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FounderLink
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June 2001
Volume 1, Number 1 |
Getting to Know the Founder Region Board...
Carol Rose, Governor
Governor Carol Rose is married with two children, a boy and a girl, and three grandsons, who are she says, "the love of my life!" After 28 years with Mechanics Bank she retired and now works with her husband, co-facilitating a class on the desensitization of phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic and anxiety. She has a BA in Psychology and a teaching credential from the State of California.
She has been a Soroptimist since 1983 and she says she joined under duress. "The bank I worked for made sure their officers belonged to service organizations in the community and I was asked to join Soroptimist. Even though this was a business ploy, I found that I really liked being a Soroptimist and went on to hold every office except for corresponding secretary."
When she was asked to run for District I Director, she thought this might be fun, but found she had a challenge ahead of her and a lot to learn. She loved being a director and after four years decided to run for Governor Elect. Because there were five candidates running for this office, it took three ballots before she won. She said, "It was the longest, most stressful, and one of the best days of my life."
Her favorite fund-raiser in her club has been Silent Auctions because she thinks it is not a lot of work and makes the most money. The last Silent Auctions of her club benefited The Lupus Foundation and since then she has tried to make the Region aware of their need. She hopes more clubs will raise money for this worthy cause.
She remembers being extremely scared was when she gave her speech to become the Governor Elect. She practiced a lot and her husband even videotaped her saying her speech. She commented "That just made matters worse. I know many of you said my being scared didn't show but believe me, if you had seen me from the back, you would have seen my knees shaking. The result is that it brings me great joy and pleasure being your Governor."
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Mary Ann Redden, Governor Elect
Governor Elect Mary Ann Redden has been married to her husband for 32 years. They have one daughter and one infant granddaughter, saying that they never thought they would be like the rest of the world, but their granddaughter is perfect.
She is the owner of Rightway Construction, Inc. Primarily, the business does sheetrock and has been in business since 1972. She holds B1, C9, and C33 licenses. While she hasn't physically hung sheetrock or framed a house, but she did paint houses for a while, inside and out, referring to it as a great experience.
She joined the Antioch club in 1982, and held all offices at the club level except Secretary. She thought it would be too difficult. "It doesn't make much sense why I ran for Founder Region Secretary, but as it turns out it was a most rewarding and educational position." She was also a Founder Region Fellowship Director. Currently, she is Governor Elect. She feels being on the Region Board is a great opportunity and laughs when she thinks about how her arm had to be twisted to run for District Director.
She likes raising money with rummage sales because there are no ticket sales. The "New Image Wardrobe," a clothes closet for women returning to work is her favorite service project. She says, "We provide an interview outfit and when they get the job, we provide a week's worth of clothing. The appreciation of the women that have been helped just keeps me...wanting to do more."
She has experienced a lot of memorable moments -- receiving a Fellowship pin from her husband at her Club's installation, winning the District II Directorship, losing an election for Governor Elect when she had to learn to deal with disappointment, winning an election for Governor Elect and dancing all night, presiding with shaking knees at her first business meeting as club president, and dressing like a chicken for Conference. (Wouldn't we like to know more about that!)
Joining Soroptimist helped her "find" herself, when she wanted to be more than a wife and a mom. Soroptimist, she says, has taught her self confidence, public speaking, broadened her knowledge of the world, and has taken her many places she never would have gone. Governor Elect, Mary Ann says that Soroptimist gives us a unique opportunity to help ourselves as females because it is an organization run by women for women
Amelia Benko, Secretary
The day after Secretary Amelia Benko graduated from Chabot College with her AA in Dental Assisting, she married her husband. After almost 30 years of marriage, they have two sons and three grand-daughters. According to Amelia, the girls are "...perfect grandparents revenge, making their own parents crazy daily."
She spent 11 years in the dental field as a front office manager, and then moved on to work in secretarial and administrative work for a variety of industries and businesses. By the time she joined the Livermore Soroptimist club in 1987, she had gone to work with her husband insurance agency as his office manager. She says that at the time she joined, she was told it would be good for business to have exposure in the community.
In addition to holding a variety of offices in her club and heading many committees, she also served as club president in 1990. Her favorite fundraising project in her club is the annual Holiday Home Tour and Boutique held each Christmas season. She says, "It is still going on after 17 years, although we have modified and perfected it to fit our club as the years have gone by, but the actual coming together of all of our members to 'pull it off' every year, successfully, is a lot of what holds us together."
According to Amelia, her club's best service project is their Adult Day Care project, in which their members have raised enough funds to get the Park Department and the Hospital Foundation to match their funds. Now their funds help seniors with little money to participate in the program.
Region positions held by Amelia include district director (twice), Foundations chair, and the Member Services committee. At the present time, she is Founder Region Secretary. She commented on her involvement, "Now I can't seem to get off the train, nor would I try." In addition to attending the SIA Convention in Kyoto, Japan, as a delegate, she also has done fun things such as attending the Tijuana Margarita Party and Del Nickerson's roast.
She described her most embarrassing moment in Soroptimist as being so overcome by emotion at the Saturday lunch last biennium that she did not properly recognize the District I presidents and club members. She said, "I can only hope they all know how much I respect and thank them for their hard work and dedication."
In summing up her feelings about Soroptimist, Amelia shared, "I was told that Soroptimist was the best for women. I knew next to nothing about other service groups. They were obviously all OLD men and I never even considered them. Once I became a Soroptimist, that was it."
Cathy Mitchell, Treasurer
Founder Region Treasurer Cathy Mitchell, has been married 33 years, and is the mother of two sons and grandmother of three. After graduating from Ukiah High school, she started out in college as a Liberal Arts major. Fortunately for Founder Region, she switched to Accounting.
Since joining the Cloverdale Club in 1990, she has held many club offices -- Director, Treasurer (twice), Vice President, and President. She must have liked being president because she did it two times. She reflected, "The best thing about being a Soroptimist is knowing that I am making a difference in the world. My dollars and time have joined with thousands of others to truly change the lives of so many." She is also proud that the world listens to us due to our relationship with the United Nations.
Her club's corned beef and cabbage dinner and beer tasting is her favorite fund raising project. Even though she says that it is one intense day of work, they have lots of fun and so do the guests.
On being asked about becoming a Region officer, she shared this: "I did not aspire to become a Region officer. I was asked if I would consider running for District Director, and I said yes. Even when I ran unopposed, it did not dawn on me that I would actually win the election. It was the greatest two years in my Soroptimist life, and it gave me the courage and confidence to run for the office of (Founder Region) Treasurer.
Her most memorable times in Soroptimist were attending her first convention in Honolulu this past summer and attending her first offshore conference in Maui.
Beware of following her directions, as she tells of getting the entire Founder Region Board lost on Pine Mountain for about two hours in the dark, cold, and rain, and says that is the most distressing experience she has had in Soroptimist.
When asked about why she became a Soroptimist, she replied, "I joined...because I was asked. Soroptimist Clubs are unique from Rotary and Kiwanis because they are primarily comprised of women -- and women have empathy. They know what it takes to eliminate pain and suffering -- many are living examples. I have met so many people while being a Soroptimist and we all are working for the same goals and we know how to get there and we know what it takes to get the job done."
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