Soroptimist International of
Corona October / November
2008 | |
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Executive Board
Members
2008 - 2009
Tracy
Mauser
President
-Elect
Paola
Ringer 1st Vice President, Service
Irena Leigh Norton
2nd Vice President, Ways &
Means
KimTaylor
Recording
Secretary
Dana
Prehctl Corresponding Secretary
Debbie
Miller
Treasurer
Deanna
Andrews
Assistant
Treasurer
Marcy Decato First Year Director
Shawn Dredla Second
Year Director
Ex-Officio
Board Members
Beth Groves Delegate
Valerie
Rucinski
Delegate
Debra Murphy Alternate Delegate
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Birthdates and Anniversaries:
Birthdays:
October
1. Kristi Kenney
15. Jean Easum 18. Tracy Mauser 27. F.M. Doss
28. Patricia Miller
Shawn
Dredla
November
6. Julie Fredrickson
13. Ellie VanDoornum
15. Rachel Rola
20. Jennifer Livingston
Anniversaries:
October
17. Alice Contreras
18. Lou Sanderson
19. Frances Armenta
25. Antoinette Piscetelli
November 13. Shelly Davis
15. Teresa Costa
24. Leeza Villagomez
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Ten of our SI Corona members attended the Golden
West Region 2008 District 1 Fall Meeting This November
7. The theme this year was "Walk the Red Carpet" and
they had the coolest idea to nominate members of each
club on various categories. Here are SI Corona
winners:
Most
Vibrant: Frances Armenta
Early Bird: Paola
Ringer
Gives 110%: Debbie Miller
Most
Dramatic: Leeza Villagomez
Miss
Congeniality:
Judy
Horan
CONGRATULATIONS
LADIES
;)
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President's Message
It
has been a busy couple of months. We are off to a
speeding start of the new club year. There have
been many meetings and functions, including our award
winning Chocolate, Wine, and Jazz.
Our year was started with a touch from
Taiwan. We shared tea and cookies from Taiwan during our
first meeting. We have had some excellent speakers
arranged by Tracy Mauser, such as Deborah Sutton from
CASA, Diana Wagner, a Health Information Manager, and
Chris Miller from Thomas Miller Mortuary. What
great information they all shared with
us. This was the first year we partnered
with The Foundation for Community and Family Health in
the Women's Health Awareness Day. We had several
ladies from our own club, Joyce Pavez, Leeza Villa Gomez
and Susan Glen who did presentations on topics for the
attendees. Thank you to all the members who helped
at the event and to our chairwomen Debra Murphy and
Valerie Rucinski. We were recognized by
Alternatives to Domestic Violence by Kim Taylor at their
30th Anniversary Luncheon. SI Corona received a
beautiful trophy in recognition of the support by our
club. Joyce Pavez, a founding member
of ADV, spoke on the inception of the program.
These dedicated ladies felt a need in our
community and started this program that helps so many
each year. Karen Spiegel explained how the program
has grown over the years. Inspire Life
Skills Training had their 3rd Annual Auction in mid
October. It was a lovely night of food and
fundraising! Soroptimist of Corona was recognized
for their contribution to the Inspire family over the
past few years. Recently, our club really came
together for the girls in monetary and material
contributions after their apartment was destroyed in a
fire. I had my first
induction! Andi LaPointe has joined our group of
fantastic women. We have several others that are
interested in joining just as much as we are interested
in having them! The highlight of the last 2
months was our Chocolate, Wine and Jazz, (CWJ) held on
Oct 25. What a wonderful evening it was. The
atmosphere, food and music were a delight. The
restaurants and the wine were a hit with our guests and
the band was fantastic as usual. There is a lot of
time and energy that goes with planning such an event
and without our own members this would not be
possible. I thank all the members who made
Chocolate, Wine and Jazz such a success and especially a
big thank you to our chairwomen, Debra
Miller. I trust the next few months will be
just as exciting as the past few. A fellow
Soroptimist wrote to me, "put on your roller stakes and
get ready for a fantastic year!" How true that has
been so far! Seema
Lechner, SI Corona President 2008 -
2009
Women's Health Awareness
Day - 2008

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Committee(s)
Updates
Chocolate, Wine & Jazz Festival
Update:
Congratulations! Another
wonderful Chocolate, Wine and Jazz Festival is in the
bag! Once again, this is the event to top in our
community. Great job.
