By Katy Andrews JLSLC President 1999-00
The year I served as the president of The League was one of the most challenging, collaborative and rewarding experiences of my life. In 12 months, we purchased a building, did a total remodel, and raised over a million dollars to fund the whole thing. Lisa Mietchen (Past President), Carol Firmage (President-elect), Joanie Shupe (Board Member) and I led the purchase and construction part of the project, but it was our gracious and generous Sustainer Capital Campaign Committee members who made it all possible.
The League membership voted in 1998 to start looking for a property to purchase; our lease was expiring on our office space next to Phillips Gallery in Downtown Salt Lake City. We wanted to find a building that would be large enough for our members to gather together and to offer space for Women Helping Women. Our vision was to share our meeting spaces with other nonprofits in our city, embracing the Junior League’s role as a community support agent.
In the summer of 1999, we toured our building — the “Squire Hair for Men” headquarters (a men’s hair transplant company!). It was ugly, rundown, and just the right price. When it really sunk in, my heart sank in that this project is what I would be working on my entire volunteer year; it felt insurmountable and totally out of my wheelhouse. But Lisa Mietchen cheerfully said, “Now we just need to raise the money!” This made my heart sink even lower; I knew a little bit about fundraising but had never written a grant before.
Lisa, Carol and I made a list of Sustaining Members in The League who had been generous community friends and began inviting them to come tour our sad, ugly building and listen to our pitch to join our Capital Campaign Committee. On one of those early tours, the late, wonderful Sue Ellis looked around at the falling ceiling and crumbling walls and said, “I think you girls are crazy, but I’ll help you.” Shortly after that the incredible Nancy Giles joined Sue to become the Co-Chairs of the campaign. It was when Cleone Eccles became our Honorary Chair that we knew our project had taken a huge leap forward.
There are many people in our community willing to help, they just need to be asked; that true collaboration happens when people allow their special skill set to complement others’ in pursuit of a common goal.
One huge challenge was that we needed to purchase and remodel the building WHILE we were raising the money to pay for it, so we needed a bridge loan. Lisa and I went to The League’s bank at the time, the former First Security Bank (now Wells Fargo), and made our case. The bankers were initially dubious: “How do we know you (girls!) can actually raise all that money in a short period of time?” I secretly had the same question, but the bankers were obviously reassured by Lisa’s answer, “We are confident we will be successful. Mrs. Eccles is the Honorary Chair of our Campaign.”
We were granted the bridge loan of $800,000, which we never actually had to use. Our Capital Campaign Committee (coached and encouraged by Scott Hansen of Fundraising Counsel, Inc.) raised an incredible $1.2 million in only 12 months! A lead gift from the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles foundation made all the difference, lending legitimacy to the project. Lisa and I wrote multiple grants to Foundations, and our incredible campaign committee made personal gifts and asked others to join them. Other notable women on the committee included Patty Biederman, Lisa Burbidge, Terrell Dougan, Sue Ellis, Carol Filmage, Allene Fowler, Melinda Fowler, Holly Henriod, Jeanne Jardine, Terry Landa, Lisa Mietchen, Nancy Reuling Hardy and Linda Smith along with Nancy Giles and Julie Barrett serving as the Capital Campaign Co-Chairs.
Now we just had to remodel the building. Carol Firmage and Joanie Shupe led this charge. Carol’s professional background as a designer and Joanie’s deep connections as an HVAC Contractor within the construction industry served us well. We selected Big-D Construction and Gillies Stransky Brems Smith architects for the design-build process. Joanie functioned as our project manager and ruled the crew with an iron fist and a pink hard hat. We started the project in February and held our grand opening in late May; it was a whirlwind schedule, and we moved our things in about 12 hours before the ribbon cutting!
The things I learned that year continue to serve me to this day: you don’t know what you can do until you try; there are many people in our community willing to help, they just need to be asked; that true collaboration happens when people allow their special skill set to complement others in pursuit of a common goal.
It was an exhausting but exhilarating year, and I will always be grateful for the experience.
Update: The Past 20 Years
Since 1999, the Junior League of Salt Lake City headquarters has been the heart of the League. Thanks to the forethought of the members who voted to establish a permanent place for the League to operate from, and the dedication of the women who led the efforts to purchase and remodel the building, for the last two decades members have been privileged to have a place to call home and to gather and carry out their important volunteer work on behalf of the Salt Lake Community.
Over the past 20 years, the building has been the central meeting place of our members. It is where countless relationships have been formed and fostered. It is the hub of the work the Junior League does in support of the development of women as civic leaders lending their time and talents to the projects of the League. In addition, the building has also been the home of our Women Helping Women boutique where over the years, more than 10 thousand women have been able to visit and receive work appropriate clothing, free of charge, thanks to the generous donations by the public and the dedication of JLSLC member volunteers who staff the boutique.
While the building has undergone some changes over the years, what has not changed is its importance to the League. Its walls tell the story of past projects and display photos of the women members who have come before us. Its rooms provide a place to gather and collaborate. And through its doors, members find belonging and opportunity to come together to create lasting impact in
their community.
Sarah Waters, 2020-21 President
