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1996 - 2000
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 OUR HISTORY :: 1996-2000

Junior League of Sioux Falls

1996

  • Membership votes to eliminate age limits on membership

  • 17th annual Booming Bargains rummage sale grossed over $19,000 in its first time at Sioux Empire Fairgrounds Expo Center

  • Public Affairs collaborated with The American Academy of Pediatrics to promote awareness of Child Health Month

  • Peggy Kirby, Sustainer, was chosen as a Volunteer of Distinction in the AJLI Centennial cookbook

  • Sustainers plan a Halloween fun day at the Children’s Home Society for Make a Difference Day

  • Children’s Medical Library project designated the Harriet Ronning  Library as their site selection and selected a Board of Directors

  • HyVee Coupons continued to be sold as an alternative fund raiser; raised $1,000

  • Three members visited sexual abuse evaluation centers in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth

  • Membership tables thrift store idea after research by ad hoc committee

  • Community Advisory Board held fall and spring meetings

  • Advisory Planning committee proposed Bylaw and Standing Rules revisions to change election of Nominating Committee and to realign our mission statement to coincide with AJLI’s

  • JLSF members volunteered at the Target Shopping Day and the Salvation Army Angel Tree in December

  • Strategic Planning began the process of adding to and enhancing the JLSF Strategic Plan by completing Value Statements

  • JLSF members volunteered to assist with the Anne Frank, A Child of the World display sponsored  by the Girl Scouts to be held in 1997

  • Placement Committee will utilize single placement next year

  • The dues timeline was changed to align us with AJLI’s fiscal year

  • The first Care Fair was held in March at the Western Mall to inform the public of the agencies and opportunities in Sioux Falls to help children and families

  • Projects voted in:
         Children’s Medical Library Addendum
         Newcomers Service Directory
         Habitat for Humanity
         Child Sexual Abuse Center Addendum

  • JLSF collaborated with Pier 1 Imports on their grand opening and received a generous donation

  • President Elect attended PE training and the Public Affairs chair attended the Policy Institute at the same time in Washington DC

  • Placement Committee held the annual Placement Fair at the April general meeting

  • Public Affairs collaborated with the USF Center for Women to sponsor the Silent Witnesses at “Denise Brown, No Excuse for Abuse”

  • Habitat for Humanity Impact Study committee planned and held a fundraiser, “Through a Bird’s Eye”, and raised $7,400 for the project “A House Built Primarily by Women”

  • Financial Development proposed a new fundraiser “Samantha’s Ice Cream Social”

  • A successful silent auction raised $1,100 for the Memorial & Tribute Fund

  • Livewire purchased a computer scanner

  • Fifteen members became actives with five carryovers to the next year

1997

  • AJLI Cookbooks were sold at the Sidewalk Arts Festival

  • The 18th annual Booming Bargains grossed over $20,000. Public Affairs registered 14 voters that day.

  • Karen Clark, AJLI trainer, spent October 10 with JLSF training members and facilitating small groups

  • Two members attended Joint Board in St. Paul

  • Ten members made a difference at the Children’s Home Society on “Make a Difference Day”

  • JLSF raised $393 at our first Barnes and Noble “American Girls Day”

  • Samantha’s Ice Cream Social raised $3,910 for the Children’s Medical Library

  • JLSF collaborated with KELO AM/FM on an entry for the Parade of Lights and received a donation of $450 for the “House Constructed Primarily by Women”

  • Education and Training hosted a variety of fun and informational small groups in January

  • The 2nd “Through a Bird’s Eye” grossed approximately $11,000 for the “House Constructed Primarily by Women”

  • The Child Sexual Abuse Evaluation Center was voted in as a project

  • The membership approved the American Girls’ “Welcome Josephina” fundraiser to benefit CASA

  • The Education and Training and Arrangements committees were combined into one standing committee

  • The Public Relations committee published the first JLSF Annual Report to be distributed to the members, the community and neighboring leagues

  • The Strategic Planning committee developed a focus area statement and a 1997-2000 Strategic Plan

  • Project Research and Development researched the feasibility of a long term project and presented ideas to the membership

  • A new business size copier was purchased for the JSLF office

  • A Membership Enabling Fund was established

  • A $250 donation was made to the Junior League of Fargo-Moorhead for their flood relief fund

  • Two members attended the AJLI Organizational Development Institute in Chicago

  • A new Reserve Fund Policy was presented and passed

  • Board of Directors insurance was purchased

  • United Way contacted JLSF for names to be used for placement on community boards

