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Photo By Liz Long
As president of Junior League of Roanoke Valley, Susan Stanley-Zahorchak is leading the charge for positive change in the region.
After meeting Susan Stanley-Zahorchak, president of Junior League of Roanoke Valley (JLRV), I get the feeling she’s often described as a woman who can do it all. By day, she is the human resources manager at ALCOVA Mortgage, LLC. Every other moment, it seems, is devoted to the community and strong friendships with other JRLV members. And she’s now doing this all as a new mom, as she just gave birth to her baby girl only five weeks prior to our lunch!
Originally from Bland, Zahorchak graduated from Virginia Tech and moved to Roanoke in 2004. Her desire to find a great network of girlfriends led her first to the Chamber of Commerce, becoming an ambassador, and soon after, Junior League of Roanoke Valley. Now in her 13th active year, she’s proud of the great work the group does, and it’s now a part of her.
“We want to make sure Roanoke is great for children, women and families. And with my daughter, I want to provide a strong community for her,” she says. “It’s about giving back to the community, wanting to make the Roanoke Valley a better place, helping those in need and empowering women.”
JLRV also hosts the Stocked Market, their biggest fundraiser of the year. In addition to raising money, the event provides a great opportunity to utilize their efforts in finding new members and helping others understand their volunteer work. Stocked Market is one of Zahorchak’s favorite events of the year.
“It kicks off the holiday season,” she says enthusiastically. “It’s full of energy, from Christmas music to all the members dressing up, and being involved is really a lot of fun. It’s also a lot of work, but I love seeing the different vendors and unique gifts you can’t get anywhere else.”
Zahorchak and her husband Paul, an independent financial consultant, celebrated the birth of their daughter, Caroline Jane (named after both her grandmothers). They also enjoy time with Paul’s children, Adam, 20, who attends JMU, and Anna, 18, a freshman at Virginia Tech. She and Paul are both Hokie graduates, and love Virginia Tech sports and attending games every chance they get. They also enjoy concerts, spending time at the beach and traveling to unique places such as Istanbul and Paris; their last trip included Prague and Budapest.
While Zahorchak typically has an active life, from JLRV meetings and events to dinners with friends and work functions, it’s been quite a change to stay home with her baby. What spare time she does have goes to reading and walks on the greenway, and she hopes to get back into running soon. She also enjoys cooking.
“I love preparing a nice meal, not the ‘hurry to make something after work,’ but where I have a nice Saturday afternoon with a glass of wine and music, and I can try new recipes to make a full meal for the family,” she says. “I don’t have a huge sweet tooth, but I’ll bake things just to take into the office.”
Just like I thought: a woman who does it all for others.
Want to learn more about Junior League of Roanoke Valley and the amazing things their volunteers are doing for our community? See our online extra here.
… for the rest of this story and more from our November/December 2018 issue, Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
