Mercy Medical Center Honored at Annual Dinner

At this year’s JLCR Annual Dinner, thirty-one past Presidents of Junior League of Cedar Rapids members were on hand to celebrate the 2009-2010 year and to honor award recipients from the organization and the community.  Mercy Medical Center was awarded the Robert O. Daniel Community Service Award for their support of the Ladies Titan Tire Challenge golf tournament.  This award recognizes an individual, business, or organization that has contributed greatly to the success of Junior League activities, projects or fundraisers over the past year.

The Honorary Member was awarded to Tyler Culver.  This award is presented to members of the community whose involvement and contributions to the efforts of the JLCR warrant recognition by honorary membership in the organization.  Using his own equipment and free time, Tyler completed several professional-quality video projects for JLCR throughout the year.

The Annual Dinner capped off JLCR’s 75th year of service.  Throughout the League year, 97 active members volunteered over 2000 hours of their time to various projects and fundraisers.   In addition to the partnership with The Arc of East Central Iowa to create an expressive art studio and retail store, members participated in nine “Done-in-a-Day” projects.  These monthly activities included a coat drive with Tanager Place that collected over 150 coats, a Valentine’s Skating Party for over 50 children with Families Helping Families, and The Arc of East Central Iowa’s Easter Egg Hunt which served over 100 children.  JLCR’s new member class also partnered HACAP to deliver bags of toiletries for the 175 residents of Geneva Towers, where many of the residents live on a limited income.

JLCR held four fundraisers throughout the year:  Lil’ Kids & Big Rigs, an event at Hawkeye Downs where children can see their favorite trucks; Butterfly Kisses, a father-daughter dance; Iron Chef, an event that showcases local chefs and restaurants; and Ladies Titan Tire Challenge.  The fundraising efforts allowed JLCR to award over $9000 in grants to local nonprofits, including Theatre Cedar Rapids and the African American Museum.

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Congratulations to each of the award recipients:
Robert O. Daniel Community Service Award: Mercy Medical Center
Mercy Medical Center has gone above and beyond for Junior League in the past two years.  We started our partnership in 2009, where they were a huge supporter of the Ladies Titan Tire Challenge.  Mercy not only contributed to the success of the tournament through their in-kind donations, but also in the support of their staff, nurses, doctors, and other medical personnel to be at the tournament.  JLCR received many congratulations from the Duramed FUTURES tour for the amazing medical support, and we have our friends at Mercy to thank for that.  They continued their support of this amazing community event in 2010, being an even larger part of the success, in sponsoring a Pro-Am, and again, continuing with the amazing medical care throughout tournament week.  We would like to thank Mercy for their remarkable support and look forward to continuing a strong partnership with them.  Please welcome Sister Susan O’Connor from Mercy medical Center to accept the Robert O. Daniel Award. Thank you Sister Susan O. Connor for accepting this award on behalf of Mercy Medical center!
This award is named for Bob Daniel, who served as the attorney for JLCR for many years. (Eligibility is limited to individuals, businesses, or associations in the Cedar Rapids community.)

Sustainer of the Year Award: Lee Clancy
This sustainer is one of JLCR’s biggest assets in its sustainer membership. In June of 2008, Lee got her first taste of LTTC. I worked with her in the media tent, and she feel in love with the event. She then stepped up to the plate this past JLCR year asking for countless sponsorships. While I did not work with her directly, it is widely known that as a JLCR sustainer, with influence in the Cedar Rapids community, she raised thousands of dollars for LTTC. More so, she even raised money for JLCR”s corporate sponsorship program. This women is a proud sustainer of JLCR and exhibits our mission of promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through her efforts. JLCR couldn’t ask for a better representative in the community.
This award is presented to honor a Sustaining member who has made outstanding contributions to League and/or the community. (Eligibility is limited to a Sustaining member of JLCR.)

