Jill Rogers Barham - Junior League of Little Rock

Learning it in the League:
The 2009-2010 Provisional Class By Amanda Gibson
T
The transition from summer to
autumn has now past, and with it
come the familiar changes: settling
into a school routine, football season, and
planning for the holidays. The 2009-2010
Junior League of Little Rock Provisional
Class has been hard at work learning about
the League and our community.
The Provisionals kicked off the year with
the traditional retreat on August 15 th . They
learned about the structure of the League,
heard from past League president Kim
Evans, went on a scavenger hunt around
Little Rock to learn about past League
projects and important historical sites, and
also met with the chairwomen of some of
the events they’ll be working on this year.
This year’s Provisional theme is the ABCs
and 123s of Membership, and this is the
second year the Provisional Class has been
split into two groups- a fall group and a
spring group. The fall group is called the
ABCs while the spring group is called the
123s. The ABCs are having their course
sessions in the fall while the 123s will
28 Interaction l Holiday 2009
have their course sessions in the spring.
Conversely, the 123s are working on their
class project this fall while the ABCs will
work on their class project in the spring.
The Provisional Class projects are taking
place at Geyer Springs Elementary School
this League year. Geyer Springs is the
newest school to benefit from Stuff the
Bus, the League project that provides
school supplies to LRSD students in need.
In addition to their course sessions and
class projects, the Provisionals will be
completing three two-hour Community
Ties shifts at different agencies or within
League community projects, and they will
be helping out with other League events,
such as Bargain Boutique, 6 th K Café,
Holiday House Children’s Event, and
Touch a Truck. This year’s Provisional
Class is also more engaged in their course
sessions by planning icebreakers, greeting
members, and helping plan the snacks.
Some of the Provisionals have already
jump started their League career by
completing their Community Ties shifts.
This year, the League is lucky to have 89
talented Provisional Members from diverse
backgrounds and career areas to help carry
on the tradition of serving our community.
Members of this year’s
Provisional Class enjoy
careers in many different
areas, including nonprofits,
legal, health care, government,
sales, education,
and homemaker.
Their personal interests and hobbies are
just as diverse and range from make up
artist to sailing. The top two interests/
hobbies came in at exercise of some form
(52%) and reading (36%). These were
followed by travel, cooking, and outdoor
activities, respectively.
These women are dedicated to community
service while juggling demanding careers,
family, and hobbies in their spare time.
85% of this year’s Provisional Class are
professionally employed, 52% are married,
and 35% have children. Just over onefifth
of the Provisional Class has a family
member that is, or has been, in the League.
Additionally,
the Provisionals’ top two
motivations for joining the
Junior League of Little Rock
are, respectively, for service to
the community, and obtaining
leadership and organizational
skill development and
experience.
Admissions, Provisionals and Training
(APT) Chair, Beth McAlpine, is excited