History of the Juniors Club in the 1980's

"Because We Care", the 1980-81 administration of Mrs. John Noppenberg, was an upbeat, hard-working success. Our foremost project, the dental clinic, provided $45,000 in service to children, new equipment was installed, and 2 women in our city were given $1,500 in scholarships. We provided for our Clinic with the most financially successful Cabaret ever "There Ain't Nothin' Like a Dame." Breaking all records, our profits were well over $23,000. The first annual "Mini-Cabaret" for our children was held and raised $350 for the Clinic. Out in our community, $3,000 was donated to the Ronald McDonald House (a facility for families of hospitalized children), a TV adapter was donated to a residential school for deaf children, the 2nd edition of The Children's Guide to Miami was published and distributed with $4,000 worth sold, over 600 people were registered to vote in the national election, Channel 2 phones were manned by our members, the Association for Retarded Citizens received many hours of our time and a donation, and Victims Advocates was helped by us all year for their sexually abused children's program and battered wives' program. Our Club won 1st place in Dade County Federation and 1st places in Membership Programs and Fund Raising Projects from the Florida Federation of Woman's Clubs. "We Cared" and it showed. Sponsor: 1980-1981 Mrs. Nevin C.Lahuis.

Mrs. Stanley Wexler's 1981-1982 administration "joined together succeeded" to continue to support all our worthwhile community endeavors. Our members became "Starstruck", broke all Cabaret records, and raised over $28,000 to run our dental clinic which provided over $45,000 worth of free dental care to the needy. Our Children's Mini-Cabaret raised over $500. Our CIP, the dental clinic, won 1st place in the date (all FFWC clubs) and received a $400 cash award from Sears. We reached out and held a crafts day at Snapper Creek Nursing Home, had an Educators Coffee, sponsored a Special Olympian, purchased a film and coloring books on prevention of Child Molestation for the Coral Gables Police Dept., held a Christmas Party for the Downtown Senior Citizens and gave $1,500 in Dental Scholarships to 2 Dade County Recipients. One of our many outstanding programs was a Husband's Turn about Night with Chuck Dowdle of Channel 10 as guest speaker. At State convention many of our members received Arts & Crafts awards and we were honored to have received a 1st place for Membership and the Arts, a 2nd place in Fund Raising, and a 3rd place in Home Life and Programs. "Joining and Working Together' proved very successful.

Sandra Kirkpatrick's special project 1982-1983 was for The Learning Experience Center in Coral Gables for Down's Syndrome Children. All departments contributed to this worthwhile facility. We made learning tools to better enable the children to pick up on the basics. We went and promoted proper dental care and a $250 cash contribution was presented. We provided over $45,000 worth of free dental care to needy children and gave $1,500 worth of dental scholarships. Our Cabaret ad campaign brought in $28,000 and ticket sales of over $15,000 for "Gables Goes Hollywood - Take 45." The Art Department gave us art and craft days, art in the Journal, and a special day for members to bring their own arts to show the members. The Education Department held an Educators Coffee and also donated and gave books and toys to the Pediatric Outpatient Cancer Center at the University of Miami Clinic. A leading psychiatrist spoke to us on stress. The Public Affairs Department held a political forum and made a cash donation to the JMH Renovation of the Alamo. Home Life collected a carload of goods that members personally delivered to the girls at Hacienda Girls' Ranch, plus our popular Christmas party at the Gesu Senior Citizen Center. We held a kitchen shower for the Ronald McDonald House and also donated toys to the children staying there during the holidays. A raffle allowed us to sponsor a high school student attending the Hugh O'Brien Florida Youth Seminar. Our new members made a donation to Miami Children's Hospital Battered Children's Unit and another to our dental clinic. We participated at the Coral Gables Woman's Club in the dedication of our combined clubhouses on March 7, 1983 by the Mayor of Coral Gables as it was named historical Marker #19. Our own Mrs. May Van Sickle retired and a special party was held in her honor at the Country Club. A lot to be proud of! Sponsor: 1981-1983 Mrs. Nevin C. Lahuis.

