Our Provisional of the Year 2016/2017 is Dr. Adrienne Smith, a new active member currently serving on the Community Action Team. Adrienne is a small business owner with a Master’s and Doctorate in Horticultural Sciences from the University of Florida. Relatively new to the area, she has enjoyed the introduction to the Orlando area community through volunteer service with several of JLGO partners. Additionally, she has been a routine source of support for JLGO’s HIP Kids program throughout the League year. Adrienne was always a ray of sunshine in her provisional class and went above and beyond completing her requirements, donating to the HIP Kids Angel Tree and supporting the Bargain Box. She made special effort to get to know her fellow provisionals, always inviting others to GMMs and DIADs and making sure to include everyone. Additionally, as a new active she completed her placement and her membership requirements well before the deadline. She has a real commitment to service and heart for kids in need.

In 2016/2017, our Active Member of the Year, Jordan Matthews, served as an Assistant Chair on the Halloween Hustle 5K Committee, participated as a member of the Diversified Funding Committee, and generously volunteered even more of her time alongside the VP Fundraising and VP M&C to spearhead the JLGO’s first-ever Little Black Dress Initiative. In addition to her dedication to fundraising for the JLGO’s mission through these three placements in 2016/2017, she also regularly finds ways to maximize fundraising opportunities through corporate volunteerism grants and matching gift programs through her employer, doubling the impact of her time and talent. Her dedication to the JLGO by taking on the equivalent of THREE placements during the 2016/2017 League year is unparalleled. Her infectious enthusiasm for the JLGO, her passion for fundraising for our mission and focus area, her design savvy, and her positive, “will do!” attitude made her the unanimous choice for Active Member of the Year for 2016/2017.

Beth Dover is our 2016/2017 Sustainer of the Year. Beginning in the summer of 2016, Beth spearheaded research efforts to ascertain the current state of Sustainer membership and better understand their needs and wants. As the head of the Sustainer Advisory Group, she led the development of the new Sustainer Council structure. During the past year, Beth has spent countless hours revitalizing the Sustainer Council, which now has five committees that are fully staffed with volunteers. Sustainer dues collection was also a high priority, and Beth organized a past presidents’ phonathon to outreach to unpaid members. She also developed a dues communications plan for 2017/2018 that resulted in more than 200 Sustainers paying before the due date.