Linda Pedersen, 2003’s SCV Woman of the Year and longtime Santa Clarita community volunteer, has been named the winner of the Carmen Sarro Community Service Award for 2014 by the Zonta Club of the Santa Clarita Valley.

Pedersen was unable to attend Saturday’s sold-out award brunch, held at the Robinson Ranch Clubhouse.

Linda Pedersen

Lois Bauccio, president and executive director of the Child & Family Center Foundation, accepted the award on Pederson’s behalf. Pederson was nominated for the award by the Child & Family Center.

“I know Linda be flabbergasted. I am not flabbergasted because I know she really deserves this honor,” said an emotional Bauccio. “She will think she doesn’t deserve this honor, but she truly does. Throughout all of her service, Linda’s volunteer efforts have been in service to women’s healthcare, girls’ education and activities, elderly women’s home delivered meals and more. Her leadership of our Women’s Auxiliary focuses almost entirely on women’s growth through service.”

About Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley

Zonta International is a worldwide organization of business and professional women working to advance the status of women.

Pedersen has served for three years as the Women’s Auxiliary president for Child & Family Center Foundation. In addition, Pedersen is well known in the SCV for her volunteer service to the SCV Senior Center, Boys & Girls Club of SCV, College of the Canyons, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, the SCV Man and Woman of the Year Committee, and other volunteer activities.

From left: Marlee Lauffer, Lois Bauccio (accepting for Linda Pedersen) and Christine Sexton (Carmen Sarro’s daughter). Photos by Michele E. Buttelman.

Pedersen was selected from a slate of 14 local women nominated by Santa Clarita Valley non-profit organizations.

Each honoree received a yellow rose corsage, the symbol of friendship for Zonta International and certificates of recognition from government officials. Each honoree was also able to speak briefly about their nominating organization. The other nominees honored at the event included: Cindy Anderson, Assistance League of Santa Clarita; Virginia Prager Elford, American Association of University Women; Dr. Diane Fiero, College of the Canyons; Elaine Foderaro, SCV Scholarship Foundation; Annette Guzman, Bridge to Home; Caren Kahan, JCI (formerly SCV Jaycees); Amy Monti, Foundation for Children’s Dental Health; Tracy Reed, Domestic Violence Center of SCV; Barbara Sanguinetti, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Foundation Home Tour League; Kathleen Shea, Family Day Care Center; Becky Sill, SCV Special Olympics; Wendy Thrush, Circle of Hope, Inc. and Vanessa Wilk, Soroptimist International of Greater SCV.

The Carmen Sarro Award is named in honor of the late Carmen Sarro, the first employee of the city of Santa Clarita and 1985 SCV Woman of the Year. Sarro was a volunteer for dozens of organizations in the SCV before her death in 2003.

Sarro’s daughter, Christine Sexton, presented the award named for her mother, to Bauccio.

Carmen Sarro

“It’s a privilege to give out an award in my mother’s name to acknowledge another outstanding woman who volunteers for the community,” said Sexton. “My mother spent 33 years volunteering in the SCV.”

The event was chaired by Christine Miller and emceed by Marlee Lauffer.

Miller opened the event, which was attended by more than 160 guests, by welcoming everyone to the “30th annual Women in Service Celebration.”

“We are pleased that 14 diverse organizations submitted nominees this year, representing thousands of hours of community service,” said Miller. “It is evident when going through the applications that the Santa Clarita Valley is blessed with many giving women.”

The 4 of Harts: Molly Ryan, Marissa Munter, Zarinah Tyndall, Lindsay Ryan.

Lauffer said she was “honored to be here today among these amazing women.”

“We are thankful to live in a community where so many dedicated women live, work and give of their time in service to others,” Lauffer said. “As Anne Frank said: ‘How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.’ And that is what we celebrate today. Giving to our community through service and volunteerism is a central value of the Zonta Club of SCV and we feel it is important to acknowledge those who clearly do not wait a single moment before getting involved and making major contributions in our community.

Following Lauffer’s introductory remarks Cheryl Wasserman offered the inspiration and read the poem, “Woman Warrior Then and Now” by Zonta member Karla Edwards.

Entertainment was provided by Marissa Munter, Molly Ryan, Lindsay Ryan and Zarinah Tyndall, the “4 of Harts” who sang “The Star Spangled Banner” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

The next event for the Zonta Club of SCV will be “Lunafest” to be held 6 p.m. Thursday, May 1 at the Canyon Theatre Guild, 24242 Main St., Newhall. Tickets are $40 each. Visit scvzonta.org or email lunafestscv@gmail.com for tickets.

Nominees for 2014 take a photo break at the beginning of Zonta’s Women in Service ceremony. Front row, from left: Annette Guzman, Virginia Prager Elford, Kathleen Shea, Dr. Diane Fiero, (middle row, left to right) Elaine Foderaro, Cindy Anderson, Wendy Thrush, Tracy Reed. Back row: Barbara Sanguinetti, Becky Sill, Vanessa Wilk and Caren Kahan. Not shown: Ami Monti and Linda Pedersen.