"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot help but bring it to themselves" was Sue Taylor's theme for her first administration. The 58 active and 12 new members worked hard to continue the Club's efforts in community service while spreading sunshine to others and to each other.

It was another successful Cabaret, leaving us with many fond "Memories" and a check for the dental clinic of $28,600. A new and profitable project organized by our new members brought the Club $5,000 from Amerifirst Bank's 26 branch offices by decorating trees for the holidays. Our dental clinic
tried something new this year. With the new Dental Clinic Supervisor, we changed to 2 full days rather than 5 half days On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 4, we served over 700 patient visits valued at over $45,000 worth of free dental care. The Public Affairs department was instrumental in organizing a local chapter of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) and worked toward a contribution of $1,050 in cash and equipment to get them open for business. This project was reported to state and received a First Place award for the GFWC Junior Special Project. The Ann Ainslie Memorial Fund was conceived and in loving memory to a past Junior, our past Senior Sponsor, and a dear friend. The donations will be used for major repairs and equipment purchases in the Clinic where a plaque hangs in her honor. Other projects: craft day with the hard to adopt children at the Children's Home Society, a reception prior to the Junior Orange Bowl Parade, Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership, sponsoring Soiree, our annual Christmas party for the Senior Citizens & Gesu Senior Citizen Center, remembering teachers during American Education Week, craft workshops for children at local public libraries and assisting with the national program, Chemical People. Our financial contributions totaled over $1,300 to many valued community programs and organizations.
All this and more represents another successful year with the Coral Gables Juniors.
Sponsor: 1983-1984 Mrs. James R. Blackburn.

Sunshine continued to be shed through another Junior year as this President, Sue Taylor, held on to her post for a second term (a first with our Club) during the 1984 1985 year. Junior clubs across the country experienced membership loss mostly due to the demands put on young women to be back in the work force. Our Club being no exception, we suffered a drop in membership and an increase in full time employed members. In spite of all this, we pulled off a project so successful it could fall only second to our Cabaret. "Miracle on 15th Street" was indeed a miracle. A Fashion Show Luncheon was held in the fall to benefit a new center for abused children with the Miami Children's Home society. After thousands of hours of labors of love from 100% of our members including our 14 new members, we were very proud to present a check amounting to nearly $12,000.00. We were equally proud to receive a first place award for the GFWC Special Project Child Abuse.
What time this project didn't take up in our year, Cabaret did. "And the Beat Goes On" brought us as much success, joy and talent as ever. The dental clinic continued to serve many, many children this year during its working hours of Tuesdays and Thursdays, it's operating budget requiring $27,000.00
With these and many other smaller projects, Coral Gables Juniors continued to serve with pride "not merely to exist."
Sponsor: 1984 1985 MRS. James Blackburn

Being President of the CGJWC during 1985 86 has been one of the most fulfilling experi-ences in my life. My theme this year was "Together we'll grow stronger" and I am very glad that we accomplished that goal.
We started the Club year on the right track. Our new member class of 16 wonderful ladies was a great asset to the Club. Their new members project was a huge success. They collected a great variety of items, which were donated to the Coconut Grove Crisis Center to aid the new Haitian immigrants in our community. Their theme was "Together as One" and I was happy to see it wasn't only a theme. It was a fact. They worked together with the entire membership and went above and beyond the call of duty. We have now a strong membership, maybe not large in number, but overwhelmingly large in love, friendship and willingness to help.
The dental clinic opened its sunshine door again this year and gave free dental care to over 700 patients worth over $45,000.

We had a Fashion Show as our Ways & Means project. $5,000 was raised in this function and the profits were shared 50/50 with the McLamore Center for Abused Children. We also decorated the main branch of the Amerifirst Bank (downtown Miami) for Christmas, sold coffee and donuts at the 5K Junior Orange Bowl run and sold Christmas gift bags and boxes among other fund raisers.

