By John Fredericks / Staff

She may become Georgia’s next first lady.

But for the last year, she’s been the Gwinnett and North Fulton Junior League’s president. Her name is Ivy Oxendine, wife of Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who is a leading Republican candidate for governor.

NORTH FULTON: ONE IN EIGHT IN POVERTY

The Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton is a chapter in the all-female national volunteer organization founded by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1922. The group is made up of trained volunteers dedicated to improving the community through effective action and leadership.“Our organization makes a difference by supporting and developing community initiatives in the Gwinnett, North Fulton and Forsyth counties through hands-on volunteering and fundraising efforts,” according to their official mission.

“The JLGNF’s purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. All women regardless of race, religion, and national origin who are committed to volunteerism in their community are welcome and encouraged to join the organization,” says Ivy Oxendine, the chapter’s outgoing president.She estimates that one in eight people live below the poverty line in North Fulton. “The economic crisis has affected many more than we know,” she declared, in her valedictory speech. This is a fact often masked by the affluence of our neighborhoods and the appearance of our lifestyle.

"When the unplanned happens to a family living paycheck to paycheck -- even something small like a dead car battery or child with an ear infection,” she continued, “the family can be sent into a spiral that may end in homelessness without intervention.  Thank you, thank you, a million thank yous for standing in the gap for our neighbors,” she told her army of volunteers.

After her team chronicled the many accomplishments in her 12-month tenure, Ivy Oxendine was reflective in her remarks. “Our league is not large in size,” she said. “Our league is not the beneficiary of grand-scale financial endowments. Our ability to enrich, to heal, to serve our communities is limited only by our collective belief.”

POTENTIAL FIRST LADY INSIGHT

Shedding a little light on what type of a first lady she may make, should her spouse win the governorship, Ivy Oxendine shared a private moment she had with her husband recently. “I came home one night quite frustrated a few months into my tenure as league president,” she related. “I was overwhelmed, and thought about what to do.” She said her husband listened, then shared a quote with her: “Quitting is like failing with a different spin.”

Ivy Oxendine said right then she decided to “just show up and get the job done.”