Jeanine Martin pays forward one good deed at a time

By Chelsea Retherford | Staff Writer

When Jeanine Martin and her husband, Brandon, finally crossed the state line into Alabama last year, she said it felt like the end of a 30-year dream.

The couple had long hoped to settle in Muscle Shoals — home to Brandon’s family and the kind of tight-knit community they’d missed while moving around for his job with Caterpillar Inc.

But getting to Muscle Shoals took patience.

Before their “forever home” was ready, the Martins spent more than a year living in “Gladys the Glamper,” their camper trailer parked on the property where their house now stands. It was a long stretch of transition, but for Martin, 59, the time gave her something else she’d been craving — a chance to rediscover what mattered most.

“I just didn’t want to be so insular that I didn’t have a social circle,” she said. “As much as I love our family, I wanted to meet people, to give back, to feel connected to this community.”

So, when she learned about the Junior League of the Shoals, she knew exactly where she wanted to start.

Before her move, Martin had spent six years in Georgia as a member of the Monroe Junior Service League — a civic organization similar in spirit to the Junior League chapters found across the country.

Her path to volunteering wasn’t something she’d mapped out in advance. In fact, it was her husband who first inspired her to get involved.

“Brandon had served on a local food bank board for quite a while,” she recalled. “When he had to step off the board, I thought, ‘Well, one of us has to do some good deeds around here.’”

Martin joined the service league in 2016 and found herself immersed in projects benefiting children and families throughout Monroe, Georgia. The group partnered with the Boys and Girls Club, organized “Touch-a-Truck” events, and hosted fundraisers for local charities.

“I got my taste for doing good deeds for the community, getting involved and networking with people,” she said.

But as she got more involved, Martin noticed something missing from her chapter’s outreach.

“My kids were grown,” she said with a laugh. “I was over all the snotty noses. So, I went to our executive committee and asked if we could start another project.”

She wanted to focus on another group she felt deserved just as much attention: older adults.

“There are a lot of people sitting in nursing homes who nobody visits or calls,” she said. “They took care of us, and we need to take care of them.”

In 2019, Martin proposed and launched a new program within her Georgia league dedicated to supporting seniors. Members sent Valentine cards and care packages to residents in local nursing homes, sponsored birthday parties, and even “adopted” seniors who rarely received visitors.

“It was so rewarding,” she said. “Their smiles and the gratitude they expressed — it was just so touching. We wanted them to know they weren’t forgotten.”

Martin’s compassion also led her to become a certified Meals on Wheels driver, delivering meals once a week. She said those small interactions made the biggest impact.

“Sometimes, that short visit might be the only human contact they had all day,” she said of the meal recipients. “It really made me think about how important those connections are, especially later in life.”

Martin’s sense of reinvention didn’t stop at volunteering. Around the same time she joined the service league, she also launched a new career in her 50s — a leap inspired by an unexpected fascination with courtroom trials.

“I was watching a big trial out of Atlanta — this man named Tex McIver — and I just found myself completely engrossed,” she said. “After following that trial, then there was another case in one of our neighboring counties, and then another one and another one I followed. I was just fascinated, but I thought, ‘I’m too old to go to college and then law school. What can I do?’”

The answer came in the form of court reporting.

Martin enrolled in an online certification program, studied relentlessly, and soon found herself working full-time as a voice recorder — repeating every word spoken during court proceedings and depositions.

“I started in September that year and was ready to certify by April,” she said. “During that time, I worked as a jury bailiff just to get into the courtroom and see how it all worked.”

She began testing in 2020, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, which made listening through masks and muffled voices a challenge.

“It was tough, but we got through it,” she said.

Today, Martin still works remotely, taking depositions via Zoom for courts back in Georgia while waiting to earn her Alabama license. The flexibility has allowed her to stay professionally active while also giving time to her community — a balance she says keeps her grounded.

“I just keep a tight schedule,” she said with a grin. “When Apple Annie Day came up, I told the agency, ‘I’m not working that day!’”

As soon as she knew the move to Alabama was official, Martin reached out to the Junior League of the Shoals to ask about joining. She officially became a member earlier this year.

Her first months with the group have included helping restock the league’s Little Libraries around area parks and selling apples for Apple Annie Day, the club’s most recognizable fundraiser.

“Apple Annie has been going on for more than 80 years,” said Denise Garcia, president of the Junior League of the Shoals. “It’s our longest-running fundraiser and still one of our most beloved traditions. You’ll see us out in our red tights at Walmart, the courthouse, the post office — people in the community expect it every November.”

In recent years, the league has also hosted “Touch-a-Truck,” a hands-on event for kids that allows them to explore firetrucks, bulldozers, and other large vehicles. For two years in a row, that event has actually surpassed Apple Annie in fundraising totals.

“But Apple Annie is definitely our most well-known,” Garcia said. “It’s part of who we are.”

With around 15 to 20 active members, nine provisional “newbies,” and a handful of sustaining members who continue to support financially, the Shoals chapter is small but mighty.

“We’re not a 21 to 30 club,” Garcia added. “We’ve had women who are just out of college, midlife members, grandmothers — you name it. We want variety. That’s what keeps our perspectives fresh.”

That’s also what made Martin a perfect fit.

“I really appreciate the knowledge she brings,” Garcia said. “Not necessarily the fundraisers they did in Georgia, but the kinds of groups they helped. That insight helps us grow and think about new ways to serve.”

For Martin, joining the Shoals chapter has been both a way to give back and a way to build new friendships after a major move.

“I work from home, so I don’t get out much,” she said. “Going to meetings helps me get to know town and meet new people. It’s given me an anchor here.”

Martin hopes to bring some of her Georgia experiences — especially her work with seniors — to her new League.

“I’d love to see some of those programs implemented here,” she said.

Garcia agrees those kinds of initiatives fit perfectly with the group’s mission.

“We’ve made Christmas cards for residents in assisted living facilities before,” she said. “We’re always looking for ways to support people, especially where there’s a need. If there’s a church asking for volunteers or a local group needing help, however we can get out and serve, that’s what we’re looking to do.”

For Martin, giving back is more than growth charts and checklists. She said those acts of service make her own life richer. After years of dreaming of a life closer to family in the Shoals, she’s finally able to do that — one good deed at a time.

“It’s just been something that’s become more and more important to me later in life,” she said. “We’ve been so blessed and fortunate in our family. I feel like we need to pay that forward somehow, some way.”

Junior League infobox

ASSOCIATION OF JUNIOR LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL

ABOUT THE CLUB: Association of Junior League International (AJLI) is an organization of women whose mission is to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration and training.

ESTABLISHED: In 1901 by New Yorker and social activist Mary Harriman

IMPACT: The charitable nonprofit — with more than 113,000 members in about 300 communities throughout the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and Kenya — provides continuity and support, guidance, and leadership development opportunities to its member leagues. Through regional, national and international meetings, comprehensive resources, customized consultations, and League and member benefits, it supports its member Leagues in the fulfillment of The Junior League’s mission.

WEBSITE: https://thejuniorleagueinternational.org/

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JUNIOR LEAGUE OF THE SHOALS

ESTABLISHED: In 1934 as the Junior League Auxiliary

JOIN A LOCAL CHAPTER: Enroll online at https://www.jltheshoals.org/.

MEETINGS: First Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m.

WHERE: First Metro Bank in Florence, or The Healing Place in Muscle Shoals

CONTACT: Email jls@jltheshoals.org, or follow the chapter on social media.