SPIRIT OF VOLUNTEERISM 16 WOMEN VYING FOR SERVICE AWARD.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

SAUGUS - The spirit of volunteer leadership will be celebrated Saturday when the Zonta Club of the Santa Clarita Valley holds its annual Status of Women celebration at Le Chene French Cuisine.

Sixteen women have been nominated by area nonprofit organizations for their service and one will receive the highest honor, the Carmen Sarro Award for Improving the Status of Women Through Community Service.

Sarro, a lifetime member of Zonta, died last year. She had been active at both the local and international level of Zonta as well as volunteering for several community groups. At the event, Zonta will also present its Zontian of the Year award to a member for outstanding service in the past year. Zonta's honoree is not eligible for the Sarro award.

The 16 women being honored include:

--Doreetha Daniels, a founding member of the Agua Dulce Women's Club and Agua Dulce Civic Association who also is an active member of the Agua Dulce seniors and volunteers eight hours a week at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.

--Mary Flanagin, the volunteer coordinator for the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program and a member of the ACS governing board. She also volunteers in Newhall Memorial's intensive-care unit waiting room and other areas.

--Dorinda Evanoff, the president of the Assistance League of Santa Clarita, who has been a volunteer with that organization since she was in high school. She also is the president of her neighborhood swim team.

--Cheri Fleming, a board member of the Betty Ferguson Foundation, which honored her as its Woman of Honor in 2001. She actively supports and advocates on behalf of breast cancer awareness for the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Health Foundation and emergency department. She also is on the board of the Santa Clarita Child and Family Center.

--Joyce Carson, a foundation board member for the Child and Family Center who has led many of its fund-raisers and serves on several community groups, including the Sheriff's Advisory Board, the Santa Clarita Arts Council and the Anti-Gang Task Force.

--Barbara Stearns-Cochran, the client service chairwoman for the Child and Family Center who has worked on the center's Taste of the Town and golf tournaments and led the self-study for its preschool. She is also active with the SCV Boys & Girls Club, the Committee on Aging and the SCV Arts Council.

--Susan Masters, a regent of the Daughters of the British Empire, who has held a number of board positions with the group and was recently nominated as second vice president of DBE at the national level.

--Linda Sargent, a principal trainer for the Girl Scouts Joshua Tree Council who was awarded Leader of the Year in 2001, also is active in the Castaic Lions Club and serves on the sheriff's advisory board for the Pitchess Detention Center.

--Joanne Timmerman was 2003 president of the HMNM Hospital Auxiliary and has accumulated 14,800 hours of service at the hospital. She trains volunteers working in the hospital's emergency department and is involved with the Flame of Life fund-raising group.

--Lori Huling has been a member of Pet Assistance for 25 years and served on the group's phone service for 22 years, participating in all of the organization's fund-raisers as well as contributing her artistic talents to help raise money.

--Deanna Gannon is an adult supervisor for Safe Rides, which she joined when her daughter volunteered as a teen member. She was active in Girl Scout leadership for more than 22 years and is an active board member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Valencia.

--Judith Cassis has been associated with the SCV Committee on Aging for more than five years, providing support groups at the Senior Center and other locations to deal with the concerns of health and other issues pertinent to physical and emotional well-being of seniors.

--Sue Yurosek has been described as the ``hardest-working person in the SCV Historical Society,'' spearheading a number of restoration projects at Heritage Junction and working as past president of the Oak of the Golden Dream Questers. She is past president of the Holy Cross Hospital Guild and is currently serving on the hospital's board of trustees.

--Theresa Stern is president of the SCV Rotary Club and one of the founders of the Santa Clarita Jaycees, serving as the chapter's second president. She was named top public speaker in California by the state Jaycees organizations.

--Pam Ingram currently serves as president of Soroptimist International of SCV and chaired the group's Spirit of America auction in 2002. She serves on the board of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce as vice president of special events, and she was co-chairwoman of the Harvest Ride for the Child and Family Center in 2001 and 2002.

--Jae Weiss has served as prevention education director for the Valley Trauma Center since 2001, where she works to create awareness in sexual assault survivors to ensure their survival. She also does rape prevention seminars in the Santa Clarita Valley, speaking at schools and community agencies.

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

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CARMEN SARRO