Earlier I wondered if there would be enough news to warrant publishing an August issue of the Zonta Paul, but there's a lot of information in this issue, so please read it from cover to cover.

I encourage you to think about attending the District Conference in Fargo in October. It looks like an exciting agenda and as always, it's a great opportunity to meet fellow Zontians. And, this year it's close by. We don't have to drove all the way to Missouri. And, have you ever considered that your expenses to attend this Conference could be tax-deductible?

Thanks to Erma and Carol, we have the ticket and silent auction information for our event. With yet another great speaker for our event, I think it will be easy to sell your 10 tickets and solicit your 5 silent auction items. At the August meeting we will have time to gather the sub-committees for the Global Event so we can continue our planning.

Also, at the August meeting, I've asked the Service Committee to lead us in a discussion about service. We need to better understand the definition of "service" as International defines it and we especially need to find appropriate and fun ways for our members to participate in some hands-on service. So, if you have ideas of some organizations that we can work with to provide this type of service, do a little investigating before you come to the August meeting and bring some information with you.

I hope you're enjoying the summer , now that the heat wave is over. See you August 28th

Finance Committee Report and Recommendations:

The finance committee met August 8th, 2001 to formulate a Policy Statement, and secondly to recommend rules for the Policy Statement. The budget has been set for 2001/2002 and approved by the members. Budget numbers for the 2002 area, district and International Convention have not been put together. The recommendation is first to approve the policy statement as a part of our Club's by-laws or policies. The rules would then support the Policy Statement. By leaving our dollar amount "as a sum to be determined by the finance committee and approved by the members" would not lock the Club into a set amount. The amounts could then be determined annually based on location of meetings, registration costs and travel costs.