New Member Committee Chair Kathryn Anderson gave us the deets on the 99th New Member class:

We are excited to have another large class with 88 New Members and more socials!

Our first social was on June 28 at Julio’s restaurant with a nacho bar and margaritas at half price. We had a great turnout with a lot of fun, captured by many photos!

We had our second social at Security National Bank on July 24. It was an “ice cream social” with personalized cups from eCreamery. You MUST check out the adorable pictures of the ice cream cups!

Every New Member meeting has a training topic, as well as a food/social theme. As in previous years, New Members are split into core groups and are working on a group volunteer project. They are asked to organize and complete a volunteer project of choice and present it at our final New Member meeting/celebration in April.

[NEW MEMBER MEETINGS]

Our first meeting in August was at Project Harmony. The topic was “Welcome to the Junior League” and all three Ps shared their experiences and advice for the League. Every New Member got a folder with training materials, a red JLO tote bag, a plastic JLO cup, a magnetic JLO name tag and a JLO-decorated cookie by our own New Member Brianna Parriott. We had wine and cheese as snacks.

Our second meeting in September was at The Red Cross. The topic was “Fundraising Council.” We had someone from all the fundraisers speaking about their events, as well as Sustainer Courtney Dunbar with a very motivating and inspiring speech. We also learned about The Red Cross and its efforts to help in the devastating aftermath of the numerous hurricanes. We enjoyed a pasta dinner and salad to go along with our “Italian Night” theme.

Our third meeting in October was at The Rose Theater. Many New Members took advantage of the opportunity to tour the theater before the meeting. Julie Walker with The Rose spoke about all the programs it has to offer. The topic for the meeting was “Community Impact Council,” with members from each project sharing their insights. Food and drinks were not permitted inside the theater, so we had “grab-and-go” snacks and water for members as they left the meeting.

November’s meeting was at Security National Bank, focused on membership, with beer and pizza to go along with the fun. New members did a service project: Thank you cards for Red Cross donors and holiday placements.

[NEW MEMBER FUN EXTRAS]

We had a contest for a hashtag the New Member class would use on social media posts. The winner was Joey Soares with the hashtag #NewJLOsOnTheBlock.

We had a New Member brunch on Oct. 8 at Stokes.

We are having a wine and door hanger-painting social on Dec. 19 at Creative You Door Decor in Elkhorn.