JLC Sustainer Awarded the Order of Canada

On June 29, 2012, JLC Sustainer Lois Mitchell was appointed to one of Canada’s highest civilian honours; the Order of Canada. Established in 1967 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Order of Canada is the centrepiece of Canada’s honours system and recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. The Order recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society. Their contributions are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country.

One of 42 Members appointed, Lois’ citation reads:

Lois Mitchell, C.M.
Calgary, Alta. -  For her contributions as a business and community leader in Calgary and for her volunteerism in support of sports and the arts.

Later this fall, Lois will join other recipients at Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s residence in Ottawa, for the investiture ceremony. Our congratulations to Lois on this well-deserved honour.

Recruitment Hosts Cupcake Social

On Tuesday August 21, JLC Active members and women interested in joining the Junior League of Calgary gathered on a beautiful summer evening at Lynne Christensen’s home to enjoy the second annual Summer Cupcake Social.  It was a wonderful event and the turnout was fantastic.

Kate Hanna, Recruitment Chair, and the rest of the Recruitment Committee had a very busy summer meeting with prospective Provisional members.  The result of their hard work was an exceptional turnout to the social and within days, a full Fall Provisional Class of 12 members! 

Thank you to Kate, Cyndi Cox and Kathryn Berkson, as well as to all of our Actives and Sustainers who recommended the Junior League of Calgary to their friends, families and colleagues.  Another huge thank you to Erin Ferguson and Emily Wood who put together a fabulous display of red velvet and vanilla cupcakes, fruit kabobs and veggies – all in the JL colors of red and white!  Every woman left with a favour of cute and delectable cupcake-shaped cookies to boot.  Many thanks also to Lynne Christensen for opening up her lovely home to all of us. 

Our next Provisional Class begins in January, so keep spreading the word!

Membership Development Committee Presents Leadership Training

On August 23 all 2012 JLC Committee Chairs and Assistant Chairs were invited to attend a Chair Training Workshop. The objective of the training was to ensure everyone begins on the same page, to pass along experience from other chairs and to provide tools to help chairs and assistant chairs be successful.

The informal evening began with Lynne Christensen welcoming chairs to their role and discussing the JLC vision and mission: What it means to us and how we think it is reflected in the JLC culture. Velvet Matheson then led the group in an icebreaker, which resulted in some artistic drawings of pigs of all different shapes and sizes and some with some very long tails.

Member Development Chair Carla Gustafson presented an overview of what a successful committee looks like and what an effective chair looks like. Discussions were had around planning, key meetings, budgets, engagement of teams, delegation, reporting, and turnover. If that wasn’t exciting enough, we ended with a survey and a quote from a fellow Junior Leaguer…

“Do one thing everyday that scares you.”  - Eleanor Roosevelt  -

JLC Committee Chairs and Assistant Chairs participate in
2012 Chair Training at the JLC Office

President's Message - JLC "New Year" Begins

Lynne Christensen
JLC President

Happy New Year!  It may not be a new year in the traditional sense, but September always feels like the beginning of a new year to me.  After 18 years of heading back to school and even more years sending my children off after their first day photo on the front porch, September still means new beginnings to me.

After a refreshing summer break, our new League year gets well under way this month.  And just like in our school days, there are friends to reconnect with, new acquaintances to make, avenues to share our skills and opportunities to learn as we unite to positively impact our community.

Although most of our programs and activities get underway this month, many members have worked throughout the summer planning, developing, recruiting and organizing and I thank them for their dedicated work.  A recruitment social event, member social, chair training and the Provisional orientation dinner have already occurred. As the Treasure Trunk and MUM sessions get underway, check out the details for accessing the new online volunteer shift sign up on the JLC website (details on page 1). 

This year we’ll explore together issues facing the Calgary community through General Meetings and volunteer opportunities called Impact Events (formerly DIAD’s) and we’ll continue to further define our issue area around which we will base our community impact efforts. 

Don’t miss the October 15 Annual General Meeting when dynamic speaker Vicki Clark will further our understanding of the power and potential of issue-based community impact.

I hope all JLC members, Provisionals, Actives and Sustainers, will feel the buzz of this new year and jump in to connect with each other to share and develop toward our goal of creating lasting community impact.  I welcome your thoughts and ideas now and throughout the year.

Cooking Up Community Impact

Some of the JLC Members who cooked soup for donation to The Doorway
at the Welcome Back Social on Friday, September 7

JLC Actives, Sustainers, spouses and friends joined together Friday, September 7 for a delightfully delicious evening of soup making and socializing at the Highwood Dining Room at SAIT for our Welcome Back Social.  The group of about 30 was divided randomly into five teams and each team sliced, diced, sautéed and stirred until their soups were ready to be ladled into individual serving containers and donated to The Doorway.  Once the work was complete, participants sat down for a delicious dinner of one of the freshly prepared soups, salad and a glass of wine to toast a rewarding and fun evening spent together.

Sharon Hapton, Soup Sisters/
Broth Brothers founder, with their
newly-released cookbook

Soup Sisters/Broth Brothers is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to providing comfort to women, children and youth through the making, sharing and donating of soup.  Its program provides participants with assistance from respected area chefs, the opportunity to work together in state-of-the-art professional kitchens and most importantly, the sense of gratification that comes from helping others. 

The JLC was privileged to participate on this special evening as Soup Sisters/Broth Brothers celebrated their third anniversary and the launch of their new cookbook.  Founder Sharon Hapton shared the organization’s history and recognized key individuals including their first guest chef Michael Allemeir who was on hand to instruct the JLC soup makers this night as well.  Marilyn Dyck, Executive Director of The Doorway inspired us with her moving description of their work assisting teens and young adults as they transition from street culture into mainstream society. The soup we made will nourish, warm and help fill the empty spaces in their lives both physically and emotionally.  More importantly, it lets these young people know that we care for them and believe in their potential.