|
Zonta Club of the Pikes Peak Area |
Ponderings from the Prez Bits from Betty Member News: Eva at International Featured Service Project Dates to Remember Information: Links |
Hello Ladies,
The ice cream social was wonderful! Lots of Zontians attended and potentials too. It was good fun and camaraderie. Teri's home is gorgeous, and she was so generous to share with us. Thanks so much. Kim from Intercept is very impressive; I'm proud our money is going her way.
|
SEPTEMBER 9 is the deadline for early registration for district conference. You may register at ANY TIME! Special Zonta hotel rates are good through September 2nd. I made the famous basket already, and all proceeds go into our Big Apple fund to send us to the 2004 International Convention. Let me know if you're going. I need someone to take charge of the raffle. We are carpooling, and we have spaces available. Also we'll double up in the rooms. Call me to get in on the plans. Gail Piper agreed to be our delegate. Thanks, Gail. |
Can the summer be nearly over? I can't believe it! Every year it seems to go faster and faster. But in the summer I really enjoy watching the deer in our backyard. They're here so often that I know they're trying to teach me something. Now there's a mother doe with her twin fawns munching on a bush my husband just planted two weeks ago. Of course the salesman told him deer don't like this kind - ha, ha!
|
Life lessons I've learned from the deer:
|
|
Here are a few funnies I collected this summer: Husband's note on the refrigerator to his wife: Someone from the Guyna College called. They said Pabst beer is normal.
I don't mind the rat race, but I could do with a little more cheese.
I had to give up jogging for my health. My thighs kept rubbing together and setting my pantyhose on fire.
Amazing! You just hang something in your closet for awhile, and it shrinks two sizes.
It is bad to suppress laughter; it goes back down and spreads to your hips.
Age is important only if you're cheese or wine.
Freedom of the press means no-iron clothes.
Can it be a coincidence that "STRESSED" is "DESSERTS" spelled backwards?
And now for a much more serious bit of trivia: The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn9t beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
Enjoy the wonderful article by Betty about her views of the International Convention in Sweden - it reminds us why we are Zontians. And I'll try NOT to use the phrase "rule of thumb" ever again.
Grab some fun these last few weeks of summer.
Zonta hugs,
Kris :)
"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." - Beverly Sills |
Bits from Betty
|
 |
ZONTA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
|
Sweden
Sweden is a country with 8.5 million inhabitants and is unspoiled in
comparison with other European countries. More than half the land is
forest and less than one-tenth of it is cultivated. Gothenburg is the
second largest city in Sweden after Stockholm the capital, and is
recognized as the largest port in Scandinavia.
They have focused on a "Middle Way" between capitalism and communism, which has been mostly successful. They have had a comprehensive welfare state which is expensive to maintain and until recently was financed by the economy and wealth of the country. Cutbacks in centralized state power and benefits were a result of a serious recession during the 1990's. The Swedish people are still motivated by a sense of fairness and justice, even though now there is much discussion on what is fair. You will remember also that this is the land of the Nobel Prize.
Sweden was neutral during both World Wars and continues this neutrality. They promote international cooperation with financial, legal and personal aid. They are a member of the European Union, but are not a member of NATO.
Some traits generally attributed to the Swedish people are: modern and efficient, punctual, reserved and quiet, serious, honest and reliable, and a dry sense of humor. These traits were much in evidence at the Zonta International Convention that was planned by District 21 with 72 clubs and 2,804 members in Sweden and Latvia.
I need to mention that the days are very long with daylight before six a.m. and lasting until well after 10 or 11 p.m. I would like to blame this situation for our lack of getting to bed and sleep, but I think we were just having too much of a good time!
Optional Convention Events
When one registers for the convention, there are several options at an
additional fee that attendees can chose. An evening in a Zonta home was
one of them and really set the tone for the entire convention. There were
nearly 1000 people and our group had 24 participants.
