Tropical Topics

December 2011

tropical topics

Newsletter of the Junior League of Galveston County Inc.Celebrating 85 years of Service

in this issue2 contents3 from the editor/contributors4 holiday ball5 from the president6 from the president7 from the president8 kudos korner9 general meeting10 boutique by the bay11 fundraising12 fundraising13 outreach opportunity14 membership report15 auction teaser16 little bites/ad17 committee updates18 committee updates19 calendar of events20 jlgc mission statement

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Have an idea or submission forTropical Topics? To be includedin the January issue, please sendit by December 20 to StevyCurbow [email protected]. Ilook forward to hearing fromyou.

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Tropical Topics - December 2011 jlgalveston.org

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from the editorThe day after Thanksgiving, my Christmasdecorations came out, as I am sure many of yoursdid as well, and I prepared my home for my favoriteholiday. To get ready for the season, I have mademany trips to Hobby Lobby for decorations and tothe mall for various Christmas gifts. I love theholidays and all that they bring, showering mynephews with gifts, excuses for baking and eatingtoo much, time with family, visits from friends wholive far away and cooler weather that allows me towear boots.

But with all this excitement, it is too often that I failto realize how blessed we all are. Many of us don’thesitate to pull out the plastic when there issomething we desire all year long. But let’sremember that the holiday season is also aboutgiving.

Being a part of the Junior League of GalvestonCounty gives us a special opportunity to involveourselves in our community all year long, as well asat Christmas. The Salvation Army Tree gives us thechance to make a child’s holiday a little brighter andthe Creating Connections/Children’s Center’s coatdrive the chance to make a child’s holiday a littlewarmer.

As we gear up for Holiday Ball next week, keep inmind that this is a fundraiser that supports ourefforts in the community. Take a glance at page 15and begin thinking about what you could bid on.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and HappyNew Year.

See you all at Holiday Ball!

Stevy Curbow

The Junior League ofGalveston CountyTropical Topics

Editor

Stevy Curbow

Committee

Liz Rogers

PresidentYvette Schulz

Junior League CouncilVPs & Chairs

President Elect/ParliamentarianAmanda Gaido

Community Vice PresidentAmy Brown

Communications VPHolly Pelletier

Finance Vice PresidentCindi Lyons

Fundraising Vice PresidentShannon Lecoq

Membership Vice PresidentMolly Crow

SecretaryLynsey Ginsberg

Sustaining Advisor/President

Doryn Glenn


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BE ON THE LOOKOUT: For members wishing

to fulfill their extra fundraising hour, there will be a sign up sheet sent out to help with

set up/take down/auction. 1st come 1st

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from the president

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Costumes are put away and the turkey has come and gone but onething is for sure, the winter holidays are upon us. It is evidenteverywhere we look. As we wait for the brisk cool air to return, ourLeaguers have been busy making sure preparations for the fall arewell underway. The FundraisingCouncil is shaking andbaking! TheBall Sponsor Party was a hit and everyone enjoyed a night at Studio54 thanks to the efforts of Stephanie Vasut! Mandy Chambers isworking hard to secure silent auctions items for fall and springevents. THANKS to all that have sponsored and contributed to date!Your generosity ensures a future for the work we do as a JuniorLeague. Many have secured that perfect gown, the right shoes andfor some, a date! AsMoonlight OverManhattan swiftly approaches,remember why we all work so hard for months. It is about thecommunity we serve. Abbey Hanson and her Cookbook team areworking hard to ensure Beachside to Boardwalk is flying off theshelves and known by every Galveston County resident and vendor.Kathy Glass and her committee are working non-stop to secure anamazing variety of vendors and a special guest for Boutique by theBay. I do not know about you all, but I cannot wait to see the finalproduct! This event just gets better every year! Because of all ourefforts, the League will improve the County we live in, continueeducating women on leadership and issues for the community weserve.