Honorary Membership to the Junior League of Cedar Rapids: Tyler Culver
Tyler Culver was recruited to complete various video projects for Junior League this year. He spent over 30 plus hours video taping the Past President’s meeting, Lil’ Kids Big Rigs, the new member welcome night, as well as interviews with Mindy, Lee Clancy and the ARC. Tyler spent a great deal of time editing these videos and preparing them to use in presentations, on our web site and for promotional use. He has no affiliation with League and did this using his own equipment and time. Thank you Tyler Culver for your support of JLCR this year!
This award is presented to someone whose involvement and contributions to the efforts of JLCR during the past League year have been so great that they should be recognized by honorary membership in our organization. (Eligibility is limited to individuals, businesses, or associations in the corridor area.)

Spirit Award: Charity Tyler
Charity has stepped up and served as the co-chair for two years for the Ladies Titan Tire Challenge. Over the two years she has used every creative thought possible from soliciting dollars for sponsorships and engaging folks like Lee Clancy to creativity with marketing in suggesting the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. She has enthusiastically spoken in front of numerous rotaries and other groups to sell tickets and promote the event. She embodies leadership, creativity, enthusiasm, and a hard work ethic. During the first year of the tournament she was League president and during the 2nd year she was expecting her first baby….Welcome baby Calli! She has truly made the LTTC a success and without her leadership it would not be what it is today.
This award is presented to the JLCR member who embodies the spirit of League volunteerism in her actions and interactions in the community and with other JLCR members. (Eligibility is limited to an active, sustainer, or provisional who is involved in other community organizations.)

Leadership Award: Marcy Dent
Marcy Dent truly represents what a leader is. I have had the pleasure to work with her on JLCR’s board two of the past three years, and have yet to leave a meeting unimpressed with her. Her in-depth involvement on the board qualifies her for furthering the vision and future of JLCR, not just this year, but each and every year she has served our membership. She not only conducts herself in a professional manner, but also has a kind heart and cares deeply about JLCR, her council, its committee members and “the rest of us.” Her knowledge of JLCR is astonishing and her ability to hear others thoughts and concerns and then clearly represent them at the organization’s highest level is a joy to watch. She is a passionate leader who “gets it done” at whatever level is needed and never shies away from leading by example. I understand that she is going sustaining this coming year and if that be so JLCR is losing an unbelievable leader in its active membership ranks that will be hard, if not impossible to replace.
This award is presented to the member who has motivated, inspired, and led others to further the vision of the organization through her League placement. (Eligibility is limited to an Active member of League.)

Unsung Hero Award: Kati Davis
Kati served on the marketing/public relations committee this year and went above and beyond our expectations. Although she was only the liaison for the LKBR Fundraiser, she continued her efforts on all three fundraisers to ensure great attendance and adherence to JLCR’s branding standards. Without any instruction or prompting, she took over the responsibilities of improving and updating the facebook page. This has been an excellent tool for communicating with members and the community. She also prepared and sent out e-mail blasts for our events. She stepped up to the plate and helped the liaisons from the other committees with things like e-mail blasts, templates, etc. She has also given great feedback on ways to improve the JLCR website. This will improve the way we present ourselves to new members, current members, and the community.
This award is presented to someone whose participation has had great impact on JLCR—someone who has encouraged, participated and supported, stepped up to the plate on short notice, and has gone beyond the call of duty to get things done. (Eligibility is limited to an Active or Provisional who is not currently a committee chair or board member.)

Wheels in Motion Award: Maria Sanchez-Masi
JLCR’s efforts are successful because of the “Jump in and get to work” attitude of it’s membership. Maria is a first year active who enthusiastically and willingly accepted a leadership position as co-chair of League’s project immediately upon her transition from provisional member status. It was clear to all of us from day one that she was here to accomplish something. Through her interactions with the ARC staff and JLCR committee members alike, she has demonstrated an ability to develop positive, lasting relationships within and between organizations to identify and realize mutually beneficial projects goals and activities. She has shown so much patience, wisdom, and enthusiasm for our ARC project. Her enthusiasm for league and especially its project endeavors is contagious and so impressive given that she is the mother of a toddler and has another baby on the way! She dedicated herself 100% to this project and epitomizes the “putting wheels in motion” philosophy.
This is a member deserving of special recognition for her dedication of time, effort, creativity, and leadership, or who has contributed in a special way to the project. (Eligibility is limited to an Active, Sustainer, or Provisional who is serving on a Science Station or Habitat for Humanity project committee.)

Photos from the Annual Dinner: