Contributors On the Cover...

EDITOR

DEPUTY EDITOR

VP COMMUNICATIONS CONTRIBUTOR

Marlea Handler

Ashley Mitzel

Jamie Humes

Kristin Boyatt

#jlcincy

The dynamic JLC women featured within the pages of our spring 2016 issue share a moment together at the Spring Forward Fashion Show.

Left to right: Sustainer Amelia Crutcher, New Member Lauren Pfister, Active Kara Sewell and Sustainer Marty Humes

CONTRIBUTOR

Sarah Livesay

CONTRIBUTOR

CONTRIBUTOR

CONTRIBUTOR

Lauren Stewart

Elizabeth Berkowitz

Rachel Foster

Our Mission The Junior League of Cincinnati is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

The Junior League of Cincinnati is an exclusively educational, charitable organization which reaches out to women of all races, religions, or national origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to voluntarism.

Perspectives is the magazine of the Junior League of Cincinnati published multiple times throughout the year. Advertising inquiries and content can be sent to jlperspectives@gmail.com or via the Online Submission Hub at jlcincinnati.org.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram @JLCincy Junior League of Cincinnati, 3500 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, (513) 871-9339, www.jlcincinnati.org

PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE

President’s

www.jlcincinnati.org | Spring 2016

perspective

It is hard to believe that it is already time for our JLC Annual Meeting -- appropriately themed the JLC ‘Summer Send-Off’!

It has been an honor to serve as JLC President in 2015-2016, and I’m so proud of the work all of you have done to move our JLC mission forward this year! Thank you for all YOU have done this year on behalf of the JLC! We knew going in that this would be a year of newness, change and experimentation — and we have truly lived up to this expectation!! Much has already been said and written about the new JLC infrastructure, which we as a collective membership voted in under Susan Shelton’s leadership in 2014-2015. This has been the year of running water through those newly designed ‘pipes’, and taking this new structure for a JLC ‘test drive’. We knew it wouldn’t be perfect, but we were confident that by keeping our membersand our mission at our core, we would learn, grow, and evolve our League and the role it plays both in our community and in our members’ lives.

This sort of evolution does not start and finish in just one year— and we are fortunate to have a structure which is now more nimble and focused—to enable the time and space needed to plan for building the year-on-year, long-term health of the JLC, our membership, and our mission. I have been very fortunate to serve alongside President-Elect Kendall Shaw, whom I know will do an outstanding job leading this League into the next year of this evolution in 2016-2017.

This year of change and experimentation has not stopped at just our internal structure——quite the contrary! Our dedicated Fund Development Council and Spring Fundraisers Committee launched two new fundraisers — the Spring Forward Fashion Show and Dark Horse Derby Party — proving once again how creativity, passion, hard work and dedicated teamwork as a committee can bring amazing results.

What else has been new this year? Our incredible group of New Members and Transfers!! I’m continuously amazed at the talent and passion of the scores of women who joined our JLC this year. And, I am so pleased to report that our newly created Membership Recruitment Committee has already amassed an impressive group of 90+ prospective New Members as we close out 2015-2016 and sail into 2016-2017! Well done!

Two key new employees have joined our JLC family this year: Jody McMillin joined us in August 2015 as a very experienced office manager to succeed former JLC Office Manager

(and beloved JLC Sustainer!) Chris Lewis. Jody is playing a critical role in enabling the dayto-day operations of the JLC— please stop into the office during business hours to say hello and get to know her! We also welcomed Robyn Lamont to the JLC in November 2015 as the Program Director of RefugeeConnect. Robyn has extensive experience working on and for refugee needs in our Cincinnati community, and bringing her on board is allowing us to accelerate the growth and impact of RefugeeConnect as we work to serve our Cincinnati community.

Speaking of our projects — GrinUp! celebrated two major milestones this spring! April 30, 2016, marked the grand opening of the JLC / GrinUp! Funded ‘Inside the Grin’ exhibit at the Duke Energy Children’s Museum in Cincinnati Museum Center!! This exhibit will be the largest, most accurate, informative, and FUN museum exhibit focused on pediatric oral health in the United States! We are so pleased to have reached this milestone with our CMC partner, as well as our generous sponsors and donors! In addition, www.grinup.org was officially launched, and will serve as a fantastic platform to continue our advocacy and education work for the project!

RefugeeConnect was awarded a $2500 Fuel the Fire Grant

by Fuel Cincinnati/Give Back Cincinnati in May for their innovative volunteer training program concept, “The Funnel”.

This grant now enables them to implement this proposed initiative and further expand volunteer programming dedicated to serving our local refugee community.

Yet another milestone- AJLI awarded the JLC the national Leadership Development Award and accompanying $10,000 grant for our Board Bank training program at their annual conference in Atlanta, which Kendall and I both had the honor to accept on behalf of our JLC and Leadership Development Committee. This award recognizes best-in-class JL training and development programs, further validating our organizational commitment to providing high-quality training opportunities for our membership.

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President’s

perspective continued

I also have a very exciting piece of ‘new news’— we have successfully secured the JLC’s 100th Anniversary year, 2020, as the year the JLC will host the AJLI Annual Conference here in Cincinnati!

Hosting this conference in our beloved city, along with the hundreds of JL Presidents & President-Elects from around the world, will be the capstone on our JLC 100th Anniversary year. More to come!

Finally, I made a promise to you at the beginning of this JLC year to look at and shape all of our JLC 2015-2016 programming and communication choices through a membership engagement lens, in an effort to help shift the tide on some member satisfaction and retention trends. Each and every JLC member, regardless of Active or Sustainer status, is so important to building a diverse & inclusive JLC. We need to do all we can to ensure we are retaining the amazing women who choose to be hardworking members of our JLC community!