The Community Council chairmen continue to pull together withtheir committees towork towards fulfilling thegoals set-forth for theyear. Adopt-a-School is working closely with KIPP: Coastal Village,Creating Connections is working with families and children of theChildren’sCenter, Kids in theKitchencontinue toworkwithUTMB’sFit-n-Fun club to educate children in areas such as nutrition and

YvetteSchulzPresident2010-2011

OneLeague,OneMision

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.Tropical Topics - December 2011 jlgalveston.org

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from the presidentbetter health habits to help beat childhood obesity. The Jr. Junior Leaguers aremeeting monthly to learn more about areas such as our community, the JuniorLeague, and body language to name a few. Patient Perks has been busy payingvisits to,making blankets and lending a helping handwhenneeded at the RonaldMcDonaldHouse. I cannotmove forwardwithout thanking the FinanceCounciland Board of Directorswhom alsowork tirelessly to ensure our internal controlsare met and operations are going smoothly.

The Board of Directors and Education hope that you all enjoyed our guestspeaker, Vicki Clark, last month. Her down to Earth nature and method fordelivering messages we all needed to hear was amazing. If you were not able toattend, youmissed out! In addition, the Boardwas able to have a special trainingsession with Ms. Clark the following night. I am sure that I am not alone whenI say that I left there more motivated and inspired to help move our missionforward.

An article on the Junior League Council System was published in last month’sissue of Tropical Topics. If you did not have a chance to read it, please do so asDecember will include a breakout session with your councils.

Congratulations to November’s Member of the Month, Kimberly Moore! If youknow of a committee member that shines, please be sure to submit yournomination. Last but not least, thank you all for what you continue to do for thecommunity through the Junior League of Galveston County and happy holidays!

Fondly,

Yvette

!

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!"#$%&!!"#$%&'(!!"#$%&!Doh je!!

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Congratulations to Kimberly Moore for receiving the

November Member of the Month award! Kimberly has

demonstrated core values including teamwork, respect,

generosity and learning. She is prompt, responds quickly to

emails and requests, is organized, innovative and makes things

happen. She stepped up to lead an event when her chairmen

needed help. She has volunteered for more than one of the

OctoberOutreachOpportunity eventswith a great attitude and

was always ready to lend a hand. She used her savvy to oversee

a profitable event thatwas easy, fun, and accessible to everyone.

She was creative in her efforts, worked tirelessly, and made sure volunteers had fun. Her coordination

of the Lone Star Rally Beverage Booth was phenomenal despite the hurdles she faced to make it happen

and all with a smile. Congratulations Kimberly!

Our core values

Teamwork: Respectfully caring for each other and those we serveRespect: Humility in our successes and grace in our challengesIntegrity: Honesty and integrity in all our interactionsGenerosity: Being thankful for and sharing our opportunities and blessingsLearning: Passionately pursuing making a difference in JLGC by being a lifelong learner

Do you know amember that deserves the spotlight? Nominate her forMember of theMonth. Completea nomination form at the November general meeting or E-mail Yvette Schulz at [email protected].

Member of the Month Nomination

Nominee:

Month:

Reason for nomination (required to count):

kudos korner


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Winter WonderlandGeneral MeetingMonday, December 56 p.m. Social6:30 p.m. MeetingElks Lodge, Galveston1518 Tremont St.Galveston, TX 77550**Cash Bar

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Boutique by the Bay will be held at SouthShore Harbour Resort in League City onSaturday, March 31, 2012. We arecurrently taking reservations for“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. Please join usfor a plated breakfast with a fashionshow. The show features ProjectRunway’s season two winner, ChloeDao. Space is limited, so reserveyour seat for you, your friends, andyour family today! Adult seating is$50 and children 12 and under are$25. This ticket includesadmission into the market.

The market will feature over 50vendors and will be held in the

CrystalBallroom from9:00am -4:00pm. Tickets for themarket will be available forpurchase in January and will be$5 per person.

We are currently acceptingvendor applications, please referto the website for the vendorapplication.

Boutique by the Bay

Chloe Dao, Project Runway winner, season 2.


