DO YOU REMEMBER CAROLYN MARTIN? 1972-73 AAUW SACRAMENTO President

Welcome back to Carolyn Martin, who served as AAUW Sacramento President in 1972-73. Since that time she has led an exciting, challenging life. I am going to spend this column talking about what she has done since she was President and in next month’s column, I will ask Carolyn to recall her term as President and to compare our organization in 1972 with the current group.

For the past 53 years, Carolyn has been married to Barry, who is a retired Administrative Law judge and currently writes books. His last book is called “Forgotten Aviator: The Adventures of Royal Leonard.” They are long-time Sacramento residents, and their two children also live in Sacramento. She has one grandson.

Carolyn worked as an adult education ESL instructor and part-time area community college U.S. history instructor.

In 1964 Carolyn, joined AAUW Walnut Creek, “and when our son was 12 days old, my husband said, ‘You will never be happy staying home. I can take care of this baby. Why don’t you go to that AAUW meeting?’” She became involved in the AAUW Walnut Creek branch, and when she and her family moved to Sacramento, she transferred her membership to our branch.

AAUW Sacramento had workshops on “Leadership can be Learned,” and Carolyn attributes that training to her future success in her anti-tobacco campaign and other leadership roles. Carolyn recalls, “The ‘Leadership can be Learned’ was excellent training; for example, after receiving the training, I started the Friends of Arden-Dimick Branch Library. “

Carolyn served as AAUW Sacramento President in 1972 -73 and following that service, she was State Legislative President and hired and trained the first AAUW state lobbyist.

She began her legislative activities as a State Legislative President for AAUW in the 1970s, and AAUW was very instrumental in getting coastal environmental and policy changes passed.

In 1988, voters passed an initiative to raise the tobacco tax 25 cents, 5 cents of which was to go to tobacco education. In 1990 Carolyn was appointed as President for the Advisory Committee of Tobacco Education. It was an innovative tobacco control program that pioneered the practice of television and radio ads against tobacco use. It was the most successful tobacco education program in the world because it combined media, local projects, and policy changes locally and in the state. For example, the ban on smoking in work places is an example of a policy change that had a tremendous impact. This model has been used by most states and many foreign countries. Even the pubs in Ireland are smoke-free!

Carolyn was chosen for this committee because she had signed the initiative petition, served on the campaign committee of the Lung Association as a volunteer, and had lots of experience at the Capitol as a volunteer advocate.

Carolyn is an avid reader, plays tennis, serves as a docent at the State Capitol and the California State Library, and enjoys travel.

Check this column in March to hear Carolyn’s impressions of the changes in our AAUW Sacramento branch.