Zonta Club of the Pikes Peak Area February 2003 Newsletter Volume III, Issue 2

PONDERINGS FROM THE PREZ!

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them -- work, family, health, friends and spirit, and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls -- family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably shattered. They will never be the same. We must understand this as we strive for balance in our lives."

"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give," said Winston Churchill. He would have been a wonderful Zonto!

My congratulations, thanks, and deep appreciation are extended to every one of you. We have much to be proud of and much to be thankful for as we enter 2003. May the days that lie ahead bless us with peace, wisdom, joy, strength, and gentleness . . . and the music of Mozart! Focus on your most important resolutions - making time for yourself and spending time with loved ones. I hope one of those resolutions includes your fellow Zontians!

It was fun to see so many of you at our January meeting, and we had two visitors too! Pam and Rita9s birthdays were great occasions to celebrate, and Gail's cake was really tasty. Thanks to all of you who brought card fronts for St. Jude's - every year we send more.

See you on February 17, if not before! Please bring clean, used professional clothes for our Dress For Success guest speaker. If you'd like, also bring an item for our Spring Break Vacation basket raffle at the Area Meeting on March 29. Remember the proceeds go to our Big Apple Fund!

Zonta hugs,
Kris

Betty Edwards presents Full Circle Director with
funds raised during the Pikes Peak Club holiday party.

Member Profile - Ava Molnar Heinrichsdorff

Ava Molnar Heinrichsdorff, former chairman of the English Department at The Colorado Springs School for 25 years, is co-author of The Fire Goddess (sounds exciting to me) and has edited many books. In her spare time, she and husband Gernot have enjoyed camping, trekking, rafting and exploring on every continent except Antarctica. Ava has worked professionally in wildlife and livestock photography, trained horses, coached a riding club, led kids' and adults' horse pack trips, and has taken in wild "rescued" animals as temporary pets, such as a great horned owl, newborn skunks, raccoons, a sparrow hawk, a porcupine and snakes. (It certainly would not have been boring to visit Ava's home at one of these times.) Ava's husband is a landscape architect and sculptor, and her two married sons live in Saudi Arabia and Greeley, Colorado. Ava thinks Zontans are a "stimulating group of women who are committed to truly worthwhile endeavors."

Ava visited the U.S. from Hungary several times with her father on his concert tours before moving here at the age of 8 to learn a new language and culture. Although for the most part it has been corrected, Ava has experienced deafness in both ears, so she is very understanding of people who have had disabilities and a great inspiration to them. Her husband wanted her to mention that she is a professional dancer specializing in international and ethnic folk dance and even did belly dance for a few years. "People who knew me as Chairman of an English department often didn't recognize me on stage in a dance costume, while people who knew me as a dancer didn't recognize me in my academic 'costume'."

Among Ava's honors are the 1988 Practitioner of the Year Award (later called the Michael Stratton Award) from the Association of Experiential Education (international), the Leaders of American Secondary Education Award (national) and the Outstanding Teacher Award by the Colorado Language Arts Society (state). Ava leads seminars and international dance festival celebrations for professional, civic and cultural groups all over the U.S. as well as for universities and schools. Ava, we welcome you and are delighted to have you as a member of Zonta.

Member News

New Fund Raising Project

Yellow Roses

Breast Cancer Semipostal Research Stamp

On July 29, 1998, the U.S. Postal Service issued a new postage stamp to help raise funds for breast cancer research. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton joined Postmaster General William Henderson for the issuance ceremony which was held at the White House. This was the first U.S. stamp in history to have its net proceeds above the cost of postage earmarked for research organizations. The Postal Service initially printed 200 million Breast Cancer Semipostal Research stamps. An additional 80 million stamps were printed because the stamps were so popular.

Seventy percent of net proceeds above the cost of postage will be given to the National Institutes of Health, and 30 percent of net proceeds above the cost of postage will be given to the Medical Research Program of the Department of Defense. The NIH and DOD were identified as recipients of the funds by legislation enacted in 1997.

Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp sales data from issuance (07/29/98 through 08/09/2002) is as follows:
Total Number of Stamps Sold: 397.3 million
Total Sales Revenue: $160.2 million
Total Raised for Research, Net: $27.6 million

Go to shop.usps.com and enter "breast cancer" in search box. Pane of 20 stamps costs $9 plus about $1 for shipping.

Zonta Plaques: Fund raiser for Breast Cancer research - now 100% of all funds collected go the research! Price reduction! Now only $5 each! See Betty Edwards.

Dates to Remember . . .