Board Profile: Becky Patel

Board Member Profile: Becky Patel

Age: 36

Resides In: Mandarin

Family Details: Husband – Rakesh, Kids – Jaden, 5 and Malana, 3

Pets: Australian Shepherd Mix named Daisy

Hometown: Miami

Current Board Position: President

College and Major: Florida State University – Finance; Nova South Eastern University - MBA

Professional Details: Vice President, Sr. Underwriter at Bank of America

Community Involvement:
Junior League of Jacksonville, August 1998 – Present
President, Board Member 2011-2012; President-Elect, Board Member 2010-2011; Community Council Director, Board Member 2008-2009; Provisional Vice-Chair 2007-2008; Provisional Advisor 2006-2007; Volunteer of the Year 2006-2007; CARES Chairman, 2005-2006; CARES Vice-Chairman, 2004-2005; Volunteer of the Year 2004-2005; Provisional Vice-Chair, 2003-2004; Treasurer, Board Member 2002-2003; Treasurer-elect, 2001-2002; Communications Council Administrative Assistant, 2000-2001; Provisional Member, 1999-2000

Junior Achievement, Classroom Volunteer, January 1998 – Present

Sigma Kappa Sorority, Beta Tau (University of Florida) Chapter Advisor, August 2000 – May 2006

Sigma Kappa Sorority, National Officer, May 2006 - Present

Sigma Kappa Alumnae Chapter of Jacksonville, Various Board Positions, January 2001 – Present

Bright Horizons Parent Group, Various Volunteer Roles, March 2006 - Present

Girls on the Run of Northeast Florida, Coach, Fall 2009

HandsOn Jacksonville, Blueprint for Leadership Cohort, Spring 2011

Member of JLJ since: 1999

Why did you join JLJ? Volunteering in the community has always been a priority to me. I think it is very important to give back and it is something that I enjoy very much. In addition to the volunteer aspect, I was new to Jacksonville and thought joining the Junior League would be a great way to make new friends.

What is Your Goal for this year? I have been an active member of the JLJ for 10+ years and I have seen us do some truly great things. I have served in a variety of leadership roles with an emphasis in Finance, Community and Training & Development, and I hope to leverage this experience as President. I would like to build upon the foundation that has already been established. I want to continue to focus on making the JLJ fun! I want to get people excited about coming to meetings and volunteering. Retention is also a key goal. We are working to meet member’s changing needs and interests through social activities, and more training and community opportunities. We also want to get more sustainers involved by encouraging them to participate in more events. We also are working to enhance our fundraising activities. This will help us in so many ways – more funds to support our community goals, but also gets our name out there in the community.

What has been your most rewarding moment in JLJ? Seeing the smiles on the kid’s faces at CARES or KITK events. I think we are really making a difference in these kids’ lives by giving them our time.

What has surprised you most about your time with JLJ? Just how much fun it can be. If you find the right committee and dedicate yourself to it, every meeting can be a fun experience.

What has been your favorite placement? Why? I loved CARES. It was great to be a part of that committee. We did so much for Norwood and I really felt like I bonded with some of those kids given the amount of time I spent at the school.

How have you been able to use skills you learned in JLJ in your everyday life? Definitely – I am more confident overall.

Give us a reason why you would encourage other women to join JLJ: It is a great way to work together with like minded women to give back to the community. You will also make some great friendships.

How do you think JLJ most helps the community? We help the community in so many ways. We give of our time to so many organizations and we help so many kids. Whale of a Sale is also such a big community service and I think we sometime forget that aspect of the event.

Board Member Profile: Kathy Waller

Age and Birthday: 36, Birthday is Aug 7

Resides In: Jacksonville Beach

Family Details: Married for 9.5 years to Chuck; Mother to almost 6 year old twins, Will and Sophie, and almost 2 year old, Lainey

Pets: none, even plants die in my house

Hometown: Savannah, GA

Current Board Position: Secretary

College and Major: Georgia Tech, Industrial and Systems Engineering Professional

Details: Software consultant and business analyst for 7 years prior to becoming a stay-at-home mom

Community Involvement: Junior League, Neptune Baptist Church Preschool, Children, Student, and Women's Ministries, Jacksonville Galloway Marathon Training, MOMS Club,

Member of JLJ since: 2005

Why did you join JLJ? I joined JLJ to meet women, to give back to my community, and to feel like I was a part of something fabulous!

What is Your Goal for this year? My goal for this year is to help make JLJ that "thing" that people are excited to be a part of!

What has been your most rewarding moment in JLJ? I love reading real life stories about how our programs have impacted people; the ones from the kids "get me" every time!

What has surprised you most about your time with JLJ? I am really surprised that I've become so involved, but the years where I was most involved are the ones I look back on as the most rewarding.

What has been your favorite placement? Why? My favorite placement was definitely chairing Kids in the Kitchen. It came at a time in my life when I had just come from a pretty fabulous career and all of a sudden found myself at home with two toddlers. At home, my daily work seemed pretty unimportant, and the successes seemed few and far between. It was so exciting researching childhood obesity and bringing the project to Jacksonville...working with a great leadership team, some pretty amazing community partners and a really awesome committee.