We were collected at the meeting place and taken on a wonderful drive out into the country to Trolhattan to the home of our hostess, Molin Birgitta. Five members of the Trolhattan Zonta Club, her family, and a special three-piece band assisted her. The meal was duplicated at each of the sites for these visits as it was catered by a central catering firm - great idea for any group planning a large event like this. After the special dinner, we were treated to a typical evening of singing and toasting. The club provided us with the Swedish words to several songs and we were all amused by our bumbling pronunciations. The bus collected us about 9:30 pm and took us back to Gothenburg.
There are many reunion lunches and dinners that one could attend depending upon which ones related to your experiences and interests. There were, among others, a Study Tour Reunion Lunch, Past Governors' Reunion Dinners, and a Past International Presidents' Dinner. All of these renew friendships and allows us to catch up on other Zontians' events.
The Nobel Dinner, the Nordic Delight Dinner, and the Closing Banquet were very special meals with an elegant setting and delightful music. As with other meals, I was able to sit with Zontians that I did not know well or at all, and the conversation, camaraderie, and good humor were very heart-warming. The stuff that good memories are made of! Many contacts in our classifications were available at the Professional/Membership/Classification Luncheons. It was inspiring to talk with Zontians from around the world who did the same type of work as we do.
President Mary Magee and President-elect Margit Webjorn had their Team lunches that were very much appreciated. It was the last time for the 2000-2002 International Officers/Committee Chairmen and District Governors to get together; and the first time for the 2002-2004 team to meet. It was a fitting finish and beginning of the change over.
Convention Activities (included in Registration)
Much of Friday and Saturday was spent providing guidance and support
for
delegates and first timers. There was also information at the Open Forum
for anyone who wanted items clarified or discussed that were to be voted
on later. A presentation of the Results of the European Seminar that was
sponsored by the eight European Districts last February was made so
delegates would be more knowledgeable about a voting issue on federations.
District meetings were held on Sunday that allowed discussions of the voting issues and installation of district officers. We were proud to install three of our elected district officers: Mary Benoit, Governor, Evelyn Haskell, Lt. Governor, and Denise Luckhurst, Treasurer. The next two years are in good hands! We had a no-host district lunch at the Hotel Onyxen and enjoyed hearing about the travels of some of our 27 members attending the convention.
The opening ceremony is always very impressive with flags from all our Zonta countries that are presented one by one. The current District Governors were asked to be on standby to carry flags for countries without representation at that time, and I was delighted to carry the English flag. As I had lived in England for four years, I felt very proud.
All the business sessions were held in a large hall. On the floor of the area were the Past International Presidents, the current District Governors, and others who needed to be nearby for that session. On the stage were the current International Officers and/or Committee Chairmen, and any speakers for that session.
In the first rows of some of the upper sections were reserved seats for the delegates. There were no reserved areas for each district so the delegates were all mixed together. There were monitors to count votes and answer questions, and our own Governor-elect, Mary Benoit, represented our district.
The main speakers were outstanding and represented several countries and
topics.
Professor Fiona Stanley AC (Australia) Doing More for our
Children
Dr. Miriam Hederman O'Briens (Ireland) Education in the New
Century
Justice Margaret McMurdo (Australia) Local & Global Power of
Women
Advocates
Dame Margaret Anstee (England) Women in Peacekeeping
Penelope Wensley AO (Australia) Conditions for Women in India
H.E. Mrs. Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Latvian President International
Security
Award speakers included an Amelia Earhart Fellow, a Jane M Klausman
Awardee, and a Young Women in Public Affairs Awardee.
