Tom Haberer (left) and Ted Schelenski (right) present a $500 check to Pam Rodgers on behalf of the Quail Creek Veterans Golf Association; photo by Eileen Sykora
Diane Quinn
The April 25 program for The Women of Quail Creek opened as never before. Kayla Christiansen and Carly Frieders were introduced to the membership as the inaugural recipients of TWOQC Scholarship for graduates of Sahuarita Schools. While TWOQC members gathered, a slide show created by Marianne Cobarrubias ran on continuous loop, giving people a bit of additional information about each girl.
Carol Mutter, president of TWOQC, presented a $1000 award to each young woman. Pat Neel, scholarship committee chairperson, introduced each of the girls who made brief remarks to the audience commenting on their goals and the importance of scholarship funds to their future. Relating the importance of helping others and making someone’s day brighter, Kayla shared her desire to pursue studies leading to a degree in the area of physical therapy. Carly spoke of her passion as an advocate and her desire to enrich the lives of people in her community by becoming a lawyer.
Cheri Romanoski, founder of Desert Harvest, then shared her experience growing, harvesting and creating delights using the multitude of fruits from our desert environment. Focusing specifically on the prickly pear, Ms. Romanoski explained the uniqueness of her process of using every element of the purple desert fruit. Her most recent efforts are expanding far beyond the creation of candies, jams and syrup and now include a line of fabrics died with prickly pear juice. She also introduced Cheri’s Botanics, a new line of skin care products originating from the oils of prickly pear seeds. Following the program, members were invited to sample some of Cheri’s Desert Harvest products.
Another highlight of the evening included TWOQC’s semi-annual food collection for the Green Valley/Sahuarita Food Bank. Members also gave generously to a clothing drive for homeless veterans, focusing particularly on spring and summer weight clothes. The support TWOQC gives to the local community never stops. To follow all the organization’s activities, consult the website, womenqc.com or you can like us on Facebook!
Membership in TWOQC is open to all female residents of Quail Creek. Membership forms are available online, or you may contact Patti Giannasi, 2nd vice president for membership at [email protected].