The Sedona Women gathered at Community Library Sedona’s Si Birch Community Room on Saturday, Sept. 6, to celebrate the start of the group’s 25th anniver­sary season.

“When Helen Wolfe arrived in Sedona in the late 1990s, she realized it was difficult for women new in town to make friends and meet people,” The Sedona Women wrote in its newsletter. “In May of 1999, she gathered 35 women for a meeting to see if they were interested in an organization with a mission to bring women together, provide interesting and worthwhile things for them to do, be a force of good in the community — and they were.

“Lisa Dahl hosted the next meeting at her restaurant … where 85 women showed an interest in being a part of this new organization. The first meeting was held on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 1999, with 129 attendees. The rest is history.”

Despite the group evolving and growing to be a 501(c)(3) and taking on more complex community initia­tives over time, from organizing New Year’s Eve celebra­tions for residents of Sedona Winds, helping renovate Verde Valley Sanctuary to fund raising for scholarships for local women, Wolfe said there was never a moment of doubt when founding board members Pam Fazzini, Pamela Morris, Carla Butler, Caroline Morse, Claudine Moore, Mary Garland, Dottie Webster, Judith Keane and Karen Schulman first met.

“I knew that it would be a success [because] it’s just exactly what the community needed,” Wolfe said. “It never occurred to me that it wouldn’t be thriving like it is

today. … As a founder, I could not be more thrilled that the organization is continuing to thrive at full throttle, and will continue to do so for many more years. The founding board did a fantastic job in putting together the precepts, the policies and procedures for the organization, and every president and board has thrived with that along in the years since.”

Wolfe said that the need the group fills is providing a space for women to uplift other women “that’s what makes us so unique.”

Other members have echoed this sentiment. Board member Liz Menkes, who joined in 2022, praised the group’s combination of philanthropic efforts and social opportunities, noting projects such as dinners at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Oak Creek cleanups and monthly speakers.

“I joined in September of 2022 when I was newly arrived in Sedona, and I heard it was a great organi­zation to belong to, because of the many things they did and the philanthropic things and community service,” Menkes said. “What’s so unique about this group is that after joining and creating friendships, those ladies will start to do some­thing else on their own. They might volunteer for cleaning up the parks, or they might volunteer at the pet shelter. As members they’re still contributing to Sedona after a meeting ends.”

Even after the group’s first outing to Tucson and Nogales in 2000, Wolfe said she still gets letter from the 70 women who filled the two buses on that outing.

“We asked the ladies not to room with someone that they knew, so that they would really get to know women,” Wolfe said. “I still get letters from people saying ‘she’s still my best friend,’ and ‘she’s the room­mate that I roomed with on that trip to Tucson’ and ‘I would have never known her had I not roomed with her.’”

Though for Wolfe the laughter shared on the bus ride are the moments that she most vividly remem­bers for that 2000 trip.

“We had a microphone on the bus, and everyone sat two by two,” Wolfe said. “Each woman inter­viewed the person next to her, then stood up at the microphone to share what she had learned. The other would then do the same. With 50 women on the bus, each story was told through someone else’s voice. It was far more refreshing and funnier to have the person that interviewed that person tell about who they were.”

Looking back on 25 years, Wolfe said learning about the Sedona community was the most worthwhile part of starting the organization and is what will keep the organization going.

“We’re in it together, and it’s a wonderful place to be,” Wolfe said when asked about what she would have told herself on that bus. “We’re in a sacred town that brought us here because of the red rocks, and we have created this organiza­tion that is so special, and it continues to be, it will continue to live on for the next 100 years or more.”

Part of that is supporting the education of local women through the Helen Wolfe Scholarship Fund.

“I am happy to report in the spring of 2026 we will be doing a Benefit Garage Sale overseen by garage sale guru Victoria Clark so save the treasures you’re willing to pass on and we’ll be thrilled to add them to the inventory for the sale,” to help support the schol­arships current President Hollace Davids said. “More information to follow.”

Scholarship recipient Claudia Escobedo shared with the NEWS how The Sedona Women support directly benefited her education in clinical mental health counseling Raised in the Verde Valley after her family immigrated from Gerez, Mexico, Escobedo earned her undergraduate degree in psychological sciences from Northern Arizona University in winter 2023 but faced challenges pursuing her graduate studies at NAU.

“I did some looking and I found … [The Sedona Women] whose sole mission is to empower and work with women in the community to bring power back for those in the community,” Escobedo said. “That stuck out to me because I had no idea such a thing even existed. I applied for their scholarship, and they were generous enough to help me out with my degree, because my dream goal is to give back to the community.”

Escobedo added that growing up in the Village of Oak Creek before her family relocated to Rimrock when she was in the sixth grade is also what inspires her to pursue a career in mental health, in order to provide those services to others who might not have easy access in rural Arizona.

“I’m 25, younger than about 90% of the women there, and I’d like to see more women joining in and being part of the change they create in the commu­nity,” Escobedo said. “For me, with the scholarship support, I don’t know if I would have felt encouraged enough to go back to univer­sity for this degree. But knowing that people like them exist and truly want to help makes it easier.”

The Sedona Women also accepted a proclama­tion from Sedona City Council celebrating their 25 anniversary during the meeting Tuesday, Sept. 9, that also saw council proclaim September as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

“Sedona Women at 25 — I think there continues to be an important role for them in our commu­nity, and I also think it’s a wonderful place for people new to town,” founding board member Garland said. “Someone just moved into my neighborhood, and I suggested that she come and see what’s going on. I’ve always thought that’s a great way to get your feet wet when you’re in a new community and meet new people.”

For more information visit thesedonawomen.com.