I’m happy to report that with the help of the newly formed Membership Engagement committee, we have seen some very positive early results in 2015-2016—namely, our Active membership is up double-digit percentage points, and at press time, our total membership (Active + Sustainer) resignations are trending much

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lower—at less than 1/3 of the average annual rate from the previous decade of membership data! Again, these are very early results, and we cannot start to rest on our laurels.

I would encourage JLC leaders in the years to come to continue to closely monitor these trends. It is important to note we still continue to see areas where we need improvement — especially with members who have gone Sustaining in the past five to eight years. Given we are a membership organization, and Sustainers make up two thirds of our total JLC membership, we need to do a deep dive into how we can best offer valuable programming and communications with our total Sustainer membership. The Sustainer VPs, JLC Board and Executive Management Team have already started this work, and I expect it will continue well into the next JLC year under Kendall’s leadership.

It has been an honor to serve you as JLC President. I wish you and your families a safe, happy and healthy summer, and best wishes for all of you in the new JLC Year!

Sincerely yours,

Michelle J. Vaeth JLC President 2015-2016

MindPeace: A JLC Signature Project

By Sarah Livesay, featuring Susan Shelton,

MindPeace Executive Director

If you’d like to get involved with MidPeace visit their website at www.mindpeacecincinnati.com and click on the “Get Involved” tab.

Find a Mental Health Provider for Your Child Visit www.mindpeacecincinnati.com/ search/ If you are not able to find help for your child or if you have general mental health questions, call 513.803.0844.

If you believe your child is having a mental health emergency and you live in Greater Cincinnati, call the Psychiatric Intake Response Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to ask for help at 513.636.4124.

If you cannot call this number or your doctor, go directly to an emergency room or call 911.

PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE www.jlcincinnati.org | Spring 2016

Working In Over 60 Schools

What is MindPeace?

MindPeace is a non-profit that began as a project of the JLC in 2002. The mission of MindPeace is to help children and adolescents in Greater Cincinnati get access to quality mental health care.

By ensuring access to the treatment, recovery is accelerated and the further harm related to the course of illness is minimized.

What triggered the JLC to start MindPeace?

The JLC completed a community needs assessment and identified children’s mental health as an area of significant need. At the time, it was also a need that had tremendous stigma. Many of our own members had children or other family members who were suffering because of mental illness but no one talked about it. Our members felt the JLC could help the entire community, including our own members.

Overall, it is estimated that one in five children under the age of 18 have one or more mental, emotional or behavioral (MEB) disorders. A significant data point at the time of the inception of MindPeace, was that there were more psychiatric emergency room visits for children in Cincinnati than any other place in the country.

What is the current involvement JLC members have with the organization?

Members have volunteered on advocacy work, quality efforts, marketing efforts and have been Board members.

Currently, there are Junior League members who continue to be involved as Board members. JLC members also volunteer on CAN-Do projects connected with MindPeace partners.

When someone reaches out to MindPeace for help, what is the process from that point forward?

The process depends on whether help is needed individually or to help start a school-based mental health partnership.

If a parent, guardian, or a physician

is struggling to find a mental health resource, MindPeace can be contacted directly. MindPeace maintains a searchable online database of mental health providers. Pediatricians and families can search the database using criteria such as zip code, insurance type, specialty area and age group served.

If a school community is interested in developing a school-based mental health partnership, MindPeace can facilitate that process.

How many people have been helped by MindPeace?

MindPeace has filled the need for mental health services at 62 Greater Cincinnati schools. Last school year over 36,000 students and their families had access to school-based mental health care and over 3,600 students received treatment services. More than 150 therapists went to school every day to help children and adolescents.

Is there one specific story that sticks out to you?

This story is from the resource coordinator with Oyler, a Cincinnati Public Schools Community Learning Center. “This year we have a new student who came to Oyler in the 12th grade. She has several siblings who attend Oyler and a mother who suffers from mental illness. This young lady has been through so much in the past year, homelessness, parental job loss, sudden and extreme poverty, and the least of not which, having to switch high schools in her senior year. Our student while dealing with depression and anger, still carries a full class load of AP classes as well as works 35 hours weekly to help her family financially. I can only imagine the terrible weight she has carried on her young shoulders. Without these site-level mental health services, the school would have never been able to get treatment for her, two of her siblings and her mother almost instantaneously. I truly believe that we have helped this family write a very different ending to what could have been a disastrous but all too familiar situation that many of our students find themselves.”

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“Fun Only”

Creating a

Mission while Living with Breast Cancer By: Sarah Livesay

When Kent Wellington met his wife Karen, he was in his first year of law school and she was in her last year of undergrad.

“We met at a bar on High Street at Ohio State on New Years Eve of 1987 … she had just gotten off work at Max and Erma’s … I always joked that it was the smell of hamburgers that attracted me to her.”

They fell in love quickly, were married and moved to Cincinnati in 1991, where Kent started his career as an attorney. Married life was great for the newly-weds, “We had no money then, we would go to buck-fifty movies and we’d split a five dollar Little Caesars pizza, and I was never happier.”

They knew no one in Cincinnati, which motivated Karen to join the Junior League of Cincinnati along with other local groups. The Karen Wellington Foundation’s website says, “In Karen’s words, ‘I’m basically a mom, and I dabble in a lot of other things.’”

At age 30, when their son Robby was two-and-a-half and daughter Angeline was only six months old, their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Kent says, “They never really knew a mom without breast cancer.”

Karen Wellington

Kent said Karen would fight her battle, but that it wouldn’t hold her back from doing what she wanted to do. “For those next 10 years she lived with breast cancer and she did a lot … she was a soccer coach, she was a pizza mom at school, she sang in a cover band called The Snake Oil Salesman… she was a wonderful role model for living with breast cancer because she chose not to focus on the cancer.”

to take care of medical bills and raise their kids.

After 10 years, Karen passed away in 2007 at the age of Lori Jones and her family 40. Kent says, “That enjoy their last vacation all together. day in Hospice, we scrambled and said she’s not going to want a bunch of money going to flowers or a funeral, so let’s just pool the money and send one lady on a vacation in her memory. One led to three, and three led to 10, and 10 led to 15, and now, as we are in year nine, the last two years we’ve done more than 100.” This is how the Karen Wellington Foundation started.

Last year the Foundation gave 54 vacations away, eight or nine of them were last vacations. Kent says each trip they sent a family on is unique. “They all stand out. Each year there are new groups of Karen’s out there.” The Foundation also gave away 25 spa days to women who weren’t able to travel.

Kent loves taking the time to get into the family rooms of the women living with breast cancer and connect with them and their families. “I can take my kids, my 18 to 20-year-olds, and we can say ‘yep, we were there, and these are my kids today. They grew up and their mom didn’t win the battle, so to speak, but they turned out okay and your kids are going to be okay regardless of what happens to you.”

Kent says a lot of women want to cash in the trip or do something for their kids, but the Foundation is firm and will not let them to cash it in. Kent says the Karen Wellington Foundation has a “fun-only” mission, “We always joke that when they go on these trips, cancer stays home and cleans the toilets.”

Karen had some lousy days but that didn’t hold her back from trying to be herself. Kent says, “Saturday would come and she would say ‘Okay I have two hours in me, we’re going out’ … and she would come down looking like a million bucks.”

Kent says that when you’re living with cancer, you look at the calendar on occasion and feel like there is nothing fun on the schedule. “You have chemo, chemo, when you’re done with chemo, radiation, radiation, radiation, tests, more tests, surgeries, doctor appointment after doctor appointment …

Karen would sometimes call me and she would say ‘there’s just nothing fun on the calendar.’ As the husband, that was always the cue to me … get a vacation on there!”

Karen’s dream was to beat breast cancer and then go on one vacation each summer with her family. She also wished to help another family living with breast cancer go on a vacation of their own every summer as well. Kent and Karen weren’t able to do any of this while she had cancer because they had

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Jill Conley (pictured second from the right), attended the Karen’s Gift “Forever in Bloom” event in 2013 with her husband and friends, Kathy and Dave Leurck. Jill was a KWF recipient and passed away in early 2016.

PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE

The women who get to go on the trips often help someone they know get an opportunity for a vacation, too. “What this Foundation has done is create a very healthy cycle of receiving and giving, which is really what life is all about… they all know 10 to 15 other people next to them in the chemo chairs who could use some fun. So as soon as our recipients can take off that victim’s hat and put on the giver hat, that’s transformation.”

www.jlcincinnati.org | Spring 2016

In 2015, the JLC hosted Kent Wellington at the Columbia Center to speak on the topic of Servant Leadership. His personal story and resulting impact of the Karen Wellington Foundation was so moving and reflects the true spirit of community impact…we wanted to share it with our full JLC membership.

Karen and her son Robby attend an Ohio State game.

Kent recently spoke to the JLC and he says he was preaching to the choir because every female who he was talking to understood what this Foundation was all about.

His talk was on Servant Leadership and he said the two main components that got him and Karen through some tough times were faith and a sense of humor. When Karen was feeling crummy, they would make sarcastic comments and crack each other up. “We ended every night watching Seinfeld, so we would go to bed laughing.”

Karen, Kent, Angeline and Robby

To make a donation, or to nominate someone for a trip, visit the Karen Wellington Foundation website at karenwellingtonfoundation.org.

Kent also kept the faith after Karen passed. “The fact that this Foundation had taken flight the way it has is an extension of the faith. We had faith in God and realized that God had a bigger calling here, and that was to help other women living with breast cancer.”

C incinnati A rea D entist.com “The one thing you won’t see in any of those pictures is cancer … you see fun, you see vacation, you see families bonding.”

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Ruchika Khetarpal, D.D.S. Kent describes the Karen Wellington Foundation as “pure girl power”. He says the Foundation is successful because women close to him and his family decided to take charge and make it what it is today. To get involved he says, “The most important thing that we ask our friends to do is reach out to their network…and ask for people to give us a week a year of their vacation home.”

There is a reason he asks for this. “It’s really important to end well, particularly when you have kids. And if those kids can have those last memories of their mom laughing on the beach, a blanket over her lap and a glass of wine in her hand, that’s a wonderful image.”

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GrinUp! Did you know that dental care is the single most common unmet healthcare need among children in Ohio, and that it affects 51% of kids by age 10? Yet tooth decay is nearly 100% preventable with the proper education and care. “In Cincinnati Public Schools alone, one in 10 kids has visible tooth decay. In addition to the severe physical effects of tooth decay, children often suffer long-term academically as well as psychologically.

“The JLC’s GrinUp! project has recognized pediatric oral health as a major issue to address in our community, and our mssion is to create a world of healthy, happy smiles through a bold awareness, education, and advocacy area-wide campaign,” says GrinUp! Co-Chair Laura Goodell, D.M.D. The GrinUp! project began in 2012 when a JLC ad-hoc committee identified children’s oral health as a major unmet need in our community and our membership voted to accept Pediatric Oral Health as a Signature Project in spring 2013. The project was later branded as ‘GrinUp!’, thanks to a close partnership with Landor Associates, a marketing company based in Cincinnati.

To meet their goals, the project team has built a strong, collaborative network of community partners, including the Children’s Oral Health Network, Procter & Gamble, Oral Health America, the Cincinnati Museum Center, Landor

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By: Rachel Foster with special contribution from Laura Goodell

Associates, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Meical Center and the Cincinnati Dental Society.

