Two benches dedicated to a longtime member of the Zonta Club of Cheektowaga-Lancaster were recently made with the help of Career & Technical Education students at the Ormsby Educational Center.
The collaboration within Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES included the Construction Technology and Pre-Engineering & Drafting Design programs.
During the past school year, Iroquois Central School District students Bryan Edstrom, Kenneth Sinibaldi III, and Nathan Blair helped build two, 6-foot-long benches out of hard maple. The three were assisted at Ormsby by Construction Technology instructor Paul Hoch.
“We had to get very creative,” Hoch said of the project. “We had to come up with a design that would allow us to include an engraving. Over time, we came up with a design that we were going to burn it into the wood using a laser engraver.”
At the heart of the project was Phyllis Dickinson, a 42-year member of the Zonta Club of Cheektowaga-Lancaster who passed away in April. Dickinson had been a teacher, librarian, and media center specialist at the Lancaster Central School District for 34 years. She retired in 1995.
Dickinson served a number of roles within the local Zonta Club, including president, vice president, and secretary; she was named Zontian of the Year in 2007.
Zonta International is an organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. The Zonta Club of Cheektowaga-Lancaster is one of 35 clubs that make up District 4.
Heidi Salva, interim principal at CAM P-TECH in Springville and Zonta member, approached Pre-Engineering & Drafting Design instructor Ronald Pasqualetti about dedicating the benches in memory of Dickinson.
In collaboration with Hoch, Pasqualetti and his students helped complete the project by using a laser engraver to add Zonta’s name, logo, and motto. The process proved to be an interesting task.
“It was a challenge because we never used the technique we did to make the benches,” Pasqualetti said.
In a fitting tribute, the following line was also included: “Donated by the Zonta Club of Cheektowaga-Lancaster in Memory of Phyllis Dickinson.” One bench was scheduled to be placed in Lancaster and the other in Cheektowaga.
For more information on Career and Technical Education programs at Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES, visit e2ccb.org.