  • President/President-Elect training was held in Toronto

  • JLSF provided ticket-takers for the “Anne Frank: A Child of the World” exhibit

  • A cookbook idea was researched and presented to the membership but was turned down by a slight margin

  • The Children’s Medical Library was passed on to the community

  • 1500 copies of the “Service Directory for newcomers” were produced and will be distributed through LSS

  • Three new in-league awards, the Unsung Hero, the Spirit, and the President’s were instituted

  • HyVee coupons continued as a successful fundraiser

  • Two members attended Annual Conference in Atlanta

  • JLSF gained a voice on the Sioux Falls Forward III Task Force

  • The Public Relations committee produced a card with “quick phrases” members can use when asked questions about JLSF

  • JLSF participated on the Community Steering committee for the Community Health Agency’s Immunization Study

  • Ground breaking for the “House constructed Primarily by Women” took place on May 17

1998

  • Held a Habitat House Blitz Building Week July 7-19. Over 360 women volunteered on the house. The onsite hours totaled over 2,979 hours

  • House Built Primarily by Women received national media attention; Good Morning America and Mary Hart provided air time

  • Lisa Griffin and Roberta Hopkins received recognition at the Habitat for Humanity Celebration for their work on our house

  • The Habitat House was completed in September

  • Summer membership retreat was held in July

  • Developed a Calendar of Events/Guide for the whole year

  • Held Member Appreciation Picnic with families at Wild Water West

  • Public Relations developed a new logo for the JLSF. They also redesigned the stationery/letterhead, envelopes, brochures and produced a video

  • Completed the Child Sexual Abuse Evaluation Center project

  • Newcomers Directory was distributed through LSS

  • Booming Bargains grossed over $14,000 in sales

  • Placement held a soup and pie luncheon for members in October

  • The Children’s Medical Library received the “Friends of Health Science Award” from the SD Library Association

  • Two members served as delegates for ODI conventions

  • Items were collected at several GMM for various non-profit organizations

  • Public Affairs participated in the Youth Summit

  • Public Affairs provided members with a PA handbook

  • A Fall Membership Retreat with AJLI representative, Brenda Lloyd-Jones was held in October

  • Members participated in Target Days

  • A Holiday “Mistletoe Potluck” was held for the first time this year

  • The December GMM was held on a Saturday morning this year along with a new Holiday Gift Mart to enhance the meeting attendance

  • The Community Advisory Board was introduced and served as a panel at the January meeting

  • Two members were delegates to the Policy Institute in Washington DC

  • Held a mini-project at the Banquet. Members prepared and served meals

  • The Birthday Party Ad Hoc Committee finalized plans for the 20th Birthday Party to be held on Friday, July 31, 1998

  • Project Research co-sponsored the Jacob Wetterling, Share The Hope event on missing children with the Minnehaha  County Sheriff’s Department

  • The third annual “Through a Bird’s Eye” grossed over $10,000

  • Enabling Fund donated $600 to the Washington Pavilion project

  • Enabling Fund donated $165 to the Girl’s Chorale

  • Enabling Fund contributed $500 to the “10 years and Running” Race Against Breast Cancer

  • Rolling Readers project passed

  • Heartland House Emergency Survival kit project passed

  • Held a Volunteer Recognition Party and members exchanged gifts at the April GMM to celebrate National Volunteer Month

  • Missy Radigan and family won the Family Matters Award

  • The House Built Primarily by Women won the JC Penney/VIC Golden Rule Award

  • Welcome Josefina event held in April raised over $3,000 for CASA

  • JLSF raised over $250 at the second Barnes and Noble’s Book Day

  • Members approved the Council System of governance at the May Annual meeting. This new form of government will become effective for league year 1999-2000

  • Board of Directors voted to establish an endowment fund with the Sioux Falls Area Foundation

  • Two members attended the AJLI Annual Conference in Orlando

  • Mayor Hanson was the guest speaker at the May Annual meeting

1999

  • The second annual summer membership retreat was held on July 15, 1998,  at the Civic Fine Arts Center.  We were privileged to have AJLI Area IV Director Sandi Kemmish with us for the day.

  • The Ramkota Inn was the site of the July 31, 1998, 20th Birthday Celebration of the Junior League of Sioux Falls.  Past and present members of League and friends of the League joined in celebrating twenty years of community service.

  • The new Junior League of Sioux Falls logo was presented to the community for the first time at the birthday celebration

  • A "visual history" of the JLSF's first 20 years and a historical booklet were compiled and unveiled at the July 31st anniversary celebration.

  • The second annual JLSF Membership Appreciation Night was held at Wild Water West on August 11, 1999.

