Meet our Board: Rebecca Moore

Name: Rebecca Moore

Location: I live between Southside and the Beaches

Family:  I have one dog, a cocker spaniel named Murray.  I’m not married and don’t have any kids (yet) :)

Career: I work as a Senior Manager in the audit practice of KPMG, LLP (it’s an accounting firm)

Current placement: Board member, Treasurer

Why did you join the League? I joined the league to make friends and volunteer/make an impact on the community.

What has been your best Placement in Junior League and why? That would be a four way tie between: KITK Vice Chair (who doesn’t love impacting kids’ lives through hands on activities and helping feed them), Membership Training & Enrichment Co-Chair (it was so much fun planning social events for our league members), Provisional Advisor (I had such a fantastic group of provisionals, they were and still are so much fun), and Holiday Market Treasurer (working with those ladies during the first Holiday Market was exhausting, but they were a wonderful group and such a pleasure to work with).

Who do you admire? My mom, she is such a loving, patient, wonderful woman.  I have no idea how she does everything that she does!

What do you do for fun? I love to cook and entertain.  I love to try new adventures.

What is your greatest piece of advice? Love what you do, in everything in life (whether at work, volunteering, etc.)

What's your favorite recipe from the any Junior League cookbook? The baked brie en croute, every time I make it, it gets consumed very fast.  My friends constantly ask me to make it when they invite me over and it’s such an easy recipe!

Tell us something interesting about yourself. As I mentioned before I love trying new adventures.  This year I went on a NASCAR ride along (our car got up to 170 MPH), I went swimming with dolphins, I learned how to sail and I’m going flyboarding next week.  Last year I swam in the Georgia Aquarium (the shark tank) and went hang gliding.

Meet our Board: Ellen Wiss

Name: Ellen A. Wiss

Location: On the beach in PVB

Family: Husband - Jim, Stepdaughter - Elise (30), Stepson- Brad (25), Daughter- Aria (25), Grandson- Blake Matthew (3 weeks:), Casper (16 year old white rescue cat), Ferdie (6 year old deaf, white fluffy rescue cat), and Herman (1 year old pom rescue)

Career: (Homkor Florida - President, Homkor Companies - VP - Real Estate Service (though I'm licensed and handle all transactions for clients, my background is primarily in real estate management for the past 25 years)

Current Placement: Board member, 90th anniversary

Why did you join the League?  I joined the League because I was new to town and wanted volunteer exposure in a well structured organization that had broad community reach so I could learn the issues and areas of need to find where I best fit.  I LOVE the League because it provided exactly that for me,  as well as it's the best organizational structure of any other non-profit organization in terms of dollars and sense. 

What has been your best Placement in Junior League and why? That's hard.  I love them all, but my first love was as C.A.R.E.S. Chair - where we successfully expanded our League reach and had a fabulous impact in helping raise the literacy and FCAT performance of students at our partner Title 1 schools with the most number of volunteer hours ever served (much thanks to an enthusiastic and committed new member group and committee members that participated regularly) from October through May including helping to pull off the first ever Scholastic Book Fair at GWC elementary school, raising over $11,000 for students to purchase books.  Positive, rewarding experience from the beginning all through the year, resulting in a template for each year to follow.

Who do you admire?  So many people, and mostly women.  In the League this year, I especially admire our President, Meredith Guess Schmidt.  She set  a huge, bold, and positive agenda this year to challenge members to the 90by90 for the next 90 initiative which she designed, she strategically put leaders (ie: Meg Folds, board) in place to move her ideas forward, to improve financial performance of the Riverside House which is surpassing all goals right now and making a return on the renovation investment like none other, and to set a positive stage for new members with extensive advance planning for kicking off their membership and keeping them engaged throughout their first year, all while supporting all leaders in the League to ensure the goals are met and everyone has what they need to do their part in a way that makes us want to do our part. Brilliant leadership.  And the biggest reason she's so effective is because she cares so much about the League and spends almost all of her non-professional time working toward it's success while she's got the helm.   She expects a lot, but she gives even more.  We are very fortunate to have her lead this year.  She is an amazing ambassador for the League.

What do you do for fun? Beach strolling, snow skiing, mountain hiking, golf, leisure reading, travel, hanging out with family and friends

What is your greatest piece of advice?  Just do it! by Nike is my favorite quote/slogan because it faces that big bad monster that's inside all of us: FEAR.  Don't miss an opportunity because you hesitated.  Work hard, be honest, be persistent, laugh often, and love always, and you will succeed!

What's your favorite recipe from the any Junior League cookbook? All of them, especially when someone else prepares them:)

Tell us something interesting about yourself. I have a pretty happy life.  I'm a 15 year breast cancer survivor.  I'm a twin.  I'm a Christian (Methodist) and my husband is Jewish, so we get to celebrate so many beautiful traditions and holidays together.  I have a daughter who taught for Teach for America and is still in leadership with TFA while she is in a dietetic internship in Atlanta.  I support TFA and education efforts in our community.  I have an office downtown and support revitalization efforts downtown, believing that not only does Jacksonville have a stunningly beautiful downtown, but that in order to have a great city you have to have a great downtown.

I have two step-children and my first beautiful grandson in Chicago. I have a mother-in-law, age 90, born same year JLJ started in 1923, and I adore her.  She's independent, still drives and has a bigger social calendar than I do.  I have a 96 year old aunt Adele after whom I am named  (my middle name), whom I am so close to and visit monthly in MO, who is still independent and a role model for my life.  I share time in the mountains of Vail, CO and the beaches of this community with my husband, the love of my life.  We're empty nesters now, except for the pets, so life is good.