AEC 2013: The NAJA Legacy "Rolls" On!

AEC 2013 is a day away!  We are thrilled to have heard yesterday that attendance is up 30% at this AEC, with just over 650, expected!  We also have learned we have  at least one person coming from all 100 Chapters meaning we will have 100% Chapter participation at AEC.  (This is a HUGE deal)!  We are excited to have our Chapters come spend the weekend with their fellow JA sisters.  There is much to learn and much fun to be made!  Finish your packing, and hit the road! AEC 2013 in Memphis is going to "roll on" with fun and friends!

NAJA Foundation "Friends"

The NAJA President and Ex-Officio serve on the NAJA Foundation by virtue of their elected position. Foundation Trustees are appointed by the Ex-Officio for a term. The NAJA Foundation raises funds on behalf of the association and donates money back to chapters in need through AEC grants and Child Welfare Project service grants.

The Foundation supports NAJA and our chapters in other ways, as well. This year, an online auction was held where over $11,000 was raised by bidders bidding on Viking appliances, trips, and more. The Foundation will again host the Presidents reception at AEC. And the Foundation partnered with NAJA to share costs of the constant contact email marketing system Headquarters now uses to improve communication with our members.

The Foundation has also established an annual giving campaign to recognize donors. Donors from $10-to over $5,000 can donate to the Foundation. They receive a ribbon at AEC, and will be recognized aim the Fall Crownlet.

We hope lots of our members will support the Foundation! Beau, my 9 year old heard me working with the Foundation one night. He heard me say members could give just $10 and be a "friend" of the Foundation. He disappeared to his room and returned with a wad of $1 bills and said, "Mama, I want to be a friend of the Foundation. Here is my $10." Bless him! And what blessings to NAJA, the Foundation Trustees, are!

Making a Chapter Visit

One of NAJA's goals this year is to try and connect with our chapters by asking NAJA reps to make at least one visit to a chapter in their area. We are doing this to offer more support to chapters and hopefully to make our chapters feel more connected to NAJA. I went last week and made a visit to my home chapter of Desoto County. I invited Mrs. dotty Patridge and former NAJA President Joyce McCuiston from the Crittenden Co, AR chapter to do an education hour for the Desoto County Chapter. Desoto county is a chapter that started in 2000. These ladies from AR are charter members from their chapter that started in the 1950's. They shared their experiences of serving children in poverty, their fight to get fluoride in the water in their town, and the event of attending AEC! They were wonderful and shared so much with my young chapter!

"Good Eats" in Greenville

In my new role as NAJA President, I find myself traveling to our headquarters in Greenville, MS, often. One of my favorite things about Greenville visits, is the food! From Kepler's Italian, to Sherman's, to Doe's, and most recently to the Greenville Country Club, the food is all delicious! I confess I have a fondness for all the food varieties but my favorite meal includes a filet and steak fries from Doe's. Yum!

June 18-20 Committee Meetings

On June 18-20, three different committees gathered in Greenville to begin planning the work for 2012-2013, including: Education, Public Relations, and Membership. Each committee is made up of wonderfully talented women from various chapters all over the NAJA footprint. The true work of accomplishing goals for the year begins with committee meetings as members break down the work into tasks they can complete that will benefit the JA chapters we serve.

June 16- Meeting JA Life Members who are Living Legacies

On June 16, I attended a membership brunch for the JA of Crittenden Co., Arkansas chapter. The brunch honored life and associate members, and welcomed their new provisional members. The active members hosted the event at a member's family home. I had a blast meeting a group of women who were charter members of the chapter who told me they could tell me all kinds of "stories from the Martha Wise days". They remembered wonderful trips to headquarters in Greenville and talked about attending annual education conferences in white gloves and hats! These women were were full of history and pride for their years of service to JA. What legacies they have left to their chapter, and what a gift they were to me! So thankful to have met such a great group of women.

Giving Love and Growing Legacies

Each year, the NAJA President selects a theme for their year they serve as President. I have selected the theme of "Giving Love and Growing Legacies". In Junior Auxiliary, we give love to the children we serve, and we grow legacies as our chapters serve our communities. My sweet friend and JA Desoto member, Hillary Jordan and her company Address to Impress, created an image I could use in sharing my message with others. I had the message made into gifts of notecards for all the CSCs and board members serving this year. My home chapter made the theme into bookmarks that were given as gifts to all the members attending the Awards Banquet atAEC. I am loving watching these gifts as they are shared to spread the theme I selected for the year. I have received wonderful handwritten notes on the notecards, and I have seen committee leaders share their gifts with members of their committee on gifts and on happies! It is so fun "giving love" to others!