ABOUT US

The Junior League of Anderson County (JLAC) is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.

Founded in 1935 as the Anderson Junior Assembly and then later became the Junior League of Anderson County, the JLAC has effectively worked to help women and children in our community. JLAC has grown to more than 200 members, including teachers, full-time moms, business owners and everything in between.

The Junior League of Anderson County is a member of the Association of Junior Leagues International, INC. (AJLI), comprised of more than 200,000 women worldwide all focused on one mission: Women Building Better Communities.

Mission Statement
The Junior League of Anderson County is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

Vision Statement
The Junior League of Anderson County will continuously improve its community through effective volunteerism, building partnerships and inspiring solutions.

Reaching Out Statement
The Junior League of Anderson County and The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. reach out to women of all races, religions and national origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to volunteerism.

Diversity Statement  
The Junior League of Anderson County will maximize its potential and enhance its effectiveness by integrating diversity into every aspect of its organization.

 

Our History

The History of Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc.

In 1901, Mary Harriman, a 19-year-old New York City debutante with a social conscience, founded the first Junior League. Moved by the suffering she saw around her, Harriman mobilized a group of 80 other young women - hence the name "Junior" League - to work to improve the squalid conditions in which immigrants were living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Mary Harriman's vision for improving communities by using the energy and commitment of trained volunteers caught on. The second Junior League was started in Boston, MA in 1907 and was soon followed by the founding of the Brooklyn, NY Junior League in 1910. The rest is history.

During the 1910s, Junior Leagues shifted their focus from settlement house work to social, health and educational issues that affected the community at large. The Junior League of Brooklyn successfully petitioned the Board of Education to provide free lunches in city schools. During World War I, the San Francisco Junior League formed a motor delivery service that served as a model for the nationwide Red Cross Motor Corps. The Junior League of Montreal became the first League in Canada.
In 1921, the Association was formed to provide professional support to the Leagues. During the 1920s, the Junior League of Chicago pioneered children's theater and the idea was taken up by more than 100 Leagues across the country.

Junior Leagues responded to the Depression during the 1930s by opening nutrition centers and milk stations. They operated baby clinics, day nurseries for working mothers, birth control clinics and training schools for nurses. Junior Leagues also established volunteer bureaus to recruit, train and place much-needed volunteers in the community.

During World War II, Junior League members played a major role in the war effort by chairing hundreds of war-related organizations in virtually every city where Junior Leagues operated. Canadian and American League members served overseas.
In the 1950s, nearly 150 Junior Leagues were involved in remedial reading centers, diagnostic testing programs and programs for gifted and challenged children. Leagues collaborated in the development of educational television and were among the first to promote quality programming for children. In 1952, the Mexico City League founded the Comité Internacional Pro Ciegos - a comprehensive, international center for the blind. By the end of the decade, Junior Leagues were involved in over 300 arts projects and multiple partnerships in many cities to establish children's museums.

During the 1960s, many Junior Leagues added environmental issues to their agendas. The Junior League of Toledo produced the educational film, Fate of a River, a report on the devastating effects of water pollution. Leagues also established programs addressing the education, housing, social services and employment needs of urban residents.

Throughout the 1970s, the Association expanded its participation in public affairs issues, especially in the areas of child health and juvenile justice. In 1973, almost 200 Leagues worked with the National Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the U.S. Justice Department on a four-year program that sought to improve the criminal justice system. In Canada, the Canadian Federation was formed to promote public issues among the Canadian Leagues. During the 1980's, Junior Leagues in the U.S. gained recognition for advocacy efforts to improve the child welfare system. U.S. Leagues also helped gain passage of the first federal legislation to address domestic violence. More than 100 Leagues developed the Woman to Woman campaign that actively and comprehensively tackled the impact of alcohol abuse on women. The Canadian Federation held its first national conference focusing on violence against women and the negative impact of pornography.

In 1989, the Association was presented with the prestigious U.S. President's Volunteer Action Award.  In the early 1990s, 230 Leagues participated in a public awareness campaign to encourage early childhood immunization called Don't Wait to Vaccinate. At the end of the decade, the Leagues prepared to launch a public awareness campaign on domestic violence.

At the end of the Millennium, the Junior Leagues celebrated their Centennial by recognizing their achievements and building for the future. Leagues throughout California were recognized for their domestic violence initiatives by the California Association of Non-Profits Public Policy Excellence Partnership Award. AJLI cochaired the U.S. Steering Committee for the United Nations’ International Year of the Volunteer (IYV) with the Points of Light Foundation. As part of IYV activities, President Vicente Fox recognized the Junior League of Mexico City’s members for their “high level of social leadership and human quality.”

Throughout the early part of the 21st century, Junior Leagues continued to provide comprehensive programs designed to meet the needs of women, children and families in their communities. From Winston-Salem and Washington, D.C. to Oakland-East Bay, Junior Leagues forged partnerships to promote children’s literacy. The Junior League of Tulsa, OK created a Life Skills program for the homeless and Leagues in L.A. and Chicago developed initiatives to prepare community members for board service.
To help Leagues become effective volunteer organizations of women who lead in the growth and development of their Leagues and their communities, the Association launched several programs, including the Healthy League Initiative, designed to help Leagues assess their strengths and weaknesses, and the Junior League PR/Marketing Campaign, which featured a universal brand identity. By 2004, more than 80% of Leagues had adopted the “Women Building Better Communities” tagline.

