2023-2024
Board of Directors
- Chris Haley, President
- Jackie Melendez, Vice President
- Karen Norton, Treasurer
- Genne LeVasseur, A. Treasurer
- Vickie Palardy, Recording Sec.
- Mary Tyer Kelly, Corresponding Sec.
- Sandy Carroll, Past President
- Barbara Osborne, Director
- Melissa Mazzeo, Director
- Jackie Benham, Director
- Rosanne Frieri, Director
- Cheryl Maselli, Director
- Cassandra Pugh, Director
Service & Status of Women Committees
ADVOCACY: Meet every two months to develop and implement advocacy action items for club members and additional meetings at community events, meeting with legislators or public outreach. Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 6 -12 volunteers.
Job Duties: Work to bring awareness of Zonta International initiatives to the Berkshires, such as “HeForShe” Equal Rights, “Zonta says NO“ Domestic Violence Campaign, Zonta Says NOW” Climate change, Commission on the Status of Women efforts, or United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, for example. Develop ways to work on local projects that work to improve climate change, end domestic violence and sex trafficking and promote pay equality and gender equality. Promote legislation to end discrimination and support female services. Send information to the Communications Committee for promotion of our message, feature a ZAM (Zonta Advocacy Moment) at each Member Meeting, and engage members and the public in the pursuit of Zonta’s mission.
- Chris Haley, District 1
- Anne Meczywor, Chair
- Melissa Mazzeo
- Rosanne Frieri
- Denise Talabach
- Elaine Hunter
- Sandy Carroll
- More welcome!!
CHARITABLE GIVING: Meet two to three times per year to review applications (Spring/Fall) for charitable donations, and present for approval to the Board of Directors. Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 6 people.
Job Duties: Review the amounts of funds that were budgeted for charitable donations based on our past fundraising efforts and develop a plan to distribute funds at least 2-3 times per year. Set deadlines and meeting times in advance so that members can nominate charities or events they believe would be a good fit with Zonta’s mission. Develop a simple submission form that explains the charity or cause and how it supports our mission (example). Review all submissions and make a recommendation to the Board of Directors for funding. When approved by the Board, Chair should coordinate with the President to host the recipients at Member Meetings to present the checks. This will give all causes an opportunity to share what they are working on, and allow us to share and promote these donations and organizations on social media, in press releases and our website.
- Debbie Dwyer, Chair
- Cassandra Pugh
- Debbie O’Neill
- Sandy Carroll
- Jackie Melendez
- Tina Monteleone
- Toni Fontana
- Vickie Palardy
- More Welcome!
FOOD BANKS & TOILETRY: Collect and deliver food items to food banks and toiletries to non-profits such as the Elizabeth Freeman Center. Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 2 people are needed to offer coverage throughout the year.
Job Duties: Solicit collections at member meetings of needed product and deliver to non-profit organizations in need. Identify needed items for women and girls in our community and work with fundraising, charitable, communications and the board to make sure needs are filled. Remind club members to bring donated items to the meetings. Develop a list of places to deliver items. Bring items collected to area locations that work to help women. Take photos and send summary to Communications Committee and/or post update on website.
- Jackie Benham
- June Spring Tooley
- More Welcome!
FUNDRAISING: Meet at least 3 times per year to plan a fundraising schedule and work on projects that raise funds for scholarships, Zonta International and local charitable donations.
Job Duties: Handle planning, registration / purchases, payment finances, budgeting event promotion, sales of tickets or products and organizing the entire event.
- Sandy Carroll, Chair
- Andrea Carroll
- Cassandra Pugh
- Cheryl Maselli
- Debbie Dwyer
- Debbie O’Neill
- Elaine Hunter
- Jackie Melendez
- Tina Monteleone
- Vickie Palardy
- Rosanne Frieri
- Melissa Mazzeo
- Chris Haley
PERIOD PROJECT: Meet at least four times a year to prepare for and then assemble the period project donation bags. Committee Volunteers Needed: Small Steering Group, 10+ assembly and delivery
Job Duties: Actively promote the call for donations and products, and collect products and bring to a central location. Prep all items needed for assembly day and setup the room before each assembly day to help with process. Solicit volunteers for the assembly day (can include members of the public) and deliver finalized bags to area food pantries, shelters, supportive services, schools etc.
