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Bouquet to be Placed at Grave of Founder of Zonta Club of Buffalo
Posted on September 27th, 2011Local organization was the precursor for international service organization whose focus is helping women advance and succeed.
Buffalo, NY (September 22, 2011) - On November 8, 1919, a group of like-minded prominent local professional women led by Marian de Forest met at the Hotel Statler in downtown Buffalo to form the Zonta Club of Buffalo. Their goal as a service organization was to improve the status of women and help them reach their rightful place in their profession. It has been said that Marian de Forest understood how important it was for women to break through the "glass ceiling" long before the term was ever used.
Today, Zonta International is a global organization of executives working together to advance the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy. There are more than 31,000 members belonging to more than 1,200 Zonta Clubs in 64 countries. Zontians all over the world volunteer their time, talents and support to local and international service projects, as well as scholarship programs aimed at fulfilling its mission and objectives...and it all started here in Buffalo, NY.
On Friday, September 23, during the 2011 District Conference being held in Buffalo, Zontians from Canada, Pennsylvania and New York will make Forest Lawn their first stop on a bus tour of Buffalo, arriving at approximately 9:15 a.m. They will visit the gravesite of Marian de Forest in Section 1, where Beryl McMillan of the Zonta Club of Melbourne Australia, will place a bouquet of yellow roses (the official flower of the Zontians).
Miss de Forest (played by Buffalo actress Melissa Kate) will be on hand as she is honored for being instrumental in the forming of the local club that led to the formation of the successful international service organization.
About Marian de Forest
Marian de Forest was born in Buffalo in 1864 and graduated from Buffalo Seminary in 1884. She was one of the first professional women journalists in Western New York. She was a critic and editor of the women's department for The Buffalo Express for 20 years, eventually becoming city editor of The Buffalo Commercial.
During the Pan American Exposition of 1901, Marian served as executive secretary of the Board of Women Managers. In 1911, she wrote the play Little Women, based on Louisa May Alcott's book. This drama is said to have launched the career of Katherine Cornell, then a local Buffalo actress. Marian was also one of the first members of The Scribblers, an organization for local women writers. She also established the Buffalo Musical Foundation and became its manager in 1924, and played a major role in the founding of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Marian died on February 17, 1935. In October 2001, she became the first woman from Buffalo to be inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, NY, joining 176 other women so honored since 1969.
