ZANT NEWS - WordPress.com · a running stitch and running a cord into the existing hem of the t-shirt. It took a couple of hours of steady work, but at the end of it we had the sling

ZANT September 2012 Newsletter 1

www.zant.org September 2012

A Publication of Zoroastrian Association of North Texas

ZANT NEWSZANT NEWS

We welcome and encourage feedback from our community. For comments or suggestions please call the Board mem-bers, fill in the “Contact Us” section on our website (www.zant.org) or mail them to ZANT, 1605 Lopo Road, Flow-er Mound, TX. 75028.

ZANT EVENTS & CALENDAR * 09/09: Children’s Religious Class * 09/09: Children’s Arts & Crafts Class * 09/16: ZANT Teen Club first meeting * 09/30: ZLC Bowling party 10/06: Mehergan Function 10/14: Children’s Religious Class and Vohu Manah Group meeting

10/14: Children’s Arts & Craft Class 10/19 & 10/20: ZANT Garage Sale 10/21: Sports Day 10/28: ZLC English High Tea

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Upcoming Events 2,3

Angels in the Background, ZANT 4

Kids’ Corner, Special Announcement 5

Past Events 6,7

Past Events, FEZANA Corner 8

Treasurer’s Corner 9

ZANT Alcohol Policy, Deadline for Camping Trip, ZANT Donation Form 10

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President Jamshed Rivetna

Vice President

Treasurer Neenaaz Dilucci

Secretary Ardeshir Mistry

Social Director

Director Dilnawaz Rustomji

Director Naazneen Johnson

MESSAGE FROM THE ZANT BOARD On Monday August 20, a few of our members had the opportunity to meet with Jal Shroff from the Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hong Kong, Canton and Macau at our ZANT Center. Jal was given a tour of the building and was appreciative of how our local community has come together to make it happen. On behalf of ZANT, Jamshed Rivetna and Behram Irani presented Jal with a small plaque

commemorating our ZANT Center’s opening. The board would like to thank Behram and Farieda Irani for arranging the visit and Dilnawaz Rustomji for providing tea and snacks.


UPCOMING EVENTS

Z L C - “The ZANT Ladies Club” C n , Sh n , D n – L n Li t F es On September 30 we will be bowling at the Main Event in Lewisville for our activity. RSVP to

your Evite or email to confirm your participation. In October ZLC will have English high tea at Yasmin Gupta’s home. Are you looking for friends and fun? Come and see what ZLC is all about. You can also find ZLC on Face-book. Join and share with your friends. Check out our July activity article on page 8 in this newsletter. ZLC Coordinators: Mary Tengra and Rakshi Dhalla

CHILDREN & YOUTH SEWING & ART/CRAFT CLASS Date: Sunday, September 09, 2012 Time: After the Children’s Religious Class Place: ZANT Center The Children & Youth Sewing & Art /Craft class will be held on September 09, 2012 after the Religious Class at the ZANT Center. ZLC will continue making tote bags for their fundraiser during the children’s class. Please contact Dilnawaz Rustomji for more information.

ZANT GARAGE SALE - one man’s trash is another man’s treasure The annual ZANT Garage sale is scheduled for two days, October 19 and 20, at the ZANT Center. We encourage our members to donate items to be sold off at this sale with all profits going to ZANT. Please bring your items to the ZANT Center during the next couple of months and leave them in the library. Pick-up for large items can be arranged if needed. For the Plano area, please contact Darys Reyes or please contact Keshvar Buhariwala. PLEASE BRING US YOUR DISCARDS, WE WILL MAKE MONEY!

VOHU MANAH GROUP

The Vohu Manah Group will not be meeting in September. Please stay tuned for details on future meetings in upcoming newsletters.

ZANT SPORTS Date: Sunday, October 21, 2012 Time: 9:00 a.m. Place: Hedrick Elementary School, 1526 Bellaire Blvd., Lewisville, TX 75067; Breakfast at ZANT Center Our Annual Sports Day will be held at Hedrick Elementary School. PLEASE PARK IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL’S PARKING LOT NOT IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL’S PARKING LOT. After the sports are over there will be a potluck breakfast and music at the ZANT Center. We encourage all of you to participate and enjoy the event. Please contact Barjis Ghadially for more infor-mation.

