JUNIOR LEAGUE – Volunteers for Generations
Grandmothers, mothers, daughters… dedicated to making a difference in the community
Multi-generations of women have volunteered with the Junior League of Bay County throughout its 50+-year history. Seated from left: Lisa McLendon, her daughter, Betsy McLendon and Linda Harrison with her daughters (standing from left) Rachel Harrison and Lacey Obos look over some of the organization’s memorabilia.
No one would disagree that women’s lives have changed immensely since 1952 when the first Junior League of Panama City began with twenty charter members who simply wanted to make a difference in their community. Not only has the organization managed to change along with the times, but it has become even more relevant and viable to its members today as it has for the thousands of people whose lives have been touched by the League’s dedication to community service.
Through all those changes, two things remain as true as ever, the members’ dedication to volunteerism and the organization’s mission to improve the community through the effective action and leadership of its trained volunteers. Formerly known as the Junior Service League, JLPC has gained a reputation for giving through its numerous educational and charitable programs.
Stacie Galbreath, the current president of the Junior League of Panama City knows by heart the goals that were declared by the twenty founders on Oct. 12, 1951 “To foster interests in the social, economic, educational, cultural and civic conditions of the community; to promote the interest of its members in volunteer service, and to work in harmony with the policies of the Association of Junior Leagues.” She adds “We were formally and legally chartered in April of 1952.”
“As always, the organization reaches out to women of all races, religions and national origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to volunteerism. At one time, women aged forty or under had to be invited to join. Now potential members submit an application and, if accepted, undergo a six-month training period (at one time a year-long process). During that probationary period, members are trained in effective community leadership, including advocacy, community research, fund-raising, finance, leadership, public relations and personal development,” Stacie said.
Members are categorized as new, active, sustained or active-sustained. After submitting an application, new members must commit to a six-month training period and join other new members in creating their own project. Active members are those women who are actively involved and commit their time to project and meeting attendance. Sustained members are those who were once active but are now retired (yet never forgotten). Active-sustained members were at one time sustained but at some point decided to rededicate some of their time to the JLPC in one way or another.
A sampling of members past and present
A recent count of members boasts 365 active and sustaining members. There are a handful of members who are the third or second generation of women to call themselves Junior Leaguers.
Carla Roche, 75, a sustaining member, joined Junior League in 1971. At the time she was the mother of three daughters and a housewife. Meetings were held in the mornings at St. Andrews Yacht Club, she said.
“At that time you had to be invited to join and only women under forty could be active,” Roche said. “I had lived in this community most of my life and I knew what they did and thought it would be a valuable way to spend the time I had to volunteer.”
Her first major project involved being the chairwoman of the annual Charity Ball, the JLPC’s main fundraiser at the time. Roche committed herself to being chairwoman despite having a baby at home.
“Needless to say, a lot of our Charity Ball work was done with the baby in the playpen,” Roche said with a grin.
During her seven years as an active member, she had a hand in several community projects such as the Happy Hanger, now the Child Service Center, which gives clothing to low-income children attending Bay County schools and the Whale of a Sale, a giant community yard sale that took months of organizing and sorting before the actual sale; which is one of her favorites.
One of the League’s bigger projects was the creation of Bay Leaves, the organization’s first of several popular and financially successful cookbooks. Bay Leaves continues to be the longest bestseller and has sold over 100,000 copies.
“It was the first time we’d ever done anything like that (the cookbook),” Roche said. “We tested and tasted and tested again and again until we thought the recipes were perfect before they were added to the book.”
In 1992 the oldest of Roche’s three daughters, Michelle Schaffer, became an active member and served until 1994. She worked at the Child Service Center because she feels “It really makes a difference to the lives of young people in need.” She was married with two small children born 15 months apart but volunteered whenever she could. “Mom was quick to help out with the children if I had a League engagement,” Schaffer said. “I joined because I felt that God blessed me greatly and being part of the League was an opportunity to give back to a community that had nurtured me throughout my life. Both my mother and my aunt enjoyed being members.”
Schaffer also had many friends who were members and was pleased to be working with like-minded ladies. She said she only maintained active status for two years because it became too difficult to keep up with two small children, a home and a heavy workload.
A little over a year ago Schaffer’s daughter and Roche’s granddaughter, Carla Santiny, 25, became an active member which made it a three- generation JLPC family.
“I joined because I saw what an important part of her life it was for my grandmother,” Santiny said. “My mother was a member for a while, too. What’s really neat is to see how so many women from different backgrounds can come together with a common goal and, in the process, make friends with people who you might never have crossed paths with otherwise.”
Santiny, into her third year as a kindergarten teacher for Bay District Schools, chose the Children’s Development Service Center as her main project. Being a teacher, Santiny wanted to be part of providing some of the county’s less fortunate children with new clothing they so often need. She helps by packing bags with clothing each week. Names of the children and the sizes needed are provided by school counselors and social workers. “It only takes a week from the time we get the children’s names until the kids have new clothes,” she said. “There are so many children in need of that sort of thing. It’s nice to see both sides and be a part of it.”
Santiny also volunteers in the “Girls on the Run” program. “Every Tuesday afternoon we see girls from different schools to teach them what it takes to become emotionally and physically healthy and to boost their self-esteem,” she said. “Every week we have a short lesson and at the end we run. By the end of the program the girls are physically prepared to run a 5K.”
Lifelong friendships begin with JLPC
One of the recurring themes expressed by the women is their experiences not only in helping the community but the lifelong friends they have made in the process.
Linda Harrison, 64, a sustaining member, served as president in 1987-88. She chaired the first Holly Fair and now her two daughters, Lacey Obos, 37 and Rachel Harrison, 30, are active members.
“It was difficult finding sponsors when we first started the Holly Fair because no one knew what it was because there had never been anything like it in Panama City before,” Linda Harrison said. “Every time we reached out for donations of any kind (free advertising, donations, in-kind sponsorships, public relations) we had to explain our vision. Now, it is the main fundraiser for the year and everyone knows about it.”
Linda’s oldest daughter, Lacey Obos, said one of the biggest reasons for joining JLPC comes from memories of watching her aunt, June Harrison, and her mother, Linda being actively involved and the contributions they made to the community. “I remember my aunt talking about having to sign a loan for the League and what an immense sense of responsibility and self-satisfaction it gave her knowing she couldn’t even get a loan for herself without her husband’s signature,” Lacey said. “That’s how much women’s roles have changed.”
Obos joined the Junior League in 2002, participated in the Holly Fair for five years and served as president from 2011-2013. She has held several positions including a stint on the cookbook committee and mentoring new members. “When I first got elected president my mom gave me a treasured gift, the same attaché case my father gave her when she was sworn in as president,” she said.
During her eleven years of being an active member, Obos has gone from being married with no children and working full-time to having children and working part-time and then not working outside the home except for her membership in JLPC. “One day when I was president I saw my little girl, who was three at the time, standing at the podium banging the gavel,” she said. “Who knows? One day she might be there for real.”
Obo’s younger sister, Rachel Harrison, joined JLPC in 2011. So far Rachel has been working with the elderly and helping with the planning of the organization’s two annual 5K races. “So many of the older folks in nursing homes have no family or they don’t get any visitors,” she said. “They really enjoy when we come visit and they love playing BINGO.”
Mothers and daughters
When the older women talk about their daughters as who have taken their place as Junior Leaguers there is a certain sense of pride in their voices.
“It’s been a real pleasure seeing my girls grow up to be actively involved in Junior League,” Linda Harrison said.
Lisa McLendon, 52, changed her status in the League from sustained to active-sustained after her daughter, Betsy McLendon, 27, joined the organization in 2011. Lisa joined in 1988 in Fort Walton Beach and then transferred her membership to Panama City in 1989, when her husband was transferred here.
“When I first joined I wanted to meet new people away from work and day care,” Lisa McLendon, who had a baby at the time, states. “It’s a great place to be something other than a wife or a mother.” During that time, she served as the public relations point for the Holly Fair, marketing and garnering sponsorships and donors.
When her daughter, Betsy, joined in 2011 Lisa found a renewed interest in being active again. “Even though my free time is rare, I still enjoy taking on leadership roles in the League and am thankful for the placements that allow flexibility in scheduling. I wanted to do something special with my daughter,”
Betsy McLendon works full time as a federal trade administrator and is attending graduate school so she has a limited amount of free time. She chairs the Bay Publications or cookbook committee because the hours involved are the most flexible time-wise and work better on her tight schedule. “Even though my free time is rare, I still enjoy taking on leadership roles in the League and am thankful for the placements that allow flexibility in scheduling,” Betsy McLendon said.
The common thread that seems to link members of JLPC is their appreciation for working with women who come from all walks of life with different backgrounds and experiences.
“The beauty of the League is the variety of jobs and activities you can become involved in and the lifelong friendships you make,” said Linda Harrison. “I really have enjoyed being involved and now see my daughters doing the same things. I cherish the friends I’ve made that I could not have made anywhere else or through any other path.”
The Legacy through dedication and common goals
“Through the years the Junior League of Panama City has earned the community’s respect and is considered to be a well-run organization with a can-do reputation for getting things done with excellence and meeting the great needs within our community,” says Stacie Galbreath. “The 61 year history of volunteer service is significant and accomplished,” she says. “It is our tradition to create initiatives and programs that are sustainable and will continue to positively impact the community for years to come. Our members are the keepers of this legacy, the carriers of its torch. With good reason, we take pride in our history, our mission and our accomplishments. And we renew our commitment to being relevant for another 61 years.”