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fundraisingLone Star Rally:Well, if you have not heard, the booth at therally was a huge success, netting over $8,943for our Community projects! We are sothrilled with the results of our efforts andsend a wave of thanks to all of those whoparticipated and helped to make this firsttime effort such a huge success. The budgetedgoal number was set @ $2,625., so we clear-ly blew past that. (The profit goal for bothLone Star and Mardi Gras was set at $5,250.,so technically, we've already blown throughBOTH goals!)

Kimberly Moore is busy tweaking our recentRally efforts to near perfection and preppingfor the Mardi Gras booth in Mid-February.Please keep both an eye and an ear out fordetails to follow as far as signing up and par-ticipating in what has proven to be a VERYFUN event. There is still the opportunity toget TABC certified, for those of you who wantto be out on the front lines "where the actionis!" Contact Kimberly Moore for more detailsat [email protected].

Live and Silent Auctions:Mandy Chambers has been uber busy plan-ning decorations for our "Christmas Tree inRockefeller Center." As you check in at theBall, you'll have the chance to buy numberedornaments off the Tree for a guaranteedchance to win one of over 100 fabulous

prizes ranging in value from $10 toover $100!! Ornaments will sell for $20 eachand you may buy as many as you'd like untilwe run out!

Also, this year as guests Check in, we will besetting up all Ball guests with an 'AuctionNumber.' We will be taking Credit Card in-formation up front to help us speed up thecheck-out process at the end of the Auctions,so please have your Credit Card handy. (Ifyou prefer to pay by check at the end of theevening, we will return your Credit Card In-formation document to you to destroy). TheSilent Auction will be open from 7:30 to10:00 p.m. and the Live Auction will takeplace at approximately 9 p.m.


fundraisingAnd on the note, as a quick reminder, weare still in need of Auction items. You canfulfill your one hour Fundraising workrequirement by obtaining prizes and giftcards for the auction. Either 5 or more giftcards at $10-$20 minimum or a $100 worthif less than 5 cards will satisfy your hour.Please contact Mandy Chambers with newsof any donations.

Holiday Ball:By the time you read this, the deadline formaking your payments for Holiday Ball haspassed. Payments were due by November20th. For those of you with outstandingpayments due, please get them to Dori Golanas soon as possible to keepfines at a

minimum. Thanks!

One Hour Fundraising Requirement:In addition to securing Auction items,numerous opportunities exist at theupcoming Holiday Ball to fulfill your onehour Fundraising Requirement. Pleasecheck the Holiday Ball column in thismonth's TT's, as well as our column in eachweek's WWN's for sign up opportunities.

YTD Income:And now, for the monthly drum roll,please..................Fundraising is most excitedto announce our latest year-to-date incomenumbers have passed $77,000! As areminder, the TOTAL goal for all of theFundraising Council for 2011/2012 is$120,000. We're almost at 65% of goal as ofthis writing, with over 6 months to go in theLeague year!

Jeannie K. Janota

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Well we just finished another successful Outreach eventwith National Adoption Day. Everyone involved had afabulous time playing games, making crafts, eating lots ofcotton candy and generally celebrating this special daywith the children and their families. Thank you to allthe ladies that got up early to help with this event !

For December Junior League will be going back to boththe Texas City andGalveston Salvation Army tohelp with the next phases ofthe Angel Tree Program.This year over 2400children were registered toreceive Christmas giftsthrough the Salvation ArmyAngel Tree Program.

December 14th 9 a.m.-12 p.m. the Texas CitySalvation Army has asked usto help with a sorting day.Basically as the donated giftsarrive we will group them for by family and make sureevery child recives at least one toy. Sorting will be done atthe old Hobby Lobby building near Mall of the Mainland.

December 20th 9 a.m. -5 p.m. (3 shifts available) theGalveston Salvation Army would like us to help with thedistribution of gifts. Each family has been assigned a time tocome to the Salvation Army to pick up their donated gifts. Junior League willbe helping with the distribution process. If for some reason the child was not "adopted" ordid not receive a toy in their package we will take the parents through a gift warehouse andlet them pick out special gift for their child.

