Daily Archives: April 30, 2017

Attend the May Meeting on May 13: Installation, Recognition & Public Policy by Donna Holmes and Marty McKnew

100th Anniversary Funds Progress

Be sure to attend our May installation meeting, where this year’s Named Gift Honorees will be announced.  Watch for the June newsletter for information about the winners.

We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to AAUW Funds over the past five years during our tenure as Funds directors.  We had a dream of starting a Research and Project Grant to honor our branch’s 100th anniversary.  Thanks to so many generous donors we are almost there.  As we move on to the presidency we are leaving Funds in very capable hands.

Donna and Marty

Retiring AAUW Funds Directors

Eventbrite - Installation, Recognition & Public Policy

May Meeting and Installation Agenda

  • 9:30 a.m. – Registration & socializing
  • 10 a.m.- Welcome by Nancy McCabe – President
  • 10:10 a.m. – Kathy Le – Speech Trek Winner presents “Is it time to pass the ERA” introduced by Liz Jordan – Speech Trek Co-Chair
  • 10:20 a.m. – Liz Jordan, introduced by Inger Lindholm – Public Policy Chair
  • 11:00 a.m. – Recognition of 50-year members by Pat Winkle & Shirley Wheeler –Membership Co-Directors
  • 11:10 a.m. – Recognition & introduction of Named Branch Gift Honorees by Donna Holmes & Marty McKnew – Funds Co-Directors
  • 11:30 a.m. – Installation of 2017-2018 officers by Alicia Hetman – Past President of California AAUW
  • Adjourn

President’s Message by Nancy McCabe

President Nancy McCabe

This year has been an unusual one in that our branch didn’t have a program chair, so every event was planned by an outreach or interest group which has worked out quite well, all things considered. Particular kudos go to Tech Trek who presented “To Engineer is Human–Paths to California Water Resources Management.” It was presented in celebration of Women’s History Month, and the contributions that women working in STEM fields are making every day to save our environment for generations to come.

Our own Sacramento branch member Anne Lynch, a water engineer working as a consultant in flood plain management for the California Department of Water Resources, and Leslie Louden, a professional geologist and Deputy Director of the Financial Assistance program at the California Water Control Board, discussed how their passion for science led them to their current careers. Their program was awarded a certificate of achievement at the California State AAUW annual meeting. This is the second straight year that out branch has been so recognized.

There will be program co-chairs this coming fiscal year who will be meeting with interested members who have noted their interest on the survey which came with your renewal package. We would welcome your interest and participation in planning and achieving interesting programming for the coming year. We would like to keep our winning streak of great events!

Our outreach groups are scholarship, public policy, speech trek, tech trek, and funds. Please complete the survey and select an outreach group which feeds your soul. After all, isn’t this why you became a member of AAUW?

Letter from the AAUW Interim CEO

Dear all AAUW leaders,

I’ve met with quite a few of you during this busy time of state conferences and so enjoy hearing about the wonderful things that are happening across the country. It’s energizing to be able to share these great ideas with other leaders at AAUW and I thank you for that opportunity. I know I will see many of you at our upcoming national convention in Washington, D.C., and am excited about the opportunity to reconnect.

This email is to inform you about the opening of AAUW’s 2017 National Election. On April 17, AAUW members in good standing with up-to-date email addresses at our national office will receive an email with instructions to vote online. Just like with our 2015 election, this email will contain a unique, personalized link that will allow members to vote online without having to provide their member ID or voter pin. Because the personalized email is unique to each member, it CANNOT be shared.

Members can also navigate to the online ballot from the AAUW homepage and then enter their member ID and voter PIN. Those numbers will be included in the voter email and on the back of your Spring Outlook magazine.

So what can you, as leaders in the AAUW community, do to increase voter participation?

  1. Inform your members that this email is coming and should not be deleted. They can then vote at their leisure until voting closes on June 15.
  2. Encourage your members to vote. Hold a forum at one of your meetings so members can watch the candidate videos and read their bios. Discuss and debate proposed changes such as the membership requirement and the public policy platform. Informed voters are engaged voters!
  3. Turn one of your meetings into a polling place. Members find it easy (and fun!) to vote with others.
  4. Watch this short video at your next meeting about the importance of voting in the AAUW election.
  5. Vote! It’s hard to encourage others when you haven’t done so yourself.

