On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, the Zonta Club of the Joliet Area awarded their annual Woman of the Year honor to a member of the club, Terri King.
The Woman of the Year award is a one-time honor which allows club members to nominate a worthy member. This award has gone to a Zonta Club member every year since 1973, when the club was founded.
King is a retired telecom manager, married with one son. Her hobbies include reading, vacation and travel. She is also a member of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and the Exchange Club. She joined the Zonta Club in 2005, and has been active on almost every committee. She just received an honorary award from the local chapter of NAMI.
The Woman of the Year Committee asks club members to nominate a fellow member. Comments which solidified the choice of the committee included, “Terri always volunteers or accepts responsibilities when asked; has taken on leadership roles; makes everyone feel needed.”
Club President Helen Hester Ross commented, “It’s with great pleasure that we award this honor to Terri; she has been a friend and mentor to so many in the club, and is generous with her commitment of time, support, and inspiration to our Club and its members.”
Terri just headed up the “Free the Girls” campaign which encouraged club members and friends to donate new or gently used bras to help victims of sex trafficking. Girls in El Savador, Mozambique and other countries sell the bras, offering an economic opportunity for survivors of sex trafficking, providing them with a safe and sustainable living wage while they rebuild their lives. More than 700 bras were collected at collection points in Joliet and Plainfield.
She has been a fixture at club fundraisers and many service projects, always with a smile on her face and ready to do what’s needed to make each event a success.
The Zonta Club of the Joliet Area is committed to advancing the status of women and girls locally and globally. Locally, the club provides a number of scholarships to women and girls to continue their educations. Globally, as an arm of Zonta International, a non-governmental organization working internationally with the UN, funds raised from local clubs aid the larger organization in many projects which improve the lives of women and girls.