Tuesday, November 8, 2011 (AJLI Presidential Visit, Day 1)

I have just had a remarkable experience that I feel I must share.

As some of you may know, I am passionate about my volunteer activities and more specifically my love for the Junior League of Schenectady and Saratoga Counties (JLSS) and its commitment to this region. Well, last evening I had the distinct pleasure of attending an event featuring the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) President Delly Beekman.  Ms. Beekman was visiting Schenectady at the request of the JLSS members and spoke at our annual Tri-League (with sister leagues from Albany and Troy) event to discuss the strategic roadmap for the Association which consists of 155,000 women in 292 Leagues located in 4 countries all sharing a common mission, to promote voluntarism, develop the potential of women and improve communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.   One of my biggest takeaways from the discussion was that we all need to keep an eye on the emerging trends and how those trends affect our membership. 

But the real highlight of the evening was when I was given the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with Delly as we drove home that evening and although we discussed many things including children, families, and travel, I also took a moment to speak with her about Schenectady and its rich history.  We drove down Erie Boulevard (or as I told Delly, an old portion of the Erie Canal), I took a little detour and drove through the Stockade section past The Stockade Inn, with its vibrant history and then up to visit Lawrence the Indian, we then drove past the Van Curler Hotel or currently known as Schenectady County Community College  to her final destination of the Glen Sanders Mansion. 

It was a great evening and this was just day one of her 2-day visit.