Impact Through Education

“While eradicating the oral health crisis in children is a complicated issue, we know that prevention lies at the heart of the solution, and that education is the key to prevention,” says Goodell.

Over the past three years, GrinUp! Has taken every opportunity to bring their message on the importance of early oral health care into the community through JLC trained volunteers and partners.

To amplify this message, they educated families in Greater Cincinnati through participating in numerous community events offering fun, hands-on interactive activities and dental experiments, including, the flagship JLC-produced GrinUp! Expo, multiple Team Smiles events, Health Care Connections and the First Ladies’ Health Fair.

Through the generosity of a grant from the P&G Fund, GrinUp! is bringing oral health education and oral health supplies to two high-risk populations: children with special needs and low income children. The BRUSH program is reaching nearly 3,500 children through existing family services provided by Help Me Grow and 4C for Children.

In addition to educating children and families, a main goal of GrinUp! is to educate healthcare providers on the importance of early oral health care. This year, Grin-Up! arranged for a distinguished speaker to address Cincinnati’s pediatricians at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Grand Rounds.

Two continuing education events were held for Cincinnati’s dental community to generate further awareness on the need for children to have a “dental home” (i.e., their first dental visit) by their first birthday.

Inside the Grin: a Groundbreaking innovative and Interactive Exhibit

Finally, the GrinUp! program has raised an impressive $261,000 to fund a one-of-a-kind pediatric oral health exhibit at the Duke Energy Children’s Museum in the Cincinnati Museum Center. The exhibit, ‘Inside the Grin’, is the cornerstone of the GrinUp! initiative.

This unique and fully interactive exhibit features a larger-than-life mouth with enormous teeth lining the ceiling and floor. Children will climb into the mouth and learn how to establish healthy dental habits, such as practice brushing for a full two minutes and even flossing.

The center of the exhibit includes a child-friendly dental operatory. Interactive displays will further educate families on these steps and their effects on oral health.

Two years in the making, the JLC celebrated this major milestone and hosted the grand opening of this state-ofthe-art exhibit on Saturday, April 30.

PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE

Chair Bio:

www.jlcincinnati.org | Spring 2016

Dr. Laura Goodell, a Pediatric Dentist who moved to Cincinnati for her residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Laura became a member of the JLC in 2012, and quickly joined the ad hoc Program Development committee. She is a founding member of the GrinUp! project, and currently serves as C-Chair. In addition, Goodell sits on the board of the Children’s Oral Health Network and practices as an associate at the dental offices of Elizabeth Mueller DDS & Associates in Mason and Montgomery.

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation applauds Junior League of Cincinnati members for your dedication to making our region a more vibrant and prosperous place for all.

Whatever your charitable goals, we can help you achieve them.

Laura Menge, Giving Strategies Officer JLC Member since 2012

513­241­2880 www.gcfdn.org

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Active Member Spotlight

Kara Sewell By: Marlea Handler

“What time do you have to get up?!” That’s the question I get asked most often when I tell people I anchor the morning show at FOX19. My first alarm goes off at 1:50 a.m. and the second sounds 10 minutes later every weekday morning. I’m not a morning person, I never have been, but there’s part of you that gets used to the crazy hours. And when you truly enjoy what you do, you suck it up and go to work. We all have parts of our job we don’t like; mine is getting up when many are going to bed.

Our news team goes LIVE at 4:30 a.m. and since I do my own hair and makeup (I also buy all my own clothes),this allows me plenty of time to tackle both going over scripts and researching the various interviews I’m responsible for every day.

We interview a wide range of guests who appear on the show, including; local city leaders like the Mayor, Bengal’s Quaterback Andy Dalton, up-and-coming chefs and authors.

During the morning, my co-anchor and I balance reading the news with posting to social media; because of our affiliation some viewers get FOX19 confused with FOX network, but we’re entirely different and work hard to bring fair and balanced information to the Tri-State every morning. It’s all LIVE and a lot is unscripted, so having fun is a must to keep viewers entertained; Hey, the news has enough doom and gloom as it is! This last year has been a whirlwind between throwing out the 1st pitch at a Red’s game and serving as Bürgermeister for Oktoberfest. I can say I’ve embraced the community and they have hugged me right back.

The FOX19 Morning News Team: Rob Williams, Kara Sewell and Frank Marzullo I’ve been in the TV news business for 10 years but moving never gets easier. I joined the Junior League in Wichita in 2009 as a way to meet new people and get connected to the community. As a member, I’ve served as a chairperson, sat on one board and in the midst of the volunteer hours loved being part of wine nights (what’s JL without them?) and a Bunco group. I made life-long friends in that chapter and the Junior League taught me how to use my skill set to serve.

It was a no brainer to transfer into the Cincinnati chapter last year. I approached being a transfer by saying yes to as much as I could (since my schedule is limiting). The JL of Cincinnati has enriched my life beyond social interaction, it has also offered a glimpse into the world outside of my neighborhood in Over-the-Rhine through our commitment to RefugeeConnect and Grin Up! Being part of the Junior League has introduced me to Cincinnati in a way most people don’t get to experience by allowing you to see what you can do for the city instead of the other way around.

Recommending me to your family and friends is the best compliment I could receive.

Kara and fellow JLC members pose together during Tour of Kitchens 2015

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JLC Member

PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE

www.jlcincinnati.org | Spring 2016

Milestones

John and Laura Goodell welcomed baby boy, James “Rowan”, on December 18, 2015.

He was 6lbs 4 oz, 20 inches.

Lisa and Evan Nolan welcomed our daughter Grace Campbell on December 3, 2015

Two tiny bundles of joy, Benjamin & Nicholas, were welcomed by new parents Leslie & Chris Michel in November 2015.

