by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Being that the Uptown Civitan Club was founded in Jacksonville 24 years ago doesn’t make it that unique, nor does that it meets twice a month at the University Club. It is unique in that it is an all-female Civitan Club and even more unique in that its 85 members have raised more than $250,000 in the last two years for youth organizations and those with developmental disabilities.
At Tuesday’s meeting the 2007-08 officers were installed. Immediate past President Martha Tromberg recognized many of the members for their service to the community in the past year and the club presented checks totaling $9,000 to five programs – all in a little more than an hour.
Tromberg announced that the Uptown Civitan Club had received five first-place awards at the recent Civitan Florida District Convention in St. Augustine. In addition, the club was also recognized as “Outstanding District Club” during Lynn Bertram’s term as president last year.
“We are fiscally strong and have welcomed 11 new members while I have been president. The most memorable thing to me is we did it together. Every woman in this room contributed to this effort,” added Tromberg.
President for 2007-08 Marion Anderson said she has two main goals for her term in office. She wants to institute a structured program for new members to encourage them to get involved with projects during their first year. Member retention is critical, she said, because “Every time we lose a member, we lose an opportunity to help someone else.”
Anderson also plans to raise the visibility of the Uptown Civitan Club.
“We need to leverage our commitment to the community with our contacts and network to make everyone aware of who we are and what we do,” she said.
Uptown Civitan Club 2007-08 officers
Directors:
Joyce DeVillez, JanetteEdwards, Mattie Fraser, Gayle Kanak, DuVal Malone and Susan White