President’s Monthly Letter
“Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.”
- Serena Williams
We are ALL Mentors!
Spring time is always a busy, emotional, but so rewarding time for our club. This year was especially poignant. We graduated many long-time Z Club members and we are proud of all they have accomplished over the years. College, university and high school ceremonies filled the month of May along with award ceremonies, speeches, and parties…all well deserved. Now everyone refuels over the summer to prepare for the adventures that lie ahead. But it’s not just the pomp and circumstance that makes this time of year emotional, it’s knowing that we each played a role. Mentoring in our own special ways. Whether you worked with one of our graduates one-on-one or by helped raise funds for our club to fund our scholarships or read scholarship applications, you are letting our young leaders know that there are mentors cheering them on!
Mentorship is not just for our young members it is also makes a difference for our Foothills Club members. A big “thank you” to those who have stepped up to be our mentor/mentee teams for the enthusiastic women who we inducted at our May meeting. They are Sheila Cohen and Elizabeth Freedman, Nancy Rowe and Michelle Médal, Joan Siebenaler and Sara Gillespie, and Sheila King and Pam Malzbender. We kicked things off for our new members at a recent orientation and had a great time over lunch, sharing our Zonta stories and our passion for the work that we do.
As we look to our new year, remember that we are all mentors, so everyone’s outreach to our members, new and returning, is important. Yes, as Serena Williams says “Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another.” and We ARE “strongest when we cheer each other on.” So here’s to a wonderful summer of relaxation, family and fun along with renewed passion for our accomplishments and the bond that we form together.
— Pam
IMPORTANT DATES
June Retreat - Thursday, June 8, 5:30-8:30 pm
How do you envision our club looking in the months and years ahead? Lots to decide, especially with the amazing results of this year’s fund raising efforts.
Join Us!
Location: Boulder Democratic Party Offices, 5735 Arapahoe Ave #A1, Boulder, CO 80303
(Get Directions) The Retreat is a pot luck. Please bring a dish to share. Drinks will be provided. It will be a wonderful evening.
RSVP by clicking HERE to let us know what you are bringing.
Here is the link to a working draft of our retreat agenda. It is evolving a bit and may be a bit different by Thursday but we are sharing it to get your curious about our plan. Please review it before we get together.
“Zappy Hour” - August or September at Kay Meyer’s home Date to be Announced (Who will you invite?)
66th Zonta District 12 Conference - (Save the Date) September 15-17, Laramie, Wyoming. Plan to come and learn about our District and Zonta International.
FLASH NEWS
2023-24 Committees
Strong Teams for the New Year
We have a strong team of officers and Committee Chairs leading us into 2023-24. And our Committees are building to be just as great. Here is the list of Committees as they currently stand for the new year. Note that if you are not listed below we just need input from you as to where you prefer to participate. Everything is changeable.
Zonta EducateZ Scholarship Committee: Nancy Rowe (Chair), Michelle Médal, Jan Cheney, Kim Prosser-Noonan
Zonta EducateZ Comittee: Pam Malzbender, Tommie Atanasoff, Michelle Carpenter, Marta Lindrose, Gaby Lopez, Catherine Bailey
Service Committee: Kim Prosser-Noonan, Colleen Farrell, Joan Siebenaler
Advocacy Committee: Ranelle Randles (Chair), Sara Gillespie, Elizabeth Freedman, Sheila King
Membership Committee: Ann Hodgson (Co-Chair), Colleen Farrell (Co-Chair) Amanda Elsnes, Catherine Médal, Kathy Israelson, Kay Meyer, Jan Cheney
Public Relations Committee: Pam Malzbender (Chair), Sheila Cohen
Fund Raising Committee: Marta Lindrose (Chair), Colleen Farrell, Tommie Atanasoff, Nancy Rowe, Catherine Médal
Finance Committee: Michelle Médal, Marta Lindrose, Pam Malzbender
Gaby ROCKS!
At our May meeting Michelle Médal, Marta Lindrose and Pam Malzbender recognized one of our newest members Gaby Lopez for her contribution to the growth and success of our Pantherz Z Club. We also celebrated Gaby’s addition as a member of our 2023-24 board!
You go Gaby! We are so lucky to have you.
Community Foodshare Spring Resource Fair
Despite the rain, Marta Lindrose set up a Zonta table for the Community Foodshare Spring Resource Fair this past Saturday. This event is each year held to let community members learn about other resources available to them in the community. It was a great opportunity for Zonta to get our books into the hands of more families!
