Dear Sister Zontians and Friends,

The 25th Anniversary / Founder’s day meeting was well done and received. We had 88 out of the 96 expected individuals in attendance. The programs, centerpieces, cake(s), chocolate favors, pens, photographer were all plusses! The two PowerPoint presentations (one of Zonta – created by MaryAnn, and one of Marge being Marge) and pictures from Fran Ferry are available on line—let me know if you have trouble accessing.

The food was WONDERFUL and the venue absolutely beautiful! Many thanks to members who had speaking parts and those who worked behind the scenes to pull this off! I think everyone signed the guest book that circulated, but we got very few emails…. So we need to spend postage if we want to follow-up.
Please help Trish and I by getting us email addresses for your guests – and reach out to see if they might join us at our December meeting. Reminder: Get me regrets/names of guests by 12/7 so we have an good count for dinner.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence continues through December 10th. Please review and share info Dana has posted on Facebook; consider writing a letter to the editor to raise awareness on issues of violence against women.

Our December 12th meeting will feature a speaker from the Links to Libraries Board—George O’Brien, editor of Business West.

We will also be launching a hands-on project proposed by our board:
The Period Project—distributing dignity to women/girls in need.
We are meeting with representatives from local shelters to finalize details, but the idea is to pack monthly menstrual kits that include tampons, pads wipes, pantyliners, soap and underwear. We would collect items in December and January, and put the kits together at the February meeting. One of the cheerleaders for this project —Kim Lee from CHD—will join us for the launch, to share how this will make a difference in the lives of their clients.

As is customary at this meeting, we collect new, unwrapped toys, stuffed animals, games and books for children who will be spending the holidays in shelters. Your generosity is appreciated by Mothers in a tough place right now.

Finally, please review the outline for our 25th anniversary issue of the Bog in this newsletter. Comments, questions, help with organizing and proofreading are welcome!!

Thankful as always for our Zonta Fellowship, Mary Knight