Yard Sale, May 26

Peconic Bay Zonta is raising scholarship dollars through a yard and bake sale on Saturday, May 26, from 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Stop by 5 Emerson Court, in Hampton Bays. You will find clothes, jewelry, household items, home-baked goods and more.

Rain date: Sunday, May 27. 

Valentinus

The feast day of St. Valentine (Valentinus in Latin) has roots in ancient Rome. With Valentine's Day coinciding with our February business meeting, we adopted Italy for the evening. Advocacy Chair Barbara Pierce added Italy to our growing stats comparing birth, infant mortality, fertility and literacy rates in countries around the world -- indicators about the status of women.

You can see from the photograph by Kay Jones that our Italian feast was served on a dining table beautifully decorated by Kay for the occasion.

Coming up: On Tuesday, March 6 at 6 p.m. (snow date March 8), Peconic Bay will be showing the documentary "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" at the Riverhead Free Library.

This is the same library that opens its computer room to Peconic Bay Zonta each year to teach a class for the local Parent Leadership Initiative about online resources available free of charge from public libraries. We look forward to doing this service project again this spring.

Additional Screenings

Last year, Jackie Pottgen arranged a showing of Pray the Devil Back to Hell at the Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport, on September 14, 2011.

Now, Judy Wilenski has done the same for the Riverhead Library. That date is set for March 6 at 6 p.m., with a snow date of March 8.

Two of the women featured in the documentary won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. They are Leymah Gbowee, who mobilized and organized women to bring an end to the long civil war in Liberia; and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, elected president of Liberia in 2005. Sirleaf is Africa's first democratically elected female president.

A third woman, Tawakkol Karman, also shares the 2011 Peace Prize. All three were recognized by the Nobel Committee "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."

Pray the Devil Back to Hell

We had a successful showing of "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" at Brookhaven Lab on August 3.

As we did for the March screening of the film, as part of Women's History Month events at the Riverhead campus of Suffolk County Community College (SCCC), we introduced SCCC's Office of Multicultual Affairs, the lab's Brookhaven Women in Science, and Peconic Bay Zonta, the local chapter of Zonta International. All three organizations worked together to obtain the rights for public showings of the documentary and are cosponsors for every screening.

At Brookhaven Lab, the audience numbered over 50 and included laboratory staff, summer interns, and community members. Afterwards, a small group stayed to discuss the events in Liberia and the current situation there, with presidential elections scheduled for this coming October.

Our next scheduled showing of the documentary is on September 14, at 6 p.m. in the Greenport public library.

Have Yard Sale, Promote Zonta

Peconic Bay's first-ever yard sale on May 28, during the Memorial Day weekend, was a great success!

We hung a giant Zonta International banner over Mary Ann's garage, displayed information about Zonta, and talked to interested individuals about Peconic Bay's service and advocacy work in the local community.

Of course, we sold a lot of stuff. It's amazing what you can pull out of your closets and basement that somebody else is willing to put in hers.

Our incidental bake sale proved to be very popular, too. The mini loaves baked by Mary Ann's sister sold out first, followed by Judy's signature cookies.

Part of the money we raised has been set aside for a fund linked to the three Zonta International scholarships:

• Amelia Earhart Fellowship
• Women in Business Scholarship
• Young Women in Public Affairs Award

The remainder was used to help sponsor Ellen's run, which benefits the Ellen Hermanson Breast Cancer Center at Southampton Hospital. Sponsorship entitles Peconic Bay to have the Zonta logo on signage associated with the event. This year, Ellen's Run is on August 21, and several Peconic Bay members plan to walk the 5k (3.1-mile) route.

Yard Sale!

Peconic Bay Zonta will be holding a yard sale on Saturday, May 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (rain date Sunday, May 29), at 5 Emerson Court, Hampton Bays. Money raised will support a scholarship fund for young women and help sponsor Ellen's Run in Southampton, to benefit local breast-cancer patients. On sale will be everything from clothes and jewelry to furniture and collectibles -- all at good prices.

Service and Advocacy

Looking ahead, Peconic Bay Zonta will be doing a service project with the Parent Leadership Initiative in April 2011.

Looking back, in November 2010, we prepared at harvest meal for the homeless served by Maureen's Haven. In the photo at the top (or left), some of our members are gathered at the home of Jackie Pottgen, who is carving the turkey. Jackie is the newest member of Peconic Bay.

More recently, on March 8, 2011, we gathered for a business meeting at the home of Kay Jones. Appropriately, it was International Women's Day. Our guest for the evening was Judith Wilenski, with whom we walked in October 2010 to raise money for breast cancer research.

International Women Day's is the same day of the year as Zonta Rose Day. A yellow rose has been a favorite Zonta symbol for many years. On this day, Zontians worldwide are encouraged to distribute yellow roses or items bearing the image of yellow roses, accompanied by information about Zonta International and issues relating to improving the lives of women. In the second picture (or right), notice the bouquet of yellow roses.