Zonta Club of the Pikes Peak Area
March 2005 Newsletter
Volume V, Issue 3
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Zonta Club of the Pikes Peak Area |
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In This Issue: Peak View Betty's Bits Member Information Member Profile Kudos Kolumn Information: Links Dates to Remember |
PEAK VIEW!from Teri Hermans |
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CELEBRATE ZONTA ROSE DAY and International Women's Day on MARCH 8by sending a note to a woman you admire (and of course a rose if you would like)! |
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International Women's Day is celebrated by women's groups around the world, and commemorated at the United Nations. It is a day when we can look back to a tradition representing at least 9 decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development with women on all continents....a day we can celebrate regardless of national boundaries, ethical, linguistic, cultural, economic or political differences!
The idea of International Women's Day arose at the turn of the century in the industrialized world during a period of expansion, turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies (which probably are not so radical now)! It is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of women's rights.
The United Nations was the first international agreement to proclaim gender equality as a fundamental human right (Charter San Francisco 1945)....and since that time has continued to create a legacy of internationally agreed strategies, standards, programs and goals to advance the status of women worldwide. SO CELEBRATE our victories, and continue to participate in full empowerment of the world's women !!
Our own Zonta Club of Pikes Peak Area is sponsoring the Zonta Area Meeting on 4/1 and 4/2. Sharon Roggy has put together a tremendous program...send in your responses and hope to see you all at this meeting!
And last but not least....committee chairs....committee reports due to Teri on 4/1!
-Teri
"It doesn't pay well to fight for what we believe in." - writer Lillian Hellman |
One night while on a 2 am 'tv clicking exercise,' I ran across a documentary about Liberia. Due to our service project for the Liberian refugees I watched some of the history of this country and the despair of those who have been subjected to atrocities and starvation. It is no surprise that many Liberians have left Liberia in an effort to find a life where they are free to raise their families in peace. One has to admire their courage to move out into the world searching for a better life.
There was this nagging thought in my head that America had been instrumental in founding the country of Liberia and this is what I learned. In the late 1700's and early 1800's, many white people became concerned over the existence of freed black slaves in the US. In 1816, a group of whites set up the American Colonization Society (ACS) to return freed slaves to Africa. The ACS bought land along the coast and started a settlement that was named Monrovia, after President James Monroe. In 1822 the first group of freed slaves arrived at the settlement by ship. There were many hardships for the settlers - finding food and many died from disease. Also the native Africans feared the newcomers and attacked them.
As is usually the result, there have been continual wars and rebellions. In 1996, there was an agreement to end the seven-year civil war. More than 200,000 Liberians had died and about 1 million others had fled the country. There have been efforts by a UN peacekeeping mission with a resulting power-sharing government which took control in October 2003. Conflicts continue.
According to The Perspective, Atlanta, Georgia, in July 2003 - Women: Liberia's Final Answer for
Peace. We wish them well.
The Women's Lobby of Colorado, Inc. in their recent Status Sheet, lists the following bill as one of their highest priorities.
HB 1232 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
This makes the State EITC a permanent rather than a tax credit conditional on a TABOR surplus.
Gradually increases it from 10% of Federal EITC to 20 % of the Federal EITC. Without this bill, low
wage working families could forever lose a state EITC if TABOR reform eliminates future surpluses.
To track this bill, and others, see: www.leg.state.co.us/
Member news:
Spoke with Pavel, Gail Kozhevnikov's husband, in order to check on Gail's activities. Pavel said that Gail was in Canada right now on a recruitment mission. He also reported that Gail is the Assistant Principal at Pinecreek School and is keeping very busy. That's our Gail! Hope to see her soon.
-Betty
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From Mary Ellen Bittner, President, Zonta International
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Trivia!Ides of March
March was the start of the Roman year, named for Mars, god of war.
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Women in History
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"I would like to call on young people, in particular, to take inspiration from this prize. Despite all the constraints that they face, there is hope in the future in serving the common good. What my experiences have taught me is that service to others has its own special rewards." Prof. Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech
BBC profile: See note on Nobel Peace Prize committee: "She thinks globally and acts locally."
-Thanks to Mary Louise Clay and Gail Piper for bringing Wangari
Maathai to our attention
March Birthday
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Greetings! I first joined Zonta in September 2004, and have felt so
welcomed! It has been a truly exciting experience for me and my plan is to
get more and more involved! My good friend Kate Brewster has been talking
to me about it for a couple of years, and then invited me to the ice cream
social in August where I got my first glimpse at what it meant to be part
of such a wonderful organization. I met with Betty Edwards shortly after
that and have been hooked ever since. Now that my children have almost
grown, I've been looking for something to do to give service to others, and
I've found it in Zonta!
