President’s Monthly Letter
“Some leaders are born women.”
- Geraldine Ferraro
We are Leaders…
We are Women, Supporting Women
At our recent Zappy Hour, I was so moved by the energy, passion and dedication in the room. As we each shared our Zonta story with the prospective members, we each dug deep into our hearts to share why we are so committed to this organization and to one another. Yes, “some leaders are born women” and as we talked about Zonta and our work it was clear that we have those leaders right here in the Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County! Thank you to everyone who came to our membership event. Your words not only inspired some of our guests, but helped to remind me about why I am so proud to be a part of this sisterhood. was rejuvenated by everyone's enthusiasm.
Our club ends our fiscal year on May 31, so as we all look ahead to a summer of family, travels and fun, we can also use this down time for reflection about how our club can continue to support women and girls. We will start that process at our June retreat and I hope you will all be able to make it. This is a critical meeting to help us transition to our new year. We will be signing up for committees soon so please think about where you would like to work next year. Then, I hope that our committees will start to plan over the next few months even if its over a morning coffee or together some cool summer evening. Leading the cause will be our dedicated committee members so when they call please lend a hand. We have so much we can do together by sharing our love for the mission of Zonta!
Here’s to a lovely summer inspired by the women leaders that we were all born to be.
— Pam
IMPORTANT DATES
May Business Meeting - Thursday, May 11, 6:00-7:30 pm
Location: Valmont Community Presbyterian Church3262 North 61st Street,
Boulder, Colorado
(Get Directions)
PLEASE RSVP BY CLICKING HERE SO WE CAN RESERVE FOOD
“Beyond Bianary” Workshop - Tuesday, May 23, 6 PM co-hosted by our Advocacy Committee with Boulder’s Social Venture Partners. Open to all club members. (See email for details and article below.) Held at the offices of the Boulder County Democratic Party, 5735 Arapahoe Ave #A1, Boulder, CO 80303
Foothills Club/ Z CLUB and Golden Z CLUB Lake Party!! - Thursday, June 1 at 3:00 pm Join our club members of all ages for our annual afternoon at the Loukonen Brothers Reservoir in Lake Valley! Directions Here. We always enjoy the time together sitting in the sand, swimming, eating and getting to know one another! More information to come!
Club Board Meeting - DATE TBD with responses from Meeting Doodle (Via zoom - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84873213280 ) NEW and OLD Board Members encouraged to attend. We will plan the retreat and start conversations for 2023-24 planning.
Club RETREAT - Thursday, June 8, 5:30 - 8:30 pm at the home of Marta Lindrose, Information to Follow. SAVE THE DATE
“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
FLASH NEWS
May Meeting - Celebrate Z Grads & Scholarship Recipients!
Our May meeting will be a celebration of a great year and a little bit of looking ahead to 2023-24. We will install our new officers and induct our newest club member, Nancy Rowe.
Our speakers will be our Golden Z grads, Panther Z Club grads and YWPA scholarship recipient sharing their future plans. Let’s celebrate their accomplishments!
Our Club Makes ZI News
Check out a story about our club on the Zonta International website! Letting the ZI world know about Zing and the Z Club’s Sanitary Product/Diaper Drive!
June 8 - Member Retreat
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. We have many budgeting strategies to discuss!
At our June retreat we will:
- award our 2023 Zontian of the Year!! - strategize with ideas from our member survey. - meet (and maybe induct?) some new members - set club goals for next year - …lots more!
So PLEASE SAVE THE DATE! It will be in our normal meeting slot (second Thursday of the month) June 8th, from 5:30-8:30 pm. It will just run, a little longer than our normal meetings since it is a retreat; we need to get some important work to do together! More details to come!
Zonta Foothills Walks for MESA
On Saturday, April 29th, our Zonta Foothills MESA Team (supported by our canine kids) enjoyed sunshine, mountains and camaraderie as we supported Moving to End Sexual Assault (MESA) at the Canine Classic. This dog-friendly fun run and walk marked Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.
Thanks to Ann Hodgson, Marta Lindrose, Colleen Farrell and her dad Richard Farrell, our honorary member Pat Vann and our newest club member, Nancy Rowe for joining the team! Of course a BIG thank you to Maggie and Sammy, our furry team mates.