The Dental Clinic Scholarship was given to one of our new members and 5 needy families were able to celebrate Thanksgiving, thanks to the generosity of Juniors. We hosted again this year the Gesu Senior Citizen Christmas party. We provided baked goods, presents and entertainment to those people who might otherwise have been forgotten during this holiday season. We won first place in Public Relations and second place in Home Life at the FFWC convention.

Finally, we had our 48th annual Cabaret "Going Bananas" which was a huge success. Over $25,000 was raised worth of Cabaret ads and donations and over $11,000 worth of ticket sales. The Cabaret profits will make it possible for us to operate the dental clinic again next year.
I thank you for all your support, help and dedication. Love, Tania
Sponsor: 1985 1986 MRS. Joyce Blackburn

Under the leadership of Debbie Briggle, 1986 began with the challenge that "United in Friendship Committed to Service Working Together We could make the world Better", and we did! Joined in a common bond of Friendship, we worked together to pursue our goals and we realized our dreams. We added a wonderful group of new members to increase our active membership by 33%.

Our first major fund took the form of a Casino Night and was a "Las Vegas Vice"! After a delicious buffet and several hours of games and fun, $7,000 worth of prizes were distributed among 234 guests. We netted $5,800 to help provide dental care to the children in our clinic and to make some much needed improvements to our clubhouse, including a new $30,000 roof.

In preparation for the national election we sponsored a Political Forum open to the public. Ten local candidates debated on the issues and provided a very enlightening and informative evening. We also gave a HOBY scholarship to a high school sophomore.

At Thanksgiving we filled and delivered baskets with turkeys to 3 struggling families in our dental clinic and provided 10 bags of groceries to the Community Drive "Miami Feeding Miami."

At the Christmas party for the Senior Citizens downtown, 200 wrapped gifts were distributed and each person was given a large plateful of homemade goodies and a personal favor. We also donated $135 in Christmas card sales to the Child Abuse Center at the Children's Home Society.

With the profit from refreshment sales at the Junior Orange Bowl 5 K Run, we made donations to the JOB Committee, the Florida Audubon Society, the Save the Manatee Program and the Learning Experience School for Downs Children.

Our 49th Cabaret "5...6...7...8...Dance!" was especially successful in raising the money needed to run the dental clinic. We grossed $22,545 in our fund raising campaign and sold a record 1,321 tickets for a total of $16,123 in ticket sales.

During the 65 days the Clinic was open, we had 573 patient visits and provided $32,000 worth of dental care. We also increased our comprehensive dental program to include 40 families in our recall system and made arrangements with several local orthodontists to donate $6,600 worth of treatment to 3 of our children.

At the State convention we received a first place award for Fund Raising, a fourth place award in the Arts Department, a Certificate of Recognition for 33% Membership Increase and & Special Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in the dental clinic Project.
Gables Juniors Really Are The Best! Love, Debbie
Sponsor: 1986-1987 Mrs. Libby Preston

DEBBIE BRIGGLE began her second term focusing on "LOVING and SHARING, CARING, and GIVING", since "Those are the things that make life worth Living." This year marked the glorious celebration of our Golden 50th Cabaret, "Seems Like Gold Times", which was held in the elegant Gusman Theater for the Performing Arts downtown. It was a spectacular extravaganza and grossed $52,000, which will continue to keep the doors of our dental clinic open for needy children. We put together and published an excellent dental clinic handbook and increased the number of families in our recall system to 65.

We increased the net profit of our Gala "Las Vegas Vice" Casino Night by 60% for a total of $8,300, which made it possible for us to give $2,000 in donations to other worthy community projects.

We were one of 3 local charities chosen to participate in the Burdines "Share Bear" program and bought and delivered 150 adorable stuffed bears to needy children for Christmas. Once again we had a wonderful Christmas party for the lonely Senior Citizens downtown, delivered Thanksgiving baskets with turkeys to needy families, donated food to "Miami Feeding Miami" and sold refreshments at the JOB 5 K run.

