Leadership

Suzanne Hambrick, chair

The Backpack Program provides weekly delivery of nutritious food for school children to take home on weekends.Backpacks are packed in Charlotte at Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina and brought to the Hickory Branch of Second Harvest.

The Backpack Committee encourages all Service League members to help distribute backpacks to our five elementary schools in the Hickory Public School System.

Amelia Stafford, chair

The Family Focus Committee concentrates its efforts on planning and conducting a ten-week program on topics that will best contribute to the growth and experience of selected students at Catawba Valley High School. Committee members work closely with these students, getting to know them and helping them become more independent and self-confident. Members conduct workshops on interview skills, exercise, health and grooming, and management of one’s finances.

Debi Thayer, chair

This committee is appointed by the president to make recommendations for the League's annual budget.

Diane Taylor, chair

The Historian keeps records of all League activities during the year and enters them into the archives.

Nancy Wilfong, chair

This committee is responsible for all social functions of the League. The committee hosts two annual coffees for the League membership, and the Service League Tea honoring new provisional members, which is held the third Tuesday of May. The committee is responsible for the menu and decorations for these events.

Sallie Huckabee, chair

The League House Committee description is coming soon.

Donna Bush, chair

This representative is an Inactive Member, voted on by the Inactives to represent their interests on the Board.

Sue Dobbins, Camille Gruman, co-chairs

The investment committee is appointed by the president of the Service League for the purpose of overseeing the management of the League’s endowment accounts.

Elizabeth Atkins, Xan Pilgrim, co-chairs

The Kitchens & More Tour is the League’s major fundraiser for the year. Six beautiful homes/kitchens are featured each year on the Tour. During the tour, homemade desserts, homemade frozen soups and gifts are sold at the Service League House at 506 Third Ave., NW, Hickory. Funds earned from the Kitchens & More Tour are distributed to worthy non-profit agencies located in Catawba County, NC, that are selected through an application process prior to the Tour. The Kitchens & More Tour is held each November on the weekend prior to Thanksgiving.

Nancy Genovese, chair

The Nominating Committee is responsible for presenting a slate of officers at the April League meeting and securing co-chairmen or vice-chairmen for the various committees of the League.

Lesa Joiner, chair

The Membership Committee supervises the proposal and election of new members, effects status changes, conducts the election of the membership committee each spring, and serves as the vehicle through which members may privately discuss their concerns.

Mary Sizemore, chair, Paula Ward, vice-chair

The Office Chair maintains an up-to-date membership list in the file copy of the Handbook as well as in the League Computer. (The vice-president is chairman of the Handbook.) The Chairman of the Office Committee directs the typing, copying, and filing of all League business. The Office Committee also communicates with the Membership through the use of email and monitors the League internet mailbox for communications received from Members. The Office Committee also publishes the League’s newsletter, printed biannually in January and August.

Nancy Genovese

The Parliamentarian description is coming soon.

Elizabeth Atkins, chair

The Scholarship Committee of the Service League is responsible for the administration of the League's scholarship and grant program. This program is designed to provide assistance to area high school graduates who might otherwise have financial difficulty attending the college of their choice.

At present $16,000 of the League budget is pledged to scholarship assistance. Two scholarships, each valued at $2,000 per year for four years, are awarded annually to graduates of public high schools within Catawba County. Scholarships are awarded for attendance at any community college, 2-year (junior college) or 4-year institution based on financial information supplied by candidates at the time of the interview. The scholarship recipients are chosen on the basis of financial need, academic achievement, leadership, and work ethic.

In addition, the A. Gaither Hahn Scholarship, valued at $1,000/year for four years, is awarded every four years to a student who is a graduate of a public high school in Catawba County and who is pursuing a degree at Lenoir-Rhyne College. This scholarship, as well as all grant monies, is financed through interest income in the Scholarship Endowment Fund.

In 1997, due to the benevolence of Jack Kahl and other friends and associates of Glenn Hilton, an endowment was established to fund scholarships honoring Mr. Hilton. The Glenn C. Hilton Scholarship is valued at $10,000 over four years, is awarded every other year as funds are available.

Tina Terrell, chair

The Special Needs Committee provides Service League volunteers for the Adolescents and Children in Treatment Center (ACT). This is a combined program of the Catawba County Schools and the Mental Health Department. It services children up to eighth grade. The goal of this program is to help children with their behavioral skills and eventually transition them back into a regular school setting.

This “hands on” committee provides five seasonal parties for the children; these include Halloween, Christmas, Valentine, Easter and end of the year parties. These parties involve games, snacks, and treat bags. We also visit the school once a month to celebrate birthdays for children celebrating that month. The children have cake and receive a small present. In addition, we help support the school’s library by bringing gently used quality books from our Thrift Shop.

The purpose of the Committee is to help the teachers at ACT make these children feel cared about and special. We have an opportunity to interact and build relationships, and to be positive adult role models. This school does not have the parental resources needed in the classroom so this Committee helps fill that void. Our involvement with these children helps them have opportunities to practice positive behavioral skills in a controlled environment.

Catherine Snipes, chair

The purpose of the Thrift Shop is to raise money to support League projects designed to improve cultural and social conditions of the community. The Thrift Shop is the most important fundraiser for the League. The committee's members meet monthly. Their responsibilities within the shop include merchandising and advertising, window decorations, updating of approval guidelines, supervision of the file of members' hours for tax purposes, chart and treasurer duties, and setting general guidelines overseeing all operations of the shop.

Twice a year, committee members prepare the shop for sales, pack unsold items to be given away at the end of a season, and restock with the new season's merchandise. They are responsible for helping the manager, when she requests it, with processing merchandise. Members are also responsible for working shifts at the shop for regular members to cover emergency leaves after the chart has been made.