FUNDRAISING Committee
Zing For Zonta…WOW!
IT WAS THE BEST ZING EVER; we did it! Zing grossed over $32,000. This amount includes sponsorships and donations, ticket sales, silent auction, live auction and voting, both online and live. Thank you Zonta Foothills Club - WE made this happen.
Now, as a club, we need to decide if we want to have this event next year? This will mean a commitment from every member to support and help in all aspects of Zing For Zonta Boulder's Got Talent. If anyone has another idea for an event please let the Fundraising Committee know. We will discuss this at the next business meeting and the retreat.
The FUNd Raising Committee - Marta Lindrose, Kathy Israelson, Colleen Farrell, Tommie Atanasoff and Catherine Médal
Membership Committee
Zappy Hour a HOT Ticket!
WOW! Our membership team really knows how to throw a party. We had close to 30 people attend our recent Zappy Hour, half members and half prospective members and it was a wonderful evening. A fascinating group of women got together to learn more about Zonta and a few have already joined!
We spent a wonderful couple hours in conversation and getting to know one another. In a short program Pam welcomed our guests and then board members shared information about the challenges that we as Zontians working together, are addressing to “Build a Better World for Women and Girls.” Our great new Zonta video gave everyone inspiration and then Board members Sara Gillespie, Michelle Médal and Ranelle Randles helped by describing our club and our work.
Big thanks to Kay Meyer who talked about the importance of her Zonta friendships, Tommie Atanasoff who shared her passion for our Z Clubs and Amy Bonomi who described how Zonta helped her keep connected through Covid’s challenges. With our shared passion we hope our new friends are excited to join!
The Membership Committee - Colleen Yuskevich, Catherine Médal, Amanda Elsnes, Betty Cox, Jan Cheney
Michelle, Marta and Pam ROCK!
At our April meeting Catherine Médal broke with tradition and split “the rock” 3 ways! In recognition of a successful Zing for Zonta she recognized, Michelle Médal for her amazing Zing video which brought tears to everyone’s eyes, Marta Lindrose for making Zing happen as manager extraordinaire, and Pam Malzbender for the PR to promote Zing. It was great teamwork that made a successful event.
Educatez Scholarship Committee
JMK Scholarship Underway
We have already received several amazing applications for our Jane M Klausman Women in Business Scholarship and the deadline isn’t until June 12th. This scholarship is available to undergraduate and post-graduate women enrolled in a business degree program and working towards a business management career.
We reached out to the Leeds School of Business at CU and encourage our members to spread the word about this very worthwhile scholarship. A total of $8,000 in funding is available to winners who make it through the local, district and international levels.
EducateZ Scholarship Deadline
In addition the deadline for our Zonta EducateZ Scholarship is May 31. This is our own endowed award and it is available to women who face significant financial barriers to post-secondary education. We support women attending a college, university or accredited institution.
Please contact Michelle Médal if you are interested in being on a scholarship team. You can learn more about our scholarships on our website at: https://www.zontafoothills.org/scholarships
The EducateZ Scholarship Committee - Michelle Médal, Colleen Farrell, Jan Chaney, Kay Meyer, and Kim Prossner-Noonan
Z Club Closes Year with a Bang!
The Z Club seniors have been busy filling out applications for scholarships including our Z Club scholarship. All of the seniors are attending college next year and the EducateZ Committee couldn't be prouder. Our Z Club Scholarship winners are Club President Moncerrat Doninguez Ibarra, Club Vice President Adrianna Aguirre and Club Treasurer Lindsey Juarez Garcia. (Meet them at our May business meeting!) And so many other accomplishments…
Catherine Medal presented Monce and Adriana at a recent event for the Boulder Optimists Club. Both we recognized as youth volunteers in the community! It is a great honor and we are so pleased that our Panther Z Club leaders are being recognized for their commitment to their work for Zonta!
Z Club member Lindsy Juarez Garcia won 1st place in the BVSD Art Exhibit for her sculpture 'Spring Will Always Come'. Congratulations Lindsy!
And the recognition keeps coming. Moncerrat has received Outstanding Youth Volunteer by the the City of Boulder. This was in recognition for her work with our Z Club and her commitment to improving the lives of women and girls. We are so proud of Monce and excited for the opportunities that lie ahead at the University of Colorado Denver. Way to go Monce!