CHILDREN & TEEN RELIGIOUS CLASS Date: Sunday, September 09, 2012 Time: 11:15 am Place: ZANT Center, 1605 Lopo Road, Flower Mound, TX 7502 Please see details on this class in Kids’ Corner, page 5.


UPCOMING EVENTS (CONTINUED) MEHREGAN CELEBRATION Date: Saturday, October 06, 2012 Time: 6:30 pm Place: ZANT Center Please come and celebrate Mehregan with friends and family. A fun evening has been planned starting with prayers followed by some children’s programs and a melon carving/decorating contest for kids and adults. Music and food will follow. Please bring a main or side dish to share. ZANT will make arrangement for desserts, tea and soft drinks for all. So please come and enjoy the evening with us. No RSVP is required. For more information, please contact the following: Event Director and pot-luck coordinator, Armin Daroona or Persian pot-luck coordinator, Azita Kiumarsi.

JASHN-E MEHREGAN Mehregan Table In order to celebrate Mehregan, the second most important Iranian festival after Nouruz, we invite all children to participate in this celebration. Each younger child (9 years and under) will be paired with an older child (10 years and over) to help create ZANT’s Mehregan table. If your child would like to take part in the children’s program please email Armin Daroona with your child’s name and age. You can also sign-up at the September Chil-dren’s Religious Class, if attending. Please submit your child’s name and age by September 15th. Once we have all the names you will be informed about your child’s pair/partner and their part in the pro-gram. No practice meeting is necessary; however your children are requested to be present at the ZANT Center by 6:15 pm on Mehregan day.

JASHN-E MEHREGAN (continued) Melon Carving/Decorating Contest There will also be a contest for the best carved/decorated melon. Pick your favorite melon or select one from the array you find in the supermarkets. Please carve or decorate them as you wish at home and bring them to the Mehregan function. Kids and parents can make their own art pieces There will be three entry groups:

Children – 9 years and under Children – 10 years and over Adults group

Our judges will select the two best carved melons from each group. Happy M-E-L-O-N carving/decorating to all! No advance sign-up is needed. Please sign-in with your carved/decorated melon on Mehregan day at the Center.

zant teen club (ztc)

CALLING ALL TEENAGERS TO A ZTC MEETING

Date: September 16, 2012 Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Place: Cama Residence, 1600 Cross Timbers Drive, Prosper, TX 75078 Host and Hostess: Stivant and Tishtrya Cama Board Liaison: Dilnawaz Rustomji & Neenaaz DiLucci

AGENDA

Introductions and chit chat. Brain storm and select a “motto” for the club. Decide on the next 2 – 3 meeting venues (3rd Sunday

of each month). Compile a list of e-mail addresses and phone numbers

of all teenagers. Decide on the person in charge of initiating e-mails to

vote on the club’s logo. Determine the role to be carried out by the present

four leaders. Decide on the person in charge of preparing the

monthly article for the newsletter. Other matters.


Angels in the BackgroundAngels in the Background

CONGRATULATIONS The ZANT Community would like to congratulate Daraius Commisariat on success-fully passing all four sections, Audit and Attestation, Business Environment and Concepts, Financial Accounting and Reporting and Regulation, of the Uniform CPA Examination. This is a great achievement for our community and we are proud to welcome a new CPA to our ZANT Family!

Our ZANT Center’s cypress trees are surviving the summer heat wave thanks to Bita and Siamak Pourmandegarian who water these expensive trees every week. Also, our herb garden and pomegranate tree would have withered and died in this heat were it not for the capable watering at the hands of Arnavaz Vakharia and her grand daughters, Kashmira and Aryana. Without their help we could not keep the Center looking so good; they are truly our angels in the background! The Board would like to sincerely thank all of them for their invaluable contributions.

