clean water, and for the peo-

ple that make it so.

As your president, I am grate-

ful for each of you. The time

that you spend in Soroptimist

service and the effort you put

into Soroptimist friendships is

precious. You make my job

easier and my spirits lighter.

Thank you.

Perhaps someday we will

celebrate a more just and

peaceful world. Right now

let’s celebrate our friendships

and our families and our

country and be grateful to the

Indians and the Pilgrims. Af-

ter all, without them we

couldn’t have our cornbread

dressing.

Happy Thanksgiving,

all.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells…no,

wait, wrong holiday. With

radios playing Christmas mu-

sic and stores full of Christ-

mas baubles and toys, it

seems as though Thanksgiv-

ing slips through the cracks.

What is Thanksgiving, any-

way?

Thanksgiving celebrates the

collaboration of two diverse

peoples—the Indians (now

known as Native Americans)

and the Pilgrims, and our tra-

ditional dinner symbolizes the

peaceful sharing of the fruits

of their cooperation. These

days, many Americans pre-

pare turkeys, mash potatoes,

put extra whipped crème on

pumpkin pies and check their

Christmas lists.

Like those first Thanksgiving

participants, we Soroptimists

are a collaboration of diverse

peoples and we extend a help-

ing hand to many different

from ourselves: persons of

diverse cultures and colors,

ages and stations, beliefs and

ideas. We dedicate our time

and our efforts and our dollars

to worthy causes and that is

good. And as we give, we

also receive. It is important to

remember this, to remember

that we are they. To do less

demeans our gifts.

So let’s use this time—at least

this day—to remember those

who have made our lives as

good as they are and be grate-

ful. Just think—if our fore-

bears hadn’t settled in the

New World, we too might be

living in a country where

bombs falling and children

dying are a way of life. (I

know, the Founding Fathers

and our Constitution are part

of the picture, but you get my

drift.) And while we are at it,

we can be grateful to those in

our present who make our

lives as good as they are—our

spouses, children, co-workers

and the friends who know

when we are sad and take us

to lunch. We can be grateful

for electricity that flows

99.9% of the time, ditto for

President’s Message

I N S I D E

T H I S

I S S U E :

Board Mtg 2

Tidbits, Ruby

Award &

Senior Gift

Delivery

3

Meet Our

Member,

Workplace

Violence

4

Friday Di-

gest, Hallow-

een Party

5

Social Event 6

Editorial,

Little Bit of

SOLT

7

Photos 8

S I T M N E W S L E T T E R

2 0 1 0 - 2 0 1 1 SITM Update N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 V O L U M E 1 5 I S S U E 5

Answers to SOLT Quiz (from last issue)

Soroptimist International of Truckee Meadows President Patti Doty www.sitmnv.org

1. Cambridge, United Kingdom

2. Violet Richardson

3. Soroptimist International of the Americas

4. Gina Grether

5. SI Susanville

6. Solar Cookers

7. Montreal, Canada

8. Honolulu, Hawii

9. Norma Rash

10. SI Reno

Calendar 9

P A G E 2

Everyone is invited

to attend board

meetings and food

is served. You also

get credit for

attendance. They

are usually held

the Tuesday

before the second

Thursday of the

month.

Board Meeting held

November 16, 2010

Board Meeting by Past Governor Faye I. Andersen

Club committees have hit

their stride and are busy

with multiple projects, in-

cluding aiding women in

Darfur, women at CAAW,

and children and parents at

Libby Booth Elementary

School.

Support SNR’s Solar

Cooker Project

Proposals from the IGU

Committee were approved

by the board and members

to collect money for the

Sierra Nevada Region’s

Solar Cooker Project to

help women in Darfur.

Also known as ―Kay’s

Cookers‖ (after SNR’s

Governor Kay Whittaker),

the Solar Cooker Project

was brought to the region

by Betsy Dart and Jo Ann

Roberts, of SITM’s IGU

Committee and members of

SI/Fallon.

Scarlet Ewy and Jo Ann

have formed an ad hoc

committee to spearhead this

project. They are accepting

donations towards the cook-

ers. The kits cost $30 each.

If you’re looking for a holi-

day present you can donate

in the name of a friend or

relative, the committee will

send an acknowledgement

letter. At each SITM Busi-

ness meeting between now

and March, Jo Ann and

Scarlet will also be collect-

ing ―Change for Kay’s

Cookers‖ in one of the pots

that make up the cooker kit.

So, bring your spare change

and donate it towards a so-

lar cooker.