 

The Junior League of Anderson County Charter Members, Sustainers Emeritus & Past Presidents

Charter Members

  • Cynthia Barnes
  • Lena Josey
  • Lila Guest Ballentine
  • Mary (Polly) Evans
  • Claudia Prevost Hardin
  • Harriet Holman
  • Dorothy Smith Jeter
  • Polly Sullivan Masters
  • Cassandra Cason McGee
  • Peggy Lyons Faye
  • Sara Camp Fort
  • Peggy Fretwell
  • Sara Vandiver Green
  • Lucille Acker Sibley
  • Mary Barr Prince Sullivan
  • Lena Mills Weaver Todd
  • Frances Wever Turrentine
  • Pinkie Johnson VanEvery
  • Elizabeth (Sis) Muldrow
  • Caroline Nardin
  • Evelyn McBrayer Pence
  • Flora Young Preston Beckman
  • Martha Barnes Bleckley
  • Bobbie Burns Bristow
  • Mary Louise Calhoun
  • Charlotte Orr Evans

Sustainers Emeritus

  • Elizabeth Ballenger
  • Betty Barton
  • Kathleen Brown
  • Peggy Fretwell
  • Sarah King
  • Jackie McConnell
  • Lou Rankin

Past Presidents

  • 1935 Lena Weaver Todd
  • 1936 Flora Young
  • 1937 Lila Guest Ballentine
  • 1938 Elizabeth Muldrow Thompson
  • 1939 Sara Vandiver Green
  • 1940 Mary Rast Ramsuer
  • 1941 Callie Stringer Rainey
  • 1942 Catherine Suber Simons
  • 1943 Sarah Sitton Gambrell
  • 1944 Jane Cowen Orr
  • 1945 Emily Jolly Strobecker
  • 1946 Lula Orr Farmer
  • 1947 Derrell Fant Simpson
  • 1948 Martha Shirley Baskin
  • 1949 Jane Vandiver Sullivan
  • 1950 Eleanor Brown Sewell
  • 1951 Lillian Brown Glenn
  • 1952 Kathleen Wood Brown
  • 1953 Lalla Farmer Barron
  • 1954 Carolina Conwell Clyde
  • 1955 Sally Clinkscales Hubbard
  • 1956 Sara Alice Mathis
  • 1957 Dorothy Cauthen Carlisle
  • 1958 Nell Mayer Taylor
  • 1959 Jenny Sullivan Farmer
  • 1960 Anne Ballentine Grisso
  • 1961 Julia Bleckley    
  • 1962 Rosalyn Fogel Silverstein
  • 1963 Beverly Lee
  • 1964 Batty Kelly Gable
  • 1965 Harriett Patterson Forgang
  • 1966 Betsy Mahon
  • 1967 Mary Calhoun Gallant
  • 1968 Nancy Dodson Christopher
  • 1969 Harriet Travers Yarbrough
  • 1970 Harriet Harper Salley
  • 1971 Ann Chamblee McKeown
  • 1972 Judith Knobel Shirley
  • 1973 Pat Dawson Embler
  • 1973-74 Barbara Hill Little
  • 1974-75 Joan Fulp Roberts
  • 1975-76 Salley McKelvey
  • 1976-77 Connie Banner Street
  • 1977-78 Lolita Buchanan Peeler
  • 1978-79 Branda Ratterree Cone
  • 1979-80 Amanda Lee Byrd
  • 1980-81 Sue Harney Moore
  • 1981-82 Jean Buckner Niles
  • 1983-84 Chris Edwards Richardson
  • 1984-85 Julie Mayer Kent
  • 1986-87 Martha Marshall Taylor
  • 1987-88 Lee Marchant Looney
  • 1988-89 Rachelle Propp Shirley
  • 1989-90 Cynthia Smith Nail
  • 1991-92 Lynn Asmussen Kay
  • 1992-93 Lyn Merchant
  • 1993-94 Janie Curtis
  • 1994-95 Laura Burrell
  • 1995-96 Alexandria Stathakis
  • 1996-97 Debbie Atkins
  • 1997-98 Elizabeth Yarbrough
  • 1998-99 Lee Tate
  • 1999-00 Anita May
  • 2000-01 Catherine Stathakis
  • 2001-02 Pam Roberts
  • 2002-03 Alicia Mansuetti
  • 2003-04 Roberta Cothran
  • 2004-05 Tandy Ayers Wickiser
  • 2005-06 Jean Kidd
  • 2006-07 Jackie McCall
  • 2007-08 Dana Hill
  • 2008-09 Mykael Ramsey
  • 2009-10 Jennifer Walker
  • 2010-11 April Cameron

 

Our Board 2011-2012

  • Amy Jennings, President
  • Ame Lustig, President-Elect
  • Meredith Thomason, Secretary
  • Ala Chappalear, Treasurer
  • Britton Sharpe, Treasurer-Elect
  • Donelle Millwood, Membership VP
  • Lindsay Horton & Arden Stelly, Nominating & Placement
  • Jamie Davis, Fund Development VP
  • Lisa Ewing, Community VP
  • Yvette Sizemore, Communications VP

 

Our Location

The JLAC office is located off of Highway 81, across from the AnMed Health Campus. 864-256-0470