Minutes – December 5, 2022

Attendees: Lt. Gov. Donna Raycraft, Diane Lestage, Jayma Hall, Regina Caines, Mary Knight, Joan Lanzillo-Hahesy
Membership Chairs Missing: Dana Fraser, Bonnie Haghkerdar, Rosanne Frieri, Nicole LaMattina, Maida Follini,
Guest:  Gov. Donna Sroka

Donna Raycraft called the meeting to order at 6:05.  She invited members to share information about their club.

Chelsea No. Shore has three new members and the entire club is actively working to recruit and retain. The club is going to try meeting at lunch during the winter months as members are not keen about night driving.
Medford has one new member and the club is working tenaciously to attract interest working with the Cambridge YWCA
Concord NH has two new members and Donna R’s daughter has decided to join as well.
Northampton is generating excitement with great speakers and hoping to capitalize on connections being made. They are also reaching out to past members and guests and inviting them to join in.
Quaboag Valley is reaching out with Service Grant Awards and drumming up publicity about our local and global ties. They are also sending newsletters and announcements to past members, guests, scholarship recipients, etc.

It was noted that Chelse No. Shore, Malden and Medford clubs will jointly sponsor an Amelia Earhart program on 1/19 at Anthony’s Restaurant in Malden at which 2 of the 3 2022 AE Fellows from MIT will attend.  This should be a good draw for potential members.

We were pleased to welcome Governor Donna to join us tonight.

Governor Donna shared that she has an interesting NASA connection working with youth on a climate action project and is also taking a course in Global Diplomacy at the UN and making great connections there as well. She is looking for opportunities to capitalize on these new relationships to expand Zonta’s outreach. We all are encouraged to do the same – the Zonta story resonates with people who are passionate about making an impact.

Starting new clubs is another way of building membership and that is the job of the Club Creators – a subset of Membership – led by the Governor, Lt. Gov. Donna Raycraft, and Angela Burke (Northampton). District 1 is awaiting approval from ZI for a new club: Zonta e-Club of Atlantic Northeast. We will then launch a campaign to recruit new members to our e-Club – while also generating interest in supporting our Club Creators committee. We need members inside or outside of Zonta – especially ‘experts’ who do outreach on their job, recruit and communicate, etc. Please be on the lookout for individuals that might fit that description.

On another note, both Donnas were on a Zoom call with members of Ukraine clubs this week. The story of how our sisters are helping the women and children in this war-torn part of the world was both heartening and emotionally draining. Several Zontians are looking at ways we can support this effort. One might be to raise money and get it directly to these clubs through a Zonta District 8 connection.

More to come.

Prayers for peace, health and love to all Zontians and their families at this time of year.

Next Meeting:  January 2^nd at 6pm EST, 7pm AST.

We adjourned at about 7:10

Sincerely, Mary Knight, Notetaker