Ha pp y B ir th da y

• January 20, 2009 - Service Project Meeting – Shirley’s starting at 3 p.m.; dinner at 5:30 p.m.
• March 24, 2009 - Joint meeting with Minneapolis at Janet’s home in Bloomington
• April 28, 2009 - Program meeting – dinner at restaurant to be determined; tickets to Park Square Theater for premier showing of “I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady from Rwanda”
• May 26, 2009 - Business meeting – location to be determined;

Members are to call Dorothy if they are unable to attend no later than that the Friday before the monthly meeting date. If you do not call, it will be assumed that you are attending and you will be billed for those meetings in which the standard meal fee is charged. The meetings have a meal charge, which is meant to cover the cost of the host's chosen menu and beverages. We hope that, in some cases, there will be extra money leftover for our service projects.

If you are unable to attend due to last minute circumstances, you will be billed for that meeting.

January, 20^th 2009 – Service Project Meeting – Shirley’s starting at 3 p.m.; dinner at 5:30;

The poinsettia sales numbers aren’t finalized and more information on that will be in the March newsletter. Upcoming events will be reported in March.

Zonta Club of Mankato – They have business meetings on the 2nd Thursday at 6:45 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. at Perkins! On January 22nd, they are having a program meeting – Women in Law Enforcement and on February 26th, an event called Finishing Touches (more to come?).

Zonta Club of St. Charles, Mo. had a Chocolate Extravanza and Holiday Party on December 11th. Sounds wonderful!

Zonta Club of St. Louis - "Hands On" Service projects: furnishing apartment for Lydia House, distributing items of need to the Center for Women in Transition (CWIT) as well as the Kathy J. Weinman Center, providing classes in knitting, crocheting and needlework for the Villa Maria Center, ringing bells for the Salvation Army's Tree of Lights campaign in Union Station, wrapping gifts for Santa's Helpers; and registering for the Susan Komen Race for the Cure. They also host a Trivia Night, for the benefit of "Women's Another Chance Program", which is usually the last Saturday in January. Doors open at 6:30 pm and games begin promptly at 7:00 pm. Beer and soda are provided along with light snacks. Feel free to bring your own snacks. There are prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places plus attendance prizes, 50/50 drawing and raffle.

Zonta Club of St. Cloud –Since it's inception in 1990, Zonta's Christmas House has been held on the weekend before Thanksgiving. For that Friday evening and Saturday, a house in the St Cloud area is decorated for Christmas by several local stores and designers. The house is then opened to the public for viewing. Money raised from admission donations is used for local scholarships (for non-traditional students & GED's), and donations to Journey Home and Anna Marie's. A portion of the funding raised is also sent to Zonta's International Headquarters where is it used in a variety of ways ranging from funding postgraduate studies in aero-space to working with UNIFEM and UNICEF in projects that improve the health and status of women in various parts of the world. Tickets are sold both in advance and at the door. They also had a Christmas get-together at a member’s home. Members brought snacks to share and donations for Anna Marie’s and Journey Home, an area shelter. The St. Cloud had six new members join this past fall. Way to go St. Cloud!

I checked out Zonta Clubs in Minneapolis for news, but it hasn’t been updated since last fall sometime.

Then I checked out Zonta Club of Bismarck and it doesn’t give any current information or projects they are working on, just basic information on Zonta.

Zonta Club of Johnson County, Kansas last updated their website in December of 2007.

Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau website was no longer functioning and all the other clubs in our district didn’t have any websites listed on either the International Website or the District website. I recall that Cape Girardeau had suffered some flooding last year, so perhaps it has affected their operations.

I also looked at the district 7 website, and while there are some updated pages, most of the information is from May 2008.

I also looked at other district club websites, and most of them were no longer available or didn’t load.

What does all of this mean??? I don’t know.

Also, let us remember our own chapter members who are struggling with health issues for themselves and their families, for those who are dealing with family crisis, for those who might be traveling this winter season for a safe journey, and for those who are dealing with the loss of a loved one, either physically, emotionally, or spiritually. As Zontians, we need to lift up our fellow Zonta sisters as well as others.

Black History Month is a remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African Diaspora. The African Diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world - predominantly to the Americas, then later to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe. Much of the African Diaspora is descended from people who were enslaved and shipped to the Americas during the Atlantic slave trade, with the largest population living in Brazil (see Afro-Brazilian). People of Sub-Saharan descent number over 900 million, representing around 14% of the world's population.

It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in the month of February, while in the UK it is held in the month of October.

The remembrance was originated in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson as "Negro History Week". Woodson chose the second week of February because it marked the birthdays of two

Americans who greatly influenced the lives and social condition of African Americans: former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Supreme Court of the United States met for the first time, February 1, 1790.

By the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico gave New Mexico and California to the United States, February 2, 1848.

James Joyce, Irish novelist and poet, born 1882.

The last German troops surrendered in the Stalingrad pocket, completing the Soviet Union's victory at Stalingrad, during World War II, 1943.

German composer Felix Mendelssohn born February 3, 1809.

Confederate States of America organized by a temporary committee that met at Montgomery, Ala., February 4, 1861.

Charles A. Lindbergh, American aviator, born 1902.

Yalta Conference began, 1945.

Amendment 24 to the U.S. Constitution, banning poll tax, proclaimed, 1964.

Aaron Burr, American political leader, born February 6, 1756.

Home run king "Babe" Ruth born February 6, 1895.

The United States Senate ratified the peace treaty ending the Spanish-American War, February 6, 1899.

Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, born in Tampico, Ill., February 6, 1911.

Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, February 6, 1952.

British novelist Charles Dickens born February 7, 1812.

Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sinclair Lewis born February 7, 1885.

Thomas A. Edison, American inventor, born February 11, 1847.

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, born near present-day Hodgenville, Ky., February 12, 1809.

Charles Darwin, British naturalist, born February 12, 1809.

Valentine's Day. February 14.

Susan B. Anthony, American woman suffrage leader, born February 15, 1820.

Mary I, first reigning queen of England, born February 18, 1516.

Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr., became first American to orbit the earth, February 20, 1962.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet, born February 27, 1807.

Marian Anderson, American singer, born February 27, 1897.

If you want to attend this event, there are activities starting January 30th through February 2nd, at Gobbler’s Knob, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

There is no charge to get into Gobbler's Knob which is divided into two separate viewing areas, one for families and one for students. The Groundhog club does not recommend bringing small children to the Knob. Animals are not permitted at the Knob. The Groundhog Club does not recommend bringing chairs to the Knob because the large crowd mostly

stands and moves around. There is a handicapped-viewing area at the Knob to accommodate wheelchairs and people with disabilities.

The Gate at Gobblers Knob opens at 3:00 a.m. There is a bonfire at the Knob from approximately 3:00 a.m. There is no shelter available, so visitors should come prepared for the weather: hand and feet warmers, layered clothing and blankets.

Phil's Prognostication is at approximately 7:25 a.m.

There will be refreshments and food available at the Knob.

Leading up to the big day, there will be an 11th Annual Groundhog Comedy Club Night, Moore Brothers in Concert, lots of food vendors, souvenir shows and sales, Woodchuck Whittle Carving Show, Hayrides, Groundhog Day the Movie showings, scavenger hunt, and much more! Sounds like a great opportunity to experience some modern day history in the making!