An Alternative to Gift

Exchange

The board and membership

approved an alternative to

this year’s upcoming holi-

day tradition. At this year’s

club Christmas party, the

Hospitality Committee is

asking members to donate

the cost of an ornament that

you would have purchased

for the gift exchange to a

fundraising proposal to

benefit women being shel-

tered by the Committee to

Aid Abused Women

(CAAW). The club party

will go on as promised at

the December 16 meeting

and the committee promises

a fun party without mem-

bers exchanging gifts. The

donations will be used to

purchase gift cards for the

women.

Support Libby Booth Ele-

mentary

The Education-Youth Com-

mittee needs your donations

(gently-used is OK) for a

―Santa’s Workshop‖ store

at the school for the chil-

dren to ―purchase‖ items for

the holidays. They also

need volunteers to ―work‖

at the store December 7-10

during school hours assist-

ing children in selecting

gifts. The committee is also

looking for members to

donate cookies for the

school’s annual Christmas

Pageant on December 14.

See Carol Dinneen or any

member of the Education-

Youth Committee to donate

cookies, items for the store,

or volunteer your time this

holiday season.

Money Matters

A $1,000 check was re-

ceived from US Bank in

support of the Thanks to

Youth and Making a Differ-

ence for Women programs.

Thanks go to Doreen

Rogers from US Bank for

supporting these two impor-

tant SITM programs. It’ not

too early to mark these

dates on your calendar –

Making a Difference for

Women, March 5, 2011 and

Thanks to Youth, May 26,

2011.

Happy Dollars

Members’ donated $436 in

September Happy Dollars

that were matched by the

club for a total of $872

which was distributed

equally to Bristlecone Fam-

ily Resources and the Susan

G. Komen Race for the

Cure. October saw $316

Happy Dollars collected,

and doubled to $632, to be

distributed to Disability

Resources and Girl Scouts

of the Sierra Nevada. No-

vember Happy Dollars are

designated for the Commit-

tee to Aid Abused Women

(CAAW) and SI/Puné

Metro East, our Friendship

Link Club.

The Board approved two

agencies to receive Happy

Dollars for the final open

month of April 2011. They

are the Patient Care Fund,

access to healthcare and the

Crisis Pregnancy Center.

Membership Changes

Remaining on leave of ab-

sence through December

are Marna Griffin for fam-

ily travel and Sonya Hem

Giroux following the birth

of son Jack.; plus Joan

Hughes through May for

travel to Mexico. This

month the Board approved

leaves through mid-January

for Billie Mendiola for per-

sonal reasons, and Gayle

Baxley for work reasons;

plus Peggy Smith through

February for work reasons.

S I T M U P D A T E

Tidbits by Past Governor Faye I. Andersen

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 5 I S S U E 5

The Friday Night Work Crew

Soroptimist members, friends and

family turned out Friday night,

October 1 at Judge Connie Stein-

heimer’s home to organize and set-

up for the IGU Committee’s Fall

Garage Sale. After the hard

work, the committee serves Mar-

garitas, chips and salsa, plus

pizza to the hungry crew. The

sale netted $2,707 for the Nepal

Project to educate girls in Thuli-

pokhari, Nepal.

Backpack Snacks

Donated by SITM

At the October 28

meeting, the Hospi-

tality Committee

collected healthy

snacks to be

―stuffed‖ into back-

packs given to

needy children by

the Food Bank of

Northern Nevada

so they have wholesome food

to eat during the time when

they are not in school. Gener-

ous members donated a total

of $145 in cash and eight

boxes full of raisins, juice

boxes and other easy-to-eat

snacks. This program gets no

Federal funding and exists

solely on donations. Thanks go

to Craig Lamke who collected

many of the donations at the

car port so members didn’t

have to haul them upstairs at

the Atlantis for the meeting.

Representing the Food Bank at

the meeting were Sue Eckes,

Director of Child Nutrition

and Joyce Lantrip, the Market-

ing and Communications Man-

ager.

The recipient chosen to receive this

recognition is eligible for an award of

up to $1,000 to be donated to the

charitable organization of her choice.

She will also be honored at a special

luncheon meeting in March in Reno.

The 2010 recipient was Lilli Trin-

chero of Reno. Lilli was selected for

her commitment to eradicating bully-

ing and its resulting depression, loss

of self-esteem, reduced learning and

increased violence in schools.

Nomination forms are available at

weekly meetings, at www.sitmnv.org

or by calling Gayle Baxley. The

deadline for submitting nominations

is December 15, 2010. Sorry, Sorop-

timist members are not eligible for

this award.

The Human Rights/Status of Women

Committee is accepting nominations

of extraordinary women who have

used their personal or professional

influence and resources to improve the

lives of other women or girls.

The Soroptimist Ruby Award: For

Women Helping Women, annually

seeks to honor women who have had a

significant impact to inspire and en-

courage other women.

