Leadership Training: JLPA•MP Committee Transition Checklist

by Miriam Huntley, Nominating Chair 2010-11

We are heading into May, and you know what that means, Transition Time! This is the time of year our Leaders pass the baton as we begin our next League year June 1st. You may have already scheduled your transition meeting or you may be planning to talk about transition at the Nominating Sponsored Cinco de Mayo meeting in May. Nominating created a Transition Checklist to assist in your Transition. If you have any questions about Transitioning or this checklist, contact your Nominating Advisor.

JLPA•MP Committee Transition Checklist

1. What are the important dates in the upcoming League year, for this committee?

2. Does this committee have a budget? If so, how much?
What are the key expenditures for this committee (if any)?
What is the copier code?

3. Who are the community or fundraising partners that the incoming committee chair(s) should know? Please share the appropriate contact information.
For fundraising committees; what are the most appropriate fundraising guidelines?

4. Which league relationships (either person or position) were key?

5. What are the League communication processes most frequently used by this committee?

6. What did you try that was new and/or different from previous years?
What would you:
Stop?
Start?
Continue (including useful tips/tricks for committee success)?

7. What do committee members find the most satisfying about this placement?
What is the most challenging, for committee members?

8. Are there any recurring challenges for the Chair(s) for this committee? How did you address them?
What is most satisfying about leading this committee?

9. Please provide the following support materials:
Job descriptions
Calendar map or timeline
Meeting agendas and/or meeting notes
Copies of Piper articles, meeting flyers or other communications about your committee
Editorial Calendar used for Social Media marketing
Any other support materials (contracts, agreements, relevant notifications, etc.)

Pregnant? 10 Reasons to Stay In the League

By Joy Peacock, incoming Membership VP 2011-12

Having a baby can seem overwhelming, especially if it is your first. Many members feel that they need to resign or become an inactive member due to the new pressures and time constraints of having a baby. For me, staying in the League during and after having my children turned out to be one of the best decisions I made!

Starting a family was a HUGE transition for me. I hadn't been married for very long, I left my career as an attorney, and I moved from San Francisco to the Peninsula. The League helped me through this transitions in so many ways. Here is my top ten list of why you should STAY in the League if you are having a baby:

1. You Get to Talk to Adults!
And not just any adults, like-minded, smart women that are worth listening to.

2. You Can Wear Something Other Than Your Yoga Pants.
Attending a League event gives you a reason to wear those cute new shoes, or cute old shoes!

3. You Can Bring Your Baby, and Dress Him or Her Up!
A baby is always the best accessory, and a League meeting is a great opportunity to put on that cute outfit from Grandma.

4. The League is the Ultimate Mom's Group.
Forget about PAMP Mother's Club. Our membership knows it all, from which stroller to buy (and where to get the best discount) to the best lactation consultant. Our members have been there, done that, researched it, made a spreadsheet and maybe even written a book on it.

5. Honey, It's Parenting, not Babysitting
A League meeting is a great bonding opportunity for your little one and your husband or partner.

6. Emphasize the "Me" in Meeting
A night out for a League meeting is a great way to spend and plan "me" time. A League meeting is "me" time. Time to connect to the community, see and meet friends and learn things. The Gatehouse is just minutes from Trader Joe's, Keplers and Stanford Mall. So plan a little time before or after a committee meeting.

7. Keep Your Skills Updated and Contacts Growing
I didn't work for eight years while I was raising my children. Going back to work was daunting. However, I quickly found a job in large part due to the skills that I developed as a League Leader and the contacts I made.

8. Set an Example
Membership in the Junior League and volunteering in the community is a great way to set an example for your children.

9. Learn Parenting Skills While You Volunteer
Many of our community projects focus on delivering quality education and skills to children. Did you know that Fostering Families has a curriculum that teaches coping skills that are applicable to all children? Our new project, Project Read, will train you to teach your child to read. Kids in the Kitchen teaches you the importance of healthy eating and ways to prepare healthy food for your family. This type of training is highly valuable and would cost hundreds of dollars if you enrolled in similar types of training programs.

10. Learn to Be A Community Leader
As your babies grow and enter school, there will be many opportunities to be a school volunteer. The League prepares you to take on these roles so that you can make an impact. Many of our current members and sustainers are PTA presidents, sit on educational boards, and are school board members or trustees. Ask any of them and they will tell you the League prepared them for these leadership roles, as well as leadership roles in other community non-profit organizations.

To further discuss your placement options in the League, contact your Member Resources advisor.

Name That Council: The Answers!

Submitted by Andrea Brandt, Council Assistant MarCom 2010-11

Name that Council Answers!

How did you do?

Did you guess "The Communications/MarCom Council"? If so, you were right!

Back L-R: Kris Spencer-Jones, Leslie Liu, Lisa Malloy (Website Chair), Lauran Bloom (MarCom Chair)
Front L-R: Michelle Hostrup, Andrea Brandt (Council Assistant), Cynthia Munoz

Thanks for participating Ladies!

