This issue’s theme of legacies is timely for me. With my first baby turning a year old, I can’t help but think on a daily basis of the legacy I’m building. At the same time, constantly running in a number of directions — with a full-time career, family and a number of civic commitments — makes it difficult to feel like I’m “building” anything, especially a legacy. More often than not, I feel like I’m constantly tying up loose ends and taking two steps forward, one step back.
With this in mind, it is especially inspiring to read about our Sustainer of the Year, Katherine “Katie” Andry Crosby. Like many Junior League of New Orleans women, she doesn’t shy away from a full roster of activities and engagements. Over the course of her involvement in the Junior League and the Greater New Orleans community, Katie has gone from committee member to JLNO President, civic leader to Fidelity Bank Board of Directors — all while raising her family and even earning her MBA from Tulane.
In this issue, we feature two quintessential JLNO legacy projects, Freret 5K and Bloomin’ Deals, which have evolved over time as well. Though Freret 5K was a signature event for many JLNO members and the overall New Orleans community, the new partnership with the Crescent City Classic is a milestone moment for the League’s commitment to community health and wellness. Similarly, Bloomin’ Deals has evolved from a storefront in the French Quarter, to the Uptown location of a former K&B drugstore, to a new initiative directly influencing partner organizations and benefitting populations most at need.
For those readers and JLNO members who might feel as I do (stretched too thin and overly committed), the articles in this issue serve as a reminder that true change and impact don’t occur overnight. We don’t have to build Rome — or New Orleans — in a day. If together we take it one step at a time, we can achieve the same type of success experienced by Katie, Freret 5K and Bloomin’ Deals. Step by step, we’re building our own legacies.
Lacy McManus
Editor
