Each year, the Junior Leagues of Florida State Public Affairs Committee awards a woman the Berta
Blecke Award for Advocacy. Nominations are typically due in August and awarded in September.
Recipient History
| 2007 |
Elaine Curtis Fusco, Junior League of South Brevard |
| 2006 |
Mary Wyatt Allen, Junior League of St. Petersburg |
| 2005 |
Julia Irvin, Junior League of South Brevard |
| 2004 |
Vicki Lukis, Junior League of Miami |
| 2003 |
Kim Deffebach and Jennie Kriete, Junior League of South Brevard |
| 2001 |
Mary Lee Nunnally Farrior, Tampa |
| 2000 |
Barbara Whitney Keith, Ft. Lauderdale |
| 1999 |
Gladys Williams, founder of Club Esteem in Melbourne, FL |
| 1996 |
Budd Bell |
Following is the Curriculum Vitae of the woman that inspired
the award.
Alberta Batchelor Blecke was born in 1950. She earned a B.A. in Anthropology
from the University of Florida. She is married with three children. She has traveled the world, teaching and consulting from
Japan to Singapore. She has held the positions of Florida SPAC Chair (1985-86), and Junior League of Miami President.
It seems like every major cause for children and youth has Berta Blecke at the forefront.
Berta’s commitment to child welfare and volunteer leadership comes naturally to her. She is the granddaughter of Rebecca
Herndon Bush, who founded the Junior League of Miami and served as its first president in 1926. Her mother, Lucy Batchelor,
was a great community leader as well, providing homes for children who fled Cuba during the Pedro Pan operation.
In 1980, she established the Guardian Ad Litem program and later secured its statewide funding.
She has helped established and built coalitions for many projects, and has secured millions of dollars of funding for these
projects. All children and their families have benefited from Berta’s efforts. Berta has given the gift of giving through
voluntarism, and has been a true leader for change in caring for everyone’s children.
Berta Blecke is one of Miami-Dade County’s and indeed Florida’s premier child
advocates. For over two decades, Berta has worked for the rights of Florida’s at-risk children, helping to create programs
that ensure their safety and provide them love, shelter, and hope for a better life. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation,
Florida has historically ranked in the lowest 15 states in quality of life for children. Berta rallies legislators, business
leaders, volunteers, and philanthropists to place children higher on the community’s agenda. Her legacy is evident in
long-standing programs, improved systems of care and dedicated funding streams for sexually and physically abused children,
children in foster care, and other underserved populations in this community.
Major Projects
Guardian Ad Litem Program
Dade County Governor’s Constituency for Children
Children Have All Rights, Legal, Educational, and Emotional (CHARLEE) Program
Gladstone Center
Kristi House
Orlowitz-Lee Child Advocacy Center
The Peaceful Schools Project
The Haitian Neighborhood Center, Sant La, Inc.