If you would like to submit your Council/Committee photo for Name That Council, email both photos to socialmedia@thejuniorleague.org.

SPAC Sponsored Legislation

Submitted by Cat Carlton, Senior SPAC 2010-11

This is an article in the Monterey County Weekly about the State Public Affairs Committee (SPAC) of the Junior Leagues of California sponsored legislation for breakfasts in public schools, and a good illustration of how an idea comes through our "There Ought to be a Law" contest to SPAC, and eventually becomes law.

Below is the text of the article, to access the original article, click here.

BUILDING UP BREAKFAST
California takes on school breakfast after Monterey County girls say nutrition matters.


Research conducted by Monterey County girls is paving the way for statewide legislation that could improve access to school breakfast for tens of thousands of students. Now a long way from the Greenfield High School classrooms where students interviewed their peers about health concerns in 2009, a federal school breakfast program participation bill, AB 839, passed out of the California Assembly Education Committee on April 13.

When the Women's Fund of Monterey County wanted to identify health concerns among young women, it enlisted 57 high school students to gather data. "One of the central tenets of the project was to have girls in the lead," says Tobi Marcus, then-director of the Women's Fund.

The findings - that 51 percent of the 1,200 respondents wanted more information about healthy eating, and girls identified weight or healthy eating as their biggest health concerns above sex, illness or substance abuse - prompted Marcus to take the data to the Junior League of California, where she volunteers as a legislative liaison.

Eyeing nearly $5.7 million of federal assistance that went unclaimed by Monterey County schools last year because of low participation in school breakfast programs, the Junior League partnered with Oakland-based California Food Policy Advocates to sponsor the breakfast bill.

The bill would require schools to report on participation levels and evaluate how well different service models work. Some schools find that "second chance" breakfasts offered mid-morning improve participation for those students who don't come in early. Considering 70 percent of low-income students do not eat school breakfast, the bill would set the stage for strategies to improve access.

Even if students eat 10 meals a week at school, they still consume most of their meals outside the cafeteria. Still, "School meals are essential tools for helping kids stay healthy," says Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. "Schools set an example. If schools serve junk food, kids quickly learn that eating this way is normal."

Shifting norms towards healthier eating also is a public health priority for the 120 students at San Ardo Elementary School, where a weigh-in last year found 44 percent of children were obese, and a quarter of girls were "severely obese," meaning they fall into the 99th percentile for body mass index.

Now, as part of a healthy eating effort in partnership with the County Health Department, the school is transitioning from a menu that previously offered no fruits or vegetables. The cafeteria introduced a salad bar in early April, a financial struggle considering the $2.72 per meal, per student federal reimbursement.

School board member and parent Irma Guerrero says one of her daughters is already losing weight and is more attentive to healthy snacking at home. "There is a need for more education, not just for the children, but for the parents," she says. "It's going to take not just the kids, but everyone in the community to be involved in the process."

One girl behind the Women's Fund study wants to stay involved. Jeanette Corona of Greenfield, now a freshman at UC Berkeley, plans to study public health. "It's very rewarding," she says, "because any work that comes from that little small town never gets noticed."

To learn more about SPAC, click here.

Name That Committee!

photo submitted by Andrea Brandt, xxxx Committee 2010-11

It's time for another round of Name That Committee! Can you name the Committee and it's Members below? Stay tuned for the answers on Monday!

Member Spotlight!

Welcome to Member Spotlight! This week get to know Ansley Jentz, Joy Peacock, Tara Roussel, and Meaux Costello. Enjoy!

Ansley Jentz
Current Placement (2010-11): Member Development Council Assistant & Member of Strategic Task Force
2011-12 Placement: Member Resources

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
My experiences on Nominating Committee are my most memorable & treasured. The people/friends have meant the most and I'm proud of all the great work that we accomplished. Highly recommend it-teaches so much about the League.

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I just created a new company so I can turn my hobby/passion into a career!
2. I find it hard to shop for myself these days - buying for kids is so much easier.
3. I can't wait to go on Spring Break!
4. My favorite color is yellow - it's a soft yellow
5. Life is good-I'm thankful for each day!

Joy Peacock
Current Placement (2010-11): Community VP
2011-12 Placement: Membership VP

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
Fostering Families - awesome team and great impact!

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I hate lamb
2. I like Sesame Street
3. I like Justin Timberlake
4. I used to go by "Beth", my middle name
5. I have two left-handed kids

Tara Roussel
Current Placement (2010-11): Nominating Chair-Elect
2011-12 Placement: Nominating Chair

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
Serving on our Board of Directors. President Jan Woolsey inspired me with her unique, warm brand of leadership. It was a joy to work with her and all the Board Members, to further our important work in this community!

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I love to sing!
2. I hate cooking
3. Fellow Member Ashely Roussel is my sister-in-law (OK, maybe you already know that!)
4. I'm still in my mid-20's
5. I think Summer Brill is HOT!
6. I think I'm hilarious

Meaux Costello
Current Placement (2010-11): President Elect/Provisional Committee
2011-12 Placement: League President

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I love to needlepoint. I find it very zen, but sadly I don't get to it as much as I would like.
2. Chef Boy-ar-dee Ravioli is one of my comfort foods (Don't Judge :))
3. I have five sisters and one brother and I am the shortest of my siblings
4. I'm very proud of my stepdaughter Deirdre, who got married over the summer. She lives in Boston.
5. My favorite color is Blue

Member Spotlight!

Welcome to our weekly Member Spotlight. This week, get to know Helen Ungerman, Anne Vitullo, Brooke Lopez, Miriam Huntley and Jovita Honor.

Helen Ungerman
Current Placement (2010-11): Home Tour Co-Chair Elect
2011-12 Placement: Home Tour Co-Chair

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
Nominating - I enjoyed meeting so often. It really allowed me to get to know each of my fellow Committee Members and establish a team.

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I am musical - sing & play piano
2. Give me a cup of coffee and I'm high all day!
3. I worked with J.Lo in the music biz!
4. I love to hike
5. I'm a sucker for a dirty martini, extra olives please!!

Brooke Lopez
Current Placement (2010-11): First Teachers Co-Chair

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
1st year on Children's Place. Being a child of an addict, I learned things I didn't even know I needed to learn at our training. It was emotionally hard, but it made me stronger.

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I'm terrified of snakes
2. I believe toilet paper rolls out top
3. Brooke is my middle name
4. I once touched a killer whale
5. I can't sleep with the closet door open

Miriam Huntley
Current Placement (2010-11): Nominating Chair
2011-12 Placement: Member Resources

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
My favorite placement has been any placement with Ansley Jentz. Without the Junior League, we would not have met and we became good friends!

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I'm intensely loyal
2. In wintertime, I get pedicures in CRAZY colors, much to the delight of my three year old girl!
3. I've known my husband more than half my life
4. I've never been to Tahoe
5. My 7 year old boy thinks I have eyes in the back of my head.

Anne Vitullo
Current Placement (2010-11): 2010-11 Board of Directors

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
I loved serving as chair of the Shop Committee where we helped to set a new record of funds raised for the League.

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I grew up in Niagara Falls, New York
2. In high school, I was the statistician for the varsity football team
3. In college, I was a sweetheart of Sigma Chi
4. My husband grew up in Hawaii - and I'm now Hawaiian by adoption
5. I make really good spaghetti sauce!

Jovita Honor
Current Placement (2010-11): Provisional/Endowment
2011-12 Placement: Finance VP

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
Provisional - had the opportunity to meet many Members and work closely with the Committee. It also stretched my skills.

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I'm not artistic, I can't even draw a stick figure
2. I'm shy with new people
3. I have a motorcycle license and used to own a motorcycle
4. I learned to swim in my late 20's so I could go snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef
5. I was named after my grandmother.

Member Spotlight

Welcome to Member Spotlight! This week get to know Heidi Bullock, Regine Nelson, Jaquetta Lannan and Tina McMinn.

Heidi Bullock
Current Placement (2010-11): Enrichment Co-Chair

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
Enrichment! It was fun handling all the General Membership Meetings and getting to know more people and better understand how the League works. I also made special friends!!

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I am a molecular biologist by training
2. I like working in Excel - Really!!
3. I own Orchids and they are alive
4. I love the oatmeal cartoon
5. I would tackle someone for a pair of shoes (Prada, Miu Miu = 38)

Regine J. Nelson
Current Placement (2010-11): Member Outreach/Enrichment
2011-12 Placement: Member Outreach/Enrichment

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
Enrichment. Coming up with creative centerpieces and my committee members.

Five things you don't know about me:
1. My first language is French
2. I once studied screenwriting
3. I graduated from Barbizon modeling school at age 11
4. I love whales and dolphins
5. I'm the eldest of 4 girls

Jaquetta Lannan
Current Placement (2010-11): Enrichment

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
Enrichment because of the great people I met!

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I have a small but growing collection of Junior League cookbooks from around the country
2. At 22 I travelled Europe by myself for 3 months
3. My favorite accessory: my mini-poodle, Lola
4. I currently work as a litigator but I am looking for other opportunities
5. Saturday mornings you'll find me pulling weeds in my veggie garden

Tina McMinn
Current Placement (2010-11): Fostering Families

Please share your most memorable placement and why:
Fostering Families - The children are so open to learning and experiencing new things. The parents are so appreciative!

Five things you don't know about me:
1. I have a fabulous dog!
2. I walk 5 miles a day
3. I read a book a week
4. I attend Menlo Park Presbyterian
5. I am one of 5 siblings and the only one to leave the mid-south

Thank you for sharing! Stay tuned for the next Member Spotlight!