Congratulations to Diana Buckton!
The Nashville New Neighbor of the Year is quite an extraordinary woman who edifies kindness, beauty, and wisdom without even trying. As the embodiment of this club’s spirit, she is of a completely different origin and yet she has adjusted to her new surroundings seeking fun and friendship, giving generously of herself to this club and its members, and greeting everyone with a smile. It is an honor to celebrate this woman by highlighting her background along with the many contributions she has made to her clubs and communities that only touch upon the kindness and magnificence of this beautiful lady.
This year’s New Neighbor of the Year was born and raised in Northamptonshire, England, seventy miles north of London. She was the youngest of three children in her family. Interestingly, there were many years between her elder siblings and herself; however, her parents said that she kept them young at heart.
While in school, she competed and represented her school very successfully in track and field events that would be equivalent to State level competitions here in the United States. As a single parent she raised her son and daughter, Nicholas and Caroline, who are now successful adults and live in England along with her six beautiful grandchildren with whom she visits on a regular basis. Before moving to this country she was very involved with the local chapter of the Leukemia Research Fund, acting as treasurer for many years, and hosting several fund raising events. At the same time, this dynamic woman was the Recording Secretary for The Mothers Club and also for the Rushden Charities Committee, all while holding down a busy job as an Office Manager for a footwear manufacturing Company!
As fate would have it, twenty years ago during a last minute vacation in Benidorm, Spain, life for this lovely lady took a very different turn when she met her wonderful husband, Tom, who was a US Navy Petty Officer serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS SARATOGA, there for a port visit. After a long distance friendship and many air miles earned, they were married in 1990 when he was stationed in London. In 1994, the time came to leave their British friends and family and venture ‘over the pond’. This was quite an undertaking for a woman who (with the exception of the last few months prior to leaving) had never moved more than a ten-mile radius never moved more than a ten-mile radius from home!!
Her first port of call upon arrival in the U.S. was Corpus Christi, Texas. Unbelievably, she had only ten days to get furniture delivered and obtain a U.S. driver’s license before having to drive her husband to the airport so that he could fly to San Diego, join his ship, and play in the Pacific and Japan for the next five months! For most people this would have been a nightmare, but this adventurous lady wasted no time in connecting with the New Neighbors League Club of Corpus Christi, and found herself swept up by a tide of love and lifelong friendships. She very quickly joined in the various activities that the club had to offer: she learned to quilt, bowled with the ladies league and the couples league, joined the walking group, dining out group, stitch and chat, lunch and a movie group, theater group, and played Trivial Pursuit. In fact, when her husband returned home from deployment, he quite cramped her social life!
After four years of fun and friendship it was time to move on, this time to the Sunshine State where her husband would be stationed at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. Once more she came up trumps! This resourceful gal joined the Jacksonville chapter of The Navy Wives Clubs of America, a federally chartered club for enlisted spouses, and before long was serving on the board as corresponding and recording secretary. After serving for two years, she was elected to another board position, this time as the Vice President. It was during this period that she was also elected to serve as the President of the Dixie Area Council of the Navy Wives Clubs of America, a position she held for two years.
During her time in office, she encouraged the members to work on "Project Linus", making and distributing blankets to sick children, and the "Fuzzy Feet" project, donating new slippers to children who were patients at the Naval Hospital and at Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. In January 2004, she was elected President of the Jacksonville chapter. And if that wasn’t enough, this busy lady also volunteered in their Thrift Store. The proceeds from this were used to assist the Pine Castle Adult Center with training and education for adults with disabilities, and also Hubbard House and Quigley House, both shelters for victims of domestic violence. Additional funds raised from the store were used to provide scholarships to Active duty children, provide baby layettes for newborns, and to supply food baskets for needy families. This amazing woman was also actively involved in providing Christmas parties for patients at the VA Hospital in Lake City, Florida, as well as the Veterans Day Center. She also helped with the Special Olympics as the coordinator for an on-site distribution point for donated gifts. And on top of all that, this impressive lady volunteered each year with the Annual Veterans Stand-down. This is one day a year when homeless veterans could get medical and dental attention, a shower and haircut, clean clothes, shoes and blankets.
In 2004, having retired from the Navy, her husband took a job in Nashville, Tennessee. Once settled, she was thrilled to find that there was a New Neighbors League Club in the area! Knowing full well the enormous benefits of the club, she lost no time in transferring her membership from Corpus Christi, TX. Now, as a Nashville New Neighbor, she became active within a number of activity groups and began by serving on the coffee committee. This was an ideal position for her since she is always ready with a smile to welcome new members, make them feel at home, and introduce them to other members present, always recalling her fond memories of her first meeting all those years ago in Texas.
When it came time to nominate a new board, she volunteered for the position of Corresponding Secretary, and at the eleventh hour agreed to combine this with the additional board position of Recording Secretary, generously acquiescing to the needs of the club and the personal requests from the new board and club director. She was an eager volunteer, making sure that the minutes were distributed in a timely and professional manner, and not missing a member’s event or illness that required a card of encouragement or congratulations from the club. Always ready to lend a hand, she immediately volunteered to be a model for the Spring Fashion Show, and became the chairperson of the Couples Dining Out Group. Once more came the time for nominations, and with a little coaxing she agreed to be nominated for the position of Club President and was unanimously elected. During her term asPresident, membership increased considerably, and several new and successful activities were introduced.
She has participated in almost every activity NNLC has to offer, even performing in the talent show at a Christmas Luncheon, complete with her ‘Bubba’ teeth! Her knitting skills are the envy of everyone, with baby jackets being her specialty! Along with the Stitch and Chat Group, she knitted blanket squares for the “Warm up America" campaign and helped deliver them to a downtown shelter. This English lady is also very active in the club’s Expat Group, and as a new co-chair she helps to ensure ladies of a foreign background integrate within the community and helps them to track down some of the hard to find international items in the local area.
Besides being active in New Neighbors, this dynamic woman is also the Recording Secretary for the local chapter of TBPA, a British organization that regularly donates items of linen, paper and canned goods to the Room in the Inn, a privately funded homeless shelter. Additionally, she provides toys, school supplies, and clothing to needy children at Christmas each year. Wondering what more this very kind and generous soul could do leaves one to find that she very kindly donated all of those air miles she earned from her travels to The Fischer House, which is a home away from home for the families of injured service men and women in Washington DC. These accomplishments merely highlight the magnificence of this year’s honoree; they stop short of describing the gentle kindness and truly caring touch you feel in her presence and see in her smile. It is the good fortune of all the Nashville New Neighbors members to know her, to love her, to share in her good company, and to be truly better for having her in their lives.
It is both a joy and an honor to declare
Diana Buckton
Nashville’s New Neighbor of the Year.