I was born in Denver, the second of four children and the oldest daughter. I have one brother who is older, and two younger sisters. We moved to Pueblo when I was 6, and my dad became the Director of Goodwill Industries there. As a child and young adult, I was truly very shy and introverted, and found it very difficult to interact with others unless it was on a one to one basis. So anyway - I've been exposed to service to others from a very young age - I remember working with my parents and siblings to help improve the lives of the disabled we came into contact with. After high school, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life. My best friend Kim, and her sister Pam were Army brats. Pam was going to see an Army Reserve recruiter. I didn't want her to join, so I went with her to help balance what the recruiter was saying - and he signed both of us up in one session! Kim couldn't stand the thought of a summer without us, so she joined too. The three of us were off to boot camp at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. My friends chose different jobs than I did - so we separated after basic training - they stayed at Ft. Jackson, and I went on to Indianapolis. |  |
After my training, I traveled to Laramie, Wyoming and started working at the University of Wyoming. While there, I learned to belly dance, which is still a passion in my life. I was there for a couple of years when I met the man I thought I would marry, Ted, who was a foreign student from Greece. I left the University when he graduated with his PhD. My reserve commitment was over and the plan was to join him in Greece 6 months later - after a 6 month detour to visit my brother and his wife in Germany. Their child was a year old and they needed a temporary nanny, and Ted needed to spend some time in the Greek Army. I never got to visit Greece. I joined my fiancé in France for a conference where we ended the relationship. I got my taste of what it felt like to be a woman treated as a "second class citizen". I found it intolerable and returned to the States. As I've thought about it, this is one of the reasons that Zonta appeals to me so much.
A few months after my return, I visited my old reserve unit in Denver where I met Ron Reedy, my husband. It was love at first sight! I rejoined the reserves to be with him. He has been so wonderful and so supportive! We will celebrate 22 years of marriage in April. We have 3 children of our own, and have also helped to raise our nephew (my sister's child). Larry is 21, in the Air Force, and is stationed in Lakenheath, England. He is returning in April to get married to Tracy, a wonderful girl he has been seeing for 4 years. Adam (my nephew) is 19, and is a computer whiz. He is currently working full time in the real estate business, and looking for his calling in life. Caitlin is 18 and is a senior in high school. She plans on attending Pikes Peak Community College for 2 years and then heading to the University of Wyoming to complete a degree in child psychology. Colleen is 17 and is a junior. She plans on graduating next December and then heading off to a 4 year college - where that might be is yet to be determined. Raising our children has been one of my most challenging and fun experiences!
When Ron and I got married, I joined him in Colorado Springs. We both planned to stay in the reserves, but that otherwise, I would stay home and raise our children. Seven months after Larry was born, Ron was seriously injured in a terrible car accident. He was unable to work for about 5 years, while going through many surgeries and treatments. Therefore, I had to go to back to work. I immediately found a job at the Air Force Academy in Civilian Personnel. I was there for 4 years when I found a job at Penrose-St. Francis. During my times visiting Ron in St. Francis Hospital (he was there for 6 weeks), I would walk by the Human Resource department and wonder what it would be like to work for them - Ron had been treated so well as a patient. Needless to say I jumped at the chance to work there! I have been with the Penrose-St. Francis organization for almost 17 years now and love it!
I am a Human Resources Senior Generalist, which means I manage our front office, and in additional to that I am responsible for employee relations for a third of our staff. My work is never dull or boring and I finally found what I wanted to do when I grew up.
Ron had to leave the reserves a couple of years after his accident, but we decided that at least one of us should retire from the military, so it was left to me. I've only belonged to 2 different units and both were at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver. I retired from the active reserves in December of 2000, and entered the retired reserves. My years in the reserves were also in the personnel field, and my last job was as the First Sergeant of a Training Brigade.
Between the belly dancing, the Army Reserve, and Human Resouces, I was able to find the confidence to get beyond my intense shyness. You may still find me somewhat introverted, but I'm still a work in progress! I'm looking forward to spending more time with all of you and getting to know you all better!
Much Zonta love,
Janet
Update on The Liberian Women ProjectZonta members were out in full force at the first gathering on Friday, February 18. Zontians showed their generosity in bringing large amounts of clothing, household items, children's items, food and more for the ladies to choose from. Kris did an amazing job of organizing these items while she and other Zonta members helped our African women guests and their children make selections to take home for their families. Zonta members and friends (Corrie Johnson, Deborah Steinke, Kathy O'Neil, Tamara Brody) brought food, drinks and dinnerware galore. We were treated to many African dishes that the ladies made with the money we had collected for ingredients. There was so much food left over but because our members brought take home containers, nothing went to waste. For those African women that could not attend the Friday night Pot Luck, the extra clothing and other items, as well the leftover food was packed in those containers, and went to the home of Odette Kasal. Thanks to the use of Alicia's truck and so many individual Zonta members and friends, driving their cars, nothing was unused. Over the following week, Odette greeted African refugees and found homes for all our donations. -Renee See our new scrapbook page! |  |
Zonta Founders |
General Meeting Program
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The pin costs $4.25, and $3 goes directly to the tsunami aid effort. (Avon also sells products that support breast cancer research as well as other past goodwill efforts.) A photo of the pin and information is available at http://www.youravon.com/articles/info_library/heartofasia.html |
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Kudos Kolumn | 
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Here you have the opportunity to thank and/or praise your
fellow Zontians for something above and beyond. Send all contributions to
the newsletter editor -
nulty@csdco.com.
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National Women's History Month |
| March 8 | International Women's Day |
| March 7 | 5:30 pm Board Meeting - Montague's on South Tejon |
| March 21 | General Meeting |
| April 1 | Committee Reports due to Teri |
| April 2 | 8:30am - 2pm Area 4 Meeting in Colorado Springs |
| June 24-26 | ZI: Interdistrict Membership Seminar of the Americas' |
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Thank you ladies! |
Please send comments and suggested information for the newsletter to nulty@csdco.com.
www.zontadistrict12.org/pikespeak.html www.zontadistrict12.org www.zonta.org |
