Fourteen women representing local community service organizations will be honored at the annual Women in Service Celebration sponsored by Zonta Club of the Santa Clarita Valley on Saturday, March 8, at Robinson Ranch. Registration opens at 9:30 a.m., and the program will begin at 10 a.m. The Vendor Marketplace will be open before and after the program.

Each of the 14 honorees will be celebrated for her contributions to the local community and given an opportunity to explain the mission of her nominating organization. One outstanding honoree will be presented with the Carmen Sarro Community Service Award, named for the charter member of Zonta who personified the ultimate community volunteer before she passed away several years ago.

Zontian Christine Sexton (left) presents the Carmen Sarro Award to last year’s winner, Pam Ripling. Sexton is Sarro’s daughter.

“We are excited to honor a diverse group of extremely qualified women at this year’s event,” said event chair Chris Miller. “Even though we can only choose one to receive the Carmen Sarro Award for advancing the status of women through service in our community, we do honor every nominee at the event. There are 14 organizations from our community represented, and we will be sharing information about each of them in our program.”

This year’s honorees and their nominating organizations include Cindy Anderson, Assistance League of SCV; 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; Linda Pedersen, Child & Family Center; Tracy Reed, Domestic Violence Center of SCV.

Also Barbara Sanguinetti, HMNMHospital Home Tour League; Kathleen Shea, Family Day Care Center; Becky Sill, SCV Special Olympics; Wendy Thrush, Circle of Hope; and Vanessa Wilk, Soroptimist International of Greater SCV.

Zonta is expecting more than 150 guests at the brunch, including friends and supporters of the nominees. This is the 30th year Zonta has been saluting outstanding local women with this program. Honorees are guests of Zonta at the event, but a few tickets may still be available on a space-available basis for guests who wish to attend in support of their nominees. Tickets are $45 each and a reservation form can be downloaded from www.scvzonta.org by clicking on “Calendar/Events,” “Events,” “Women in Service” and “Download Invitation Here.”

“It looks like we will have a sizable turnout for the Women in Service Celebration,” said Miller. “Guests will have an opportunity to find out about service organizations in the Santa Clarita Valley, and meet some of the people who make such a difference in our area.”

Mistress of ceremonies for the program will be Marlee Lauffer, and the Carmen Sarro Award will be presented by Christine Sexton, daughter of the award’s namesake and a second-generation Zontian. The National Anthem and a second patriotic selection by 4 of Hart’s, an a cappella quartet from Hart High School’s vocal music program, will open the morning.

Vendors in the Marketplace will be offering handmade items for sale to benefit women’s projects around the world, and Zonta will offer tickets to this year’s LUNAFEST women’s film festival coming May 1 to Canyon Theatre Guild.