Juanita Williams is the Volunteer of the Month for December, 2017. She was nominated by Laurie Switzer, Director of Volunteer Programs at the USS Midway Museum. Laurie said “Juanita has a big heart and has generously given her time, talents and love to all at the Midway for over 10 years”. She is an invaluable asset to them in many different ways.
For example, Juanita volunteers with the docent corps, outreach and the exhibits team. She also oversees a lot of the maintenance of the museum displays. She has been very proactive in committing months of time and talent towards producing volunteer (and Christmas) party centerpieces for major internal events at the Midway. Juanita has been designing and producing the centerpieces for events that host 700 – 1000 people, twice a year, for many years.
In addition to all of that, Juanita organizes an annual exhibits team picnic, which is said to keep the morale high and foster connections between team members and their immediate families. Juanita also formerly volunteered in both the education and curatorial departments at the Midway.
Juanita stands out as an exemplary volunteer due to her “spirit of giving and connection”. She was also described by Ms. Switzer as “compassionate” and “having a great sense of humor”. Perhaps most importantly, Juanita was said to have brought a “general feeling of family and friendliness to the USS Midway”.
Amazingly, in addition to all the hard work Juanita puts in at the Midway, she also finds time to volunteer at the Lions Club. In 1992, Juanita was recognized with the “Lion of the Year” award. She served as a club president from 1995 – 1996, and as a district governor.
In 1997, Juanita was selected as the Spring Valley Lion’s Club Fellow, which is the highest award a Lions Club can bestow on a member. “I have travelled the world with the Lions, it’s the largest and best service organization in the world”, she said.
