DIRECTOR OF JUNIOR CLUBS - SPRING CONFERENCE ADDRESS - 2007 Superheroes are the ultimate community volunteers.They risk their personal health and even their lives, spend a significant amount of time away from home, and have to endure bad fashion for the sake of looking the part. It is interesting to note that those superheroes do not ever wear a watch when they are performing their volunteer duties.Where would they wear it?Superman would get it caught in his cape, Batman would have nowhere to put it with those crazy gauntlets on each arm, and Spiderman would get that webby-stuff all over it.Why would they need one anyway?Superheroes don’t have to be at the soccer field by 8:00 to get the kids, pick up their superhero get-up at the dry cleaners before it closes, or be back at work for a big meeting. That is not all superheroes can do that we cannot.Superman, for example, can leave this job at the Daily Planet in the middle of the day to go off and save the world.The major of Metropolis calls and there goes Clark Kent off to the nearest phone booth, if you can even find one anymore.I would get fired for sure if I tried that. It also helps if you happen to be independently wealthy, employ a faithful butler, and own a really cool car.Then you can stay out all night with your best friend saving humanity and sleep it off in the mansion the next day. Superheroes also have no other issues in their lives to distract them from their missions.There are no young children requiring a babysitter while out battling evil, or teenagers to drive them crazy.No family, in-law, or spousal situations that would send Dr. Phil into the other room screaming.If they are in a relationship, it is usually of the on again, off again variety.Household chores, not an issue either.The Bat Cave always looks neat and tidy and phone booths really do not require a whole lot of cleaning. Yet, in spite of the fact that Juniors lead hectic mortal lives, it is undeniable that “we’ve got the power” to change lives for the better.Jersey Juniors continue to be heroes in more ways than Wonder Woman ever could.Whether it is providing clothing for a shelter, food for the hungry, backpacks for children who cannot return home, or seemingly everyday items donated to natural disaster victims miles away, the amazing women of the Junior Membership manage to look at their watches and find that elusive twenty-fifth hour. Time is the most precious commodity to most Juniors, yet many of the heroic acts performed by Juniors involve just that, time.Time spent with teenagers, making sure that prom or graduation ends with fond memories, not tragedy.Time teaching kindergarteners how to be safe, or time spent with a lonely senior just visiting and bringing some baked goods for which Juniors are so famous. Just the simple donation of time can mean so much to those who receive it. This year especially, Junior have used their superhuman powers and opened their hearts to help sick, disabled, and chronically children throughout the state. Cherished Creations, and then Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation were the beneficiaries of these awe-inspiring efforts.Jersey Juniors pushed pumpkins, jewelry, candy, fine art, crafts, blinking pins, decorated scarecrows and later, holiday wish trees; promoted gambling and alcohol consumption with the eating of cheese, and shamelessly used Santa Claus to raise money for these two deserving organizations.Anyone who attended the North/Central Fall Conference at CSHF in Mountainside and had the pleasure of seeing the beautiful smile of Joshua Gendel knows how truly brave the children served by these organizations are, and how much the support of the Junior membership means to these children and their families. Jersey Juniors have also shown that they have the power to promote healthy hearts.Yoga, spinning, walking running, or pushing strollers while walking or running and given Juniors the chance to promote heart health. Tricky trays, along with the sales of key chains, purses, and red dress pins have provided support for the cause as well as an excellent assortment of fashion accessories.Red has become the new power color for any fashion conscious woman in New Jersey and “knowing your numbers” has become the new catch phrase. It is not surprising that in a frenzied day of saving the planet, the one person whose needs we often forget about is ourselves.We spend an entire day of giving and running, often without a moment to rest.I am as guilty as the next Junior with this sin.Wonder Woman always looks well put together, in shape, and not a hair out of place.By the end of the day, even after the use of toxic levels of hair product, I look like I have been hit by a speeding bus, while standing in a wind tunnel. With time being so precious, we often take a trip to the land of guilt about this, but it is OK to take some time to save ourselves.A girl’s night out with fellow clubwomen, an hour spent with a good book, at the nail salon, at the gym, or an exciting weekend with friends at the 80th Annual Junior Membership Convention at the Hilton Parsippany on May 18-20 does not make us bad people.It can actually be quite therapeutic.We cannot be expected to have the power to save others if we are not able to even occasionally put ourselves first.
So, enjoy the rest of the evening with friends.Have that extra brownie and stay out way past your bedtime, like after 9:00.Tomorrow you can get back out there and do what Jersey Juniors do best, save the world, our at least our 8,772 square miles of it.You are all truly my heroes.
Director of Junior Clubs Installation Address – 2006
Superman was faster than speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Spiderman was able to scale even taller buildings with ease. Wonderwoman was the most impressive of all. She was able to wear those tall boots without making her thighs look fat.
Yes, these are impressive feats, but they do not compare to the super powers that we, as Juniors, display everyday. Juniors can help their children with their homework, make dinner, do the laundry and answer club e-mail at the same time. Even the slowest moving Junior can put flyers for the next club event in every store window in town, pick up cookies that we will tell the girls in the club we made ourselves, and still be at the soccer fields before practice is over, without the use of a Batmobile. Any Junior can usually guess if there is indeed, chocolate, in that secret pal gift bag without the use of x-ray vision.