A big thank you to our volunteers who put it all together!
So Many Wonderful Graduations!
Between our two clubs we had the honor of celebrating graduations for most of the month of May! First were the ceremonies at Front Range Community College, then CU Boulder and finally CU Denver. Between them all we saw our Boulder High School Pantherz Z Club and Flatirons Golden Z Club members honored for their successes and move on to the next part of their journey. Congratulations to you all!
Z Club Graduation Speakers
The annual tradition of Pantherz Z Club leaders speaking at the Boulder High School graduation continued this year as our Club President Moncerrat Dominguez Ibarra and Club Social Media Chair Josue Hernandez Guerrero took to the podium. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MONCE who will attend CU Denver in September.
…and More Inspiration
They were strong voices for their class and our Club. Click on the images here to enjoy their presentations. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO Josue who will attend Boston University in September.
Tour the Boulder History Museum
Thanks to Tommie Atanasoff for arranging a great year end celebration tour with our Z Club at the Boulder History Museum. Going the day after finals ended was a perfect celebration, followed by ice cream at Sweet Cow. The exhibit about the Dushanbe Teahouse was especially interesting!
Beach Party a Big Success
Threatening clouds and a few rain drops didn’t dampen the final year end celebration at our annual lake party. We had close to 30 Pantherz, Flatirons Golden Z member and Zonta members who enjoyed the lake, the sand and just being together. We had games of volleyball, Jenga, and cornhole that got pretty competitive but all in good fun!
A big thanks you to the Zontians who were able to attend! It is always fun for us to get together with our Z Clubs and share some down time.
Educatez Scholarship Committee
EducateZ Scholarship Deadline
The Scholarship Committee is excited to announce our Zonta EducateZ Scholarship winner - Estefany Longoria! Estefany was one of our founding Pantherz Z Club members (seen here at her BHS graduation, a few years ago). Over the years she has been an active member of the Flatirons Golden Z Club and we are honored to support her as she completes her education. A first-generation student, Estefany was attending CU Denver’s Business School, working towards a degree in accounting, when she was forced to leave school for personal reasons. She is planning to return to school this fall after two years away, and complete her degree.
Estephany is currently interning for Longmont accounting firm that serves the Latino community. She is excited about this position because it gives her the opportunity teach financial literacy to non-English speakers and to give back to her community.
The Zonta EducateZ Scholarship is an endowed scholarship that our club created to help women exactly like Estefany. It is for women who want to return to their education, no matter what that might be. Estefany will receive a $2,000 scholarship to help pay for her tuition at CU Denver.
JMK Winner Announced Soon
The JMK Women in Business application deadline, June 12th, is coming up quickly. We currently have three strong applications, and the committee will meet at the end of June to select a winner. Our club winner will receive a $2,000 scholarship, and then be submitted to the District level, to compete for an additional $6,000 as an international winner.
YWPA Winner Update
Lastly, we enjoyed meeting our Young Women in Public Affairs winner, Julia Hunt and her mother, at our last business meeting. We were very excited to meet her in person and learn a little about her future plans. Julia will be attending Columbia University in the fall, and our $2,000 award will be sent to the university to help cover some of her tuition costs.
Julia's full application was submitted to District 12 back in April, and we are waiting to hear if she has been selected as their winner as well where she can receive an additional $6,000. Fingers crossed!
2023-24 Scholarship Committee In Good Hands
The Scholarship Committee will be led by one our newest members, Nancy Rowe, this coming year. I will be her "assistant chair" to help her take over this inspiring committee. I will be transitioning to club treasurer, but I am excited to continue supporting the committee especially now that I am charged with the fun job of giving away money to deserving young women. You can learn more about our scholarships on our website.
Michelle…on behalf of the EducateZ Scholarship Committee
The Advocacy Committee
May 23 Beyond Binary Workshop
Thanks to those of you who were able to join the Beyond Binary workshop we co-hosted recently with Social Venture Partners. Conducted by
Michal Duffy of Out Boulder County, the evening was well attended; we had a full house of very engaged
participants who learned a lot about gender identity and how to be welcoming to those who may identify differently than ourselves. If you were unable to attend, you can access some of the materials in a recent email or contact an advocacy committee member to forward the materials to you.
We will have an opportunity in future to discuss how we can ensure our Club is a welcoming space for all.
Ranelle…on behalf of the Advocacy Committee