The Wuellner Family, Mark, Maggie, and children Millie and David, welcomed their third child on May 20, 2015, Ford William, 7 lbs. 7 oz.

Sarah Lyn (Griese) Fischer, a recent transfer from South Carolina, married Kentucky native Michael Fischer this past October in Columbia, SC.

Andy and Shawn Gibson welcomed baby boy, Emmett Andrew, on February 25.

He was 7 lb 6oz 20 in long.

Kei and Shannon Lawson welcomed daughter, Troi Sinclaire, 7 lbs and 20 inches long, on December 30, 2015 at 6:32 PM.

Kelly Birkenhauer has received approval from the Ohio EPA to function as a Certified Professional for conducting site cleanups under the Ohio EPA Voluntary Action Program which was established in 1995 to allow for voluntarily cleanup of former industrial or commercial properties that may be contaminated with hazardous substances and petroleum products.

She recently accepted a new position as a Geologist and Project Manager with Trihydro Corporation.

The Scarpitti Family, Andy, Kristian, Evie, and Andrew, welcomed their third child on December 5, 2015, Nicholas Patrick, 7 lbs. 15 oz. 20 in long.

Good News?

SHARE WITH US.

Marlea Handler was promoted to Team Leader of the Inside Sales Team at Crane ChemPharma & Energy

Jamie Humes won Fundraising Champion & 1st Runner Up Best Dancer in the Cincinnati Arts Association’s Dancing for the Stars Gala on April 9.

Jessica Smith was recently accepted among 55 other young professionals into the 11th C-Change class, a year-long leadership develop program through the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. She is looking forward to this rewarding and challenging experience!

YOUR MILESTONES. We want to recognize...you! New position, baby, significant achievement, engagement, wedding or other exciting news? Tell us everything.

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CONTACT US. jlperspectives@gmail.com SUBMIT CONTENT: via the new Communications Content Submission Hub at jlcincinnati.org

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A Traditions Community

A JLC Dynamic Duo:

PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE

www.jlcincinnati.org | Spring 2016

A Power Friendship & Partnership Rooted in the JLC By: Kristin Boyatt, with contribution from Jamie Humes

two co-chaired the Hats Off! Luncheon twice, one of the Park Foundation’s most significant (and fun!) annual fundraising events.

Amelia Crutcher and Marty Humes share a strong and proven track record of exceptional community service, leadership and fundraising success.

They also share a unique friendship, which began in the Junior League of Cincinnati.

They have also served and worked together on the Playhouse in the Park Board for several years, and are currently on the Leading Ladies Committee. Previously, each also chaired the Playhouse’s epic ABRACADABRA fundraiser.

Amelia Crutcher & Marty Humes...

35+ years of JLC Friendship

A Prolific JLC History Amelia and Marty joined the JLC in the 1980s and quickly became strong leaders within this community of women.

As a first year Active, Marty was drafted to chair the highly successful Festival of Trees fundraiser, where she credits much of her committee’s success to her strong support system of fellow JLC leaders. The following year, she led the Capital Campaign to purchase the Columbia Center, where she generated a commitment from both JLC women and local businesses of $1.5 million over three years.

Amelia utilized her extensive HR experience to help grow JLC training programs as a member of the Training Committee. In fact, JLC training programming was so strong, Amelia used the JLC training model when launching her own small business and serving several other non-profits.

Collaborative Community Service & Leadership Over the past several years, the two have not only built a strong and unique friendship, but have often joined forces to serve on multiple projects and plan several large-scale events.

Last summer, the pair Co-Chaired the All-Star Game’s Hospitality Committee, helping to mobilizing a huge network of community volunteers to serve as welcoming ambassadors for our City. Several JLC members were also a part of this mega-effort.

They have served together on the Cincinnati Parks Foundation as Board members and have played major roles on the Women’s Committee, the highly charged group who has raised millions for the new Smale Riverfront Park and Carousel. The

As a testament to their service and leadership, Marty and Amelia each have been recognized as ‘Women of the Year’ by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Both credit the JLC as laying the foundation and helping to launch their path to community service and leadership. Of her experience in the JLC, Amelia says, “I was the luckiest girl in the world. The League really was the beginning of getting engaged and getting involved in my community.”

A Sustained Commitment… 35+ Years Later Over 35 years later, both still remain highly engaged Sustainers in the JLC. They have served on the Sustainer Council, and Amelia has served as Sustainer Advisor to RefugeeConnect since it’s inception, where she has been a driving force of leadership, encouragement and counsel.

Marty chaired the JLC’s 90th Anniversary gala, the 2015 Sustainer Luncheon and most recently, helped advise the Spring Fundraiser Committee for the Fashion Show and Dark Horse Derby Hostess Party, providing guidance, as well as mobilizing strong Sustainer attendance and support. She will chair the Sustainer 2016 Fall Forum.

As they watch and advise the next generation of JLC members, their hope is for our members to also have such positive JLC experiences as well as develop those unique, long-lasting friendships.

“I was the luckiest girl in the world. The League really was the beginning of getting engaged and getting involved in my community.”

- Amelia Crutcher f it wasn’t for the league, I may have been a single-focused person. I would not have had that experience.”

- Marty Humes

#jlcincy | 11

The Making of the Fashion Show A Behind-the-Scenes Look

By Lauren Stewart & Jo Moore, Contributor The first annual Junior League of Cincinnati Spring Forward Fashion Show premiered to a sold-out crowd of over 270 guests at Hyde Park Country Club on Saturday, February 27th. It was months in the making with intensive work and coordination spearheaded by the 15-member strong Spring Fundraiser Committee led by Meg Cooper, Chair, Susan Van Vleet, Vice-Chair and Maggie Wuellner, VP Fund Development.