ZANT NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS The ZANT Community would like to congratulate Anoshe Commisariat on completing her MBA and graduating from Southern Methodist University in August 2012. The community wishes her the very best in her career and is very proud of her achievement.

PLAUDITS FOR OUR MEMBER At the XVI North American Zarathushti Congress held in New York August 2 to 5, 2012, Firdosh Mehta was presented with the "ROHINTON RIVETNA OUTSTANDING ZARATHUSHTI AWARD". This award is “to recognize a Zarathushti who has made outstanding and well-recognized contributions, through outstanding leadership and service, to

further the cause of Zarathushtis in North America and internationally.” Firdosh was presented with a trophy and plaque at the FEZANA Awards Lunch held on August 2, 2012. Firdosh thanked the Rivetna family, his wife, Rashna, his daughter, Sherazade and the late Dinshawji Joshi of FEZANA’S Awards Committee in his acceptance speech. ZANT would like to heartily congratulate Firdosh on this well-deserved achievement. We are very proud of you!

EVENT DIRECTORS ZANT would like to thank our new Event Directors, Mary Tengra (Camping Trip, Easter weekend, 2013) and Sherazade Mehta (FEZANA Annual General Meeting, May 2013), for volunteering to make these events possible. We appreciate your help and dedication.


KIDS’ CORNER CHILDREN AND TEEN RELIGIOUS CLASS When: Sunday, September 09, 2012 Time: 11:15 am Where: ZANT Center, 1605 Lopo Road, Flower Mound, TX 7502 We haven’t had our Religious Classes for the last couple of month. After this extended break, our classes will start once more beginning September 09, 2012! Children, please remember to bring your folders and caps/scarves to the religious class. We will begin the religious class with prayers in the Prayer Room at 11:15 am. Parents please arrive by 11:00 a.m. so you can sign-in your kids’ names on a sheet that will be there, for Tan Dorosti prayers. Also, please remember to sign-up for “ZANT’s Meheregan Table” creation at the September Religious class if your child is interested in participating. For further details, contact Pearl P. Balsara. The ZANT Religious Class teachers have sent you the following message:

As you begin a new year at school and college, here is a special blessing for you…

Backpack Blessing

May Ahura Mazda help you – Retain the knowledge - learnt at school

Have the wisdom - to make the right choices - Get the strength - to complete every task well

So that you succeed at school.

We wish you the very best in the coming year. With love,

Aunty Pearl, Aunty Sherazade and Aunty Nina

NORTH AMERICA/FLORIDA ZOROASTRIAN RELIGIOUS TELE-CLASS The next scheduled class conducted by Soli Dastur will be held as follows:

DATE AND TIME: Sunday September 23, 2012; 11 a.m. (EDT).

DURATION: One hour.

PLACE: You can be in your home and just call a number to participate. The class will be teleconferenced from a Quality Inn in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area under the auspices of ZAF.

MATERIAL: A PowerPoint Presentation on Parsi/Irani Wedding Ceremonies in PDF format. Please contact Pearl Balsara BEFORE SEPTEMBER 23, for instructions to join this teleconference .

May the Flame of Fellowship, Love, Charity and Tolerance burn ever eternal in our hearts so we can do HIS work with humility, tolerance, diligence and eternal enthusiasm! Atha Jamyaat, Yatha Aafrinaami! (May it be so as I wish!).

A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEME NT


PAST EVENTS

KIDS’ ARTS & SEWING CLASS Upcycling an old T-shirt into a backpack was a sewing-by-hand project in which we practiced some fundamental skills: threading a needle, making a knot, sewing a running stitch and running a cord into the existing hem of the t-shirt. It took a couple of hours of steady work, but at the end of it we had the sling packs ready to be put to everyday use. Another craft that was completed was a pom-pom monster made from scratch with yarn, foamies and googley eyes. He turned out terrorific! Photograph courtesy of Ruth-Dinaz Sarkari

ANAND BAZAR This year was the 20th year of Anand Bazar and the 20th time ZANT participated at the mela. Thanks to Soonu Godiwalla, Cyrus and Mahnaz Irani and Viraf and Anita Patel for their monetary contributions that helped defray some costs for this fundraiser. ZANT also thanks Pearl and Burzin Balsara, Armin

Daroona, Spenta, Delnaaz, Afshan and Anaiza Irani, Khurshid and Jamshed Jamadar, Dilnavaz and Manijeh Rustomji and Feroz and Anahita Sidhwa for working at the mela selling falooda. We could not have had a successful fundraiser without the efforts of these members of our community.