If members encounter any difficulties, they should email connect@aauw.org or call 800.326.2289 on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET for assistance.

Every two years AAUW members have a unique opportunity to shape the future of this storied organization. What will be our focus? Who will be our leaders? These questions are too important to let someone else answer for you.

Thank you for all you do,
Mark Hopkins
AAUW Interim CEO

Recruiting for Title IX Action by Karen Humphrey

AAUW has launched a national project for members to reach out to Title IX Coordinators in districts and schools to provide information and offer support for gender-equitable public education. The Sacramento Branch Public Policy Committee wants to identify Branch members who would like to become part of a team to work on this project.

Participation would involve becoming familiar with the AAUW project materials, contacting local districts and possibly schools, and holding meetings with Title IX Coordinators. We can start with the Sacramento City Unified School District and expand to schools and/or nearby districts as members are available. Visits would not start until the new school year begins in August or September, but we would like to use the spring and summer months to plan and prepare.

This is an important national initiative designed to help local Title IX Coordinators be as effective as possible in ensuring gender equity for all students. If you are interested in participating, or have questions, contact Karen Humphrey by email at karenhumphrey@prodigy.net or call her at 916-498-0527. Please respond by May 30 so we know if we have enough people to proceed.

Speech Trek Thanks Generous Members by Liz Jordan

Speech Trek has had another successful year. The competition on Feb. 18 resulted with our local branch first-place winner Kathy Le placing fifth at the state level.

Now is the time to say Thank You to all members who donated to Speech Trek in 2016-17. We have such a supportive group who enable the Speech Trek committee to continue its work providing this opportunity to high school students.
Thank You All!!

Becky Anton
Alice Bauer
Ruth Burgess
Lori Franz
Lisa Howard
Charlotte Luallin
Anne Rhodes
Hedda Smithson
Linda Whitney
Ann Arneill
Shari Beck
Vivian Counts
Cheryl Fuller
Elizabeth Jordan
Vicki Nicholson
Marianne Rorden
Pamella Vaughn
Patricia Winkle
Gloria Yost
Kathleen Asay
Jean Bonar
Gladys Deloney
Joan Hammond
Catherine Locke
Kathleen Papst
Sandi Schoenman
Shirley Wheeler
Sandra Winter

Interest Group Updates by Cherril Peabody

Our 2016-17 AAUW year is winding down, and I want to give a status report and start getting ideas for the next program year, which begins in July. One of our popular interest groups is coming to an end: Walk to Lunch. They started off the year with 23 members and ended the last three months with only two walkers. That’s a shame, but it is evident that group members’ interests and priorities have changed, and there is no sense continuing with so little participation. A big thank you is due to Susan Potter for her seven years of leading this group! Are there other groups that are having a hard time and may be feeling their time is up? If so, please let me know.

I would like to start planning now for some new groups. What about a political action group that meets to discuss current issues and compose and send letters and postcards to political leaders advocating for women’s issues? Also, there were a couple other good ideas last year that maybe didn’t receive enough publicity. One idea was for a group that would attend film screenings of the Metropolitan Opera. Another was for a group that would play chamber music. I know we have musicians and opera buffs among our members. Maybe you can think of a specific mission-based project that we could turn into an interest group. Please email me at capeabody@comcast.net if you are interested in any of these ideas or if you have one of your own.

Membership Renewals and Membership Matters by Shirley Wheeler and Pat Winkle

TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!

By now you should have received your dues renewal package, which was mailed for the upcoming 2017-2018 year. We are asking that you submit your dues by June 1, 2017 so that we can make a timely report to National.

This year the board has included a new branch survey with the renewal and asks that you take some time to give the branch your feedback. The board will review and incorporate your ideas into its strategic planning over the next several years.

If you have any questions about the survey when you receive it, please contact Shirley Wheeler or Pat Winkle. We thank you for your time and your feedback!

Please join us in welcoming our newest member:

KATHLEEN DEAVER received a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master of Science degree in education from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. Kathleen is a retired Orientation and Mobility Specialist. She lives in Citrus Heights.

Remember, everyone is a member of the Membership Committee. Refer a friend today