NAJA Chronology

Nov. 3, 1941   Organizes in Greenville, Mississippi with one hundred women in attendance representing ten towns in Mississippi and
                         Arkansas.
Nov. 14, 1941 Ratifies tentative Constitution; elects Louise Eskrigge Crump as first NAJA President.  
1941-1945       Continues child welfare and adds home defense and support of war effort during World War II; convention themes reflect a   
                         world at war (1942: "Children, the Last Line of Defense") and a return to peace (1945: "The Way of Peace").  
1945                 Adopts Crown design for pin with five points symbolizing Charity, Youth, Health, Service, and Leadership--the ideals of
                        Junior Auxiliary.  
1946                 Incorporates; prints Bylaws; numbers thirteen Chapters.  
1948                 Begins tradition of a National Gavel inscribed with name and date of each NAJA President for use by NAJA. (Note: Donated
                         by the Leland Junior Auxiliary, the tradition continues at 1990 Convention with presentation of third National Gavel).  
1949                 Numbers twenty-six Chapters.  

1950                 Adopts permanent slogan: "Care Today — Character Tomorrow".  
1952                 Employs Martha Wise of Warren, AR as Executive Secretary; publishes first National Handbook; institutes annual report for
                         Chapters.  
1953                 Publishes quarterly newsletter, The Crownlet; assumes responsibility for hosting annual Convention.  
1954                 Creates four geographic Regions, choosing a Regional Director for each Region; begins fall meetings of Regions; provides
                         annual Bulletin to all members (Convention minutes, National and Chapter reports, membership list).  
1961                 Divides into five Regions.  
1962                 Approves emblem (badge); establishes Louise Eskrigge Crump Award; establishes Civic Hour and Annual Report Committee;
                         approves national graduate scholarship project; Scholarship Committee awards first scholarship grant in the amount of $2,000
                         in August 1962.  
1963                 Approves Scholarship Committee as Standing Committee to administer graduate scholarship program.  
1964                 Adopts official uniform, a blue jumper having set-in waist, left side buttons shoulder to hem (Note: current uniform ranges from
                         smock to apron, or T-shirt selected by Chapter with approval of Executive Committee).  
1966                 Celebrates twenty-fifth year, numbering fifty-one Chapters in four states.  
1968                 Begins internal system of judging annual report.

1970                 Establishes Martha Wise Award.  
1975                 Presents first Award of Excellence; recognizes sixty Active Chapters at Convention; Association receives 501(c) (3) status.  
1976                 Recommends Greenville, Mississippi as site for permanent NAJA Headquarters; requires Chapters to have annual audit.  
1977                 Honors Martha Wise for twenty-five years as Executive Secretary; achieves 501 (c) (3) Tax Exempt Status (all Chapters) from
                         Internal Revenue Service; approves Greenville, Mississippi as site for permanent NAJA Headquarters.  
1978                 Approves Evaluation Committee as Standing Committee of Association; purchases Headquarters building at 255 South      
                         Poplar in Greenville, Mississippi. 
1979                  Approves Board of Finance as Standing Committee; redraws Regions from five to seven; awards one hundredth graduate
                         scholarship.  

