The conference was hosted by the Zonta Club of Defiance from 18 - 20 October. Members were thrilled to have ZI Director Marguerite Akossi-Mvongo from Côte d’Ivoire with us and found the open forum with her to be engaging and educational.
During the conference, members conducted business, elected their next leaders, visited the Defiance Fire Department to see the Safe Haven Baby Box sponsored by the Zonta Club of Defiance, honored Past International President Eleanor Jammal, were inspired by fabulous speakers, identified 100 Zonta “Whys” and raised money for the Zonta International Foundation. Attendees also assembled newborn baby kits, which will be shipped to Phoebe Hospital in Liberia. The kits included a custom made Zonta District 5 onesie.
We recognized three amazing women with their District 5 Centennial Awards: They include, Sarah Frank from Beatitude House in Ashtabula, Ohio; Gretchen Hunt from the Office of Victims Advocacy at the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General in Louisville, Kentucky, and Margaret Mitchell, President, and CEO of YWCA of Greater Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio.
Members laughed, sang and danced and were inspired. It was a wonderful way to celebrate Zonta’s Centennial Anniversary.