President’s Letter – September 2020

Happy September! It’s hard to believe it has been six months since we have gathered together in person. I hope this finds each of you and your families safe as we continue to face the many challenges of our current climate.

I want to welcome each of you to a new year of membership in the Junior League of Poughkeepsie. I am excited to serve this incredible group of women as your President over the coming year and I hope that in these uncertain times, the JLP can remain a light for each of us, providing opportunities to connect with likeminded women and make a difference in our community.

Normally, I would be standing in front of you at our June dinner meeting, sharing a vision for the year ahead. At first, I was disappointed to have another event cancelled due to Covid-19. I’m sure each of you have had plans tossed aside due to the pandemic and share similar feelings. Now, I realize whatever message I would have shared in June, would certainly not be relevant today. Our world is changing so quickly and I’d be doing a disservice to our organization, and to each of you, to follow a vision set months ago without the flexibility to pivot.

The Association of Junior Leagues recently announced the theme for our organization as a whole and quite honestly, I couldn’t have come up with anything that speaks more to our current needs – #BetterTogether. As Junior Leagues, we envision a collaborative network where, working together, we can pool resources, focus on priority areas, and improve communities across the globe. Together, we are better.

While we may have been socially distant since March, the work of our league has not stopped! The Board has been working throughout the summer to develop a sustainable plan of action for the coming year, navigating through so much unknown with the goal to provide a valuable, and safe, member experience for each of you.

We have made the very difficult decision that all JLP meetings and events will be virtual through December 31st. The Board will reevaluate this decision at the close of 2020 to determine the best course of action for the spring based on both state government and CDC guidelines. Our GMM schedule will be as follows:

October 5
November 2
December 7
January 4
March 1
April 5
May 3
June 7

October, November and December meetings will be held at 8pm Eastern via Zoom (link to be provided in advance).

We will continue to remain flexible in our planning and transparent in our decisions. This will be a year unlike any in the past, but I know that our league is strong and this will be a page in our history book.

I am proud to be a part of this organization with each of you by my side and I hope that you will continue to participate however you are able. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out. Our board members are here to support each of you – we are #BetterTogether.

Truly,

Alicia Favata