November 2008 - Junior League of Minneapolis

President’s Note
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Emily Backstrom
President-Elect
Anna Lyon
CFO/VP Finance
Maggie Kirchoff
Recording Secretary
Sarah McLeod
VP Administration
Julie Dosek
VP Community
Sarah Borchers
VP Fundraisers
Jessica Zeaske
VP Marketing
Tara Sullivan
VP Membership/Training
Stephanie Bartling
VP Projects
Heather Tansey
Legal Advisor
Adriana Luedke
Sustainer Representative
Carolyn Dahl
MISSION
The Junior League of Minneapolis
is an organization of women committed
to promoting voluntarism,
developing the potential of women,
and improving the community
through the effective action and
leadership of trained volunteers. Its
purpose is exclusively educational
and charitable.
REACH OUT STATEMENT
The Junior League of Minneapolis
reaches out to women of all races,
religions, and national origins who
demonstrate an interest in and
committment to voluntarism.
2
One thing that I have come to appreciate this year as
President of the Junior League of Minneapolis is the
ability of our organization to move so many initiatives
forward simultaneously. Just think about how much the JLM
does in aggregate over the course of a year – organize projects,
run fundraisers, welcome new members, communicate our
work, govern the organization. It is pretty amazing!
Clearly, member initiative coupled with strong leadership
makes all of this work possible. But underlying our work is
the structure of our League, which organizes our
membership in an effective way to allow us to fulfill our
mission. The League’s structure is outlined in a set of governing documents (Articles
of Incorporation, Bylaws, Standing Rules and Procedures).
I bring up this topic, because in the months ahead, we as a membership will be
revising these governing documents. An ad hoc committee under Kirsten Muller’s
leadership has been hard at work cleaning up, updating and simplifying our
governing documents. Some of the ad hoc committee’s recommendations will come
forward to membership for vote in November. And then in March, we will
wholesale vote to adopt a revised set of governing documents. I encourage all of
our members to actively participate in this process. This is one step our membership
will take this anniversary year to prepare the JLM for success in the years ahead.
As we are setting up future success, we are also working on the here and now.
Committees like Helping Hands and SEGG are providing a variety of opportunities
for members to participate. (Keep watching the JLM web calendar!) Other
committees work year-round behind the scenes to keep the League on track (thank
you to Communications, P&A and Membership!). But for some committees,
November is a “gear up” month with big events on the horizon. Eve of the Eve,
Books 4 Kids and American Girl will all be here before we realize it. Let’s all provide
the support we can to these committees as they enter their busy season!
I will close with a quote by Margaret Mead that is often cited, but yet so resonant.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Warm regards,
Emily Backstrom
2008-2009 President
BOARD NOTES by Sarah McLeod, Recording Secretary
JLM Headquarters remodeling at The Woman’s Club is complete.
The “85 Leaguers” recognition is underway to celebrate our 85th Anniversary. See the
JLM website and the MINI for recipients.
The annual independent audit of JLM financials is complete and showed improvement
over last year.
Initial implementation of recommendations from the Technology Ad Hoc Committee
has begun. Training begins in late October.
The Governing Documents Ad Hoc Committee will present recommendations for substantive
changes to JLM ByLaws and Standing Rules at the November General Meeting.
The BOD recently assessed the status of the current strategic plan and determined that
progress is being made toward all key initiatives.