Soroptimist Ruby Award

Senior Gift Delivery December 11th Mark your calendars, grab a partner and plan to spend the morning of December 11th delivering gifts and food

boxes to our area’s senior citizens. SITM and SI Reno members participate in this long tradition of delivering

gifts from the Silver Angel Tree sponsored by the Salvation Army.

Join your fellow members for breakfast before the delivery at Nothin’ To It Cooking School and then proceed to the Salvation

Army to pick up deliveries. There’s a new location this year for pick up at the old Dick Donnelly Car Dealership on South Vir-

ginia Street. Contact Diana Dillon or check out the sign-up sheet at club meetings for maps and directions..

P A G E 4

Meet Our Member by Tina Smith

Debra Kyser Sanborn

Born and Raised

In San Diego

Sign: Virgo

Debra has worked in the

world of banking and fi-

nance for over 26 years,

working her way up from

clerk to Sr. Vice President.

While training for the CEO

position, she decided that

being an entrepreneur was a

better fit for her.

Debra’s love and compas-

sion for animals drove her

to her next position in Ad-

vertising and Marketing for

the San Diego Pet Memo-

rial Park. A job she still

loves today!

In 2003 Debra married a

real estate and land devel-

oper and traveled the world.

From La Jolla, California to

Bend, Oregon and then on

to Costa Rica, Debra has

traveled and worked on

projects with her husband.

She ended up in Reno

working on the conversion

of The Resort at Tanamera

for the past 6 years. Re-

cently Debra moved from

her Tanamera rental to her

new home in Damonte

Ranch. She is still in the

process of settling in. Her

dog Shilo now has lots of

room to run and play.

Debra came to live in Reno

fulltime about 1 1/2 years

ago. At that time she

needed to help care for her

mother whom she lost to

cancer. She also cares for

her elderly step father who

lives here.

Debra is a very active mem-

ber of the Center for Spiri-

tual Living, participating in

the choir and helping with

technology for the church

and Sunday service.

Debra loves SITM! She

now serves on the atten-

dance committee, the envi-

ronment committee and

IGU committee. She cher-

ishes all the friendships she

has made through SITM.

Next time you see Debra,

say hello and get to know

her better. She is an amaz-

ing young lady who is full

of life and love.

S I T M U P D A T E

Shilo

Keeping Women Safe At Work The Soroptimist Work-

place Campaign to End

Domestic Violence is an

ongoing effort to raise

awareness about a seldom

addressed domestic issue:

Domestic violence as a

workplace concern.

As an organization of busi-

ness and professional

women, focusing on the

workplace is a good match

since Soroptimists are in a

position to educate women

that they have a right to

feel safe and to live free

from violence.

Each year the Soroptimist

Workplace Campaign to End

Domestic Violence takes

place on November 25, the

International Day for the

Elimination of Violence

Against Women.

At the November 18 meet-

ing, the Human Rights/Status

of Women Committee pro-

vided cards for SITM mem-

bers to distribute at work, in

restrooms and other places

women frequent. The cards

contain information about

domestic violence and ser-

vices available locally and

nationally.

Cards are still available. See

Carol Dinneen or Faye I. An-

dersen to obtain cards to dis-

tribute.

Friday Digest by President Patti Doty

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 1 5 I S S U E 5

October 28

A Halloween Party brought to

us by the Hospitality Commit-

tee found us wearing festive

hats and telling scary stories.

The best story winners were

Billie Mendiola, Faye Ander-

sen and Linda Lamke.

November 4

The IGU Committee filled us

in on all of the wonderful pro-

grams that our Friendship

Link Club, SI Pune Metro

East has been doing. These

include Project Dignity for

Seniors, Take Back the Night

which supports domestic vio-

lence, the Women’s Reser-

vation Bill which mandates a

minimum of 33% female rep-

resentation in the legislature

and Girls Moving Forward

which is modeled after our

own Women Helping Women

program.

November 18

The business meeting once

again ran smoothly even

though it was a week late

due to the Veteran’s Day

Holiday.

There were witches enough to stir

many cauldrons as we gathered to

celebrate Halloween. Thanks to

Niki Ewing and her band of Hospi-

tality Hosts, we wore our favorite

Halloween hats and told scary sto-

ries. Table winners were Billie

Meniola for the unknown

―something‖ rocking their marital

bed, Faye Andersen for kicking a

Kiowanian who grabbed her hand

in a haunted house and Linda

Lamke for a dead guy sitting up in

his coffin.

A good time was had by all as you

can see in the photos:

Halloween Party

Upper: Jo Ann Roberts and Patty Tucek

Left: President Patti and Pres. Elect Norma

Bottom Left: Pres. Patti, Jo Ann, Patty and Norma

Bottom Right: Niki, Pres. Patti and Vivian Ruiz.

