INTRODUCTIONS: New Junior League members meet

Winston-Salem took quite a fashionable turn last Tuesday night as 58 area women met to learn about being a part of the community and working together to make the city a better place.

And how did they accomplish such a feat? By dressing mannequins.

The new members of the Junior League of Winston-Salem participated in the third annual Project Mannequin, held at Nitsa's Apparel.

Project Mannequin is the first meeting for new members. Teams dressed mannequins throughout the store. Tables full of sweets, hors d'oeuvres and wine were spread throughout the store, which was opened exclusively for the group.

The night started with some social mingling, as the new members got to know each other. Becky Koch, a new member, was ready to get the night started, "It's neat to have a meeting at a local store. By having our meeting at Nitsa's, we can learn more about what's in our local community."

The new members were divided into smaller groups for the coming months and are referred to by a certain color. Kim Via and Katrina Love represented their orange group with appropriately colored shirts: "We have a great group. We are excited to start working together," Via said. Love agreed, "This whole night has sounded interesting since we first heard about it. We are going to put it all together. We are the orange team, and we are sure to do a good job."

Julie Hurd, Jennifer Huber, and Kristin Smith stood nearby, excited to begin the process of joining more than 1,000 local members. "This is a nice night. It's a great social, interactive time," Hurd said.

"I just moved to the area, so I was looking for a way to get involved in Winston-Salem. This is a good way to meet a lot of people," Smith said.

The night had an air of excitement that went beyond trendy clothes and delicious food; those present were excited about being involved in a community organization. Kelly Meachum, the assistant new member development chair, bustled around making sure all the mannequins were ready and that everyone was settling in. Lindsey Pleban was happy to see the new members. She stayed busy taking pictures for the League's Web site and newsletter.

Chris Bambalis, the bridal manager of Nitsa's Apparel, was hard at work at the wine station.

"We love having the girls here. We know the Junior League is such a wonderful service-oriented program. And to bring them here through a meeting is great. We enjoy that we can serve through them as well," Bambalis said.

Looking around, she said she noticed lots of familiar faces: "Often we know a lot of the girls because they have been our brides, and it's great to get to see them and get to know even more girls. Project Mannequin is an exciting way to bring in the new class. We enjoy it. It's our way to help give back."

Grace Neal, one of the group leaders, said, "This is a great environment to get together in. At the end of the workday, who doesn't like to shop and drink wine?"

About 30 minutes into the night, Erin Jelinek, the new-member development chair, welcomed everyone. She asked each group to surround their assigned mannequins and explained the rules for the activities. Jelinek then said the words that every woman wants to hear: "You can put whatever you want to on the mannequins. The entire first floor of Nitsa's is open for you to use." But in the same breath, the whole night changed: "This is a community exercise, so you will work together as a team, and in order to do that, each of you will have a handicap."

On the turquoise group, Dawn Buchanan could not use her hands; Mary Beth Fartig had to pretend she was deaf; Lindsay Vira, had to pretend she was blind; and Heather Newsom could not use her right hand. The group got to work quickly.

"Well, first of all, we need a strategy," said Newsom, as the store began to spin with women grabbing clothes off hangers.

Rachel Taylor, from the red group, guided a group member, who was blindfolded, to a wall of colorful shirts. "This is a pink shirt with ruffles, then next to it there is a yellow shirt with some jeweled embellishments on the top," she said.

After 10 minutes of describing, pointing and figuring out how to work together, the turquoise group ended up with a black-tie ready mannequin, replete with a shiny cobalt knee-length dress, metallic gold purse and a clear-jeweled necklace.

"It's hard to feel truly disabled for only 10 minutes," Buchanan said. "But all in all I did feel like I learned a lot."

Newsom got some snacks and started talking to other groups about their experiences: "It was a lot of fun getting to work with the girls in my group. We definitely got to know each other a lot better, and in the end we created a beautiful mannequin."

Also, 48 current members of the Junior League came to see the new members, welcome them and view their mannequins.

Anna Applegate, a new member, moved to Winston-Salem about a year ago: "I'm most looking forward to learning about all the different volunteer opportunities JLWS has to offer, and this was a good start."

The Junior League promotes volunteerism, develops the potential of women and works to improve the community. Through Project Mannequin, they effectively welcomed new members and started them on a positive track of collaboration.

Now, that's fashion with a purpose.

■ Have a social or charity activity that you would like Scene & Heard to share with Journal readers? E-mail cworf@wsjournal.com and type "Scene" in the subject line or call 727-4076.