Happy March! This month is very special in the Zonta World!  We celebrate International Women’s Day and Zonta Rose Day—both acknowledging inspiring women in our lives, and we participate in the annual Commission on the Status of Women in NYC —getting updates and identifying next steps in the quest to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women worldwide.

The March 11th dinner meeting will be especially meaningful as we honor 5 local women from varied professions—each inspiring inclusion and equity in their work and volunteer efforts.  Read about these role models at zontaqv.org/women and invite like-minded friends and family to join us in the celebration. RSVP by 3/7 please to info@zontaqv.org.

 

March 2024

Hello fellow Zontians & Friends,

Happy February!

In addition to reading all the news in this publication, be sure to check out the District 1 Winter Newsletter—www.zontadistrict1.org

Winter Newsletter 2024

Zontians are making a difference, locally and globally.

• ZI Convention 2024 Early Bird Registration
• CSW68: March 11-22 Advocacy Toolkit
• Foundation Ambassador Update
• Banner Year for Membership
• Education Awards – Investing in Our Future
• Advocacy Resources for Clubs
• Club updates – from Nova Scotia to Rhode Island

Please invite your network to register now for the February special event on the state of Foster Youth in  Western MA.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference!
Your Club Board

 

February 2024

Hello fellow Zontians & Friends,

I hope you had a pleasant and restful summer and are energized to start the new Zonta year.

The Board met in August to develop goals for the next several months (page 4) and start identifying program speakers. We may have been a little ambitious, so we are looking for you to review and provide feedback at the September 11th meeting.  Also on the agenda are details for the Fall Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia (page 5). All of us are urged to register before 9/15 to get the early bird rate. Details at 2023fc@zontadistrict1.org.
The September meeting is at the Ludlow Country Club and guests are welcome to join us and see this amazing group at work.  RSVP info@zontaqv.org.

Cynthia Melcher, President

 

September 2023

Hello fellow Zontians & Friends,

I’m excited to begin my term as president of the Zonta Club of Quaboag Valley.

During that time I hope we can focus on a few things to move the club forward in achieving our goals.  First of course is membership and working to increase our numbers.  Every current member can help this in a fairly simple way by inviting friends and colleagues to attend meetings. Share newsletters and emails about upcoming events.  Post on social media and link to our pages on Facebook, Instragram, LinkedIn, etc. We can also ensure that our programs are of interest to a diverse audience and spread the word as effectively as possible.

We also need to work on growing leadership and succession planning so that new members learn how our club works by participating in committee and other volunteer work, then take on increased responsibilities first as chairs and organizers, then board members and then as officers.  This helps ensure that everyone is prepared to step up and everyone has adequate support to avoid burnout.

We have an extraordinary mission and are doing truly radical work to support women and girls literally around the world. Many in Central and Western Massachusetts are impressed with our service projects and appreciate our role in the community and I’m sure many of them will want to join us as they learn more.  Thank you for having confidence in me to serve as president and thank you for continuing to do this work.

Sincerely,
Cyd Melcher

 

 

June 2023

Thank you so much to Drs. Alyssa and Brianna Almeida for their super informative talk on pelvic floor health last month! I’m very glad to know that there are knowledgeable, caring healthcare professionals like you working locally. Also, thank you to all those who donated prizes and sold tickets for our May calendar raffle. Can’t wait to see who wins big!

 

Secretary, Mary Knight informed me that this was my last president’s message! While I’m somewhat relieved to be stepping down after three years as president, I am happy to have had the opportunity to help lead this amazing club. I am extremely proud of all that we have accomplished over the last three years, especially with Covid to contend with.

May 2023

Hello, fellow Zontians & Friends,

Spring is on the way. Thank you Mother Nature for holding off on the snow so that everyone could come together and honor Dr. Royal. It was a truly magical evening complete with a romantic proposal. Congratulations to Christina and Karen! I would like to thank everyone who came out to celebrate Dr. Royal and all those who contributed to making the night particularly special.

Aprl 2023

 

Happy New Year!
I hope everyone has a healthy, happy 2023.
Our club will be continuing with many great events and inspirational speakers into the new year. I want to thank Rita Schiano again for her wonderful talk on managing stress. I know I implemented a few of her techniques and survived the holidays a little easier and hope you did too.

On January 9th at 6pm, we will have Maya Nasr speaking to us on Zoom in honor of Amelia Earhart month. Maya is a Zonta Amelia Earhart fellow at MIT. This is sure to be an amazing and educational meeting so please RSVP info@zontaqv.org for the meeting link. Guests are welcome!

 

January 2023

Hello fellow Zontians & Friends,

I hope that everyone who celebrated had an amazing Thanksgiving! Thank you so much to everyone who worked to make Founder’s Day a success. Congratulations again to Community Legal Aid! It was great to meet you amazing attorneys. Thanks for all you do for our community.

 

I cannot wait for the next couple meetings. We have some awesome speakers lined up. On December 12 at 6pm on Zoom we have the fabulous Rita Schiano talking to us about reducing stress during this time of year. Please invite friends and family to join in on this program—we can all us some positive messages. RSVP to info@zontaqv.org for the link to the meetings.

 

Then on January 9, at 6pm on Zoom, in honor of Amelia Earhart, ,,,,,

December 2022

 

Happy Autumn Fellow Zontians & Friends,

We are off to a busy start to our Zonta year!

There is a strong focus this year on building and maintaining membership so please invite guests, volunteer to have a table at a local event, or work on your “what is Zonta?” elevator speech!

In October we acknowledge Domestic Violence Awareness month and #Every1KnowsSome1 by hosting an informational session on October 10th at 5:30p at the Ludlow Country Club. What do you do if you know someone who is in danger? Our speakers Pamela Barnes, Director of Development at Alianza DV Services and Monica Moran manager of Domestic Violence Prevention Programs at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and co-founder of the recently launched A Call For Change Helpline will seek to inform us of how we can help prevent domestic violence and what we can personally do if we know someone in danger. This is an informal panel and discussion, questions will be encouraged!  As always we welcome guests. I need a count for dinner by 10/6.

October 2022

 

I hope everyone had an awesome summer. I am so excited to be kicking off another Zonta year! We will be starting with a bang at our 28^th Annual Golf Tournament on September 10 at the Cold Spring Country Club. We need a few more players so please spread the word.

Our September business meeting will be held at the Ludlow Country Club on the 12^th at 5:30pm and dinner at 6:00. I am very grateful to be back to meeting in person this year. The fee for dinner will be $20 and guests are encouraged as always. At the September meeting we are going to get back in the Zonta spirit, catch up with one another and learn more about some of our newer members that were inducted during the Covid years. We will also get some highlights from the convention, go over updates from Zonta International and make plans for the year ahead.

Read on…

September 2022