  • Booming Bargains was held for the 20th consecutive year.  The event grossed over $20,000.

  • The sale times for Booming Bargains were changed to Friday evening from 5-9 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30-11 a.m.

  • A "family plan" was implemented for this year's Booming Bargains which allowed a friend or family member to work a required shift if the JLSF member was unable to do so.

  • The Booming Bargains committee solicited four Compaq computers for the sale, one of which was donated to the JLSF office in order to update our system.

  • Lorrae Lindquist and Suzanne Veenis attended the AJLI Fall Conference in Beverly Hills, CA in October 1998.

  • Neighborhood Small Groups were held during November in lieu of a monthly general membership meeting.  Two morning sessions and two evening sessions were held. 

  • Enabling Fund requests were approved for the following:

    1. $500 to the Sioux Falls Family YMCA Transportation Fund.
    2. $500 to the Children's Inn for the purchase of Christmas decorations.
    3. $100 to the Families and Schools Together (F.A.S.T.) WORKS program for art and craft supplies.
    4. $500 to Family Services, Inc. for use in printing   brochures and advertising for the Survivors of Suicide group.
    5. $250 to the American Red Cross Sioux Empire Chapter to become a partner in their purchase of an existing structure in the Sioux Falls community to house their headquarters.
    6. $150 to Volunteers of America to purchase children/infant books at their childcare facilities.

  • Rolling Readers, in its first year as a project of the JLSF, served students in kindergarten and first grade in three Sioux Falls schools.  JLSF volunteers and volunteers from the community at large read to students in these classrooms once each week.

  • Rolling Readers distributed books twice during the League year.  These were books that the students were able to keep and take home with them.

  • A number of emergency-packages for new residents of the Heartland House were provided by the JLSF or were secured by the Heartland House committee.

  • Several members participated in a Done in a Day project decorating the Children's Inn for the holidays.

  • The membership once again assisted with the annual Target Shopping Day in December 1998.

  • Jane Johnson hosted the JLSF Holiday Potluck, an evening of socializing and food that included actives, provisionals, sustainers and their spouses.

  • The JLSF Holiday Brunch and December General Membership Meeting was held on Saturday, December 12th at Minnehaha Country Club.  The Arrangements/Education & Training Committee organized a Holiday Gift Mart that included several vendors.

  • Suzanne Veenis attended president-elect training in New Orleans, LA.

  • Members had the opportunity to participate in a Done in a Day project that involved reading to children at the Banquet.

  • The Arrangements/Education & Training Committee scheduled several different small group enrichment opportunities throughout January-May 1999 that offered valuable training as well as an opportunity for the membership to get better acquainted with one another.

  • The 4th Annual "Through a Bird's Eye" auction was held on March 13, 1999, at C.J. Calloway's.  The event grossed nearly $10,000.

  • Denise Baar was this year's JLSF representative to Leadership Sioux Falls.

  • Rhonda Britzman and family received the "Fun Family" award from Family Services, Inc.  The Britzman family was nominated by the JLSF.

  • Rhonda Britzman attended the AJLI O.D.I. conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

  • Suzanne Veenis and Nancy Olsen attended the AJLI Annual Conference, which was held in St. Louis, Missouri.

  • Public Relations & Membership Development participated in the Volunteer Fair at Lincoln High School.

  • The JLSF received an award from CASA in recognition of the League's instrumental role in establishing the CASA program in Sioux Falls.

  • Year-end In-League Awards were presented to Susan Heidepriem, Allison Alvine, and Traci Hyland.

  • Projects approved by the membership for the 1999-2000 League year are as follows:

    1. The Junior League Children's Gallery at the Washington Pavilion
    2. Extension of the Rolling Readers project.  The name will be changed to Junior League and Rolling Readers Read Aloud Zone (R.A.Z.).
    3. Women's Refugee Network Training & Education
    4. Done in a Day projects

2000

  • Strategic Plan 2000-2003 finalized

  • JLSF Leadership Sioux Falls participant Michelle Schuerman

  • Received CHAMPION FOR CHILDREN Award sponsored by the South Dakota Coalition for Children

  • Spirit Award recipient Shelli Goeman

  • Unsung Hero Award recipients Jeanne Johnson and Susan Sabers

  • President's Award recipient Nancee Sturdevant

  • 21st Booming Bargains net $14,767.82

  • Projects 2000-2001

    1. Done in a Day
    2. JLSF Children's Studio
    3. Training & Education Refugee and Immigrant Women
    4. Rolling Readers Impact Study
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