Unmasking Endless Potential at AJLI Annual Conference

Annual Conference is AJLI's largest event of the year. Centered around association business, organizational updates, and networking, this conference welcomes representatives from Leagues all across the United States and beyond to help drive AJLI into the future.

Four members from the JLC outgoing & incoming Core Team took a trip to the Big Easy for the AJLI Annual Conference in May, learning and celebrating with over 600 League leaders from across the country They shared their favorite moments, biggest surprises, impressive moments, and key takeaways with to give us a small taste of what they learned during the conference Unfortunately they did not bring back any actual tastes The conference kicked off Wednesday night with a Mardi Gras-themed celebration and dinner featuring a traditional Second Line band.

Thursday morning opened with League presidents serving as voting delegates bearing flags from the 294 Junior Leagues around the world During lunch, attendees learned about new AJLI initiatives including a partnership with the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation, a new mental well-being initiative, “Be Good to You,” and upcoming partnerships with Girls on the Run and Girl Scouts of America The biggest surprise of the weekend was the Junior League of Cincinnati winning the inaugural Find the Good Day Award for 2023! Following lunch, each of our JLC members attended breakout seasons with focuses on leadership development, managing conflict, communication, and building relationships for community impact.

Friday was all business, with the Annual Business Meeting, Presidents of Large Leagues (POLL) Meeting, and team working sessions The evening was full of celebration as the year’s annual award winners were announced Ann Cramer from the Junior League of Atlanta won the prestigious Mary Harriman Award, concluding the ceremony with a touching speech that left everyone in the room feeling deeply motivated and genuinely inspired Google her name and you’ll understand why!

We also celebrated outgoing AJLI Vice President and Cincinnati’s own Past President & Sustainer, Michelle Vaeth, rounding out her two-year term on the governing board.

KELLY BARBER, PRESIDENT-ELECT

Favorite Moment: So many! But the Mardi Gras welcoming session and parade was pretty spectacular They had a Second Line jazz band, people on stilts and more glitter and beads than you thought possible in a conference room But most importantly, you could feel the joy and connectivity throughout the room! It made me so proud to be part of this amazing collection of powerful (and fun!) women

Biggest Surprise: Winning Find the Good Day, of course That moment will forever be cemented in my mind And also learning that nearly 2 million women have served in the Junior League since 1901 It’s easy to forget about the vast network of League Women when we’re so focused on the work we do in Cincinnati But the League is so much bigger than just us!

What Impressed Me Most: Seeing the Community Impact Award go to the California Leagues who introduced a bill for Reproductive Loss Leave, which was just passed! How incredible to be part of something so monumental and important to so many families. The new bill will ensure those who have lost life due to miscarriages, adoptions and other circumstances are able to take time off from work to begin to process and heal, without fear of retaliation from their employers

Things I Took Away: 1) A deep appreciation for creole food 2) A list of other League Leaders to call upon for advice 3) And a new favorite quote from the Junior League of Portland - when evaluating the potential for a new opportunity use the 3M Test: is it good for the Mission? Good for our Members? Good for our Money? If yes to all three, it’s a good fit! If not, maybe we reprioritize our efforts into something that does

Rating: 5 gold strings of beads

EMILY HAUN, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT

Favorite Moment: Connecting with fellow EVPEs and EVPs to learn more about the vast differences between each league + feeling empowered, inspired and motivated to continue to shape this important role Spending quality time planning and reflecting with my fellow JLC members was another priceless highlight!

Biggest Surprise: Definitely our FTGD win! Such a proud moment Loved experiencing the parliamentary procedure involved in the AJLI Annual Meeting, learning about all the new leagues being “born” every year, and knowing that members from international leagues such as Puerto Rico, Nairobi, London, and La Cote d’Azur, France are all working on similar mission-minded, servant leadership-focused activities that are tailored to their communities!

What Impressed Me Most: Ann Cramer, winner of this year’s prestigious Mary Harriman award, blew me away She served as President of the Junior League of Atlanta in 1980 and is an incredible leader within the Greater ATL community Her award acceptance speech brought tears to my eyes - the whole room was hanging on her every word - she is an authentic, brave, compassionate woman whose work and dedication to the Junior League has made a profound and long-lasting impact I felt inspired to harness her message of unapologetic and unwavering girl power

Things I Took Away: The topic of avoiding “permission culture” came up during a breakout session, and this really resonated with me I want our members to be bold and courageous - to have big ideas! We must remain dedicated to a culture of training and empowerment while balancing creativity with our strategic plans and initiatives This is a challenging but exciting concept I also loved the simple message presented by Sara Sternberger, Past President of JL Albuquerque during the Internal Comms session: “As a leader, you must unburden yourself of the things that are not important ”

Rating: A whole bushel of beignets.