The committee spent the past several months planning and organizing, contacting numerous boutiques and designers, coordinating venue logistics, securing Pop-Up Shop boutique vendors, event sponsors, Hostesses and silent auction items, recruiting models, working closely with the Communications Council to create design materials and coordinate event communications, and managing the myriad of details required to pull off this large-scale event.

The effort paid off. Hyde Park Country Club was transformed into a shopper’s paradise, with multiple boutiques and vendors lining the central room. It was a colorful palette of style and design with tempting ready-to-purchase items, including bold statement jewelry, beautiful scarves, must-have shoes, luxury men’s dress shirts, skin botanicals, fine paper goods, stylish handbags and much more.

The months of organizing came down to the final week before the show. Clothing was collected and meticulously organized. Jewelry from Kendra Scott was reviewed, and matched carefully with the outfits to complete each “look.” Swag bags were assembled for event Hostesses. Silent auction items including high-end handbags, jewelry from Tiffany’s and cases of wine were gathered, catalogued and tagged.

Rehearsal was held the morning of the event. JLC ladies, gentlemen and excited children practiced their poses on the runway. Last minute details were all in place. A team of JLC volunteers welcomed guests at check-in. Guests enjoyed mimosas and wine, shopped the vendors’ displays and bid on silent auction items before enjoying a delectable country club brunch.

Backstage was a buzz with excitement and final prep work.

Professional make-up artists from Esteé Lauder and hair stylists from Zephyr Salon prepped over 35 models. Event committee members worked diligently to organize the outfits on racks of clothing and ensure all looks were runway ready. Tiny pink Easter dresses were lined up next to prom dresses. Kendra Scott Jewelry bags were attached to each hanger containing the perfectly coordinated baubles to finish off the looks.

Over 35 models rocked the runway showcasing the latest must-have spring fashions, including Sustainers, Actives, JLC family members and friends, along with some very dapper (and courageous) men.

It was impressive line-up of local and national shops, including

#jlcincy | 12

W by Worth, a 2016 AJLI partner, Kendra Scott Jewelry, as well as local favorites Alligator Purse, Leeli & Lou, J. McLaughlin, Pink Tulip Club, Monkee’s, Blaine’s Menswear, The Wardrobe, Castle House, and Girls’ World.

Sassy, flirty and sporty looks graced the catwalk, along with colorful prints and ethereal patterns, a touch of bohemian whimsy, flowy white and signature black chic dresses, ready-to-wear professional apparel, elegantly jeweled formal dresses, dapper men’s suits accented with colorful pocket squares, along with oh-sodarling children’s dresses and beachwear.

FOX19 Morning News Anchor and JLC member, Kara Sewell, emceed the show, elevating the already cheerful atmosphere even more with her high-energy personality.

A total success, the event reflected not only a passion for fashion, but for philanthropy as well. Event proceeds benefit and provide ongoing funding support for the JLC’s two Signature Projects, Grin Up! and RefugeeConnect. Congratulations to the Spring Fundraiser Committee and everyone involved on a fantastic inaugural fundraising event! The bar...and runway, has now been set.

Thank You to Our Generous Sponsors!

Jonathan Mezibov Fine Tailored Shirts

Fashion & Accessories By

Lookbook:

PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE

www.jlcincinnati.org | Spring 2016

Spring Forward. In Style.

#jlcincy | 13

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JLC’s RefugeeConnect Program:

PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE

www.jlcincinnati.org | Spring 2016

Promoting Refugee Education and Advocacy Resources By: Ritu Singh, with special contribution by Alicia Kappers and Robyn Lamont The media’s portrayal of recent events, such as the plight of those fleeing from war-torn Syria, have brought the term “refugee” to our attention here in the United States. Refugees are individuals that have fled their home countries and cannot return because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Even with the struggles resettling refugees have faced and will continue to face, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) predicts that only 1% of the world’s 19.5 million refugees will ever be able to resettle into another country, and an average amount of time a refugee lives in a refugee camp while awaiting resettlement is 17 years.

Imagine arriving into a new country as a refugee after undergoing such a harrowing process, where perhaps you do not speak the language or understand the system and you and your family may face continued discrimination. Now imagine how you would feel if instead of being misunderstood by your neighbors, you are provided with a helping hand.

Perhaps even a scholarship to help your children with their education as they become integrated into the community around you. For many in the Greater Cincinnati area, which alone is home to an estimated 12,00025,000 refugees, this imagined scenario is a reality thanks to works of the women behind the Junior League of Cincinnati’s RefugeeConnect program.

In 2011, the JLC formed RefugeeConnect as an ad-hoc committee. This committee resulted from a survey scanning unmet needs of women and children in the refugee communities of Greater Cincinnati, and that found a lack of coordinated resources in this area. RefugeeConnect’s ongoing mission is to improve the lives of refugees in Cincinnati, to promote community acceptance and diversity, and to construct a sustainable support system. Recently, the JLC hired a program director, Robyn Lamont, a licensed social worker, to lead the RefugeeConnect program. Robyn has previous experience managing the Refugee Resettlement employment services at Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio. In her current role, she meets with JLC RefugeeConnect committee members to build the program and provide information about best practices and insight into the refugee experience.

The JLC committee members of RefugeeConnect are at the heart of the program, and are people that are passionate about this cause. One of these women, Alicia Kappers, holds this cause close to her heart and is actually the wife of a second-generation refugee, Ziad Razzak. Ziad’s family’s circumstances were that they were political refugees unable to return to their homeland. His family was one of the luckier ones, as his father was able to obtain an education and become a doctor, and the family ultimately settled in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. However, Ziad’s father was never able to claim citizenship in the communities he served, and the family often had to face discrimination because of their refugee

status. Ziad came to the U.S. on both a refugee status and a student visa and eventually became a U.S. citizen. He now is the Director of Business Development for CycleBar and a well-recognized community citizen within Cincinnati.

