Sonora Club Reaps Rewards At State Conference

Published Jun 17, 2026 2:05 pm

Sue Endter won first place in the statewide Photography Contest in the “Our World Up Close” category with a microphoto titled “Caterpillar.” -- Photo courtesy Aronos Club

Sonora, CA—The California Federation of Women’s Clubs (CFWC) awarded the Aronos Research Club three statewide awards at their annual conference last month.

Club officials relayed, “This [the awards] makes the local club eligible for the nationwide General Federation of Women’s Clubs awards this year. The GFWC International Convention will be held this month in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Aronos Research Club provided these details regarding the winners:

• Aronos Gold!, the club newsletter, won first place for small clubs. “Thank you to Pam Overholtzer, our editor, who gets this beautiful newsletter out monthly to over 100 homes in our community,” said Shelly Stewart, outgoing president of the Aronos Research Club.
• A Creativity Award for Fundraising and Development was given for the Bunco Night held in honor of the club’s late member, Dianne Aventi. This event competed against 816 other projects statewide, nominated by 214 clubs. “Dianne was an avid Bunco player,” said Elena Linehan, chair of the fundraising event. “We picked her birthdate to hold the Bunco Night.” Her hobbies and interests were reflected in the evening activities—heart-shaped rocks, everyone wearing red (her favorite color), and chocolates shaped like Formula One race cars. The funds raised at the Bunco Night event benefited the Aronos Club Teacher Support Fund, which provides grants to elementary school teachers for needed school supplies.
• Sue Endter won first place in the statewide Photography Contest in the “Our World Up Close” category with a microphoto titled “Caterpillar.” To compete on the state level, Endter’s photograph first won the San Joaquin Valley District photo contest against 14 local clubs.

Of note, as we reported here in May, the club also received a certificate for participating in the Young Musicians Competition, where five local musicians won top honors. This marked the second consecutive year Foothill students have claimed multiple awards in the event.