MUKTAD PRAYERS AUGUST 2012

The ten days of muktad were commemorated with reverence, thanks to the devoted participation from our priests and community. Flower vases were set up in the prayer room and every evening about 20 to 30 adults and children gathered together to join in communal prayers led by Ervad Poras Balsara. On Aneran Roj, the jashan to remember our dear departed family members was also very well attended. We sincerely appreciate our Ervads, Poras Balsara, Yazdi Dastur, Burzin Balsara and Hormuzd Karkaria for performing the jashan ceremony with devotion.

As is our tradition, each day we also shared the “satoom –no-bhonu” - the food offerings. While everyone contributed many items, special thanks go to the following for bringing special dishes: Kashmira Mistry, Nina Kalianivala, Dilnawaz Rustomji, Nancy Yazdani, Arnavaz Vakharia, Armin Daroona, Bakhtawar Roshan-ravan, Sherry Raghani, Soonu Godiwalla, Mehroo Damri, Darius Commissariat, Pearl Balsara, Delnaaz Irani, Khurshid Jamadar, Nancy Yadani, Keshvar Buhariwalla, Pouroo Dastur, and Anahita Sidhwa. It is also only fair to remind you that many of these efforts would not have been possible without the support of the spouses!

Our sincere appreciation to Niloofer and Firdausi Desai for contributing all the fruits, nuts etc. used during the jashan, Arnavaz Vakharia for the delicious dinner and Armin Daroona for the yummy dessert following the jashan. On the last day, Ervad Poras also performed a “maachi” in the Aiwishuthrem Geh, which was a fitting end to ten days of reverence. We hope our ZANT Center will continue to host many more events that help us grow in spirituality and togetherness.


PAST EVENTS (CONTINUED)

SHAHENSHAHI NEW YEAR CELEBRATION The Shahenshahi New Year 1382 began on Saturday, August 18. ZANT celebrated the New Year with a fun-filled gala at the Hilton Garden Inn in Richardson. There were 150 celebrants including 25 children. The evening’s event began with our priests reciting

a short prayer. The three Event Directors for this function, Pearl Balsara, Keshvar Buhariwalla and Delnaaz Irani, wel-comed the community to the event. Mareva Riddle enthralled us with her graceful Hawaiian and Tahitian dances. Between dances we were entertained by our stand-up comedians, Zayne Patel and Daryus Dastur. Jamshed Rivetna thanked the community and awarded tokens of appreciation to recent Event Di-rectors. After the dances our Event Directors had planned some in-genious team games to tickle our curiosity. The tantalizing and delicious Indian buffet included chicken tikka masala and ras malai among other delicacies. There was also a scrumptious choco-late cake. Our DJ entertained us during dinner and later revved up the music to entice adults and kids alike to join in the dancing. Dancing continued late until the party ended. This event would not have been possible without our Event Directors’ dedication and hard work. We thank Delnaaz for the hotel and food, Pearl for organizing the games and finding the DJ and Keshvar for being a great MC. OUR HATS OFF TO YOU, LADIES! We would also like to extend our appreciation to Farook Raghani for the numerous photographs he took at this function some of which are published on this page.


ZANT has the pleasure of hosting the next FEZANA Annual General Meeting (AGM). This will be held May 03 to May 05, 2013 during the weekend of our Center’s second anniversary. We look forward to hosting delegates from across North America. We are also needing volunteers to help with various aspects of the AGM. If interested please contact Sherazade Mehta.

So what is FEZANA? Every month look for a little summary of a committee of FEZANA to get your interest piqued.

This month: ZYNA (Zoroastrian Youth of North America).

