ROTARY WOMEN BARE (ALMOST) ALL FOR CHARITY PROJECT MODELED ON '03 BRITISH FILM.

Byline: Angie Valencia-Martinez Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Some blushed and giggled at the idea.

What would people think of a group of Simi Valley Rotarian women, ages 35 to 65, wearing little or nothing in the colored photos of a 2006 calendar?

The women of Rotary will just have to wait and see when their pinup calendar debuts Aug. 27.

The seminude spreads feature more than a dozen locals who stripped down - covered by strategically placed props - to help raise money for charity.

``When we first started talking about it, there was a lot of, 'Can we?''' said Dee Dee Cavanaugh, also known as Ms. February. ``Can we do this in a way that everyone will be comfortable with the end result? And the answer was, yes we can.

``We were having fun ... Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone.''

The ``tastefully sexy'' stunt is a fundraiser for medical research to combat Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and cancer. These women hope the effort will raise thousands of dollars in cash and bring awareness to their cause.

The calendar is the brainchild of Barbara Frova, the president of the Rotary Club of Simi Valley, whose husband died of Lou Gehrig's disease in 2003.

``Most of them thought we were just talking,'' said Frova, a businesswoman and mother of two. ``The guys were like, 'You're going to do what?'

``They thought we were joking at first. As their wives were going to the meetings, it became more obvious that we were serious.''

Frova said the idea emerged nearly two years ago during a 25th wedding anniversary celebration. A group of five women was brainstorming ways to raise money for charity.

Her husband had recently passed away and a fellow Rotarian was battling cancer. ``There were a lot of things people in our club were going through ... a lot of health issues,'' said Frova.

They adopted the cause, but put the idea on hold because they wanted to do it during a year when a woman was president of the service organization.

This was the year. The women borrowed a page from the 2003 film ``Calendar Girls,'' a movie about a British women's club who bared it all for charity, partly based on a true story.

The project includes members of the noontime Rotary Club, which has about 65 members, 20 of whom are women.

The inside pages of the calendar include 17 women model-volunteers, and one male Rotarian who plays Santa Claus. The cover, however, features all 20 female members, including City Councilwoman Barbra Williamson.

``I believe in the cause,'' she said. ``It was all done in good taste.''

The club is looking at reproducing 2,000 copies of the calendar and hope to raise $50,000 to $60,000 for charity.

The women are professionals. They own and manage companies. They are bankers, real estate agents, elected leaders. Most are wives and mothers.

Frova, for example, is Ms. October and posed with another Rotarian in a wine cellar with bottles.

The calendars, which sell for $20 plus shipping and handling, feature ordinary women posing with a cello, photographed with rubber duckies, and another with a turkey.

Becky Savell, a real estate agent, is one of the model-volunteers who oversaw the creative and production process.

Kicking off the calendar, Savell wears boxing gloves in the Ms. January photo.

``This was the perfect opportunity to do something different and attention-getting,'' she said. ``None of us are models. It's just amazing when you have the right lighting and make-up, how a woman can feel like a superstar.''

Most importantly, she added, ``when a group of people work on something that everybody feels strongly about and is fully committed, you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to.''

Bob Huber, a former Simi Valley city councilman and current trustee of the Ventura County Community College District, said he fully supported his wife's decision to be on the calendar.

He has yet to see Deb Holler's picture, and said he does not mind that she participated because it is for a good cause.

``My wife is an independent-minded person and I respect her judgment,'' Huber said. ``This is a Rotary project. We do things with grace and I don't believe that the women in our club would do anything disgraceful.''

Angie Valencia-Martinez, [phone]

angie.valencia(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Jody Driver, left, and Barbara Frova pose behind strategically placed wine bottles - for the Rotary calendar.

(2 -- ran in Simi edition only) The women of the Rotary Club of Simi Valley pose wearing snappy blazers, high heels and not much else for their fundraising calendar.

Rotary Club of Simi Valley