Juniors use their superhero powers every day to make a difference in their communities and in the world. Holiday gifts for a family in need, a pillow for a woman healing from breast cancer surgery, support for the family of a child with a chronic or terminal illness, planting flowers in the community, or putting together Smile Bags for Operation Smile are just some of the heroic acts Junior perform. The visit to a nursing home may seem like a small effort to the clubwomen who go, but means the world to the adopted senior who looks forward to some special attention. Begging, one of the most common powers that all Junior display, can provide a gift card to a family who cannot afford new clothes for school, a food bank food much needed supplies, or a prom dress that will help make a night that seemed impossible possible.
During the next two years, the Junior Membership will continue to use their powers to improve the lives of others. Leadership training designed to empower the women of this organization to be effective leaders will be a priority of this administration. Leadership materials for Junior Membership Executive Board members have already been completely retooled and updated, and materials for club presidents will be similarly overhauled in time for the fall conferences. These materials will include understanding of GFWC structure and protocol. Since organization skills are critical to successful leadership, training on developing and maintaining an organized leadership system will be an additional focus. In order to make leadership training available to all Club Women, materials will also be made available on the Junior Membership website – www.jerseyjuniors.com.
Just as Superman had Lois Lane (a woman), all superheroes need others around them in order to carry out their amazing feats. Membership promotion, the life-blood of any organization, will continue to play an important role. Initiation of a membership program to promote the founding of new clubs and the preservation of membership in established clubs, as well as the transition into or establishment of woman’s clubs will be high on the “to do” list of this administration. A vital part of this plan will be the promotion of the Junior Membership in a way that is unified and establishes a “brand recognition” of the organization. GFWC membership incentives, of course, will be a part of the over-all membership plan.
The Batphone may have been the state-of–the-art communication tool of superheroes at one time, but this administration will be utilizing the internet to streamline communications from the state to the club level of the Junior Membership. The transition of information, such as department bulletins, from a paper to electronic format will be investigated in order to make this information easily accessible to club department chairs and as well as club presidents. Web addresses, via the JM website, www.jerseyjuniors.com, have already been put in place. This will allow leaders on the club level to be able to go directly to the state level to address any questions or issues. Additionally, the JM website, www.jerseyjuniors.com will continue to provide the latest information on the activities of the organization.
Increased use of the internet will greatly enhance communication, however, it can also bring with it some specific challenges. During the next two years, this administration will work to establish guidelines for safe and effective internet use, both on the state and club level. The internet is a powerful form of communication, but only if it is utilized with the safety of everyone in mind.
The only constant is change, and this is certainly true for this administration. Following the lead of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Junior Membership will change the structure of the organization from eleven districts to eight. While some districts remain unchanged or have one or to clubs leaving or joining, others will be significantly impacted, such as the Garden, Liberty, and Palisades Districts. District Advisors will be provided with guidance from the state level to facilitate a successful transition. Change can be challenging, but the redistricting will make the Junior Membership stronger by increasing the pool if leadership available to districts, and by giving clubs that are struggling access to help from stronger clubs.
The redistricting of the Junior Membership is not the only unique change for this administration. The report writing year of the JM, which currently starts on April 1st and ends on March 31st, will be changed to follow the same schedule as the New State Federation of Women’s Clubs. The new Junior Membership club reporting year will begin on January 1st and end on December 31st. Reports will have a completion deadline of February 15th. This will begin this year, so clubs that reported projects from January 1st to March 31st of this year may report those projects again for this reporting year. Clubs can still maintain the same club year and install new presidents and boards during the time indicated in their by-laws. As with any change, this will bring some confusion during the year. Attendance at one of the State Fall conferences is crucial for club presidents this year in order to have questions and issues addressed. This change will greatly increase the ability of this organization to run smoothly in the future. Reports that the JM provides for the NJSFWC and the GFWC will be able to increase in accuracy and detail, making the organization as a whole stronger. State Department Chairs will have more time to judge reports and compile statistics for the JM Convention and for reports. Clubs will ultimately benefit from the enactment of this significant change.
But change is not the only challenge that superheroes have to face. Kryptonite – it was the greatest health risk Superman could encounter. For women, kryptonite comes in the form of heart disease. Heart disease is the number one killer of American women, far outpacing all forms of cancer combined. In fact, women are thirty times more likely to die from heart disease than from breast cancer. Since 1984, the number of cardiovascular disease deaths for women has exceeded those for men. Yet, most of us are so busy taking care of those we love, we forget to love ourselves. Women’s Heart Health will be this Director’s Special Project, and this administration will be partnering with organizations such as the American Heart Association and the Women’s Heart Foundation to empower women with the knowledge and resources they need to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Bill Blass once said, “When in doubt, wear red.” Taking his advice, the official fashion color for this administration will be red, (no hats, please) so we can “Go Red for Women” as we learn to use the power of love, to love our hearts.
In addition to Women’s Heart Health, the Junior Membership State Project will soon be announced. This administration will continue to provide clubs with the tools and support they need to have the power to make this project a success. I know that this project will be embraced with the same love and enthusiasm that Juniors have shown in the past.
We may not have the cape or the tall boots (well, most of us do not have the tall boots) but as strong women, we do possess the most incredible power of all – the power to change the lives of others and ourselves. “We’ve got the power!” will be the theme of this administration, as the amazing women of this organization take the Junior Membership to infinity and beyond.