As we all
knew, this year was going to be particularly difficult
with the economic conditions, we face throughout the
community. Although it was not the money maker of
past years, we had a wonderful event to showcase
Soroptimist International of Corona and all the great
things we do for women and girls in our community and
around the world.
As we discussed today in
our wrap up meeting, we will probably start the
committee a few months earlier in order to combat some
of the challenges that we will inevitably have in the
spring and summer next year. In the meantime,
enjoy the fruits of our labor, put your thinking caps on
for new sponsorship opportunities for next year and
let's enjoy our service projects for the coming
months.
Members of Soroptimist International of
Corona, it's been a pleasure once again to serve as
chair of the committee. On behalf of the whole
committee will see you next year for another great
event!
Debbie
Dematteis-Miller, CWJ Committee Chair
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A
Salute to Our Chairs
By Paola Ringer - 1st Vice President
Service
Our
Soroptomist Service Programs are the heart and soul of
our club. It is through the various areas of
service that we assist many women and young girls in our
community thus contributing to their well
being. Heading the many service projects
this year are our favorably known Chairs. It is with
great pleasure that we highlight these courageous
members and praise their hard
work.
Earlier this year, Debra Murphy
and Joyce Pavez were essential in involving our club to
partner with the Foundation. The Health Fair
Symposium was attended by approximately 100
women who took part in a series of nurturing workshops
throughout the day. Geri Molner's
experience with the Violet Richardson
Awards makes her a great asset as Chair this
year. The VRA award is a recognition program for young
women ages 14-17 who are involved in volunteer work
within their community. Directing our
Women's Opportunity Award are Amy
Ladika and Laura Janik. This program is designed to aid
women, who as primary wage earners for their families
are rebuilding their lives by gaining skills to upgrade
their economical status. We are fortunate
to have Judy Horan as the chair for this year's
MADFW (Making a Difference for Women)
which will take place in March of 2009. This event
acknowledges women who, through personal and
professional activities work to improve the lives of
other women and girls in the
community. Dreams and
Decisions is our signature Full day of Service.
Our brave co-chairs are Kristi Keeney and Lou Sanderson.
This program takes place the first Saturday in March.
The goal of this event is to provide education to our
Junior High School Girls and 9th Graders in the Corona
Norco School District. Our
Scholarship program is being lead by
Ellie Vandoornum and Sylvia Fleming. Our chairs will be
orchestrating this process and will honor the recipients
of these grants at a special luncheon held in May
2009. Inspire liaison and
chair for this year is Antoinette Piscitelli. Inspire is
a local non-profit organization which helps transition
foster children into adulthood by providing residence
and support. As director of
ADV(Alternatives to Domestic Violence)
Kim Taylor is the most suitable facilitator for this
cause. As a club, we are committed to collaborating to
their annual Holiday Store and yearly financial
grant. The STOP Trafficking
Campaign is under the tutelage of Marcy Decato
and Karin McGee. While this is more of an international
endeavor, our chairs will be bringing public awareness
to this devastating abuse of women and how we can
collaborate on a local and national
level. Our success as a club is owed to the
hard work, efforts, and talents from our Service Chairs.
We want to encourage all our members to contact these
facilitators as needed for guidance, questions and
information. We also want to offer our help and services
as we continue our mission to help women and girls in
our local community and throughout the
world.
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F.M. Doss
Life member F.M. Doss
passed away in October of this year. F.M. Doss joined SI
Corona in 1964 and she served as president of the club
in 1970-71. F.M.'s major claim to fundraising fame was
the Corona Trivia Game project, first done in
1982-83. F.M. worked within the
Corona-Norco UnifiedSchool district for many years, at
both Norco and CoronaHigh Schools. She was a physical
education teacher and then later moved into counseling.
