Dear Sister Zontians,

Heartfelt thanks go out to donors and guests who made the  8th Silent “no more!” Auction on May 2nd at the Ludlow Country Club a resounding success.  The auction raised awareness and nearly $7000 funds this year for projects aimed at stopping violence against women and children; assisting youth programs of Ludlow C.A.R.E.S.; and preserving dignity and quality of life for women veterans. Please show support to donor businesses for their generosity: zontaqv.org/silent-no-more-auction-heroes.  Congratulations to the winners of over 120 auction items. Be proud of the difference all of you are making locally and globally by supporting this annual event.

At our meeting on June 13th we will be honoring Olivia Murray of Palmer—this year’s YWPA award winner. Committee Chairs will be providing their year-end reports and I will be asking each member to share one highlight for her during this biennium.  Pam encourages your questions, discussion and guidance as she prepares to represent us at the 2016 Convention.  We will also be voting for the Zontian of the Biennium for the Quaboag Valley Club—the award recipient will be honored with a $100 gift that will be donated to the charity of her choice.  You might consider such factors as enthusiasm for our mission, participation in club events and fundraisers, committee work, leadership roles, longevity and other criteria important to the work of the club.

As I wind down my tenure as President, four highlights stand out for me.

1. Teamwork—each of you brought your “A game” to the forefront; your attitude and hard work helped us to pull off a year of amazing accomplishments for a small club!
2. Momentum—we have peaked interest among the many guests who were eager to work on our projects this year. I hope we can capitalize on that enthusiasm to grow this club in the new biennium.
3. Impact of our Signature Project—we have made a lasting impression on the women of Soldier On by being there for them month after month for the last several years—they treasure our personal attention as well as financial support. Thank you to everyone who took lead on an event and for everyone who participated in them in the past year. Please be thinking about the types of activities that you would like to participate in with the ladies going forward.
4. Leadership—we are all leaders of this club and many of us have stepped up to take leadership roles in the District and on the International level. Pam Albertson is the latest, taking on the role of District Treasurer for 2016-18.  Congratulations!

Thank you one and all for your dedication!  Lisa

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I hope your summer has been pleasant and relaxing. September is a refreshing time, a time for new beginnings. I look forward to an exciting year as president of the Zonta Club of Quaboag.

Tina and I shared ideas recently at Presidents’ retreat in New Hampshire. This was a terrific opportunity to meet and train with very talented Zontians. It is exciting to know the District recognizes the importance of helping our presidents get off to a good start.

We have many wonderful events and service projects to look forward to this year. We will continue to hold our meetings at the Ludlow Country Club, located off East Street, on Tony Lima Drive in Ludlow. It is a great venue with plenty of parking and handicap accessibility. We will meet on the second Monday of each month, with the exception of our first meeting – which will be held on Tuesday September 15. Business meetings start at 5:30 pm  with social time, followed by dinner at 6:00 pm. The catering staff prepares a delicious meal including coffee, tea and dessert for a reasonable cost of $18. Be sure to let me know if you have dietary restrictions, so can accommodate your needs. Our monthly programs include interesting speakers, activities and a business meeting. The Board meets monthly at the Ludlow Public Library to plan the meetings so that they are efficient, engaging, productive and on schedule.

I am delighted that the 2015 Zonta District 1 Official Fall Conference  – themed “Helping Hands Around the World” – will be hosted by the Zonta Club of Burlington VT on October 23-25, 2015. We will choose a Delegate and Alternate at the September meeting. This should prove to a fine time with an interesting program and beautiful autumn scenery in picturesque Vermont. It will be great if you can share this weekend with other Zontians from the New England states and Nova Scotia, Canada. The District nomination committee has posted its slate of candidates for 2016-18; our club has three members running: Pam Albertson for Treasurer, Mary Knight for Area 2 Director, and Deb Wood for Nominating Committee.  Best wishes to these extremely qualified women.

Hopefully this will be a year filled with good health, excellent service, commitment and growth for all us. Please spread the word about Zonta; highlight our strengths and bring community awareness about the good work that we do; welcome and invite colleagues, family and friends to come to our meetings. Feel free to share your ideas, requests and questions. I value each and every one of our members and appreciate all you do for our club. I am eager to listen to suggestions, welcome mentorship and support.

Looking forward to seeing you all September 15th.
In Zonta Friendship,  Lisa Sedelow, President

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Important Dates for your Calendar
April 13, 2015 Dinner Meeting *
Special guests: representatives from the Palmer Domestic Violence Taskforce and Soldier On Women Veterans—chosen recipients for profits from May’s Silent “No More!” Auction.
Please bring items for this event that you have collected so far and Auction Donation Form for each. Also, donations for Top Floor Learning Golf Basket and finally, annual dues of $124.

May 2, 2015 District 1 Spring Retreat in Wells, Maine. Details at zontadistrict1.org. District 1 is sponsoring a raffle to give away a two night stay at the Hampton Inn, Wells, Maine. Ticket cost is only $5/ticket and the proceeds are to benefit District 1’s operating costs and travel expenses.

May 4, 2015 Silent “No More!” Auction (1st Monday of month) Start getting the word out for attendees and donations.

June 8, 2015 Dinner Meeting—final meeting before summer break. Special guests: YWPA Award winner and author Katherine Kraver.

Greetings Sister Zontians,

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The winter weather certainly has been raising havoc with us.  I’m told that the February meeting is the first one in the club’s history that had to be canceled due to bad weather.  Let’s hope that the March meeting takes place as planned.
One of the items that was on the February agenda was a review of the revised procedures for bringing a new member into the club.  Those procedures are included in this newsletter and include inviting a prospective member to attend at least two meetings.  It’s important that a prospective member gets to experience the dynamics of a Zonta meeting and learn about some of the projects and activities in which the club is involved.   Also, per the 2014 Orlando Convention, membership is now open to men.  It will be interesting to see how that plays out over time.  I’ve met some male members of various Zonta clubs in the past.  They added a different perspective to the clubs that proved to be quite valuable.

Another item of interest that we were going to talk about is inviting Katherine Mary Kraver to be the guest speaker at our June meeting.  Katherine is an elementary school teacher and author who was featured in an article in the Springfield Republican a month or so ago.  She has traveled extensively and her first book, “It Was Just A House,” is about a young girl who is a refugee in Jordan.  Mary Ann Rubis suggested that we invite her and take advantage of her appearance to use the meeting as a member recruitment night.  The Membership Committee is looking for help to make this happen—please speak to Lisa Sedelow.

The Soldier On Program has a new contact person.  Her name is Sara Scoco and her email address is  Sara-Scoco@wesoldieron.org.

For our March meeting, Tina Guinasso will be speaking about Advocacy.  She’ll provide us with information about what advocacy is and how we can become advocates for women who need Zonta’s  help and support.  Please try to attend this meeting as I’m certain you will find it enlightening.

Our March meeting is scheduled for March 9th.  Your attendance is assumed unless you contact me beforehand.  If you know you will not be able to attend, please either email me at kmgoold@aol.com or call me at 413 783-4376 by noon, the Friday before the meeting.  That is my cutoff time for notifying Ludlow Country Club.  Thank you for your cooperation.  I look forward to seeing everyone in March.

Kristin M. Goold
Co-President