How have you been able to use skills you learned in JLJ in your everyday life? It's great ; I use it all the time, even the weirdest things. I definitely use everything that I learned about nutrition and obesity in my home today. It had such an impact on me during a time when my children were learning important eating habits! I also learn so much from the women that meet related to serving the community but SO MUCH MORE! And it all spills over into other parts of my life and other community service I am doing. It just keeps paying forward really.

Give us a reason why you would encourage other women to join JLJ: I would encourage other women to join JLJ because without a doubt I would not be the woman that I am today without my time in the League.

How do you think JLJ most helps the community? I think before now, I would always talk about the lives we change referring people that we touch when we are serving. Lately though, I'm really reflective on how the League has shaped me and other women in this community, and I now often see what we are building here in Jacksonville that will last so much longer than that! We are creating women that will carry JLJ's mission way farther than a DIAD or a one year project at a school. One of the best things our League does THROUGH all of the service is create these amazing pillars in our community!

Board Member Profile: Margaret Sacks

Age or Birthday: April 29

Resides In: Ortega

Family Details: Husband Jon, daughter Mattie (2)

Pets: Bauer, 80 pound lapdog

Hometown: Lancaster, Virginia

Current Board Position: President - Elect

College and Major: University of Virginia, English and History; University of Florida, MBA

Professional Details: Director of Marketing at Episcopal School of Jacksonville

Community Involvement: Women’s Board for Wolfson’s Children’s Hospital


Member of JLJ since: The land before time

Why did you join JLJ? My grandmother was very involved in the Junior League and I always admired her. She was president of her League. That was important to me, taking a leadership role to help the organization so we can help the community. I also wanted to meet women who felt like I did about making a difference in Jacksonville, and I wanted to help kids.

What is Your Goal for this year? To learn what is important to League members so I can work on that while being President.

What has been your most rewarding moment in JLJ? Doing a snacktivity at Annie R Morgan with KITK. We made bagels, which were pretty much all those kids got to eat for lunch that day, and I asked one little boy why he wasn’t eating and he said he was bringing his bagel home to his grandmother so she could eat it. I still cry when I talk about that moment.

What has surprised you most about your time with JLJ? The amount of dedication and time busy women with jobs, families, other responsibilities are willing to spend helping others. The amount of work our organization accomplishes in a year always astounds me, and I am amazed at the women who are a part of it and willing to give so much to it.

What has been your favorite placement? Why? I’d have to say being on the CARES committee and working with the kids at Annie R. Morgan every weekend. It became my Saturday morning for a whole year, and it was very fulfilling to see the difference we could make.

How have you been able to use skills you learned in JLJ in your everyday life? I’ve learned how important it is that instead of complaining, you should spend your time fixing the problem. I’ve also learned leadership skills, consensus building skills, and time management, as well as the importance of collaboration.

Give us a reason why you would encourage other women to join JLJ: You will have opportunities for skill building that you can use throughout the rest of your life, whether that’s for other volunteer organizations or at work. And you’ll probably get to serve in a leadership role before you might get those opportunities in a business world. I also think having a network of women friends who feel the same way you do about community service is important – it is perpetuating and strengthening. You start to feel that no matter what the problem is, you have the skills and network needed to tackle it, and that you can pretty much accomplish anything!

How do you think JLJ most helps the community? I think the League most helps the community by the training we provide our members, the opportunities they have to volunteer and work with other organizations will then be useful throughout the Jacksonville community, whether they are at work, on another non-profit board, or just volunteering. I think an organization that empowers women provides resources that create a ripple effect (affect?) throughout the community. The volunteer time we put into the organizations we serve is immensely important, but providing women who care and know how to get things done is as important, in my mind.

Board Member Profile: Meredith Schmidt

Age or Birthday: 30, October 19

Resides In: Intercoastal West

Family Details: Looking forward to an October wedding with finance Josh Guess

Pets: Tango, my 40 pound Jack Russell mix. He is my strong willed little man that loves to hug company, cuddle and then dart out the backyard gate any chance he can get.

Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma & DeLand, Florida

Current Board Position: VP Finance Council

College and Major: Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Graduate School of Banking at LSU and currently taking classes at UNF to sit for the CPA exam.

Professional Details: Vice President Commercial Banker Fifth Third Bank

Community Involvement: Leadership Jacksonville, Girl Scouts, Girls on the Run, Art & Antiques Show, Junior Achievement, American Cancer Society.

Member of JLJ since: 2005

Why did you join JLJ? I joined the Junior League when I moved to Jacksonville as a recommendation from a coworker who thought it was a great way to meet friends and get to know our community.

What is Your Goal for this year? My goals this year include streamline the League’s fund development programs and aligning our finance council structure to serve our changing needs while implementing new areas for sustainable revenue that maximizes our volunteer time.

What has been your most rewarding moment in JLJ, so far? Hands down my time spent volunteering with Kids in the Kitchen, especially at the Sanctuary on 8^th. There were many Friday afternoons I would be rushing to an event after a busy work week and all my real world stress would melt away getting out of my car. The kids would run out the door to greet us with welcoming hugs, cheers and chants of “Kids in the Kitchen!” Getting to interact with the kids through a lesson offend left me with a bigger life lesson.

What has surprised you most about your time with JLJ? The Junior League has allowed me to experience Jacksonville, learned about our community organizations and build lasting friendships. Six years later my closest friends here in Jacksonville I met in my provisional group.

What has been your favorite placement, so far? Kids in the Kitchen.