She was the founder of the "S" club at both high schools
during the 1970's, a Soroptimist sponsored organization
for youth. During her career in education, F.M. was a
mentor for many younger teachers as they moved into the
growing Corona-Norco area from all over the country,
often hosting dinners and pool parties to help them feel
at home. For all her accomplishments as a
Soroptimist and a service woman in this community, SI
Corona named the OrangeGroveHigh School in her
name. Our deepest sympathy goes to her
family and
friends.
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Treasurer's Report By Debbie Miller -
Treasurer As
a reminder to all members, the lunch fees are $50.00. Please
pay for fees each month by check as it is easier to apply the
payments correctly.
If you are in need of
Soroptimist items, they can be purchased directly through the SIA
website. This is a new feature to the website that I am sure
all of you will enjoy using.
Monthly fees are charged for
all regular members each month who are not on leave of
absence. Please process your formal leave of absence request
through Marcy Decato, Membership Chair. She will notify me
once it has been approved through the board and I will make note of
the dates of the leave of absence.
Life members are
charged $12.50 based on attendance. (Checks are
preferable) |
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Getting To
Know...
by Beth Groves
"Getting to know..." is
designed to help SI Corona club members get better acquainted with
each other. The feature is based on a series of questions
asked by club member, Beth Groves, and put together in this
format. Enjoy!
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Dana Prechtl
Dana has been a member of
SI Corona for 4 years. This year she is serving on the Board
as corresponding secretary. Currently self employed, she owns
City Florist of Norco. She has been a floral designer since the age
of 16. In 1991, she was awarded "Designer of the Year" by FTD
and Teleflora. Recently, she was published in Flowers
& Magazine for her award-winning bridal bouquet design.
Dana says she thrives on creativity and is always trying to come up
with new ways to use fresh flowers. As a resident of
Norco for 11 years, has owned and showed horses before opening the
store 5 years ago. Her "one and only hobby" is
fishing. "I love getting into my waders and hopping into a
stream in the high Sierras. Once in a while I get the
opportunity to go out on the ocean," she said.
"From the time I was able to walk, I was fishing with my
dad." She was born in Inglewood, but graduated from
Magnolia High in Anaheim with 2 art scholarships. In between,
she lived a few years in the Imperial Valley on her dad's 20 acre
ranch. "That is where I started my appreciation of horses, "
she said. "I was involved in FFA, hunting, fishing and girls
flag football. (I was a brute) Not too many boys wanted
to date me because they were too afraid to approach me. (I
found this out at my 10 year
reunion)." Besides being a member of SI
Corona, she is also a member of Lions International and a board
member of Norco Horse week which is a group that puts on a week long
celebration recognizing the rural and equestrian lifestyle of the
old west. Dana and her husband have been married for
23 years and have two kids (ages 22 and 20). She
says she is not the most avid reader, but does love biographies
because she is fascinated with people and the paths they
chose." She recently read "Elizabeth" about Liz Taylor.
"I became a Soroptimist member after getting to know
Rachel Rola and Denise Hammer. They have always spoken highly
of our club and once I got involved, I soon found out why." she
said. "My favorite part of the year is scholarship
interviews. I enjoy getting to know these young girls and love
learning about their hopes and dreams. I think in today's
society, our girls today desperately need a focus and encouragement
to go forward with their
dreams."
Tracy Mauser
Tracy is currently
serving as President-elect for SI Corona. She has been an
active member of the Club for the past four years. As
the Director of Development for Peppermint Ridge, Tracy spends her
professional days visiting with parents and supporters seeking
financial commitments to fill the funding gaps between what the
State provides and what the true costs of care and services are for
the developmentally disabled clients the Ridge serves. Tracy
is also a regular presenter at area service organizations sharing
the mission of Peppermint Ridge with others. Born in
Oceanside, she has been a resident of Corona for nine years.
She loves to refinish furniture and travel. Tracy is
single, has 3 pet parakeets, and comes from a family of eight
children (she is the youngest).
