Governor’s message
Kia ora koutou katoa. Hello everyone.
Thank-you for your patience as I settled into the role of your Governor for the 2024–2026 Biennium. It’s been a whirl since Convention in Brisbane at the end of June and our first Board meeting and the Change over dinner on Saturday 14 September.
Thank-you to everyone who attended the dinner. It was lovely to see members from around the country and from every Area, if not every club. As a board we received a number of messages from people unable to attend. Thank-you for those.
The evening was a wonderful celebration of past Governor and International Board member Phillippa and our board from 2022 – 2024 and the Zonta Woman of the last Biennium Lady Tureiti Moxon. I also introduced the Strategic Plan for this biennium. This plan has been approved by the District 16 Board and I will be scheduling Zonta Connect sessions where I introduce the plan and goals. Anyone can attend those sessions.
And finally, very big thank-you to the Zonta Club of Wellington for hosting this event and organising a successful celebration.
What I’ve been doing
Like all of you, I have a busy life. Mine includes fulltime, paid work in the health sector. Every day I work alongside a workforce who put the needs of others before themselves. As the workforce is predominantly made up of women, I’m not surprised. I see this in Zonta too. I think it’s in our DNA. Despite all those messages about looking after ourselves first, if we can do something for someone else, that’s what we’ll choose to do.
To refresh and reconnect with why I’m a member of Zonta, I’m doing two things for myself. I’m taking time to listen to ‘Remarkable Women Powerful Stories’ with the fantastic Lynne Foley. Now available on Spotify, I love the opportunity to hear from (more) women doing great work and making a difference in the world.
The second thing I’m doing is spending time with a very special little girl. As I write this, she’s one week old. Joey is our first grandchild. She’s also the first great-grandchild in the family and she was born on the 65th wedding anniversary of her great grandparents. A connection with the past and the future. She’s a joy and a motivator.
I look forward to hearing your powerful stories and celebrating success along the way.
Ka kite, Jen
District Board and Committee Chairs
I’m pleased to be serving with a board of talented and enthusiastic members. Alongside the board is another team – our District Committee chairs. They’re also talented and enthusiastic but outside of their own clubs they’re mostly not well known. I’d like to introduce them to you now, including our District Project team from the Zonta Club of Ashburton.
- Tiffany McRae – Advocacy Chair
- Irene King – Amelia Earhart Chair
- Desirae Kirby – District Centurion
- Christine Todd – District Project Chair
- Sue Prowse – District Project Committee
- Terri Hunt – District Project Committee
- Rebecca Cameron – District Project Committee
- Margaret Currie – Foundation Ambassador
- Sarah Barclay – Membership Chair
- Anne McMurtrie – Nominating Committee Chair
- Alison Grant – Nominating Committee Member
- Margaret Coe – Nominating Committee Member
- Amanda Maxwell – Public Relations & Digital Comms
- Nicola Schreurs – STEM Chair
- Nikola King – Webmaster
- Desirae Kirby – WEPS Representative
- Sarah Barclay – WEPS Representative
- Ruby Govender- WEPS Representative
- Clare Bruce – Young Women in Leadership (old YWPA) Chair
- Anna Arps – Z Club & Golden Z Chair
- Phillippa Elliott – Zonta Says NO Committee Chair
Reach out to the Chairs if you want to learn more.
Fundraising
Fundraising for Foster Hope has already begun throughout the country with activities like the annual Zonta yellow rose run in Christchurch, Metropolitan Club of Dunedin’s quiz night and many more, I’m sure. I look forward to hearing about other events that are happening.
Foster Hope, originally known as “Kits2Kids”, was established in 2010 to help give practical support to caregivers of foster children. Many foster children would arrive on the doorstep of these caregivers late at night with very little in the way of belongings, sometimes just the clothes on their back.
Foster Hope now help over 5,000 children a year providing them with backpacks filled with necessities such as toiletries, books, and soft toys to ease their transition into new care environments.