- Vickie Palardy, Chair
- Cheryl Maselli
- Debbie O’Neill
- Sarah Gillooly
- Sandy Carroll
- Tina Monteleone
- Toni Fontana
- More Welcome!
SCHOLARSHIPS: Young Women in Public Affairs Scholarship February/March; Jane M. Klausman Scholarship; Berkshire Continuing Education Scholarship, BCC scholarship, She Knows Where She’s Going Girls Inc Scholarship, Women in Technology, TBD Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 4-6 readers, plus chairs.
Job Duties: Each scholarship should have an assigned lead that will promote the scholarship and distribute applications to the Communication Committee and local high schools or colleges, based on the criteria. The chair will manage the applications, answer questions, and use the ZI tools to send letters to all applicants with the outcome. All members will have approximately 2 weeks to read and rate the applicants and return to the chair. The chair will tally the scores and notify all who was the winner. The chair will coordinate with the president to invite the winner to a Membership Meeting to receive the check and speak to the club. Note: BCC Scholarship (May) and Girls Inc. (May) are both selected by the orgs.
- Pam Roberts (Chair)
- Chanel Duchaine
- Chris Haley
- Denise Talabach
- Linda Duyle
- Sandy Carroll
- Sarah Gillooly
- Tina Monteleone
SOLIDER ON: Connect with the women housed in the Pittsfield Soldier On Women’s home and provide support, friendship and connection.
Job Duties: Meet with the ladies and solicit ideas for how they best could use support and coordinate engagement and projects with our members and our community.
- Rosanne Frieri, Chair
- Chris Haley
- Sandy Carroll
SUIT YOURSELF (2024-2025 Change to STLYING FOR SUCCESS): Organize the annual clothing drive for to help those entering the workforce. Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 4 volunteers (or more!) for the day of the event, typically held in May.
Job Duties: Chair will attend Suit Yourself meetings at the Goodwill (in 2024-2025 Christian Center), and volunteers will organize a yearly clothing drive for Suit Yourself including promotion and on-site coordination of donations on the day of the event.
- Jackie Melendez, Chair
- Debbie O’Neill
- Jackie Benham
Administrative Committees
BY-LAWS: There are no meetings of this group, unless needed. They are charged with ensuring our bylaws are consistent with ZI requirements. Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 2 people.
Job Duties: Annually review bylaws in accordance with Zonta International and incorporate those changes into a local draft for members approval.
- Debbie Dwyer
- Elaine Hunter
COMMUNICATIONS / VISABILITY: There are no meetings for this group, rather the volunteers work with each other via phone and email to publicize meetings and club activities. Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 3 people.
Job Duties: Produce a newsletter monthly for members. Send monthly newsletters to district. Keep the website updated, add new items as needed, delete outdated material, and share photos and content with the newsletter and publicity committees. Add our Monthly Membership Meeting to the calendar of the local paper, on our website, and on Facebook. Promote club activities, events and members in local paper, on our website, and on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/zontaberkshire. committee members are asked to take photos at events and meetings, draft an article in summary of the monthly guest speaker, read the Zonta District and International newsletters for ideas of items to be included in our local news, and share all materials via the ZontaBerkshire.org submission form.
- Sandy Carroll, Web/Social
- Lauren Dwyer, Web/Social
- Melissa Mazzeo, Press
- Pam Roberts, Newsletter
- Pam Knisley, Meetings
- Rosanne Frieri, Photos
- Cheryl Maselli, Press Releases
- Chris Haley, Member News
FINANCE AND BUDGET: Meet annually, or as needed by the Treasurer, to review spending and investment accounts and develop the budget for the upcoming year. Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 6 people.
