For the sixth consecutive year, Zonta ADK will honor local women who serve as role models in the North Country. The club chose the name “R.O.S.E.” to signify “Recognition Of Service and Excellence.” March 8 is also “Zonta Yellow Rose Day” in honor of those who supported women’s suffrage by wearing yellow roses on their lapels; those who opposed the movement wore red roses.

The women who are honored by the local Zonta Club this year are Denice Fredericks, Kelly Metzgar, Heather Perkins, Zoe Smith and Katie Volz.

Denice Fredericks, of Lake Placid, ran the North Elba Christmas Fund for nearly 30 years, securing funds and organizing volunteers who purchase and distribute necessities and gifts so local children in our area have warm boots and outerwear for winter as well as books and toys for the holidays. She has also volunteered for the Lake Placid Community Lunch Program and the Lake Placid Backpack Program, and she served as both the deputy town clerk and the town clerk in North Elba.

Kelly Metzgar, of Saranac Lake, is the co-founder and executive director at Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance, based in Saranac Lake. She is also a co-founding board member of Gender Equality NY, which focus on the needs and issues of transgender and non-binary people in New York state and a co-founding core team member of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, which works to bring diversity, education, policy, equity and inclusion to the region.

Heather Perkins, of Lake Placid, is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Lake Placid, founded nearly 30 years ago. She has made significant contributions to that club and the Lake Placid area through Rotary. She was the driving force behind the Rotary project to provide three bus shelters for the local transport system, and for years has been one of the lead organizers of the Rotary club’s Trivia Night fundraisers, which supports area literacy and education projects.

Zoe Smith, of Saranac Lake, was recently named executive director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith’s College. She is also a a board member at the state Adirondack Park Agency, a co-regional director for the Adirondack Lakes Alliance, and a core team member of the Adirondack Common Ground Alliance. Before joining AWI, she was the director of the Adirondack Program for the Wildlife Conservation Society for 17 years.

Katie Volz, of Lake Placid, is a tireless volunteer at the state Olympic Regional Development Authority, for the Lake Placid Film Festival, and at St. Agnes Church. She also served as part of the Medical Reserve Corps for the COVID vaccine clinics in Essex County and serves as part of the local AARP tax program that provides people with free tax preparation services from mid-January through March every year. Additionally, she serves as secretary on the board of the Educational Opportunity Fund for the Lake Placid Central School District.

The women will be honored at a reception this May.