With the help of the Zonta Clubs of D16, Foster Hope will be able to supply educational books to girls in foster care within their backpacks. Two books are available for girls between 8 – 12 and one for girls 13 + providing age specific advice on everything girls need to know about like – friends, body changes, feelings, body image, bullies, being online and how to be happy with your own true self!
We recommend, if you have not already, to reach out to your local Foster Hope coordinator or check out their website find out about the wonderful work they are doing in your area and how you can get involved.
International Day of the Girl
The International Day of the Girl focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.
Use this day to draw attention to any and all of your club’s relevant service activities, advocacy work, scholarships and fundraising that directly improves the wellbeing of girls in your community.
And participate in Zonta international messages of hope. We ask all members to submit a 15 to 30 second video with two messages.
- On one side of the paper write a message you heard as a child that did not empower you.
- Flip the paper (and thereby flip the message) and write a message you wish you were told instead, something that challenges these negative thoughts that cause lasting damage and restrain girls from reaching their full potential.
- Film yourself holding the paper for about 10 seconds on each side – you do not need to talk – you do not even need to smile – just be yourself.
- Submit the video via pr@zonta.org before 4 October.
Zonta NZ Awards
I recently took part in a virtual meeting with Past Governor Phillippa, the Zonta Club of Metropolitan Dunedin and our District Secretary Sue Hope when our 2023 JMK Women in Business winner Maddie Newman received her District scholarship.
Maddie also received a Zonta International JMK Women in Business scholarship but due to her travel and study commitments we had not been able to give her the district certificate until last month.
Maddie will be the last person to receive a JMK Women in Business scholarship. From 2025 the programme is to be called the Women in Business scholarship.
Have a Zonta Spirit moment
Send us your Zonta Spirit stories and images.
Club Celebrations
A large number of members from other clubs in Area 5 joined in the celebrations for Timaru’s birthday. Lt Governor Sarah Barclay was able to join me. Also attending was Area 5 Director Carla Werder, and District 16’s Advocacy Chair Tiffany McRae, and Young Women in Leadership Chair Clare Bruce. However, the star ‘member’ had to be nine-week-old potential member Cilla. She declined being inducted during the lunch (being asleep at the time) but otherwise showed great Zonta Spirit by allowing herself to be admired.
Christchurch South’s 45th birthday was a lovely afternoon at Peppers Café, at Clearwater in Christchurch. As well as most of the Christchurch South members, Area 3 Director Marie Kyle-Stevenson was able to attend, along with members from other Christchurch clubs.
Conference 2025
10 -11 October 2025
The conference committee are currently assessing potential venues to ensure that we have an accessible location, close to convenient accommodation and parking.
Some of the feedback at the end of our conference in 2023 included a request that a conference in Wellington be combined with the World of Wearable Arts (WOW) and be outside of school holidays. The dates for WOW 2025 were not available when I had to choose dates for our District and still aren’t. I did the best I could based on the dates WOW has been held in previous years. The dates for school holidays in 2025 were available. Our conference dates are at the beginning of the third term.
When dates for WOW 2025 are available, we’ll include a link to that website through the conference website. However, at this stage there are no plans to include a WOW attendance in the conference programme.
We’ll be including conference updates through this newsletter and also using the conference link on the District website. Make sure you look for these.
A reminder to all club members to have your current personal email address recorded in your profile through MyZonta on the Zonta International (ZI) website. If members aren’t getting communications from Zonta International (ZI) or from District 16, it’s because their email address isn’t up to date on the ZI records.
Thanks to our supporters and sponsors.
Key dates D16 and International
11 October 2024 International Day of the Girl
1 November 2024 Every Member Every November
8 November 2024 Zonta International’s Anniversary
9 November 2024 D16 Board meeting
25 Nov – 10 Dec – Zonta Says No to Violence Against Women
10 December International Human Rights Day
11 January Amelia Earhart Day
8 March International Womens Day
22 April Earth Day
10-12 October 2025 – District 16 (NZ) Conference
11-14 July 2026 — Zonta International Convention, Vancouver, Canada