GALA PREPARATIONS

FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Mailing the Invitations. Saturday, March 10th. The Finance Committee met at Connie's home to stuff and mail the Gala invitations. In the picture, from left to right: Kathy Deutsch, Marilu del Carpio, Carol Widmayer, Sandy Cunningham, Cassandra Holley, Diana Garcia, KT Harroun, Connie Grieb and Marta Calderon.

The excitement is growing up! On February 10th, the Committee met again. The main items discussed: Invitations will be mailed on 3/10; members need to speed up the solicitation and collection of silent auction items; multiple efforts going on to put the gala on newspapers, magazines, and online; looking for ways to have our current and past scholarship and service recipients, as well as representatives from the universities and the recipient organizations, at the gala. On-going efforts to have a proclamation from the District of Columbia for the Zonta DC's 85th Anniversary. Hopefully, the proclamation will be read by a DC official. The Gala venue will be decorated to remind us of the Roaring 20's.

A toast. Marta Calderon, Marilu del Carpio, Connie Grieb, KT Harroun, Kathy Deutch, and Diana Garcia, members of the Finance Committee, toast to the successful 2006 fundraising activities and the beginning of the Gala season. They met on January 6th to review the results of the Zonta Store, Holiday Card, Gala preparations, and calendar of committee meetings for the rest of the year.

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Liz Folsom, Gala Volunteer Coordinator, met with Diane Garcia and Marta Calderon, the Gala Co-Chairs, to plan the volunteer coordination activites. This year's Gala needs about 40 volunteers. Some of the Zonta and Edith Seville Coale scholarships recipients will be volunteers at the Gala. For information on volunteering opportunities email Liz at ATLZIL@aol.com.

PUBLIC RELATIONS
A group of American University students adopted our Club as a class project and developed a Communications Strategy for the Club. The students made a presentation to the Finance Committee in January. Connie Grieb, Diana Garcia and Marta Calderon met to review the progress made in the implementation of the strategy as of the end of January. Actions already taken include making some changes to the web page, sending a Press Release about the Gala to several magazines and on-line calendars, and redesigning the Club Brochure. Washington Life posted the Gala on its on-line calendar. We are currently developing a tool kit for the public relations communications of the Club.

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