December 2015 • Issue 4 In This Issue: • Holiday Shoppes • Nominating Game Night • Kudos • TVPJA Signed • New Member Class Update • October ODI • Westide Thanksgiving Dinner • Sustainer News
MARK YOUR CALENDARS December 8: GMM and Holiday Potluck • Social 6 p.m.; Meeting 6:30 p.m. • JLS Ballroom • Sign up for potluck item on the members section of website December 10 & 15: Downtown YMCA Holiday Angel Wishes • 12/10 - 6 p.m.: Shopping at the East Syracuse Wal-Mart • 12/15 - 6 p.m.: Gift wrapping at the Downtown YMCA • Sign up on members section of website
20TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY SHOPPES A SUCCESS! Dear Junior League of Syracuse members,
last year! So thanks to our Raffle Co-Chairs, Audra Mueller and Elizabeth Lane, and our other League volunteers for really getting out there and selling our tickets.
Thank you to all the JLS members who helped make the 20th Annual Holiday Shoppes a success! We had over 5,018 attendees, 13 more than last year! This year, we kicked it up a notch with our Holiday Village theme, featuring a boulevard of park benches and brightly-lit trees, which provided a much needed resting and meeting spot for shoppers. A big thanks to Mona Smart and all of the volunteers who took the time to really transform the Fairgrounds in this way! As I’m sure most of you saw, Jenny Jackson Donahoe, Julianna Hebert and Marisa Montreal were all over the television and radio getting the public excited about the event.
In addition, we had more than 50 new merchants attend Holiday Shoppes this year! This was more than any other previous Holiday Shoppes. A big thank you goes to Barbara Christiana and Kelsey Howard for making sure our merchants were as excited to be there as we were! Thanks also go to Amy Slivka for taking on the role of Tickets and Staffing Chair and ensuring that all volunteers knew what to do and attendees were greeted with friendly faces as they first entered our event.
December 15: Board Meeting • Social 5:30 p.m.; Meeting 6 p.m. • Jenny Jackson Donahoe’s House
In addition, thank you to all JLS members for going above and beyond by working additional shifts. Thanks also goes to Jessica Murray for transforming the JLS booth to incorporate the theme of Community Boulevard to respect the past and look forward to the future.
January 14, 2016: OHA Step Back in Time Tour • Tour Times: 6 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. • Onondaga Historical Association Museum
Thanks to Rachel Nelson for finding new advertising outlets and really getting our event out there! The raffle table caught everyone’s eyes as they walked in, and thanks to the exciting array of spectacular grand raffles, we made more money on the raffle this year than
Thank you to Caeresa Richardson for purchasing items for the hospitality room. Thanks to so many of our diligent JLS members, we were able to make sure our merchants and our volunteers were well fed and had hot coffee! A big thanks to Jackie Popkess for arranging BOCES students to make food for our hospitality room-it was a huge hit!
The Junior League of Syracuse, Inc. • The NOTES • December 2015 | 1
HOLIDAY SHOPPES CONTINUED Our gratitude goes out to Marie Norkett and Sheryl Capozzi for making sure we were accounting for all of our money! Thanks also to Jessica Murray, Sara Ames, Whitney Daniels and Kate Zwecker for getting the word out on social media and attracting both attendees and new vendors. A big thank you to Katherine Dopulos for helping design our 20th Anniversary logo. Another important step in our growth process this year was the transition of our Holiday Shoppes application process from paper to online. Thank you to Heather Ford Wallace and Sarah Weber for helping to make this a smooth process. We were so fortunate to have a very strong showing of sponsors due to the consistent
efforts of Christie Novak and Kseniya Hogan. In addition, they designed and obtained the new Holiday Shoppes bags, which were a big hit. We could never have had a successful Holiday Shoppes without the strong and steady support of Dawn Kemp who went above and beyond in assisting vendors and our committee members. A huge thank you to Jenny Donahoe Jackson, who was ever present and ready, willing and able to jump in to lend a helping hand. And thanks to all of you – for volunteering your time and for making this year’s fundraiser a success!
Congratulations to the Sustainer with the most tickets sold – Evonne Pacini, and to the active member who sold the most tickets – Rea Carver. Our pre-sale ticket sales definitely contributed to the attendance increase this year! Keep your eyes open for the dates for Holiday Shoppes 2016. If you would like to be a part of growing Holiday Shoppes into an even bigger success, let your Nominating Advisor know! We’re always welcome to new faces and new ideas! Thank you JLS! Julianna Hebert and Marisa Montreal, Holiday Shoppes Co-Chairs
2 | The Junior League of Syracuse, Inc. • The NOTES • December 2015
Contact the Holiday Shoppes Co-Chairs (L to R): Marisa Montreal: MarisaRegina16@yahoo.com Julianna Hebert: juliannahebert7@gmail.com
NOMINATING GAME NIGHT Nominating Game Night took place on Thursday, October 22. It was a great night full of fun and friendship! A special thanks to Lynne Hamilton-Johnson for hosting the event! Pictured top to bottom are: Susan Shubmehl, Audra Mueller, Anna O’Neil, Kate Zwecker, Katherine Dopulos, Julia Zimmer, Wendy Isome, Stephanie Macero, Jill Lawlor and Liz Lane.
