ORGANISATION OF THE CLUB:

June 11 2003 saw the beginning of the “new” club 6 members with Lynda Garrett also being inducted, having been a member and President of Thames Zonta Club. Original President Yvonne Wilson resigned Oct 2003 and Sylvia Devlin (Auck Club) presided until Denise Digman was elected in Nov 2003.

The club grew slowly with 3 more inductions and 1st AGM was held in Nov 2004 -­‐ Lynda Garrett -­‐President, Kay Stockley -­‐ Secretary, Janet Hope -­‐ Treasurer.

Club meetings held on fourth Tuesday of month, which still applies today, although there have been many changes of venues, an ongoing problem for our club due to our location. Our 2nd AGM saw 3 more new members and the formation of two committees. MFP and IPS.

DEVELOPEMENT OF THE CLUB:

The club continued to grow albeit slowly, 4 inducted members in 2007 along with the inevitable resignations and at Nov 2008, club had 15 members. Membership has continued to fluctuate over the years, due to a variety of reasons, relocation, financial, commitment and illness.

Highest number of members has been 23 and currently we are sitting on 18, with the prospect of two inductions this year. It is a constant challenge for us to build our membership and host functions to encourage prospective members and give Zonta a high profile in our area.

DISTRICT:

Club has supported all the District Projects, Teen parent School, Endometriosis, NZGF by either donating funds accumulated from general fundraising activities throughout the years or by organising a specific event e.g a themed Olympic ‘‘Quiz Night”. We hosted a Pot Luck Dinner in support of the cyclists riding the length of NZ -­‐NZGF. An International level our club has tried to allocate funds fairly, after giving approx 1/3 to local, 1/3 to District we give to ZI, some years to Rose Fund or Scholarships / Awards, or nominate particular project like the Samoan project.

SCHOLARSHIP / AWARD PROGRAMMES:

Rose Day is observed, our focus on local women and their contribution to community, hosted at a Morning Tea and presented with certificate + Yellow Rose. Number of recipients can vary. YWPA introduced into current club in 2011 and presentation continues. A Year 12 Young Woman Leadership Award was also introduced in 2012 and has been very well supported by our 4 local colleges. 2006 a Scholarship Fund was set up, to offer a Second Chance at Education to a young woman residing on the Hibiscus Coast. It was originally funded by general fundraising and in October the Inaugural “Second Chance Study Award Dinner” was held with $2000.00 presented to our first recipient Theresa Tudor, Barbara Kendall our guest speaker. This award is presented every two years and is self funded by proceeds from a Silent Auction held on the same night. In 2013 we presented our 4th Award, with amazing support from the community and Area 1 Zontians.

CLUB SERVICE PROGRAMME:

From 2003 HBZC has focused on service within the local community. Hestia Women’s Refuge -­‐ Fresh Start Buckets (ongoing each year), Eden Teen Parent School, hosting a “Breast Cancer Awareness” evening, a gardening project at a Women’s Refuge in Muriwai, worked with Te Rito Rodney -­‐ White Ribbon Days, financial support to Women’s Refuge in Christchurch (after the earthquake), as well as sponsoring a Zontian from ChCh to attend our District Conference, which was moved from ChCh to Auckland after the quake -­‐ Feb 2011.

Fish and Chip knitting sent to fill a need in Kaipara District north of Auckland (ongoing), Health Forum -­‐ May 2012-­‐ open to community, Pamper Days for Mums Supporting Mums, Plunket -­‐ information booklet for community and packs for families facing emergency situations around a new arrival/ illness.

SPECIAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENTS:

2006 -­ Hosted Area 1 Forum at Gulf Harbour Lodge, a good effort with such a small club. Numbers maybe small however energy and enthusiasm abounds, the same applies today.
2014 -­ Hosting Area 1 Forum -­ Northridge Country Lodge as well as a pre forum dinner. Lynda Garrett ‐ Area 1 Director 2012 ‐ 2014.
Janet Hope -­ Advocacy Chair District Board 2012 ‐ 2014. Janet Hope ‐ Lt Governor District 16 ­‐ 2014 -­ 2016.

The above is a very brief overview of Zonta Club of Hibiscus Coast from 2003 until Dec 2013. Information has come from Club and Board Minutes and a questionnaire which was sent out to members so that we could cross reference information, kept on file from this period.

Archivist / Historian duties are shared between Noelene Smith and Suzanne Coleman and we will continue to work on putting together a more” in depth” history of our club’s activities and archiving information and memorabilia.