Congratulations to our 2011 Standing Ovation Award Honorees!

Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Junior League of Saint Paul last Tuesday. It was wonderful to celebrate everything you accomplished over the past year. Congratulations to the recipients of the Standing Ovation Awards ! You are all remarkable women. Thank you for your exceptional service to JLSP and the community!

From left: Erica Giorgi, Priscilla Brewsteri, Angela Urbanek, Jill Skogheim, and Britney Thew

Rising Star Award: Britney Thew
The Rising Star is awarded to an individual new member who has been an inspiration and mentor to the rest of the new member class. She is an outstanding example of voluntarism for fellow New Members.

From the very beginning Britney has been a JLSP Rising Star. She was the first one to join the 2010 Fall New Member class. She has been very involved in all the New Member events throughout the year, as well as with JLSP community projects. She attended the September General Membership Meeting and got involved right away in the Next-to-New Sale. She took charge of the technology aspects of Blue Jeans and Bling, reaching out to learn Digital Cheetah, and coordinating the training of the Blue Jeans and Bling Committee prior to the event. Her attention to detail was a great asset to the Committee and brought a professional presence to the event materials, including the printed auction program. She has shown herself to be reliable and a go-getter. She exudes the JLSP spirit and truly has the passion to make a difference in our rganization and community. Since the Holiday party she has said how she was willing (and excited) to be a part of the 2011-2012 Leadership Team, and we know she will be an utstanding leader this next year as Vice Chair for Blue Jeans and Bling. We are fortunate to have her as a member of JLSP.

Unsung Hero Award: Jill Skogheim
The Unsung Hero Award is presented to an individual whose participation has a great incremental impact on JLSP, to an individual who stepped up to the plate on short notice or goes beyond the norm to get things done on a project or fundraiser.

Jill’s leadership and diligence this year has resulted in an incremental impact for JLSP, as the organization now has the tools, resources, and framework to make an impact in our community service work. She went far beyond her job description and the Committee charge. Taking the time and initiative to learn, understand, and teach the membership about the AJLI Impact Based Community Project model was not required of her, but she knew the Committee and JLSP would benefit from the following the model. She spent countless hours studying and becoming an expert on the issue-based community impact model and how it applies to JLSP. She provided strategic leadership in determining the specific groups to turn to for knowledge, guidance, input, and education for her Committee.

Her hours of research with potential community partners and of gathering input from JLSP members were invaluable. She was mindful of the needs of the League and mixed that well with the needs of the community. Her dedication to ensuring that our new issue will be something both JLSP members and community partners are able and willing to tackle is inspiring! As a leader, she mentored, and allowed herself to be mentored - resulting in a rewarding experience for the entire Committee. She truly embodies the spirit of JLSP and has been and will continue to be integral in moving our organization forward. We are set to start a new League year with a clear focus on our new issue, and this is all possible because of her, her diligence and her hard work. She did all this while going to school and having a more than full-time job. And as always with a smile on her face.

Elizabeth Ames Jackson Founder Award: Angela Urbanek
The Elizabeth Ames Jackson Founder Award is presented to an individualwho is a good role model in all aspects of JLSP (projects, fundraising,administration, etc.), shows consistent outstanding achievement in projects and fundraisers, and represents the embodiment of what JLSP isabout.

Angela certainly embodies the spirit of JLSP. Throughout her years as an Active member she has served in many roles and has brought critical thinking to all of them. Administratively she has served on the Bylaws Committee, Cross Functional Committee, Investment Committee, Budget Committee and as Treasurer-Elect and Treasurer. She served on the Next-to-New Committee and continued her role with that fundraiser as well as Blue Jeans and Bling and all the other small fundraisers through her work in the Finance office. She is consistently thinking outside the box on how to grow the success of JLSP fundraisers so that we can give more back to the community. She has been a consistent participant in JLSP community projects, volunteering at Women’s Advocates, the Saint Paul Recreation Centers, and working on Kids in the Kitchen. She takes her JLSP responsibilities seriously and is a reliable leader and supporter of all JLSP events. She has also committed to working with AJLI on the Action Learning Team, the goal of which is to improve governance and management practices to ensure greater community impact.

Sustainer of the Year Award: Priscilla Brewster
The JLSP Sustainer of the Year Award honors a Sustainer who has gone on to fulfi ll the mission of JLSP by serving the needs of the community at large, in either a volunteer or professional capacity. This year’s recipient is an outstanding leader for JLSP, Saint Paul and other organizations to which she is devoted.

After serving as an Active member for nearly twenty years, Priscilla has continued her support of JLSP through her involvement in Sustainer events and generous support of our projects. Outside of JLSP her leadership and support of organizations she loves is no different. She has quietly served as President of the St. Paul Garden Club and has created and displayed beautiful floral arrangements for the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s annual Art in Bloom. She is currently president of the Minnesota Colonial Dames. She as served ten years on the Board of Regents Gunston Hall in Fairfax County, Virginia. She ended her tenure by serving as the First Regent, the equivalent of President of the Board of Regents. During her term, major renovations were completed to Gunston Hall, the colonial mansion estate of George Mason, in preparation for the 250th anniversary. With her leadership, the Friends of Gunston achieved a record breaking year in both the numbers of donors and dollars raised. In addition, docent and volunteer satisfaction was at an all-time high. In 2008, she was asked to serve as the inaugural president of the Board of Directors of the Saint Paul Parks Conservancy. Under her leadership and with the invaluable support of community partners, in only a few short months the Conservancy raised over half of its first project goal of $559,000.

We are proud of her legacy of service to JLSP and these many other organizations. She is a model of service and leadership to each of us, and we are honored to recognize her with this award.

Sustainer League Service Award: Erica Giorgi
The JLSP League Service Award honors a Sustainer who continues to fulfill the mission of JLSP with exceptional service to the League itself, either by serving in an active role on a committee, as an advisor or mentor, or has shown a multi-year commitment of time and effort to the JLSP.

Erica is thoughtful, strategic, practical, and trustworthy. You can count on her to do her work and then some. She was amazing support to the Chair and other members of the Committee she worked with this year.

JLSP knowledge, and truly knows how to connect with others so that they feel like a valued part of the League. When her committee needed additional help researching this year, she dug in and took on an equal role as an active Committee member, helped organize focus groups, and offered support at General Membership Meetings where the Committee was on the agenda. She has been a sustainer advisor to other Committees, including ad hoc committees. She has previously served as a Sustainer Representative to the Board of Directors, bringing new ideas for the Sustainers and keeping them engaged. She is one of those sustainers who continues to volunteer for activities and events. She works at Next to New, comes to General Membership Meetings, and participates in focus groups. She continues to provide service to JLSP and for that we are all extremely grateful. She is definitely the type of woman who makes JLSP great!