Terri King receives ‘Woman of the Year’ award from Zonta Club of the Joliet

The Zonta Club of Joliet Area recently presented its annual “Woman of the Year” award to club member Terri King.

A Zonta member has received this award each year since 1973, the year Zonta Club of Joliet Area was founded.

King co-founded founded NAMI Will County in 2007, which later became NAMI Will-Grundy, the organization’s current name.

NAMI stands for The National Alliance On Mental Illness. A small group of families founded the national organization in 1979, the NAMI website said. It now has more than 600 local affiliates.

King served as the vice president for NAMI Will-Grundy for many years. She is now the fundraising chair and family support group facilitator for the organization, according to the NAMI Will-Grundy website.

She has also facilitated family support meetings, led Family-to-Family and Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) education courses and conducted in-house training for the entire Will County Sheriff’s Department and to Joliet police officers who serve on patrol, the website also said.

Last year Joliet’s Project Acclaim awarded King, along with Teena Mackey, with the Reverend James E. Allen Award for Service to the Community for establishing and growing the NAMI presence in the Joliet area community.

King also headed up a “Free the Girls” campaign, where Zonta Club members and friends could donate new or gently used bras to help victims of sex trafficking in El Savador, Mozambique and other countries.

By selling the bras, the victims are able to provide themselves with “a safe and sustainable living wage while they rebuild their lives,” the news release said.

King joined the Zonta Club of Joliet in 2005 and has actively participated on nearly every club committee. She also helps with Zonta Cub fundraisers and service projects, “always with a smile on her face and ready to do what’s needed to make each event a success,” the release said.

She is also a member of the Exchange Club.

King, a retired telecom manager, is married with one son. She enjoys reading and traveling.

For more information about the Zonta Club of Joliet Area, visit jolietzonta.org.