The Supreme Tutelas

What is a Supreme Tutela? Oh, only the creme de la creme of the Krewe of Bona Dea, the creators, originators, and the guardians... the protectors of everything our organization holds dear. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what "Tutela" means. It's the word used in Ancient Rome for someone that is entrusted with the protection of an independent woman, which each bonafide member is: strong, caring, loving, independent women. 

So, c'mon on in and sit a spell, while I introduce you to them, three of the finest June bugs this side of the Mississippi. Their names are Nina, Kristin, and Leigh, and they are just a couple of Southern Magnolias raised near the Bayou, who found themselves playing the same game of chance... Bunco. Being the true Southern women that they are, when Bunco night rolls around each month, these hostesses theme their nights, pull out their best serving dishes, and make some the most divine food to ever hit your mouth. They wanted, NO NEEDED, each other's recipes and thought maybe, just maybe, other people did too. So, after years of Bunco nights with many more still come, the ladies put together their best of the best to share with you. They named it Bunco Bon Appetit: a Bonafide Krewe of Bona Dea Cookbook.

Besides saying "Bon Appetit" and playing Bunco, these three also love being social, and they wanted a reason to get dolled up once or twice a year... well, there's that, and their love for Mardis Gras. So, they decided to put together a Mardis Gras Krewe. It's only fittin' you see, the New Orleans' Carnival is so infectious that over the decades it spread all they way up to Jackson, Mississippi, where these three Supreme Tutelas reign with the rest of their ladies. Yes, the Krewe of Bona Dea is their name, and they are bonafide.

Now, they also have a bonafide cause for all this FUN. All three ladies hail from the great state of Mississippi, and down in these parts, we do whatever we can to help each other, even if it means laughing, dancing, cooking, and playing Bunco. Hey, we do what we can.

The Supreme Tutelas are sisters by love and friendship and they have been blessed throughout their lives by the love and friendship of other beautiful women. Women who would be amazing mothers but through their own fate, luck, and circumstance, have not been blessed with children. Unfortunately, this can be an expensive pursuit for those who strive for motherhood. Most insurance does not cover fertility treatments and the adoption process can be lengthy and costly. That is where Sisters for Motherhood comes in. The Krewe of Bona Dea, its social events, cookbook, and membership, actively seeks to raise money to scholarship potential mothers and their families as they follow the path that best suits them. 

This is why we chose Bona Dea, the good goddess, the goddess of women and fertility, to name our Krewe after. She is a protector of women, and we would like to be one too, in our own little way. So, we also strive to help with battered women shelters, homeless women, and children's hospitals as well.

So, now that you know all of that... let's not go around our elbow to get to our thumb:

Nina moved to Mississippi, where her grandfather was born and raised, at 18 months old, and grew up proud to be Southern. Tailgating during football season, flea markets, good crawfish, great bar-b-que, quick thinkers with a slow tongue, sweet tea, please, and thank you… are just a few reasons she loves the South. After graduating high school, Nina received her Associate of Arts in Journalism from Copiah-Lincoln Community College and her Bachelor of Science in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations from Mississippi College. She married her best friend from high school and college sweetheart David Strother in 2009 and since then they have welcomed two little ones: Sidney McCall and Liam Winfield. Her professional background is in marketing, sales, communication, copy writing, and public relations. She loves crème brulee, fleur de lis’s, and the month of October. Don’t threaten her with a good time… she’s always ready to have one.

Shhhh! Don’t tell New Orleans, but our next Supreme Tutela was born in Alabama, where,  whether New Orleans wants to admit it or not, Mardis Gras was born. She has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Troy University and a master’s degree in the same from Mississippi University for Women. In the middle of all that fancy education, Kristin moved to Birmingham, where chance would have it, she met her best friend, rock, and the love of her life Ken. The two moved to Mississippi shortly after getting married, and she and Ken have two wonderful kids, Tripp and Sarah Kate. They were born on the same day two years apart. Now, that dog’ll hunt. She currently works as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, and is Southern from the top of her head to the bottom of her heels. “Honey, it’s not blush. It’s bashful.” Kristin is a lover of pink, pearls, and Jesus. She also loves ruffles, ice cream with sprinkles, pecan pie, crock pot cooking, and boating.

Nursed on gumbo and sustained by years of country club Sunday buffets, Leigh hails from the town Grant declared "too beautiful to burn" Port Gibson. It is a place where hospitality and grace are served daily, cocktails and church collide, and entertaining is an art form.

Lucky enough to be reared by one of the greatest cooks ever, Leigh's mama Virgie Leigh was her inspiration for creating a cookbook. Virgie Leigh's cooking and entertaining is legendary..just ask her!

Always a multi-tasker, Leigh met her future husband Chris at work. She was bewildered by the fact that he seemed completely unimpressed with her, and set out to show him the error in his ways. Clever Chris caught on, and they have lived happily ever after.

Denied early admissions to charm school, Leigh conquered the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She received not only an education in Public Relations, but a love for South Louisiana cuisine. Leigh is currently a successful real estate agent in the Jackson-Metro area.