October 2014

The Junior League of Houston, Inc. annually presents the prestigious Adelaide Lovett Baker Award to a sustaining member in recognition of her exceptional service embodying the League’s commitment to “Building A Better Community.” Jan LaMaster Redford received the 2014 Adelaide Lovett Baker Award at the Junior League of Houston Sustaining Club Fall Luncheon on October 20, 2014.

Jan personifies the pillars of the League’s mission to promote voluntarism and improve the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. As an active member of the League, including serving as the 1980 – 1981 President, she became aware of many areas of need in the community and took action; often action that created programs and developed partnerships that made a difference.

Three organizations in particular were profoundly influenced by Jan’s leadership. As one of the founders of Communities in Schools, Jan dedicated herself as a social worker for over 12 years to helping at-risk children stay in school through graduation and gain the academic and emotional tools needed to achieve a successful life. Through her involvement, the Junior League and other organizations became engaged as well. ChildBuilders, an agency centered on the prevention of child abuse, promotion of healthy teenage relationships and instruction in parenting skills, is another organization that benefitted from Jan’s guidance. As a volunteer and board president, the organization can credit many of its achievements to Jan’s commitment. Likewise, Jan helped Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, an organization providing hope, help, support and education to improve the lives of people who have mood disorders, increase its free support groups from five to 70. As a founder, president and interim executive director, her management skills paved the way for this incredible growth.

Jan’s professional expertise grew from earning a doctorate in counseling psychology at the University of Houston, where she became Director of UH Learning Support Services. Among her responsibilities were counseling students who experienced mental health difficulties and leading seminars on stress management, test anxiety, memory improvement and critical thinking.

The Volunteer Center, the Child Abuse Prevention Council, Houston Achievement Place and the Parish School have all profited from our honoree’s expertise. Not content to confine her talents to Houston, Jan regularly travels over 600 miles to participate on the board of Friends of Big Bend National Park. Nancy Powell Moore, one of her successors as Junior League President, recently invited her to become a Trustee of the Powell Foundation.

Jan LaMaster Redford is a gift to the Junior League, the Houston community and to her growing family. She is a loving wife, mother and grandmother of twelve – her finest accomplishment of all.