In
addition to her work with the Ridge, she is also a supporter of
Umbrella Ministries. It is a Christian support ministry that
serves moms who have lived through the death of a child.
Tracy's five-year-old son passed away suddenly in 2005. She is
a co-leader of a chapter of the group in Huntington Beach. She
credits the support group with helping her "gradually live with a
"new normal" and turn mourning into joy." Tracy says
that she's a Soroptimist because she believes in the mission
and enjoys giving back to the community. She
especially likes working with SI Corona because of the focus on
women and girls. "All the Service clubs in the area do things
to make Corona a better place," she said. The last book
she read "for fun", was "The Winter Lodge" by Susan Wiggs. It
is the second of four books in the Lakeshore Chronicles. She
describes them as "very entertaining romances that are not smutty at
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The Quote of The
Month Submitted By Judy Horan
Five Birds and Good
Intentions Five birds are sitting on a telephone
wire. Two decide to fly South. How many are left? Most people would
say three. Actually, all five are left. You see, deciding to fly
isn't the same as actually doing it.
If a bird really wants to go somewhere, it's got to point
itself in the right direction, jump off the wire, flap its wings,
and keep flapping until it gets where it wants to go. So it is
with most things. Good intentions are not enough. It's not what we
want, say, or think that makes things happen; it's what we do.
I frequently think of writing thank-you, birthday, and
congratulatory notes. Unfortunately, only a sad few of these good
sentiments ever make it to paper. Still, if I don't look too
closely, I can delude myself into thinking that based on my good
thoughts I'm a gracious and grateful person. A truer and less
admirable picture of my character is drawn by my actions.
In the end, we either do or don't do. We either make the
time to do the things we want to and should do, or we make excuses.
As Alfred Adler said, "Life happens at the level of events, not of
words. Trust movement."
What do you want to do? Do you want
to take a course, change your job, lose weight, make new friends, or
spend more time with and appreciate more the ones you
have? What's stopping you from jumping off the wire and flapping
your wings?
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Jokes
Submitted by Seema Lechner
The Loyal Wife.....
There was a man who had worked all of his life,
had saved all of his money, and was a real miser when it came to his
money.
Just before he died, he said to his wife, 'When I
die, I want you to take all my money and put it in the casket with
me. I want to take my money to the after life with me.'
And
so he got his wife to promise him with all of her heart that when he
died, she would put all of the money in the casket with him.
Well, he died . . . He was stretched
out in the casket, his wife was sitting there in black, and her
friend was sitting next to her. When they finished the ceremony,
just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife
said, 'Wait, just a minute!'
She had a box with
her, she came over with the box and put it in the
casket.
Then the undertakers locked the casket down, and they
rolled it away.
Her friend said, 'I know you weren't fool
enough to put all that money in there with your husband.'
The loyal wife replied 'Listen, I'm a Christian, I can't go
back on my word. I promised him that I was going to put that money
in that casket with him.'
'You mean to tell me you put that
money in the casket with him !!! ?'
'I sure did' said the
wife. 'I got it all together, put it into my account and wrote him a
cheque. If he can cash it, he can spend it.'
Moral of the
story: Females are clever than
Males..... Girlie
Wisdom Women over 50 don't have babies because
they would put them down and forget where they left them.
A
friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills...
she has 14 kids but doesn't really care.
One of life's
mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5
lbs.
My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves
completely.
The best way to forget your troubles is to wear
tight shoes.
The nice part about living in a small town is
that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else
does.
The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight
because by then, your body and your fat are really good
friends.
Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along
came today.
Sometimes I think I understand everything, and
then I regain consciousness.
I gave up jogging for my health
when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my
pants.
Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while
and it shrinks 2 sizes!
Skinny people irritate me! Especially
when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!'
.....Now I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name and my
keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special
kind of stupid to forget to eat!
I read this article that
said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse
buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a
perfect day!
LIVE SIMPLY.....LAUGH
OFTEN....LOVE DEEPLY
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