Galveston is hopeful that their new building will be finished in time to hold the distributionday…but just in case I will be updating all our volunteers on the exact location for bothevents.


outreach opportunities

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membership report

Happy Birthday to our Members withDecember birthdays! Cheers to you!

December 1 - Tammy KoelschShannon LecoqCindy Sullivan

December 4 - Elizabeth GarzaKimberly Hagara

December 6 - Cynthia DavisDecember 9 - Maureen PattonDecember 11- Catherine GriffinDecember 16- Shelly Fordyce

Carol YarbroughDecember 18- Debi Herren

Erin Kearney ConradDecember 19- Janis YarbroughDecember 22- Brenda Lacombe

Addie PappousDecember 27 -Catherine PotterDecember 28- Kim WoodsDecember 30- Brenda Atchley

Gail RiderBetty SchnakeVerr Soltes

December 31 - Mary Uher


Send your news and announcements [email protected] or

[email protected]

CondolencesIt is with great sadness that weannounce the peaceful passing ofsustainer, Mary Weaver Remmers, aresident of Galveston.

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We can't help ourselves.............we've just got to share some information on some of theamazing items and packages awaiting your bids in a couple of weeks at the Live and SilentAuctions at the HOLIDAY BALL! Mandy Chambers and her team of elves have put togethersome of the most amazing items and packages for you to bid on on December 10th. FromCigars to Cashmere, Bicycles to Botox, Hermes to Health Clubs and Tours to Travel, here's alittle preview:

Costa Rica Trip for TwoGaido's Wine Dinner for 25 at the Pelican ClubMichelle Watch from Lewis Jewelers"Sex and the City" Package has everything you need to create your own episode, including a$700 Saks Gift Card, Jewelry, Laser Center Gift Certificate, Botox/Filler Certificate, Wines,Hair cut/care products, and more.Custom Made Cowboy BootsBicycle PackageDoggie Basket, complete with DOG!Bay Fishing PackagePhotography Packages3 Nights in Santa Fe, NMRailean Rum TourGolf PackagesParty PackagesGift Certificates from all over Galveston County for Food, Food, Food!!!Surf LessonsSailing Day Trip in Galveston Bay, with Hors' douvres and adult libationsAnd packages with: Massages, Tanning, Teeth Whitening, Dinner for 8, Historic GalvestonTour, Sports Tickets, Beers, Coffees, Painting Lessons, Dance Lessons, Hermes Tie, CashmereWrap, James Avery Jewelry, Lash Extensions, Recliner, Yeti Coolers and MORE.........!!

We will be doing things a little differently this year to speed up yourcheckout after the Auctions, so please be prepared for the followingchanges:We will be assigning Silent Auction Bid Numbers and taking your Credit Cardnumber as you check in on arrival. Use your assigned number to bid onany Silent Auction items (or ALL of the Silent Auction Items!). TheAuction will close at 10 p.m. When you are ready to leave, just swing bythe check out table and pick up your bags of goodies. You'll already bechecked out!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Awww, we're just teasin' !


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Salt to taste

1 pound baby carrots

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon pepper

¼ cup chopped flat‐leaf parsley

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add salt and carrots. Cook for 5 to 6 minutesor until the carrots are tender. Drain the carrots and return to the saucepan. Add thebutter, honey and lemon juice. Cook for 5 minutes or until the carrots are glazed. Add saltand pepper. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 4

little bites: Honey-Glazed Carrots


Public Relations:

Just a reminder to all members...TheDecember meeting will be the last timeto pick up t-shirts at a GeneralMeeting. After that, you will beresponsible for picking any shirtsfrom the TA building duringregular office hours.

Adopt A School:December is a busy month atKIPP Coastal Village!

We still have a few availabletimes to fill at the KIPPScholastic Book FairDecember 5th, 6th and 7th.These are two hour shiftswhere we will be helpingthe KIPPsters pick out ageappropriate books and check themout at the register. This book fair makesmoney that will be used to buy books for theKIPP library. Please check out the JLGCwebsite to sign up!