ZYNA is a subcommittee of FEZANA, which represents the Zarathushti Youth population of North America. ZYNA encompasses many aspects of youth involvement: educating them about our religion (through congresses, seminars, etc.), aiding leadership development and providing a social community base. Events such as summer retreats, December events and congresses help facilitate this social interaction as well as the educational aspects of Zoroastrianism.

ZANT received the following information from FEZANA regarding the election results for the 2012 –2014 Executive Committee which we would like to share with you: “As Bomi Patel was ineligible to be re-elected, after serving two terms as FEZANA President, it is with great pleasure that we welcome Katayun Kapadia who has been elected as the new FEZANA President, for a term of two years.” ZANT extends their heartiest congratulations on her election.

The 2012-2014 FEZANA Executive Committee is comprised of:

President: Katayun Kapadia Treasurer: Ratan Mistry Secretary: Nahid Dashtaki Assistant Secretary: Shiraz Italia

FEZANA CORNER

Z L C - Caring, Sharing, Daring – Living Life to the Fullest

We had a great Bollywood Dance workout with Ross Hughes in July! We also enjoyed Indian snacks and watermelon juice brought by Armin Daroona and Pouroo Dastur.

PAST EVENTS (CONTINUED)


Keep this stub Please detach and return this side Accept my contribution of: for your records. with your contribution payable to: “ZANT" and mail to: ( ) $10 ( ) $20 ( ) $30 ( ) $40 ( ) $50 ( ) $_____ To: ZANT ZANT Treasurer 1605 Lopo Road For: Check # Flower Mound, Texas 75028 Date ( ) General Fund ( ) Building Fund Amount $ ( ) ZOMF ( ) Other_______

FROM:____________________________________

“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.” Help us pass on the good religion to future generations.

ZANT ALCOHOL POLICYZANT ALCOHOL POLICY In September 2011, the “Operating Guidelines for Usage of the ZANT Center” were created. Based on community sentiment, Paragraph 1.15 was included and disallows the consumption of alcohol on the ZANT Center property. EVERYONE needs to abide by this guideline at ALL times .

Additionally, when ZANT events are hosted at hotels or other sites, no alcohol should be brought from outside and consumed on those premises. A cash bar is usually available at hotels.

If alcohol is consumed, ZANT and the individuals concerned are exposed to LEGAL LIABILITY. Rental contracts with most hotels prohibit liquor brought from outside the sites. The ZANT policy needs to be followed by all members and their guests to prevent any untoward incidents. Thank you.

DEADLINE FOR CAMPING TRIP CAMPING AT CANEY COVE MARCH 29-31, 2013

Caney Cove is located 10 miles west of Athens TX. It is 2 hours and 10 minutes from the ZANT Center. It offers RV parking, cabins, pop-up camper parking and screened shelters for sleeping. For fun there is a playground, volleyball area, swimming in Cedar Creek Lake, trails and lots of outdoor recreation. We will also have fun indoors playing cards, dominos and other games in the LODGE which will be our cooking and hangout area.

Cabins range in cost from $103 + tax for up to 4 people, 137 + tax for up to 6 people and $171 + tax for up to 9 people - per night, 2-night minimum. There are limited cabins so early reserva-tions are necessary. If you would like an RV spot, pop-up spot or a screened shelter, let Mary Tengra know ASAP so a spot can be reserved for you. If you are a family of 5, your little one can sleep in a sleeping bag in a cabin for 4. The LODGE is an additional cost but is covered in your cabin fee. A shared food cost will be determined at a later date.

Check out www.caneycove.com for pictures of the campsite – but you MUST email Mary to re-serve since we have booked all the cabins. The reservations will be on a first come first served basis. Please let her know what sized cabin you need. She will notify you about the payment after she receives your email confirmation. Please no phone calls – EVERYTHING MUST BE IN WRITING. You must reserve and pay by December 15, 2012.

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ZANT NEWS - WordPress.com · a running stitch and running a cord into the existing hem of the t-shirt. It took a couple of hours of steady work, but at the end of it we had the sling