Each year at our May Annual Meeting a Junior League of Long Beach (JLLB) member is honored with the Helen D. Newcomb Leadership Award. This prestigious award was established in 1995 to honor Helen Dutton Newcomb, who served as the JLLB’s first president in 1931. The organization’s top honor is given annually to a member who embodies the league’s mission and serves as a mentor and role model to others.

Past Recipients
1996 – Jean Bixby Smith
1997 – Dorothy Wise
1998 – Luciann Maulhardt
1999 – Anne Johnson
2000 – Gayle Clock
2001 – Candice Stacy
2002 – Lorie Merrill
2003 – Jane Roeder
2004 – Kathy Lingle
2005 – Linda Sully McCullough
2006 – Pat Weber*
2007 – Renee Fillipow*
2008 – Clara Andrews*
2009 – Aubrey Dean Porter
2010 – Mary Klingensmith
2011 – Susan Bell
2012 – Pamela Spoo
2013 – Beverly O’Neill
2014 – Avalon Hill
2015 – Barbara Wendell
2016 – Janis Kleinberg
2017 – Janice Merriweather
2018 – Holly Carpenter
2019 – Cynthia D. Terry
2020 – No Honoree Due to Pandemic
2021 – Dona Syes Ponepinto
2022 – Mary Lamo-Putnam
2023 – Kirsten Larsen
 

*Deceased