1981                 Presents first Presidents Award.  
1984                 Restructures Board of Directors: twenty-one member board vested with management of Association; honors Executive
                         Secretary Martha Wise, retiring after thirty-two years service; employs Norma DeLong as Executive Secretary.  
1985                  Releases the video, A New Day with JA, providing a history past and present; begins Resource Center function/purpose of
                         Headquarters; makes Headquarters Committee a Standing Committee of the Association; replaces Annual Report with Annual
                         Standards Review; issues Chapter Self-Evaluation Packet and new NAJA Handbook of Information to Chapters; changes title of
                         Executive Secretary to Executive Director; numbers seventy Active Chapters and three Provisional Chapters.  
1986                  Begins Chapter Self-Evaluation process and Annual Standards Review; dissolves Evaluation Committee; issues first semi-annual
                         NAJA Resource Center Catalog; moves into Alabama with acceptance of petition from Eastern Shore, Alabama; adopts new
                         logo design.  
1987                 Adopts National Focus: Kids Count, a biennial emphasis (1987-1989, Drug Abuse Education); employs Resource Center
                         Coordinator to conduct Chapter Triennial; publishes Provisional Training Manual; releases “Excellence in Action,” a video
                         explaining Chapter and National programs of service; begins plans for 50th Anniversary in 1991; presents first Efficiency
                         Awards.  
1988                 Presents first National Focus Awards; revises and reprints NAJA Handbook of Information; publishes Child Welfare Manual;   
                         completes Convention Manual; numbers seventy-two Active Chapters, and eight Provisional Chapters.  
1989                 Continues National Focus: Kids Count (1989-1991, Teen Esteem); returns to Texas with the addition of Mt. Pleasant, Texas as a
                         Petitioning Chapter; adds exhibit function to Convention via Convention Carousel; presents first Public Relations Awards
                         (Service and Finance); relocates NAJA Headquarters in Greenville to 845 South Main Street; numbers seventy-seven Active
                         Chapters, three Provisional Chapters.

1990                 Establishes Steering Committee to plan 50th Anniversary; holds first NAJA Leadership Conference for Chapters, Board of
                         Directors; publishes NAJA Public Relations Workbook; employs Chapter Development Coordinator to actively pursue
                         expansion of NAJA; approves Education Committee as Standing Committee; establishes Forward from Fifty Ad Hoc
                         Committee to study the structure of NAJA and make recommendations for future; numbers seventy-eight Active Chapters, two
                         Provisional Chapters; issues commemorative Crownlet/ Convention program; celebrates "The Community Spirit for 50 Years" at
                         50th Anniversary Convention, Biloxi, Mississippi (May 1-3); celebrates actual anniversary at NAJA Headquarters, Greenville, MS
                         on November 3.  
1991                 Adopts National Focus: Families First (1991-1994).  
1992                 Approves per Active member 24 Service hour and 12 Education hour requirement, with minimum of six Chapter meetings
                         counting toward the required 12 Education hours; Finance and Administrative hours being at the discretion of the Chapter;
                         allows Non- Resident member to achieve Associate status by completing 24 hours of community service within the          
                         community and 12 Education hours per remaining year to fulfill the requirement.  
1994                  Numbers 86 Active Chapters, 3 Provisional and 4 Petitioning Chapters; issues A Manual for Education to instruct Chapters in
                         understanding the education concept and the development of a Chapter Education program; presents first Norma DeLong 
                         Education Award to recognize excellence in Chapter Education; produces Partners in a Caring Community, a new video which
                         gives both the historical and present perspectives on the Association; begins sending certificates to new Life members.  
1995                 Adopts National Focus: Violence Free Youth; moves into state of Missouri with acceptance of Caruthersville as a Provisional
                         Chapter; establishes the Betty W. Robbins Endowed Scholarship.  
1996                 Numbers 97 Active Chapters and 4 Provisional Chapters; approves changes to Nominating Committee composition;
                         Nominating Committee proposes a single slate of candidates for National office; re-defines duties of Third Vice-President to
                         serve as Chairman of the Education Committee and for the committee to plan the program details of Annual Meeting, Area
                         Meeting, and Leadership Conference; increases number of Regions from seven to ten.  
1997                 Continues National Focus: Violence Free Youth (1997-1999, One Child at a Time).  
1998                 Numbers 98 Active Chapters, 2 Provisional Chapters, and 2 Petitioning Chapters; in seven states: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana,
                         Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas; expands Headquarters facility to add additional office space for staff and growing
                         Resource Center.  
1999                 Numbers 102 Active Chapters and 1 Petitioning Chapter. Robbins Family Challenge begins with a challenge to the Chapters of
                         $10,000 annual matching funds for the NAJA Scholarship Program.  2000   Adopts National Focus: Care Today-Character
                         Tomorrow; numbers 102 Active Chapters and 3 Petitioning Chapters; July 1, Hires Merrill Greenlee as the new Executive
                         Director upon the retirement of Norma DeLong after sixteen years of service; implements CrownPoint computer program for
                         Chapters.  

