Amber Barham Chairs the 2009 Junior League Holiday House

When Amber Barham told us that she “hit the ground running in the junior league of little rock,” she wasn’t joking. the new braunfels, texas, native (and runner) moved here in 2004 from lubbock, texas, with her husband, brett, and immediately got involved in the jllr.

“I started in the Junior League of Lubbock and got about a month into it, and we moved to Little Rock. So I transferred right in to the JLLR,” she said. “I did my first community ties shift before the moving truck even arrived.”

Barham credits several JLLR members for her easy transition. “Cherry Landfair, Susan Reynolds, and Jennifer McCarty took me under their wings and helped me get acclimated and involved from the get-go.”

Now, five years later, she’s leading the fundraising festivities as the chair of Holiday House 2009, a role that comes gifted with plenty of responsibilities.

“I oversee 11 subcommittees and try to promote a team atmosphere, maintain a budget, oversee all publicity, serve as the liaison between the subcommittee chairs and the public and sponsors, plan and envision special events, think outside the box on how to promote the activities and increase attendance, and try to keep all of this on a strict deadline,” she said.

As the JLLR’s primary fundraiser, Holiday House, which opens its doors to more than 150 merchants from more than 17 states Thursday, Nov. 12, through Saturday, Nov. 14, raises funds for vital community projects, including Stuff the Bus, GROW, Buckle Up & Be Safe, Kota Kamp, Nightingales at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, and many more.

As a mother to two young daughters, Adley, 7, and Adison, 2, raising funds for these projects is important to Barham on a personal level. “I want to be supportive of these important causes that enrich the lives of women and children in central Arkansas. I want my two girls to see the importance of utilizing their talents and abilities to help those around them and their communities. The joy you receive from knowing you are providing car seats to needy children, or school supplies to a family in need, or the resources to help teen girls realize how wonderful they are inside and out is the best feeling you can have at the end of a long, hectic week,” she said. “I am blessed to have a supportive husband who allows me to spend a great deal of time and energy trying to raise money for such a worthy cause.”

Barham’s husband is Brett Barham, assistant professor of breeding and genetics at the University of Arkansas Extension Service, whom she met during college at Texas Tech University while studying to become an agriculture teacher.

Surprised? Don’t be. Barham says she has always been an animal lover, and that passion led her to join Future Farmers of America and 4-H, where she raised animals for stock shows. “I loved doing it and made some of my best friends by going to stock shows,” she said. During college she became a member of the National Champion Meat Judging Team. “That is a whole other topic,” she said. She graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science and a Master of Science in Education, and she’s certified to teach K-12th grades.

These days Barham doesn’t do a whole lot of meat judging, but in addition to her JLLR duties, she teaches aerobics, both of her daughter’s gymnastics classes, and Gymboree classes. “I also co-lead Adley’s daisy scout troop and coached her cheer squad the last two years,” she said. “I have been involved in the Maumelle Mommy and Me organization since 2004 and have been the president for the past four years.”

Barham says that she first joined the JLLR to meet new people. As a newcomer to Little Rock with her family hundreds of miles away, she thought it would be a way for her to connect with other women who, like herself, wanted to better their communities. And she was right. “I have learned more about Little Rock and Arkansas than I would have on my own, and I have met the most fabulous women,” she said. “I love knowing that this group of women is so strong and works tirelessly to help the women and children in our community. I never knew a group of ladies could be so powerful together and get so much accomplished.”

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