Incoming President's Musings - Junior League of Hampton Roads

nnual Awards / May Dinner
Janie Radford Dwyer Volunteer Service Award
Lynn McMullin, the recipient of the Janie Radford Dwyer Volunteer Service Award, is an active member of the JLHR who
goes above and beyond the call of duty. She works to make a difference in the league and in the community through her
involvement in numerous volunteer activities
After recently transferring from the Junior League of Louisville, Lynn wasted no time leading us to new heights in many
areas of Finance Council. As Publications Chair, she worked diligently this year to restructure, re-organize and bring “fun”
back to the Cookbook Committee. Not only has she exceeded her goals in both sales and accounts, but her talent to think
outside of the box has played a key role in the success of her committee.
This fall, she and her chair-elect worked diligently to bring cuisine from around the country to our membership through
the new cookbook “swap” program. With the new and exciting books selected, members were once again excited about
purchasing their cookbooks! She also developed the creative “iron-leaguer” competitions, to promote recipes and assist
in the membership’s morale.
Always reaching for new audiences, Lynn was never afraid to try new tasting and wholesale venues. And when shifts
were empty, you could always count on her to fill in the blanks with no complaints. Her perseverance and commitment
to make her committee and the league bigger and better has earned her the right to receive this special award. We look
forward to having her as the Finance VP next year!
Liz Jones Community Commitment Award
Jenn Wong, the recipient of the Liz Jones Community Commitment Award is an active member of the JLHR who is truly
dedicated to volunteerism in the community. She is an active participant in facing issues with families and their well being.
Since 1992, Jenn has been involved in community-based health education and health outreach, both as a volunteer and
professionally. Since moving to the Hampton Roads area in 2002, Jenn has volunteered as an educator in Early Detection
and Prevention programs with the local ACS office and the Health Department on the Peninsula
Cancer Prevention Coalition. She has also served as a Board member for the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Peninsula. Jenn
served as the President of the Family Focus Grafton Parent Advisory Council from June 2005 to June 2008; she has also
been involved in their Sustainability Campaign and co-chaired their inaugural Party Under the Parachutes gala this past Fall.
Her volunteering also continues to her children’s activities where she has served as the Volunteer Chair for the Coventry
Elementary PTA and President for the Peninsula Chinese School’s Traditional School PTA. She has volunteered at her
children’s preschool and with the Sunday School at St. Mark Lutheran Church.
Her enthusiasm and dedication for community service have earned her the right to receive this special award. We look
forward to having her as the Community VP next year!
New Member of the Year
Suzi Israel, the recipient of the New Member of the Year, has displayed team spirit, unparalleled leadership, and contributed
significantly to the overall success of the New Member project. Suzi was unanimously chosen to receive the award by
everyone in this year’s New Member class!
Fellow members who nominated her stated she was their “leader, organizer, motivator, and inspiration and she even
served as the unofficial class president”. Suzi has been the fearless leader of our class project from the very beginning to
the very end. She has a passion to raise awareness about reproductive cancer and had great ideas of how we could do
that on a very broad scale. She is always enthusiastic and has a great vision of what we should do to achieve success.
Her welcoming personality and respect for others enabled the New Member class to truly unite as one.
We are grateful Suzi is part of our organization and we know that in years to come the JLHR will greatly benefit from her
leadership, attitude and excitement to make a difference!
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