Over 85 Years of History

Rochester: one of nine clubs meeting in Buffalo, November 8, 1919

In the Spring of 1919, through the efforts of the newly formed Buffalo Club (Charter #1) the Zonta Club of Rochester was formed. By November 8, 1919, Rochester was one of nine clubs to be organized to form the Confederation of Zonta Clubs.

On October 31, 1922, Charter #2 was presented to the Rochester Club by Marion DeForest, first President of the Buffalo Club. Articles of Incorporation were filed in New York State on February 8, 1922 because an earlier set had been destroyed by fire. The first President of the Rochester Club was Laura Lawrence Truesdell. Zonta has grown to an International organization with Zonta Club of Rochester New York being proud to be the second club to form.

In 2002, Zonta Club of Rochester created the Zonta Rochester Foundation, establishing a 501c3 non profit organization.

Rich Local Community Service History

Over the years the Zonta Club of Rochester has been involved in many service projects including but not limited to:

• Presentation of scholarships to Rochester Public School students, students of the University of Rochester, Rochester Business Institute, Rochester Institute Of Technology, Nazareth College and nurses at one of Rochester's hospitals.
• Funded camper attendance to facilities managed by Girl Scouts, Y.W.C.A., and Salvation Army
• Staffed USO one evening a week for 10 years.
• Established a special service fund to help furnish rooms in a half-way house for girls.
• Established a store for residents at Monroe Community Hospital to purchase toiletries, cards and gifts. Carts with these items were taken to the bed-ridden patients.
• Furnished a nursery for Alternatives for Battered Women in its fledgling years in Rochester.
• Work with Habitat for Humanity in the Rochester Area.
• Run silent auctions at fundraisers for non-profit organizations at the fundraising events.
• Presented the first scholarship to a Young Woman in Public Affairs through our Zonta Rochester Foundation.

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About 50 years ago, the Rochester Times Union published an article: about “Women’s Role in Business”. The Women’s Council of the Chamber of Commerce exhibited their annual Women’s Achievement Week. Zonta Club of Rochester exhibited and several prominent members of the club were mentioned in the article. Mrs. John (Caroline) Branch was president of the Women’s Council and a member of Zonta at the time. Zontians are underlined in red in the article, which was published on February 3rd, 1958. Note that women are referred to as Miss or Mrs. and take on their husband’s first name if they are married. The council had 325 women members at the time and many of them were Zontians.

International Service

In addition to local service projects, the Zonta Club of Rochester supports Zonta's International service projects throughout the world. International projects include a school for girls in Ramallah, Jordan; inoculation of women and children in India; education against Genital Mutilization in Berkino Faso; and establishing a school for girls in Afghanistan. For full information on Zonta International projects, please visit www.zonta.org.

Past Club Presidents and Notable Members

Zonta Club of Rochester members have been notable lawyers, doctors, politicians, philanthropists and female executives. The Rochester Club is proud to have had several members serve at the District and International levels, including two International Presidents-Dora E. Neun (1935-1937) and Edwina Hogadone (1953-1954).

Other Notable members

Dr. Marion Craig Potter (member 1963-1967) was honored by B. & P.W. for her fifty years in Medicine in 1936. She was among the pioneers in Medicine.

Melissa Bingeman (1929-1970) organized New Citizens' Programs, Health programs, etc., at our Chamber of Commerce. She gained national recognition for her study of lake levels at Lake Ontario. She was made a Fellow of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences in May 1959.

Edwina Hogadone (1938-1974) served on the New York State Women's Council for Home Industry. She was appointed by the Honorable Thomas E. Dewey, at that time Governor of New York State.

Veronica Maher (1938-1963), Director of our Rochester Red Cross, was the first woman Trustee of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce.

Agnes Rix Kidder headed the drive for funds for the new Y.W.C.A. building on Main Street.

Jessica McCullough Weis (1959-1963) was sworn in as United States Congresswoman January 7, 1959, and became a member of the Rochester Zonta Club.

Caroline Branch (1943-1990) was a Judge in the Monroe County Family Court and past Zonta President.

Presidents

Laura Lawrence Truesdell	1919-1922
Clara McKillop	1922-1924
Meta Waltjen	1924-1925
Katherine Walsh	1925-1926
Lucy Sheridan	1926-1928
Dora Neun	1928-1929
Helece Randall	1929-1930
Flora Armbruster	1930-1931
Ethel Woodworth	1931-1933
Dr. Flora Nagel	1933-1934
Marjorie Hamilton	1934-1936
Louise Karikas	1936-1937
Ida Randle	1937-1939
Adeline Bush	1939-1940
Elizabeth G. Niblack	1940-1941
Edwina Hogadone	1941-1942
Jane Brandt	1942-1943
Bertha Ballard	1943-1944
Rose Moore	1944-1945
Leah Woodruff	1945-1946
Dorothy Fisher	1946-1948
Eileen Woods	1948-1949
Olivia Tighe	1949-1950
Emma Rowe	1950-1951
Ruth Merrill	1951-1952
Helen Best	1952-1953
Mary Louise Brennan	1953-1954
Flora Pease	1954-1955
Mary Spittall	1955-1956
Helen Dudley	1956-1957
Cecelia Hands	1957-1958
Lucille Berry	1958-1959
Virginia Ritter	1959-1960
Adelaide Kaiser	1960-1961
Helen Elliott	1961-1962
Mildred Cramer	1962-1963
Spasia Christoff	1963-1964
C. Lucile Hobart	1964-1965
Leta Belgard	1965-1966
Gertrude Larwood	1966-1967
Mary Agnes Schultz	1967-1968
Patricia Perkins	1968-1969
Peggy Look	1969-1970
Grayce Davis	1970-1971
Jane Bartholomew	1971-1972
Beatrice deBuono	1972-1973
Clara French	1973-1974
C. Lucile Hobart	1974-1975
Betty Lohr	1975-1976
Peg Campbell	1976-1977
Margaret Celmer	1977-1978
Charlotte Hegedus	1978-1979
Caroline Branch	1979-1980
Elizabeth Logan	1980-1981
June Dispenza	1981-1982
Barbara Barth	1982-1983
Sharon Stiller	1983-1984
Lorilee Fish	1984-1985
Barbara Ann Mattle	1985-1986
Mary Love	1986-1987
Shelley Long (Livingston)	1987-1988
Lynn Nulton Lehning	1988-1990
Midge Thomas	1990-1992
Edna Silvernail	1992-1994
Sharon Cavaleri	1996-1997
Nancy McCulloch	1997-1999
Edna Silvernail	1999-2001
Kimberlee Rose	2001-2003
Rosita Caridi-Miller	2003-2005
Alyce VanPatten	2005-2006
Annette Fantanzo	2006-2008
Nancy McCulloch	2008-2010

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