Job Duties: Assist the treasurer with the financial reporting as needed, develop the annual budget, and other tasks treasurer my need. Budget must be prepared and presented for approval by the membership in May.
- Karen Norton, Chair
- Genne LeVasseur
- Chris Haley
- Debbie Dwyer
- Sandy Carroll
- Toni Fontana
- Vickie Palardy
NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Meet once a year to develop a proposed slate of officers and directors for the Zonta Club Board of Directors. 3 volunteers are needed, appointed by the President.
Job Duties: Mentor and cultivate new leaders, propose an annual slate of officers for the Board of Directors to the membership. Attend district nominating committee training, if offered.
- Debbie Dwyer
- Elaine Hunter
- Vickie Palardy
MEMBERSHIP: Meet quarterly, or as needed, to discuss strategies for the recruitment of new members, process for membership, retention of existing members and engagement and involvement of all members. Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 6 people.
Job Duties: Welcome guests to all member meetings and distribute Zonta materials, follow-up with guests to answer questions about membership, review applications from new members, introduce and install new members into the club, and identify mentors for each new member. Committee members should review the service hour report and reach out to check in to any member that has gone inactive. Follow up with exit interviews when members chose not to renew. The Committee should annually review the marketing materials we use, review new materials from Zonta.org, and update as needed. This information should be shared with other committees so that it can be added to the ZontaBerkshire.org website. The group should evaluate their progress each year and have a plan in place for recruitment of new members and retention of existing members. The chair shall attend a monthly District 1 Membership Committee Meeting via zoom.
Benevolence: Offering or arranging to drive members to our dinner meetings, coordinating food delivery to member’s homes in time of sickness, and making calls or sending notes of encouragement or support to members in need. Use Sunshine funds as needed, with a report to the Board of Directors when money is spent.
- Jackie Melendez, Chair
- Rosanne Frieri
- Pam Roberts
- Debbie O’Neill
- Elaine Hunter
- Karen Norton
- Tina Monteleone
- Toni Fontana
- Vickie Palardy
- Debbie Dwyer
PROGRAM / MEETING COORINDATION: Meet as needed, to create a calendar of interesting events and then work to promote and coordinate.
To plan and prepare for the club meetings, speakers, speaker gifts, registration, check-in, announcements, notices and reminders. Regular attendance at monthly dinner meetings is helpful, since volunteers coordinate members and guest attendance. Send a bio of the speaker with photo to the Communications Chairs. Introduce the speakers at the Membership Dinner. Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 2 people in addition to the Treasurer.
- Pam Knisley, Chair
- Sandy Carroll, Treasurer
- Jackie Melendez
- More Welcome!
STRATGIC PLANNING REVIEW: Every three years review or develop a strategic plan for the club. Committee Volunteers Needed: at least 6
Job Duties: Meet in the summer and early fall to review the current strategic plan, develop tools to gain feedback from members, review ZI requirements and submit an updated or new plan for member approval.
- Chris Haley
- Jackie Melendez
- Sandy Carroll
- Anne Meczywor
- Barb Osborne
- Gail Molari
- Pam Roberts
- Vickie Palardy
ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIAL POSITIONS, as needed:
- Auditor: Elaine Hunter Review the financial books to make sure we are correctly accounting for funds.
- Service Hours: Send reminders out to members asking all to report service hours, compile and distribute to the board and membership.
- Correspondence Secretary: Mary Tyer Kelly. Send birthday wishes to new members, condolence and/or congratulatory cards when appropriate.
- Installing Officers: Pam Roberts, Debbie O’Neill, Elaine Hunter Install the new members approved for membership and the Board of Directors.
- Photographer: Roseanne Frieri. Take photos of events, speakers or special projects for promotion and give to the newsletter and website chair.
- Z Club Mentors Melissa & Elaine: Meet several times a year with a local Zclub (or develop one) to provide opportunities for young women to advance the mission of Zonta. New clubs can be formed by interested mentors.
- Zonta Store: Meet as needed to purchase and sell Zonta logo items for club members and for district events.