To the Solar System and Back!
On April 11th the Z Club did a trip to Fiske Planetarium on the CU campus where every one was transported from the night sky above to the depths of the world around us. It was a fabulous show which was enjoyed by everyone. We always love to bring the club members to the wonderful places in our community and for many they were going to Fiske for the first time.
Teachers Make a Difference!
For Teacher Appreciation Week the Z Club wrote personal notes their their favorite teachers! It was a great way to show their appreciation and to think about how much their teachers do for them. Each student delivered their note either in person or in the teacher’s mailbox.
New Library at Longmont’s OUR Center!
We are thrilled to announce that Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County has just launched another free club-sponsored library at the OUR Center in Longmont. Coordinating the project is Zonta member Catherine Rattan Bailey. Here she is with Julie Lupien, the Center’s Director of Volunteer Services after filling the shelves for community members to enjoy the free books. Our other book projects support Emergency Family Assistance Association - EFAA and Community Food Share.
Lending Libraries Growing!
Our book storage locker was overflowing! We needed additional room for books and to store other Zonta 'stuff' that is scattered around members garages in Boulder County. Thank goodness our Pantherz Z Club came out in force to help us move from one space to another!
The board approved our new 10 X 10 locker will mean an increase of approximately $40 a month over on our EducateZ budget but as we increase our book distribution it is really making a difference for families in our community!
Thank you to Michelle Médal, Colleen Yuskevich and Marta Lindrose for making it all happen and a BIG thank you to next year’s Z Club officers Co-President Nataly Villa, Co Vice-Presidents Casey Girón Fuentes and Lily Beacom and At-large board member Zoe Cárdenas. They are going to rock it!
The EducateZ Committee - Marta Lindrose, Pam Malzbender, Christie Maurais, Tommie Atanasoff and Michelle Carpenter
The Advocacy Committee
May 23 Beyond Binary Workshop
The Advocacy Committee is excited for us to all learn more and educate ourselves about those who may identify differently than we do. As a global organization, Zonta International values the
contributions of members of all backgrounds, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, color, ability, religion, socio-economic status, culture, sexual orientation or gender identity. We believe that a diverse community of members is essential to our ability to achieve our mission to create a more equitable future.
So, we have an exciting personal learning opportunity coming up May 23. We are partnering with Social Venture Partners (SVP) to present Beyond Binary: LGBTQ+ Core Concepts & Etiquette Essentials on May 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Boulder County Democratic Party offices at 5735 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder #A1. The course is 90 minutes long, but participants should be prepared to stay for up to half an hour of discussion post-program. Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited to 15 Zonta and 15 SVP attendees.
The training will be conducted by Michal Duffy, M.S., [they/them/elle], Director of Education and Research, Out Boulder County.
We hope you will join us to learn more and ensure our Club is welcoming and inclusive.
Dr. Amy Bonomi Keynote at
Take Back the Night
We love supporting the advocates from The Feminist Club at Front Range Community College. To commemorate Sexual Assault Awareness Month they hosted Take Back the Night. We hosted a table at the
event which was also supported by more than 20 other community organizations. The event featured speakers from Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley,Moving to End Sexual Assault (MESA) and our own Dr Amy Bonomi who was the key note for the evening and discussed why domestic violence victims change their story and how we can support victims. An inspirational evening.
Zonta Says NOW!
The Action for Environment and Gender Equality committee (AEGE for short) invites you to share with your membership our next event. It is a book discussion on the book, Braiding Sweetgrass, which is beautifully written narrative about our earth and being
stewards of the earth by Robin Wall Kimmerer on Sunday, May 21, 2023, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. MDT via Zoom
Free - All welcome!
(An email with a Zoom link to attend will be sent the day of the event.)
Sponsored by the Zonta Says NOW - District 12 AEGE (Action for Environment and Gender Equality) Committee and the Women's STEM Careers of Southern Colorado Committee.
Read about the author at https://www.robinwallkimmerer.com
Image and review at Milkweed Editions: https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass
The Advocacy Committee- Ranelle Randles, Sara Gillespie, Elizabeth Freedman, Amy Bonomi