We gave a scholarship for a local sophomore to attend the HOBY Leadership Conference and for a local teenage ballerina to attend the American Ballet Theatre's summer program in New York.

We netted $45,500 on rentals of our clubhouse and continued to make needed improvements. We got special recognition from the Mayor of Coral Gables, the Mayor of Miami, the Governor of Florida and a national television network news program, as well as a couple of local TV stations We worked very hard, with great love and dedication for each other and for all others to keep our Golden Junior dreams alive!
Sponsor: 1987-1988 Mrs. Doris Millard

Under the leadership of Janne Gentile, the year began with a $10,000 contribution from the City of Coral Gables. This additional funding enabled us to hire a hygienist, refurbish the dental clinic, and purchase some much needed equipment. The Clinic again provided quality care for underprivileged children with 650 patient visits and $35,000 worth of dental care.

"Take It From The Top," our 51st Annual Cabaret, raised another $24,000 in net profits. "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players" was the theme, and Juniors certainly played their parts well.

A Roundtable discussion was held in our clubhouse for our District. In keeping with our tradition of helping others and service in our community, we gathered to paint a senior citizen's home. We particpated in the Special Olympic Bowl A Thon and the Miami Feeding Miami programs, both very worth-while in helping the underprivileged. Some of us volunteered our time and served on the Superhost Committee for the Super Bowl and manned poster booths at the Coconut Grove Art Show.

The holidays are special times and we again filled and delivered Thanksgiving baskets to local mi-grant families. We provided our annual Christmas party for the senior citizens at the Gesu Church.

We contributed several thousand dollars to various charities, some of which are the Children's Home Society, the Down Syndrome Foundation, WPBT, Earth Island Institute, Miami Bridge, the Zoological Society as well as others. We gave a Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Scholarship to a local high school student.

A very exciting evening on a Discovery Cruise raised $5,000 for a successful Ways and Means project. We increased our Clubhouse rental income to $48,000 and continued to make needed improvements in our Clubhouse.

Our role in the community has been a starring one because of our dedication and ability to work together to accomplish our goals. You did the Coral Gables Junior Woman's Club proud and you made me proud to be your leader. Love, Joanne
Sponsor: 1988-1989 Mrs. Pierrette Gadala

During the second term of leadership under Joanne Gentile, our dental clinic again opened in conjunction with the school year, but with a much needed, new and modern dental clinic, The staff saw 125 new patients and provided $90.000 worth of care. The City of Coral Gables granted another $10,000 to our cause.

Some major improvements were made in our clubhouse, including a new refrigeration and freezer bar, room ceiling, sidewalks and landscaping.

We continued our close communication with the Senior Woman's Club and donated the use of our clubhouse for district and county meetings. A slide presentation was implemented to plead our cause and was shown to various organizations throughout our community.

"When you wish upon a star your dreams come true" was our theme for 1989-1990 and our accomplishments speak for themselves. We awarded a Hugh O'Brien Leadership Scholarship to a deserving high school student, and to another student the opportunity to study dance with the New York City Ballet. We participated in the Special Olympics, the Policeman's Pig Bowl, and our annual Gesu Church Christmas Party for senior citizens. The Zoological Society, WPBT, Miami Bridge, the Children's Home Society, the Down Syndrome Project, and Earth Island Institute together received several thousand dollars in contributions from our club.

With the passing of Mrs. May Van Sickle, our 52nd Annual Cabaret, "Kickin' Up A Storm," became a very special one and was dedicated to her memory. $25,000 in profits were raised and will allow our Clinic to continue to help those deserving children in our community for yet another year.

I would like to thank all of the dedicated women I was privileged to work with for a most successful and rewarding year, for together we really did make dreams come true.
Junior love always, Joanne
Sponsor: 1989-1990 Mrs. Pierrette Gadala

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