Jan Clarke
Ask most people how much time they have spent doing volunteer work of one type or another for their community, and some will count the time in days, others months, some even years. However, few can count the time spent on behalf of others in decades. Janet Mardis Clarke can; she has spent the last four decades of her life as a volunteer in service to various arts, social, religious, educational, and community organizations.
Four decades.
And she does not seem to show any signs of slowing down; she certainly doesn’t entertain any plans to do so. Jan has taken the literary, business, and managerial skills she developed and honed in the commercial marketplace and applied them freely and liberally to the benefit of the people in the Miami Valley. And she has done so with neither hesitation nor regret.
To a society transfigured by the double-income family, Jan presents an icon to which working women can aspire; she is living proof that you can have a family, a career, and a social conscious and hold them all in balance to the benefit of each.
The term non-profit organization is, in many instances, an oxymoron. For to operate without profit (read without adequate operating funds), you have to learn to improvise in just about everything you do. Review Jan’s career as a community volunteer, and you will see that she has spent the majority of those four decades in service (as most volunteers do) to non-profit organizations – the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dayton Opera, Planned Parenthood, Kettering Schools, and the United Church of Christ. Enthusiastically. And, for the most part, behind the scenes. Over the past 40 years, one could hear her impact every time the Philharmonic performed in concert. Or the Opera mounted a production. And seen in rows of marigolds that populated Shroyer Road. And kids on their way to any of the schools in Kettering. Her impact? A life that has been, for the communities in which she’s volunteered – profitable indeed.
The Quintessential Volunteer
- 1965 - 1989: Board Member DPWA (Dayton Philharmonic Women’s Association [now the Dayton Philharmonic Volunteer Association])
- 1973 – 1989: wrote DPWA newsletter 5 seasonal issues; handle all PR for various events
- 1973 – Cub Scout Den Leader, Oakview School
- 1975 - 2005: Board Member, Opera Guild of Dayton
- 1974 - 1979: Handled all Public Relations activities for Planned Parenthood’s Annual Book Fair
- 1977 – 79: Conducted a summer children’s program at David’s United Church of Christ
- 1969 - 1973: Oakview School PTO board member
- 1982 - 1987: Board Member, Kettering PTA Council
- 1986 - 1992: Member, Kettering City Beautification Committee
- 2000 – Present: Event Manager, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
An Award-Winning Woman
- Ohio Newspaper Women’s Association (ONWA) Best in Ohio for Feature Page in papers over 35,000 circulation (Fashion)
- Several first- and second-place ONWA awards for feature stories
A Life, and a Career, of Achievement
Jan attended Oakwood High School and earned a BA, with a major in English, from Ohio University.
In 1953, she started working at the Dayton Daily News in the Women’s Department as a Staff Writer, where she wrote features and general interest information society pieces [clubs, weddings, and so forth]. In 1955, Jan became Fashion Editor. From 1957 to 1965, she wrote People You Know, a column devoted to society news, and from 1959 to 1965 authored Party Line, a column devoted to society events within the community.
In 1966, working freelance she wroteWhat Great Matter a Little Fire Kindeleth, a history of the first 75 years of Miami Valley Hospital. MVH liked it so much that they hired her in 1967, where she worked until 1969 as a Communications Specialist.
In 1969, Jan started a family, but continued to write newsletters and brochures on the side as a freelancer.
After her family had grown, Jan felt the urge to return to the workplace. And the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra became the beneficiary. In 1987, she began a 14-year career as the DPO’s Public Relations Manager. And, when she finally retired from fulltime work, Jan stayed on with the DPO and to this day functions – yes, as a volunteer – as DPO Events Marketing Coordinator.
The words
thank you seem hardly appropriate. But Jan knows she has earned the respect, admiration, confidence, and trust of everyone at the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.
More information on the
Dayton Philharmonic Volunteer Association
