Junior League of San Antonio Membership- 2015-16 Year in Review

By Megan Bluntzer, Membership Writer, and Joy McGaugh, VP of Membership Development Council.

JLSA’s Membership Development Council (MDC) is responsible for coordinating the activities that train, orient, accept and enhance the development of all Members.  MDC plays an important role in improving the satisfaction and retention of all Members, which is vital to the success of the League. 

The 2015-16 MDC, led by Vice President of Membership Development Council Joy McGaugh and the MDC Executive Committee, did an outstanding job this year of developing our Members through a wide variety of activities.  Here are some highlights of MDC’s many successful endeavors this year:  

1.       Admissions

·         Held 3 Prospective Member Meetings (an exclusive sneak peek at Holiday Ole Market, traditional meeting before the December General Membership Meeting, and following the Resolve for a Better SA 5K)

·         Created and instituted a new Sponsor Training program for Active members wanting to serve as Sponsors, training 16 Sponsors.

·         Received applications from 134 Prospective Members, with 129 having accepted the invitation to join the 2016-2017 New Member Class.

2.       Training & Education

·         Kicked off the year in July with a screening of the documentary “Miss Representation,” which was attended by 93 Members.

·         124 Members attended a JLSA-exclusive “Suffragette” screening at Santikos Bijou on November 30^th.

·         37 Members learned how to make the most of their JLSA years of service at a JLSA Career Track Training, featuring 4 Sustainers – Jeanie Travis, Anne Ballantyne, Daniela de Serna, and Gayle Girdley – sharing their experiences with our New Members and Actives.

·         21 Members received CPR Certification at a special training on March 7^th.

·         Total of 177 attendees at 6 Taboo series trainings.

·         Civic Training Manager set up a special City and County Leaders’ Roundtable event, featuring Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert; Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff; City of San Antonio Councilman Mike Gallagher; City of San Antonio Councilman Ron Nirenberg; and City of San Antonio Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran.

·         Members earned 346 Mission Credits through Training & Education events this year.

3.       Leadership Academy (LeaderBOARD and GOAL)

·         The 2^nd Annual LeaderBOARD kicked off in December, with 21 participants learning from JLSA Sustainers, Actives, and industry experts about the operation and function of nonprofit boards so they can be effective and informed board members for local nonprofits. Participants from this year and last year were invited to participate in a Board Day to meet nonprofits looking to fill spots on their boards of directors.

2016 Leaderboard Class

4.       AMIGOS

·         AMIGOS has served 51 Members so far this year, including welcoming 24 new JLSA babies!

5.       New Members

·         12 Mentors have led 87 New Members successfully through their provisional year

·         New Member Project at San Antonio Food Bank – 80 New Members packed 36,000 pounds of food into 1,180 boxes, representing 28,125 meals, in just 2 ½ hours on September 19^th.

·         New Members worked 1,948 hours in the community through SA Works

·         New Members donated $19,999.50 worth of items to Goodwill, accounting for $6,666.50 worth of Goodwill gift cards distributed to our community partners

·         New Members earned 265 Community Awareness Training credits, learning about our city and the services available in the San Antonio community.

VP of Community, Brandis Davis, pumping up our
New Member class for their project at the Food Bank.

6.       Actives

·         Our 397 Actives have earned 910 Mission Credits as of April 26^th, which translates to 2,730 hours spent volunteering at our fundraisers, taking advantage of training opportunities, or supporting our community programs.

·         As of our April GMM, we have had 1826 attendees total at our General Membership Meetings.

·         14 Sustainers opened their homes to 208 Members for our November Sustainer In-Home General Membership Meetings

·         8 Community Partners hosted 188 Members at Community General Membership Meeting in March

7.       Transfers

·         We had a record 12 Sustainers and 31 Actives Transfer into JLSA, accounting for 255 SA Works hours completed, 31 Community Awareness credits, and 53 Mission Credits.

8.       Sustainers

·         Volunteer Extraordinaire: 197 attendees celebrated our 2016 Volunteer Extraordinaire Rhonda Kolm Calvert at the San Antonio Country Club on March 26^th, nearly doubling the budgeted goal for income for the event.

·         180 Sustainers RSVP’ed for our Sustainer Luncheon in October, where they were celebrated and thanked for their years of service to JLSA and the years spent serving the San Antonio community since going Sustainer. Each Sustainer was gifted a complimentary 3-day pass to Holiday Ole Market.

·         On December 3^rd, 54 Sustainers attended our Holiday River Barge Cruise on the San Antonio River, featuring a special happy hour at the Sternewirth bar at Hotel Emma.

·         16 Sustainers took an exclusive tour of the Tobin Center at our Sustainer Socials, including one mixer with our New Members.

2014 Women's Equality Day

By Kristen Henry, 2014-2014 JLSA President

Tomorrow marks Women’s Equality Day – a day set aside to celebrate the passage of the 19^th amendment to the constitution – the amendment that would immensely change women’s roles in the United States. But while gaining the vote, which took years of diligence and planning, was surely a gigantic step toward equality, there were still years of struggle. And years of work remain.

Even though women can vote (and have voted at higher rates than men in every presidential election since 1980!), we still only make up approximately twenty percent of both houses of the United States Congress.  More and more of us succeed academically, yet on average, we still make less than our male counterparts. We might be called bossy while he is called boss. 

Many of us still hesitate to park in a dark parking garage or run by ourselves near twilight while a male neighbor thinks nothing of it. Some women will face judgment of whether or not they are a legitimate victim of assault based on the clothes they were wearing when it happened or if they had been drinking. They call him a ladies' man and they call her…   

We are surrounded by double-standards, many of which are so entrenched in our culture that we do not even notice them.  Some may think this an oversimplification of a complex issue, but each of the above examples serves to illustrate that we have yet to achieve true equality – that despite an incredible amount of progress, women must continue to strive for equality in a country whose doctrine claims us all equal.

This work is why organizations such as the Junior League of San Antonio, Inc. are still so important and relevant. It is why I am so proud to serve JLSA. There are three parts to our mission, but the one that stands out as unique to us is “developing the potential of women.” We are uniquely positioned to assist women, both our members and those in the community we serve, to reach new levels of success and empowerment.

I owe my own development as a leader to JLSA, which is why my passion grows daily for the potential of what this organization can achieve. My participation in JLSA means I am surrounded by amazing women who not only learn to empower themselves, but empower those they serve as well as those they serve with.

But this work we do is not only beneficial for women. It is not only beneficial for children for that matter. It is beneficial to everyone in the community. This is because when everyone is empowered to be successful, takes care of their families, and reaches their potential, the entire community wins. Instead of being men and women, we become humanity – a group of people working together on equal footing to make our communities safe, productive, and enjoyable.

But until that day comes, Women’s Equality Day should not just be a day of celebration. This day is a reminder of how far we have come and how far we have yet to go. Our awareness of equality issues is heightened and we are inspired to face them head on. We are encouraged that anything is possible but we have to push to achieve it. So each year, on August 26^th, mark Women’s Equality Day, but work each and every day of the year to fulfill the ultimate goal of true equality.