Announcements
Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport partners with Memorial Hospital
Junior Auxiliary announces the completion of renovations to the children’s playroom at Memorial Hospital of Gulfport. JA partnered with the hospital to fund the much needed updates. The playroom will be dedicated to the late Rosemary Blakeslee, a JA life member, who devoted much of her life serving the children of our community. In addition to the playroom, the Junior Auxiliary has been able to partner in the purchase of a new pediatric billirubin machine for the Women and Children Services unit of Memorial Hospital. This machine will serve as a noninvasive billirubin assessment tool that will be used on every baby delivered at Memorial Hospital prior to them being sent home to assess jaundice. The dedication ceremony of the playroom will be held Thursday, February 10th at 10 a.m. on the 2nd floor of Memorial Hospital.
Charity Ball 2011
Mark your calendars! Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport is excited to announce the date for Charity Ball 2011 is Saturday, October 15th at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino. We hope to see you there for another wonderful night that allows us to serve the children of our community.
Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport Members Attend the 7oth Annual Education Conference
Unlocking the Doors to a Brighter Future was the message to Karla Hennagin and Sarah Rollins, members of the Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport, at the 7oth Annual Education Conference held in April 2011 in Memphis, TN. Almost seven hundred ladies were in attendance at this year’s event. Then JA of Gulfport was chartered by a group of caring, enthusiastic women in 1948 and continues to grow and thrive throughourt the Gulf Coast. Volunteers work tirelessly throughout the year on a variety of projects tha focus on local children and families in need of assistance. Last year JA Gulfport served 11,965 children.
The Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport is part of the National Association of Junior Auxiliaries (NAJA), a non-profit organization founded in 1941 with Headquarters in Greenville, MS. NAJA has more than 15,500 active, associate, and life members in 100 chapters in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.
This year’s conference was packed with entertainment, education and networking with other chapters from across the Mid-South. JA Gulfport members enjoyed speakers such as Sam Haskell, author of Promises I Made My Mother who shared lessons of faith, hope and character that he learned at an early age; Julia Taylor, author and professional school counselor, whose message educates children, teens and parents on relational aggression, body image and other adolescent/teen issues; Barbie Basset, chief meteorologist at WLBT-3 in Jackson, MS and author of the book Forecast and Faith shared her story of faith and perseverance through the hardships of life; Fran Flener, Drug Director of the state of Arkansas, spoke on Rx Abuse Prevention; Josh Gunderson, gave an informative and entertaining talk on Facebook and the pros and cons of social networking; Charlotte Mullinnix, Director of Corporate Relation for the Mississippi Organ and Recovery Agency, educated attendees on organ/tissue donation and J. Helen Perkins, Associate Professor of Reading and Urban Literacy at the University of Memphis, gave a compelling talk on Literacy Impacting the Community. In addition, up and coming Board Members of our chapter were trained in their specific duties for the next year.
The NAJA slogan is “Care Today – Character Tomorrow”. Junior Auxiliary chapters all over the Mid-South are working more than ever before to increase awareness of children in need and the benefits of caring today to create character tomorrow.
Spring Luncheon and Installation of New Officers
The Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport held its annual spring luncheon on April 5, 2011 at Chimney’s Restaurant in Gulfport. The executive board for 2011-2012 was installed, provisional members were initiated and five outgoing members changed their memberships to life and associate status. Junior Auxiliary members are eligible for life and associate status after one year of provisional service, five years of active service and after meeting all chapter educational requirements.
New officers are Pam Pannell, president; Sophie Nord, first vice president; Maureen Neumann, second vice president; Sarah Rollins, third vice president; Karla Hennigan, treasurer; Heather Rusher, provisional trainer; Emily Newman, recording secretary; Jennifer Clark, corresponding secretary; Jenny Pittman, education chairman; Kelli Miller, public relations chairman; Macey Young, parliamentarian.
New members are Laine Bertucci, Haley Broom, Morgan McCabe, Shane Normand, Fallon Ramage, Emily Smith, and Claire Tindell.
The outgoing members are: Jan Fitzgerald, Kristen Gard, Jennifer Hage, Amy Lee, and Denise Nault.
The Gulfport chapter of the Junior Auxiliary was organized May 26, 1948, and currently has 65 active members. It is a volunteer organization that provides charitable services to benefit the general public, with particular emphasis on children.
Working closely with local agencies and schools, the Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport provides children with education and information on life skills, dental hygiene, clothing and medical assistance as well as scholarship opportunities.
College Bound Scholarships Awarded
The Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport recently awarded $8,000 in scholarships to twelve local High School Seniors. The Junior Auxiliary’s annual College Bound Scholarship program recognizes students with superior academic achievement and financial need. The students must also exhibit leadership potential through personal references, school or extracurricular activities, work experience, volunteer work or community involvement. This year’s recipients were Katrina Hutchinson, Long Beach High School; Alicia Premeaux, St. Patrick’s Catholic High School; Haylee Manville, West Harrison High School; Kaitlin DeWitt, Pass Christian High School; Rachel Ladnier, Harrison Central High School; and Ashley Gardner, Jessica Ann Ballard, and Amy Aehnlich, Gulfport High School. The Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport was founded over 60 years ago and supports local children at all age levels on their journey to a brighter future.
Hannah Hatfield Scholarships are awarded for Outstanding Educators in the Gulfport School District
At the Gulfport School District Board Meeting on May 3, the Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport awarded the Hannah H. Hatfield Outstanding Educator Awards to three Gulfport School District teachers. Each teacher received a plaque and a $2,000 award for his or her outstanding efforts in the classroom. Honorees were Hardy Thames and Andrew Gunkle-Gulfport High School and Kelli McGuffee-Pass Road Elementary. This program was established by the Medley and Hatfield families to honor their mother, Hannah Hatfield, as well as the many Gulfport School District teachers who play a positive role in the daily lives of thousands of children. Presenting the awards were Pam Pannell and Elizabeth Massey, active members of the Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport. At the time of presentation, Pannell was the current co-chair of the Hannah Hatfield committee which was formed to administer the annual awards on behalf of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and members of the Hatfield family.