He understands the plight of those that resettle into a community, however, and the struggles they may face. Alicia and Ziad recently started a refugee student scholarship named in honor of their late-son, who passed from a rare medical disorder early on in his young life The RefugeeConnect Student Scholarship in Honor of Dean Razzak. This scholarship provides financial awards to refugee students to continue their education in a post-secondary setting and to assist them in becoming outstanding community citizens.

This year, the scholarship will be awarded at an upcoming RefugeeConnect sponsored event: the World Refugee Day Cup Soccer Tournament, which will be on Saturday, June 4, at Withrow High School.

Other resources provided through the JLC’s RefugeeConnect program include English for Speakers of Other Languages tutoring sessions and community potlucks, as well representation by refugee advocates that attend meetings throughout the Greater Cincinnati region to bridge resources. Examples are the City of Cincinnati Mayor’s Immigration Task Force recommendations meetings and the Ohio Refugee Advisory Council meetings. Recently, RefugeeConnect partnered with the Cincinnati Chamber and key stakeholders to apply for a grant for direct technical assistance to build a virtual resource center (a vision of RefugeeConnect), the Center for New Cincinnatians. The Center will have a focus on refugee needs and a long-term goal of building a physical space. Furthermore, in February, RefugeeConnect once again facilitated a quarterly communitybased stakeholder partnership meeting, the Refugee Empowerment Initiative (REI), hosted at Xavier University with participation and input from more than 80 organizations.

RefugeeConnect has definitely been leaving an imprint in Greater Cincinnati as a provider of education, advocacy, and resources for the refugee communities. From the JLC members that volunteer their time to welcome refugees into this great community, to the work of RefugeeConnect as a bridging community member with other partner organizations, the future is brighter for those refugees that RefugeeConnect assists to welcome into our neighborhoods, schools and work forces as they escape from the persecution of the past.

If you are inspired to volunteer through this program or to give in other ways, please contact Robyn Lamont at jlcrefugeeconnect@gmail. com. Additionally, please consider giving to The RefugeeConnect Student Scholarship in Honor of Dean Razzak by donating directly at https://www.jlcincinnati.org/system/donate_summary/.

#jlcincy | 15

MAINTAINING FITNESS THROUGH THE YEAR Sticking to your goals during January is pretty easy because you ride the momentum of New Year and feel good about getting back on track after all the holiday parties. The tough part is when the motivation fades and you still have goals to accomplish.

Routines and habits stay strong when motivation fades.

Develop consistent habits, from walking every day to making it to the gym a couple times a week. Dietary habits are the driving force for fat loss and fitness, so measure out lunches for the week or wake up 15 minutes early to make a good breakfast. Evaluate your days to find gaps for things you can add into your routine. Every step and stretch counts.

Focus on your goals,

Develop consistent habits

These small and consistent habits build up, become easier with repetition, and make a year-long healthy lifestyle easily sustainable.

To keep you focused throughout the year, utilize extremely helpful technique of effective goal mapping. Establish a time line for your goals and focus the prep to different milestones and key dates. If you’re a runner, prepare for a race and focus your efforts on endurance training. After your race, shift your focus to another area that complements the running and enhances your fitness. If you want to look good for a wedding or vacation, focus your training for a few months on fat loss.

Establish measureable markers for your training and break them down to result goals (i.e. drop 10 pounds in 6 weeks) as well as procedural goals (i.e. lift weights 2x/week and prepare all your lunches).

and Establish a solid routine.

#jlcincy | 16

Small steps add up to ...

BIG RESULTS.

PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE

New Member Profile of

Lauren Pfister

www.jlcincinnati.org | Spring 2016

By Beth Berkowitz

The Junior League of Cincinnati provides members with a unique opportunity to meet all kinds of fascinating women, doing all sorts of amazing things, right here in our community.

Lauren Pfister is one of these women.

Lauren lives in Mt. Lookout. She grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and is the daughter of Cuban immigrants. Lauren is the middle child, with two brothers. She studied Animal Sciences at the University of Florida. She briefly considered a career as a veterinarian, but decided it was not for her after working in a few veterinary offices. Instead, she narrowed her focus on equine reproduction. Her parents feared this would translate into a job shoveling horse manure from barn stalls. Luckily, she found a more attractive position on the farm as the Broodmare Manager. Although, she says, “boots and coveralls” are a must when delivering foals.

After earning her degree, Lauren spent the last eight years living and working on thoroughbred horse farms in Ocala, Florida and Lexington, Kentucky. She assures me that spending her days with these majestic animals amidst the rolling hills of the Kentucky bluegrass is as romantic as it sounds. “When my father would visit the farm, he said it would instantly lower his blood pressure,” she said.

As the Broodmare Manager for Adena Springs Stallions, Lauren was responsible for breeding hundreds if not thousands of horses. Adena Springs is a firstclass thoroughbred breeding and racing program, that has been recognized as an award-winning leader in the industry. On the farm, Lauren oversaw the breeding, the mare’s gestation, and the “foaling” or delivery. Then the cycle would repeat. She would care for the foals until they were old enough to be sent to a trainer or sold. During her time on the farms, she became very attached to some of the mares.

While working in Lexington, Lauren met a young man from Cincinnati named Josh Bridges, a Senior Vice President at RDI Corporation and part owner of the Wurst Bar and Transitions Bar, located on Mt. Lookout Square. They maintained a long distance relationship until May of 2015, when Josh proposed over Memorial Day weekend, which also happens to

be Lauren’s birthday! They were visiting friends and family in Florida. Josh, who is also an amateur pilot, hired a plane to fly over with a banner announcing his proposal.