|
On Monday were the President's report, candidate speeches, a "meet the candidate" reception and the Nobel Ceremony prior to the Nobel Dinner. The current Governors were invited to sit on the stage and represent the members of the Academies that selected the Nobel Laureates. The ceremony honored seven women out of 29 who had received Nobel Prizes through 1997. Their story was presented, and the "King" presented the prize to each in turn. The musical presentations at this event as at all others was outstanding, ranging through Scandinavian, Asian and Italian selections to mention a few. Tuesday was voting day and a delegate or a proxy represented All District 12 clubs. . New International Officers were elected: President-Elect: Mary Ellen Bitner (USA)
The bylaw changes were introduced and voted on in the hall at open sessions. Eva will be doing a detailed report for the club. The Memorial Service is always a time for reflecting on the Zontians who have led the way for us. This time both the current governors and the governors-elect were involved in a moving tribute to our fellow Zontians that we lost during the past biennium. Just a quick note about the lottery of a new Volvo and five other prizes. Nope, I didn't win it but it was exciting to think about driving to Zonta meetings in fine style! 8,000 tickets at $10 were sold to registered participants. |  |
There were many reports - International Service Projects, ZI Committee Chairmen updates, the new Program for 2002-2004. This left us pleased and proud of all that occurred during the last biennium and inspired to "keep on moving forward" during the next biennium! The Call to the Next Convention had us all doing the Rockette thing while a vocalist sang, "New York, New York." At the end was a tremendous downpour of confetti and an impressive fireworks display. It promises to be a great convention and well within reach of all of us here in the U.S.
 |
Better start my "Big Apple Fund!" - Betty Edwards |
The Miniature Earth by Donella Meadows"If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping the same proportions we have today, it would be something like this:61 Asians
50 women
10 are homosexuals 33 are Christian (Catholics, Protestants and
Orthodox)
41 live without basic sanitation
6 people own 59% of the entire wealth of the community 13 are hungry or malnourished
1 adult, aged 15-49, has HIV/AIDS. Of the village's total annual expenditures of just
over US$ 3,000,000 per year:
If you keep your food in a refrigerator
If you have a bank account
25 struggle to live on US$ 1.00 per day or less...
Work with passion
|
|
|
Dear Zonta Sisters,
What a wonderful and enlightening experience for me to be there in person with over 2000 energetic, professional women from about 70 countries! It made me realize this great and quite unique Organization represents and that we do leave our mark on women's affairs.
We all were treated wonderfully by our gracious hosts from Sweden and Lithuania, who did an enormous job organizing this convention. Education, Food, Entertainment were only equaled by the personal exchanges that we had with our Zonta sisters from all over the world.
My report can only convey highlights of the convention. I encourage everyone to come to our September meeting and find out more details. I will also have more pictures and later on would be glad to show some slides, if the club so desires.
Total Attendance - 2200
(including International Board, Past International Presidents, District
Governors, Delegates [1300] and other registered members.)
DARLENE KURTZ - Treasurer/secretary for ZI .
Note: The revised ZI and ZIF bylaws booklet will be sent to all clubs in the September/October club mailing.
Participation in "Zonta Rose Day" March 8th 2003 and 2004
Most favorably remembered by me is the Speaker PENNY WISE,
Ambassador to the UN, lived and worked in India.
Her Theme: Challenging Mrs. Muffat's Fate"
...Sweet little Mrs. Muffat ran away in fear of the large, fearce and
threatening spider....
She vanished because of her Femininity. She was not taught to stand up
defending what was rightfully hers!
Think about those "Spiders" that threaten and challenge.
Think about the varied challenges from country to country.
What has not changed?? (For instance: India is still a developing
country.)
Solutions possible:
Access to INCOME, EDUCATION etc, proven to be the best help!
Change can come about with multiple Intervention sustained over a
longer period of time.
"Women have to be stronger and tougher than men and need to reach out to other women." -Dame Margaret
"The concerted action of women has great effect!" -Dame Margaret
Last: I would like to encourage every member of the club to plan on attending the INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION IN NEW YORK!!
Experience the incredible energy and Power of Zonta International, make new friends from around the world, exchange Ideas and realize, what Zonta is truly all about. You will be changed and TOUCHED IN YOUR HEART FOREVER!
See you soon!
Eva
|
| September 16 | 5:30 pm Board Meeting - Gold Hills Substation |
| September 16 | 6:00 pm General Meeting |
| October 4-6 | 2002 District Conference Cheyenne, WY |
| July 3-8 | 2004 International Convention - New York City |
Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival - Video Library - list of films available at the Fine Arts Center. Rental is free to the public! and Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children |
Please send comments and suggested information for the newsletter to nulty@money.org.