2001                 Numbers 102 Active Chapter and 3 Petitioning Chapters; NAJA celebrates 60th anniversary.  
2002                 Adopts National Focus: Keeping Our Children Safe; numbers 104 Active Chapters and 2 Petitioning Chapters; expands into the
                         state of Florida; forms NAJA Foundation; replaces Regional Directors with Chapter Support Coordinators (2 per Region). Each
                         Region is also represented by a Director on the NAJA Board.  
2003                 Numbers 102 Active Chapters and 2 Provisional Chapters (Madison Co., FL and Webster Co., MS); NAJA Foundation mails its
                         first contribution to the Chapters to be used with their Child Welfare Project ($80 per Chapter); designs Crown Club pin;
                         celebrates the of Angela Pierce as Executive Secretary.  
2004                 Continues National Focus: Keeping Our Children Safe (2004-2005); numbers 103 Chapters and 1 Provisional Chapter (Tate-
                         Panola, MS); holds Area Meetings in each Region (Six); produces a new NAJA video entitled Care Today – Character Tomorrow;
                         establishes the MAG Award in honor of Executive Director Merrill Greenlee for outstanding Provisional Projects.  
2005                 Begins calling the annual meeting of the Association the Annual Education Conference. Linda Smith retires as Membership
                         Services Secretary; continues as Crownlet Editor as an independent contractor. Dolores Fratesi retires as Chapter Development
                         Coordinator; NAJA Ex-0fficio resumes these duties; eliminates the office of NAJA Corresponding Secretary and creates the
                         office of NAJA Marketing Vice-President; establishes a NAJA Honorary Membership classification.  
2006                 Adopts National Focus: Healthy Children ~ Healthy Futures; numbers 102 Active Chapters with the Junior Auxiliary of Tate-
                         Panola, MS receiving its Charter at AEC 2006.; produces the first manual for Chapter Recording Secretaries; designs Foundation
                         pin; approves Membership Committee as a Standing Committee; establishes the Crown Jewel Award.  
2007               Approves the publication of a NAJA Cookbook; designates Child Welfare as the National Service Project; grants Junior
                         Auxiliary of Collierville, TN Active status.
2008                 Continues National Focus: Healthy Children ~ Healthy Futures; adopts Child Welfare logo and tag line - “Impacting the future
                         of a child”; publishes the first Membership Manual; establishes the Eleanor Slaughter Award to recognize Chapters in the area
                         of membership; publishes cookbook with the title of Silver Spoons, Blueberry Afternoons and orders 10,000 copies.  
2009                 Establishes new awards for recognizing Chapters with Outstanding Crown Clubs and Outstanding Crown Club Projects; adds a
                         new category for Existing Projects to the Martha Wise Award; creates an Ambassador Program to involve Non-Resident
                         members in Chapter expansion; makes Bulletin available on the website; approves Child Welfare as the name for the National
                         Service Project; establishes a Facebook page.  