Following their formal engagement, Lauren relocated to Cincinnati to be with Josh. She now works as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Zoetis, the world’s largest producer of medicine and vaccinations for pets and livestock. Her work involves traveling throughout Ohio and Indiana to provide pharmaceuticals to veterinarians.

Being new to town, Lauren joined the Junior League of Cincinnati in search of girlfriends and other women of like minds and morals with a strong desire to give back to the community that gives us so much. Lauren reports that her experience as a new member in the league has been fantastic. She is impressed by the variety of avenues the league is involved in, from their current projects with Refugee Connect and Grin Up to past projects like the Cincinnati Art Museum Docent Program and the Children’s Theatre. Refugee Connect, in particular, speaks to her personally as her parents fled Cuba to the United States in the 1960s.

Lauren looks forward to helping other new members and transfers find their way in the league and perhaps in a new city. She credits the Junior League of Cincinnati for helping open her eyes to all that Cincinnati has to offer, and she hopes to pay it forward for years to come by helping others find their niche in the Queen City.

When Lauren is not traveling for work, she enjoys traveling with her fiancé Josh and spending time with family and friends. Lauren and Josh have not set a date for their wedding just yet, but they are looking to tie the knot sometime next year in South Florida where much of her family still resides.

#jlcincy | 17

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PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE

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PERSPECTIVES MAGAZINE

Catching Up with

www.jlcincinnati.org | Spring 2016

Haley Titus

By Ashley Mitzel

for the League, though this time in the Windy City. She is overwhelmingly thankful for her training in JLCincinnati that prepared her to take on this role.

She has a smile that lights up a room and everyone seems Like moving itself, transferring was HARD! Hard in By: Rachel Foster with special the sense of community instilled by the to know, and love, Dr. Haley recreating

contribution from Laura Goodell Titus. Haley devotes time every JLCincinnati.

Moving from a Junior League with several week to the JLC; however, for hundred actives where (as an extreme extrovert) you feel Haley, the C now stands for you know everyone to a thousand is overwhelming. She Chicago instead of Cincinnati. misses the JLCincinnati monthly themed GMM’s and how accessible ALL of the leadership was at every event and Haley was immersed in the meeting. On the flip side, she has seen the enormous Cincinnati League from 2012capacity for community outreach and the tight-knit 2015. She was involved in microcosms that form from Interest Groups in such a large community outreach and was League. She is finally feeling settled in as an integral the recipient of the 2013 member of a very vivacious Development Council and is Shannon Marks Outstanding Member Award as a New looking forward to serving as Co-Chair of Sponsorship Member. She was also in Leadership Development as a through 2018. member of Board Bank, as well as Fund Development where she helped revive the Sponsorship Committee in “In the JLC, EVERYONE is an energetic leader that dives 2013-2015 as Vice-Chair and Chair. in and supercharges productivity and community impact by sincere dedication to every project. It is empowering When she completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience last to be part of a group of women who share similar June, she headed to Chicago to begin her fellowship values and drive!” as a neuroiummunologist working on pre-clinical and clinical trials for Multiple Sclerosis at the Northwestern DEVOTED is a term she uses to describe her fellow University Feinberg School of Medicine. She dove right volunteers, and she is thankful for the opportunity to learn into the JLChicago at the end of summer with community and grow in continued service to the AJLI. She misses all of outreach through Connecting Kids to the Arts at the local her Cincinnati ladies and is excited to be coming back for Ronald McDonald House and the Rehabilitation Institute a visit this spring. In true Haley fashion, she says her door of Chicago. In recent months, she has filled a gap in is always open in Chicago (but prepare to get cozy as she leadership and will once again be reviving sponsorship has half the square footage).

#jlcincy | 21

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Cincinnati, Ohio Permit No. 1876

Junior League of Cincinnati Columbia Center 3500 Columbia Parkway Cincinnati, Ohio 45226

Women building better communities®

Share Y Experie our nce

JLC Receives Milestone Awards

#jlcincy

Congratulations to our 2015-2016 JLC Award Winners!

Cookie Nowland Sustainer Award Carol Conlan

Shanon Marks Outstanding New Member Award Ellen Rose, President of AJLI, with JLC President-Elect Kendall Shaw & President Michelle Vaeth

RefugeeConnect Program Director Robyn Lamont accepts $2500 Fuel the Fire Grant

The JLC was awarded the national 2016 AJLI Leadership Development Award for its Board Bank Program at The Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) Annual Conference held in Atlanta in early May. The JLC will receive $10,000 for member development and training programs.

Fuel Cincinnati held its Fifth Annual Fuel the Fire Event on Monday, May 16, 2016. The JLC’s RefugeeConnect won the $2,500 award for its “The Funnel” initiative compeitive pitch presentation.

Established by the JLC’s Leadership Development Committee, the Board Bank is a unique training program that develops the leadership potential of members by preparing them to become successful non-profit board members and then helps to place them on nonprofit boards within the Cincinnati community.

The Junior League Leadership Development Award recognizes exemplary League member training and development programs designed to create lasting community impact.

As a result of this grant funding, The Funnel will now become a program that provides quarterly training to educate young adults interested in volunteering with refugees and places volunteers with opportunities to serve the refugee community.

Fuel the Fire is the grant-making arm of Give Back Cincinnati, which helps launch community-based ideas into reality by providing funding for promising non-profit local initiatives developed by or for young professionals.

Cecilia Boldrini

Rising Star Award

Paaras Parker & Erin Rolfes

Excellence In Training Award Sarah Reiger & Rene Robers

Jeanne Boyce Morrison President’s Award Taylor Bennett

Transformational Team Award

Spring Fundraiser Committee Membership Engagement Committee Community Impact Award Cincinnati Museum Center