On Tuesday, December 13th, we will be

having a "Polar Express" Day at KIPP Coastal

Village! Come dressed in your most

comfortable winter jammies and get ready to

read "The Polar Express" to the Kindergarten

and First Graders! We will be reading and

passing out hot chocolate, cookies, and of

course, every child will take home their very

own jingle bell! It will be from 12-3 at KIPP

Coastal Village, 721 10th Street in Galveston.

Please check the website to sign up for this

fun event!

2011-2012 Provisional ClassProvisional meeting and Holiday Wine

Exchange hosted at Rise Cupcakes in

Friendswood. As a League, we are all very

thankful for our amazing Provisional Class!

committee updates


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Jr Jr League – Island Style:

Well a great big THANK YOU to the fourteengirls that volunteered in the two shifts for St.Vincent’s Thanksgiving Dinner. If you seeany of these girls around town in theiradorable pink shirts please give them a bigshout out for doing such a wonderful job:Oreilon Osei, Courtney Mack, KatherineStevens, Emma Zompa, Skylar Simon, JayeBerner, Taylor Termini, Caroline Termini,Camden Roeder, Lillie Ann Hosler, ElizabethHosler, Marissa Sistrunk, Anna Purcell,Frannie Kusnerik

Thanks also to Terry Lynn Jones forcoordinating all the girls and the helpfulwomen that came out and volunteered toboth serve meals and make sure the girlswere safely returned to their parents.Special thanks go to Candace Weber,Catherine Griffin, Amy Lilly, MelaniePadgett Milton, Sheyanne Chan, and KittyCovington for providing supervision anddirection to the girls while we allvolunteered to serve over 1500 meals.Whew…I am tired thinking of it.

Note that our fabulous efforts did not gounnoticed. The Junior Junior League ofGalveston County was specifically requestedto help serve a holiday dinner on December17th. Details to follow.

Everyone is welcomed to one or all of ourupcoming events:

• Wednesday, November 30th from6:30 to 8:00 at the MOD Coffeehouseon Post Office – we will be makingholiday cards for the patients atUTMB and Ronald McDonald House

• Saturday, December 17th duringthe lunch hour at Holy FamilyCatholic School – we will be servingthe “Gifts of Love” Holiday Dinner.

• Week of December 18th – BlueSanta – stay tuned for the opportunityto volunteer with the Galveston PoliceDepartment wrapping, sorting, anddistributing holiday presents in aPOLICE CAR… yeah that’s right… wewill be driving around town in policecars delivering holiday cheer.

Contact Terry Lynn Jones [email protected] or JanetHoffman at [email protected] tolet us know if you are interested in joiningus.

committee updates


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DECEMBER

JANUARY

Dickens

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Dickens on theStrand

Holiday BallWorkshop -Provisionals TBD

Holiday CharityBall, San LuisConventionCenter

Gemeral Mtg,6:30 p.m, ElksLodge Galveston

TTSubmissionsDue to StevyCurbow

3 41 2 5

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26

6 7

8 9 10 11 13 14

15 16 1817 20 21

22 23 24 25 27 28

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Board ReportsDue


Board & FinanceMeeting, 6:30,TA Bldg

-------KIPP Book Fair, 8:30-2:30-------Angel Tree,Hobby Lobby TC,9-12

Angel Treesorting, new SAlocationa,Galveston, 9-5

New Year'sDay

Board Meeting,6:30, MainlandTBD

Gemeral Mtg,6 p.m, MainlandTBD

ProvisionalMtg-Board, 6:30p.m, SpringCreek BBQ

TTSubmissionsDue to StevyCurbow

JJL IslandMeeting-PublicSpeaking, TABldg, 6 p.m.

AJLI Winter Conference, ExcCouncil, Houston

Board ReportsDue

31Nominating/Placement, 6p.m., TBD

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the junior league ofgalveston county, inc.

________________________________mission:

The Junior League of Galveston County, Inc. is anorganization of women committed to promotingvoluntarism, developing the potential of women,and improving communities through the effectiveaction and leadership of trained volunteers. Itspurpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

vision:Improving the opportunities and life experiences

for the residents of Galveston County.

Tropical Topics - November 2011 jlgalveston.org

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