P A G E 6

SITM Fall Social Event by Faye I. Andersen

S I T M U P D A T E

Doreen Rogers, Teresa Mentzer and Guests

Cindy Burk and Rosalie Henry

Norma Rash, Kay Dunham and Georgia

Baker.

Halloween styled head gear of spiders, ghosts and bats were the fashion at the Recruitment & Re-

tention Committee’s Fall Social Event on October 26 at Pam Robinson’s home. R & R teamed up

with the Hospitality Committee to coordinate a full table of goodies to eat and drink. But, that did-

n’t hinder the conversation among new and seasoned members plus five guests who are prospective

members. Soroptimists are very good at multi-tasking.

Members each brought their favorite appetizer to share, wine and a special gift for a raffle drawing.

No one left empty-handed. Of the five guests, the club has received two new member applications.

Thanks to R & R Co-coordinators Teresa Mentzer and Thuy Tran and the Hospitality Committee

for a great event.

Bev Perkins

Kay Dunham, Doreen Rogers, Norma Rash and Siobhan Carlon

November, A Time for Thanks by Sue Camp

P A G E 7 V O L U M E 1 5 I S S U E 5

As we all prepare to spend time

with family and friends to cele-

brate Thanksgiving, we must

also take the time to reflect on

the impact that we make.

During November while we

celebrate Thanksgiving, we also

celebrate a holiday that has just

passed, Veteran’s Day. Many

families will be minus a loved

one this Thanksgiving because

their family member gave the

ultimate sacrifice to give us the

freedom to celebrate.

Many Soroptimist members

have family and friends serving

in the military. Some of them

have lost family members and

friends and others are dealing

with the trauma of injuries sus-

tained in battle. All of them

need our encouragement,

thanks and support.

We also need to reflect on the

good that we do not only for

our community but worldwide

through our Soroptimist efforts.

Many women and children

throughout the world would

have nothing to be thankful for

if it were not for the programs

offered through Soroptimist.

Thanks to all of you, there are

far more smiling faces.

Come December 11th, we have

another opportunity to help

our community with the Senior

Gift Delivery. Most of these

seniors that we serve have little

to call their own. Many of them

are lonely and are excited to

see us ring their doorbell. I will

admit that some are more ex-

cited than others and have a

tendency to forget such things

as clothes when answering the

door but that merely gives us

stories to tell when next we

meet.

During these hard times, we

often find that it is the little

things that we do that make us

feel so warm inside. I applaud

the club’s decision to use

money that we would have

spent on a gift or ornament

exchange to go to a better

cause. After all, this is why we

are Soroptimist members. We

love the good that we do and

we are very good at it.

So enjoy the company of family

and friends and give all of those

little ones an extra hug. Go

ahead and have that pie for de-

sert with no guilt whatsoever.

You have made things right in

this world and you deserve the

best.

Happy Thanksgiving

To

You All!

Soroptimist are there

in Nevada?

4. Name our current Si-

erra Nevada Region

Governor Elect.

5. Name the Past District

Directors in our club.

6. What is the name of

the club that is our

Friendship Link?

7. What does Soropti-

mist mean?

8. What does COTR

stand for?

9. Name our VP of Ser-

vice.

10. How many Soropti-

mist Clubs are there in

Nevada?

I realize that this is tough

because there are no

prizes but you are com-

petitive so enjoy:

1. What happened on

October 3, 1921?

2. What was the name of

the organizer (male) of

Soroptimist?

3. How many regions of

A Little Bit of SOLT

P A G E 8

More

S I T M U P D A T E

Now here is a group that

knows how to have fun!

P A G E 9 V O L U M E 1 5 I S S U E 5

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 Deadline Violet

Richardson

2 Human Rights/

Status of Women

3 Chamber Mixer at

Image Gallery 12 p.m.

4

5 6 7 Board Meeting

8 9 Business Meeting

10 11 Senior Gift De-

livery

12 13 14 15 Deadline for Nomina-

tions Ruby Award

16 Christmas Party

17 18

19 20 21 22 23 Dark for Holiday

24 25

26 27 28 29 30 Dark for Holiday

31

December 2010

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1

2 3 4 5 6 Health

7 8

9 10 11 Board Meeting

12 13 Business Meeting

14 15

16 17 18 19 20 Recruitment &

Retention

21 22

23 24 25 26 27 Education Women

28 29

30 31

January 2011

Soroptimist International of Truckee Meadows

PO Box 20125, Reno, NV 89515

www.sitmnv.org

President Patti Doty: pdoty1943@charter.net

Editor Sue Camp Reporters Photographers

suelcamp@hotmail.com Faye I. Andersen Gayle Baxley

(775) 853-1135 Betsy Dart

Marilyn Pearson

Tina Smith

Vivian Ruiz

V O L U M E 15 I S S U E 5 P A G E 10