2012-13 Volunteer Extraordinaire

 

Jeanie Travis

jeanie-travis

Jeanie Travis is a “product of the League.” Of her early League experience, she shares, “I didn’t sit in the back row, waiting to be asked [to do something].”  Her outlook is infectious—every task is opportunity; everyone, a resource. “Name someone,” challenges Travis, “and I’ll tell you something I learned from them.”

Reflecting on her first leadership position, Jeanie beams, “All of a sudden, I realized there was something in me.” Of all leadership positions held, Treasurer taught the most: “I learned the business end of volunteering, my experiences grew into an expertise,” and she humbly adds, “I did these things because I didn’t know I couldn’t.”

League-learned skills became doorways to professional opportunities seeking Jeanie’s knowledge of Non-Profit governance and mastery of grantsmanship, financing, and donor database management.  Beyond marketable talents, League involvement led her to serve other organizations—ones with central values of giving back: Preservation Fort Sam Houston, Military Civilian Club, Fiesta San Antonio Commission, and Alamo Mission Chapter, DRT (to name a handful). “When you connect people with causes, you can do anything,” explains Jeanie.

As the daughter and sister of soldiers, dedication to the military is in Jeanie’s blood. From her time as a sixteen-year-old candy striper at BAMC, to her first board position on Red Cross, and now serving the Wounded Warrior Family Support Center, her military support has come full circle. A few significant volunteer events Jeanie recalls are the 5th Army Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 at the Alamo, Ronald McDonald House, Library Foundation, and Zoobilation Ball.  For Jeanie, not volunteering “would be like an artist unable to paint. When trained to volunteer, you have to do it.”