KUDOS! Congratulations go out to the following JLS members on these recent accomplishments: Liz Baker, for her recent promotion to project environmental engineer at Arcadis. Liz has been with Arcadis for more than 10 years. Katherine Dopulos, for her recent promotion to assistant director of student volunteer programs at the Syracuse University Office of Admissions. Jessica Murray, for her recent promotion to assistant director of advancement operations at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies. Christie Novak, for her new career as a professor at Syracuse University and Le Moyne College. Julia Zimmer, for recently joining design firm Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt as a building envelope specialist. ___________ If you would like to submit a Kudos, please e-mail the NOTES Editor Carrie Ryder at carrieryder77@gmail.com
TVPJA SIGNED INTO LAW We are pleased to announce that on October 21, the Trafficking Victims Protection and Justice Act (TVPJA) was signed into law by Governor Cuomo. This important legislation ensures that traffickers, pimps and buyers will be held accountable for their crimes, while ensuring that victims, will no longer be treated like criminals, but rather receive the protection and justice they deserve. The New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition was instrumental in this monumental victory. Thank you to those who played a crucial role in the TVPJA becoming a new law - whether you donated, gave of your time as an advocate, posted on social media, or called your state representatives.
NEW MEMBER CLASS UPDATE We are excited to report that the new member class is a group of over 20 enthusiastic women who are eager to learn more about the Junior League of Syracuse! This year will be filled with many activities relating to our JLS history, networking, team building and community service. Our tour dates are set up with nonprofits that we collaborate with to show the new members who we are and how we impact the community. Since we have 20 new members, we will be doing two events with every tour date to accommodate the large class. The new members will be going to the Rescue Mission this month. They will be learning about the Rescue Mission and serving a meal at the two events. A big thank you to our JLS membership for all the new member referrals!
Contact the Recruitment Committee CoChairs: Hillary Reichel: hlreichel@hotmail. com, Rachel Ford: rachel.k.ford@altria.com The Junior League of Syracuse, Inc. • The NOTES • December 2015 | 3
OCTOBER ODI Beth Edward and Christie Novak attended the fall Organizational Development Institute (ODI) meeting in Seattle, WA, from October 15-18. ODI is a training gathering of Junior League members from all over the country. This meeting featured the “Achieving Community Impact” and “Diversified Fund Development” tracks. Beth and Christie had 2 1/2 days of sessions in their individual tracks and also attended the entire assembly of over 200 delegates. They found a natural connection between Fund Development and Community, because achieving community impact with a clear mission and focus will have a positive effect on fund development. They will be presenting a summary of what they learned at the the December GMM. Overall, they enjoyed the meeting and seeing the sights in Seattle too!
Photos above: ODI Plenary session. Beth and Christie at the Space Needle. A flower stall at the Pike Place Market. 4 | The Junior League of Syracuse, Inc. • The NOTES • December 2015
WEST SIDE FAMILY THANKSGIVING DINNER A huge thanks goes out to the 22 JLS members and their families for coming together on November 19, in collaboration with the West Side Family Resource Center, to serve Thanksgiving Dinner to 400 diners at Westside Academy at Blodgett!
SUSTAINER NEWS
431 E. Fayette St., Syracuse, NY, 13202.
Greetings of the Season!
Checks should be made payable to the Junior League of Syracuse.
Hope everyone received the recent mailing. It was GREAT to see so many Sustainers attend the Holiday Shoppes’ 20th Anniversary Party on Friday, November 13! Thank you to the party planners - the food and beverages were outstanding - and kudos to all members of the 2015 Holiday Shoppes committee for an awesome show. SUSTAINER UPCOMING EVENTS: On Thursday, January 14, 2016, the Onondaga Historical Association Museum will open its doors to the JLS for a “Step Back in Time” tour, guided by the night watchman, who will escort 20 visitors per group.
Finally, it’s time to be thinking about a deserving JLS Sustainer for the Mary Harriman Award! The Committee will be selected and submission forms will be available in January. More information to come. However you choose to celebrate during this time of year, we wish you good cheer and to be safe! If you have questions about any of these events, please contact Barb Stratton.
The first group tour is scheduled at 6 p.m. (please arrive by 5:45 p.m.) and the second group tour begins at 7:30 p.m. Learn about some of Syracuse’s most famous and infamous residents! Kindly RSVP using the flyer tear off, circle time preference, and send it in with your $12.00 contribution, to The Junior League of Syracuse offices at
Contact the Sustainer VP: Barb Stratton: bjstratton1@verizon.net
Call 315-634-1100
Making the best of the time that’s left
www.hospicecny.org
Symptom Management, Pain Management, Emotional, Social & Spiritual Health Management Now Serving Onondaga, Madison & Oswego counties
ADVERTISE WITH JLS! Contact the NOTES Editor Carrie Ryder at carrieryder77@gmail.com for more information.
THE NOTES BY MAIL
Take the stress out of the sale. Let a creative, experienced negotiator sell your house fast. JudyWinslowRealtor.com (315) 682-1950
Any member who would prefer to receive a copy of The NOTES via USPS can notify the office at office@jlsyracuse.com. Many thanks in advance!
READ THE NOTES ONLINE You can now read The NOTES online on the JLS website: www.JLSyracuse.org or on Issuu at: issuu.com/jlsyracuse The Junior League of Syracuse, Inc. • The NOTES • December 2015 | 5
431 E Fayette Street, Suite 225 Syracuse, NY 13202 O: 315-423-9773 F: 315-471-1464 office@jlsyracuse.org www.jlsyracuse.org MISSION The Junior League of Syracuse is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. VISION The Junior League of Syracuse will be an organization of diverse women committed to enriching the quality of life for women, children and their families in the Central New York Community.
Find the Junior League of Syracuse Online! Visit www.jlsyracuse.org