RENÉ ROBERS, PRESIDENT

Favorite Moment: Grabbing Emily’s hand and walking on stage to accept the Find the Good Day award! The work we do is in service of each other, our partners and the community - to be recognized for an effort that was developed with a short lead time and limited direction was a fun challenge, but also left me questioning if it was enough, or the right way to honor this inaugural celebration As they read the award description, I leaned over to Kelly and said, “I think that’s us!” Sharing this moment with dear friends who helped make it happen, and receiving cheers of congratulations from friends we have made from other Leagues all across the country, is a memory I will always cherish from my presidency

Biggest Surprise: AJLI’s commitment to helping Leagues thrive; they understand there are competing priorities in women’s lives and dedicating the time and effort to a volunteer nonprofit organization is so very different than it was then when our founder, Mary Harriman, established the Junior League of New York in 1901! Their latest initiative, “Be Good to You” is a mental well-being effort focused on conquering women’s daily struggles and self-doubt so she can change the world They get it; they understand us; they want to meet us where we are

What Impressed Me Most: The attention to detail and efforts to make it a special and impactful conference - while it started at 8:00 a m and went through 8:00 p m or after most evenings, the energy was palpable and they kept it fun and interesting! Besides the governance sessions, which we understand are necessary, AJLI made it feel exciting! They showed their appreciation for and support of our leaders, who took 4 days away from their families, homes and jobs to focus on learning and sharing to improve the work we do within our Leagues, to make an impact on our community That is difficult to do for 1,000 women across a few days!

Honorable mention: all of the food - from the Marriott catering, which was not expected, to enjoying the local favorites, we ate well in The Big Easy!

Things I Took Away: A deep sense of pride in the JLC - the issues other Leagues face are not issues we have; as you listen to the challenges and opportunities others are seeking help with, I feel so grateful for and proud of the Junior League of Cincinnati with our strong & engaged leaders, healthy membership numbers, engaged office team, beautiful building, balanced budget and sizeable endowment, which make us an incredibly successful League!

Rating: 10/10 & all that jazz!

KATIE DULLE, PRESIDENT-ELECT, ELECT

Favorite Moment: Winning the Find the Good Day Award was an incredible moment! As we were enjoying lunch, the presenter began describing the award winner’s activities and contributions, and one by one, we looked at each other, wondering, "Is this us?!" When they finally announced the Junior League of Cincinnati as the award recipient, we were overwhelmed with pride

Biggest Surprise: Anna Laymon, the Executive Director of the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation, spoke at the Junior League is Blooming lunch and shared two surprising and unsettling facts: there are more public sculptures of mermaids in the United States than of American-born women and more statues of dogs in Washington, DC than First Ladies My mind was blown While not a happy surprise, these factoids underscore the importance of the Foundation’s mission to establish a commemorative work on federal land in Washington, D C , honoring the pioneers of the early American movement for women’s equality Their collaboration with AJLI and local leagues to honor and commemorate the contributions of women in our communities is truly inspiring I love to envision JLC field trips to both a national monument and a Cincinnati monument that we helped build, celebrating the powerful legacy of women’s achievements

What Impressed Me Most: During the awards dinner, I was continuously impressed by the remarkable work of other Leagues and the outstanding accomplishments of Mary Harriman Award recipient Ann Cramer from the Junior League of Atlanta From pioneering policy work for reproductive loss leave to organizing fundraising events that generate more than $75,000 and offering unique perspectives on accessibility in DEIB initiatives, the evening was a source of admiration and inspiration It motivated me to think big, lead by example, and encourage our members to embrace creativity and boldness in all that we do We often say we “learned it in the League,” but there is so much to learn from other Leagues. I am confident we’ll continue to share knowledge and inspiration across all our large Leagues

Things I Took Away: It's all too easy to be self-critical, constantly striving for personal and collective improvement within our League But let's take a moment to truly appreciate and celebrate the incredible commitment, skills, and success of our members The Junior League of Cincinnati should be immensely proud of the meaningful impact we make in our community year after year Our responsible financial choices and engagement with exceptional women leaders are nothing short of inspiring We deserve to give ourselves more credit for the profound impact we have and the remarkable spirit of leadership we embody Let's pat ourselves on the back and acknowledge the outstanding work we do together!

Rating: 100% (humidity)