2010                 Implements online reporting of Chapter Year-End reports; Linda Smith retires as The Crownlet Editor; publishing of The
                         Crownlet is taken over by Caraway Designs; eliminates Mid-Year Board of Directors Meeting; replaces Director position on
                         Board with one CSC per Region; encourages donations to the Foundation with a $10 in 2010 promotion; changes Chapter Fee
                         to $300.00 per year; dissolves JA of Leland, MS and JA of Jacksonville, AR.  
2011                 Raises Active dues to $55 and Associate dues to $35; changed the Chapter year end report deadline to May 15th; celebrates
                         70th Anniversary of NAJA with "Day in the Delta"; establishes a new membership award called More Members Matter for small
                         Chapters who increase in membership by at least 25%.  
2012                 Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Foundation at AEC; grants active status to JA of Pike County, AR.  
2013                 Celebrates Wilma Wilbanks’ service of 20 years as NAJA Parliamentarian; adopts new National Focus for 2013-15 of Teen
                         Pregnancy Prevention; renames the National Focus Award to the Wilma Johnson Wilbanks National Focus Award; grants
                         Provisional status to Lawrence County, AR; adopts Service Attire Policy.  
2014                 Numbers 98 Active Chapters in seven states with the loss of Iberia Parish, LA, Mount Pleasant, TX, and Lewisburg, TN and the
                         granting of Active status to Lawrence County, AR. Independence County, AR takes inactive status. The NAJA Handbook is
                         reprinted. Implements new Service Attire policy that all Chapters must comply with by May 2016. Establishes Foundation
                         Annual Fund. Partners with Girls Scouts Heart of the South for National Stand Beside Her Week. Adds Bitcoin as a payment 
                         option for donations and is the first all-women’s non-profit organization to do so. 
2015                 Numbers 96 Chapters with the dissolution of Pike Co, AR.; establishes Foundation Hall of Honor at NAJA Headquarters; raises
                         Active dues to $65; adopts new National Focus for 2015-2017 of Keeping It Real in a Virtual World.
2016               Numbers 92 Chapters with the dissolution of Franklin, TN, Phillips Co, AR, Scott Co, MS, and Washington Co, AR; began the
                         year-long celebration of the Associations 75th Anniversary; establishes the Outstanding Service Project Award in which the 
                         winner receives a cash prize from the Foundation; launches the total online NAJA Graduate Scholarship Program
                         application; adds the Marketing VP position as the chairman of the Marketing and Technology Committee.
2017               Numbers 92 Chapters with the dissolution of Amite, LA and the addition of Dyer County,TN; continues the National Focus of
                         Keeping It Real in a Virtual World for 2017-2019; adopts a logo for the National Graduate Scholarship Program; launches the
                         redesigned NAJA website.
2018               Numbers 93 Active Chapters with the addition of Yell County, AR; 5 Provisional Chapters (Cross County, AR, Barren County, KY,
                         Nevada County, AR, Newton County, MS and Hancock County, MS) in 8 states. Hires Anna Pieralisi as the new Executive
                         Director upon the retirement of Merrill Greenlee after eighteen years of service.
2019               Numbers 95 Active Chapters with the addition of Cross County, AR and Nevada County, AR; 4 Provisional Chapters (Barren
                         County, KY, Clay County, AR, Hancock County, MS, and Newton County, MS). Savannah, TN Chapter goes inactive status;
                         Adopts new National Focus for 2019-2021: “Don’t Stand By!: Stand Up, Stand Strong, Stand Together” NAJA stands up to
                         BULLIES; Anna Pieralisi resigns as Executive Director, President Darlene Carey acting Executive Director.

2020               Numbers 96 Active Chapters with the dissolution of Camden, AR and Eunice, LA; and the addition of Clay County AR;         
                         Hancock County, MS and Newton County, MS; 1 Provisional Chapter (Pontotoc County, MS); in 7 states. Barren County, KY 
                         does not form a JA Chapter; Adapted to the health and safety concerns created by the Covid-19 Pandemic by canceling the
                         Annual Education Conference and changing the format for NAJA meetings, including the 2020 Annual Business Meeting, to
                         allow virtual meetings when necessary; Hires Melanie Livingston as new Executive Director; New logo, slogan and branding
                         standards updated that all Chapters must comply with by May 2022; renamed the Bulletin to Directory; with COVID 19
                         pandemic, First virtual AEC training and Business Meeting was held June 25, 2020. First virtual Area Meeting August 15, 2020, 
                         Columbus, MS.
2021               Number 94 Active Chapters with the addition of Pontotoc County, MS. East St. Mary, LA goes inactive status; Adopts new
                         National Focus for 2021-2023: “The Power of Words” – Be the kind in Humankind. Chapter name changes: Clarksville, AR
                        to Johnson County, AR; Crystal Springs, MS to Copiah County, MS; Crossett, AR to Ashley County, AR; Forrest City, AR to St.
                         Francis County, AR, Hammond, LA to Tangipahoa, LA and Osceola, AR to South Mississippi County, AR.; Neshoba County, MS
                         and South Mississippi County, AR are the first Chapters to participate in a CDC-led Chapter “Restart”, a step-by-step format for
                         rebuilding a Chapter, modeled after starting a Chapter.; First Foundation Virtual 5K Run; First AEC hybrid meeting in
                         Jonesboro, AR May 15, 2021; revise and reprint of the NAJA Handbook.