Single yellow roses, a symbol of Zonta for 24 years, were presented to three Rangiora women on International Women’s Day, in recognition of their outstanding service to their community.
Judith Page, president of the Zonta Club of Waimakariri, says the roses reflected the quiet devotion and dedication of Joanne Gumbrell, Bev Alexander and Anne Schroeder to serving others in their communities.
Ms Gumbrell is the immediate past chairperson of the Waimakariri Age Friendly group, member of the Consumer Council of the Canterbury District Health Board, assistant to Anglican Communion services at rest homes, led a group of memoir writers for six years, and chairs the committee that aims to has set up a common house at Abbeyfield in Rangiora.
Ms. Alexander has spent hours of her time monitoring birds on the river for the past 15 years as a member of the Ashley Rakahuri Rivercare group. She was a finalist in the Green Ribbon divisions last year for her work in protecting the wide variety of endangered birds and their habitats. The work done by the group and Ms. Alexander as a member has helped increase numbers in the river.
Ms Schroeder joined Citizens Advice North Canterbury in 2009 and became an accredited bureau interviewer in 2010. Over the years, she has been an active member of many of the agency’s teams and has led some of them. She has been involved in civil defense, fundraising, information, learning and development, mentoring, migrant outreach and public speaking teams.
Ms. Schroeder has led the Migrant Connect team since its inception in 2014 and has co-led the Learning and Development Team since 2019.
She was elected to CABNC’s Board of Directors (then known as the Executive Committee) in 2012 and became Chair in 2013, a position she held for two years. She stepped down from the Board in mid-2015, but in 2019 Ms. Schroeder again accepted the appointment as a board member. Today she is also deputy chairman.