JLM Annual Awards 2005
From the presentations at the Annual Meeting, May 2006.
Volunteer of the Year - Cybelle Santo Domingo
Everything. Everywhere. Everyday and sometimes all night, if she felt it was necessary. This volunteer worked without ceasing this year, perfecting our Junior League of Miami brand and insuring each piece of communication material went out properly organized and branded.
Our publications were amazing – from emails to e-vites, from nametags to notebooks – we looked professional.
She took countless pictures at every fundraising and fun event, posting them online by the next day, publishing them in our beautiful journals and using them to complete our annual directory. Due to her hard work and commitment, we had more Miami Herald coverage with photos than ever.
She worked on our database, improving it and developing a bigger and better vision for next year.
The membership outreach open houses had a new more polished look with her help and when she saw a need for it, she developed and produced a “Who We are” screen sign that has been used over and over this year.
She changed the format of the Monday emails and of the Journal, creating publications that are fresh and reader friendly.
Her work was not limited to her council; she was ready to jump in whenever and wherever needed – Super Saturday, working with the Provisionals and their chairs, Race for the Cure, the Nordstrom Gala, the Fall AJLI Conference, the Poll Conference and especially the InStyle Weekend Event.
Her talents were not limited to communications, she was adept at securing gift bags and their contents, organizing shifts to get them stuffed and convincing her husband to help out when she needed another set of hands. When she saw an unfunded need, she underwrote.
Her work and her vision have changed the way we communicate with each other and with the world and will leave a lasting impact on the Junior League of Miami.
Sustainer of the Year - Anna Elhert
This year’s sustainer of the year is known for her love of kittens and cats – after this year, she may decide that her cats are easier to herd than her sustaining friends.
She produced and directed an abundance of new and exciting activities appealing to sustainers of all ages and stages. There was something for everyone!
Many sustainers feel that we had the best sustainer participation in years. She recruited an active committee and encouraged committee members and all sustainers to participate in the many events offered. The events showcased her incredible planning ability and her attention to detail. They were creative and fun, highlighting her openness to new ideas.
She remained in constant communication with her fellow sustainers about upcoming events – through phone calls and emails and the help of Sustainer Liaison, Margaret Nee.
One of her nominators said, “She knows where the good times are and I’m glad to be a part of them after she gets my attention.”
Her personal qualities that made her so special this year included her boundless enthusiasm, her unequaled effort and hard work, her supportiveness of everyone and their ideas, her helpfulness, her ability to listen to others and her unfailingly cheery behavior.
Rebecca Herndon Bush Award - Kim Brigham
This year’s recipient has been an active member since 1995. From her first placement, her time, her work and her heart have been with our community projects. Throughout her JLM career she has worked on the Kristi House Committee, chaired the YMCA Saturday Matinee Committee and was the Vice President of the Community Council. Her current placement is Member at Large. It is through this placement she has had the greatest impact. Her vision for a new project developed through her ability to see into the needs of young girls in foster care in our community. She developed and implemented a plan for the Foster Care Teen Mom Program, including seeking funding, finding a site to house the teens and establishing a Mentoring Mom component so that many of the cycles that so impact these girls lives will not be repeated in their children. She has agreed to chair this committee next year to make sure her vision is up and running smoothly.
In addition to her JLM responsibilities, she is an active member of the CHARLEE Board of Directors, volunteers at her twins’ school, Westminster Christian, teaches Sunday School and recently planned and executed a major children’s extravaganza for her church, helping to raise over $8 million dollars for the building of a new church facility.
The most impressive things about this recipient are her organizational skills, her problem solving abilities, her positive attitude and her ability to smile when things beyond her control do not work out as planned. She is adaptable and unwavering in her resolve to make things work. Of course she is, she is the mother of 6-year-old twins and a one-year-old son!
We pride ourselves on training volunteers to reach their fullest potential in the community – Kim Brigham, this year’s Rebecca Herndon Bush Award Recipient, is an ideal example of a trained volunteer whose work will have a long lasting impact on our community. Thank you, Kim, for your vision, your volunteerism, and your tireless dedication to improving the quality of life in our community.
Provisional of the Year - Brigid Cech
The provisional class as a whole was phenomenal this year. There were many provisional women who contributed to our League, above and beyond the rigorous Provisional requirements.
One provisional stood out as being truly exceptional. She immediately took it upon herself to lead her group in their Group Project. She organized the meetings, hosted them at her apartment, coordinated the project, and delegated tasks for the entire mentor group.
This group project was no small task. The group created a Library for Inn Transition North by soliciting donations of DVDs, books and other materials and hosted an ice cream party to celebrate the opening of the library. This particular provisional stored all the books at her apartment and organized them on her own. She transported all the books to Inn Transition North as well. She personally donated Two $100 gift certificates to Target to raffle off at the Ice Cream party and donated a DVD player to the ITN library.
This provisional made her group project happen. Additionally, she remained in continuous contact with her group members not only about their group project, but also about League functions, events and meetings. She became a de facto mentor to the group by providing them with updates; reminders and general information she felt would be helpful. Despite a full time job, planning for her upcoming wedding, and other personal obligations, she was always available to answer any questions her group had about anything. If she didn't have the answer, she would find it out and promptly get back to them.
She kept her group united, stayed abreast of what each of them was responsible for and saw that tasks were completed. If a group member couldn't attend an event such as the ice cream party at ITN, she stepped in and took their responsibilities upon herself.
The Provisional of the Year this year truly embodies the Junior League of Miami’s spirit of community service, generosity and compassion.
The Provisional of the Year is Brigid Cech.
|
