Monthly Archives: May 2019

May Branch Meeting: Congratulate our 2019 Speech Trek Winner and Meet our New Leadership Team by Deborah Dunn

May Branch Meeting
Saturday, May 18, 2019, 10 a.m. – noon
Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance
2700 Fulton Ave.

You won’t want to miss hearing the winner of our February 2019 Speech Trek contest, Ester Turay, a senior at Laguna Creek High School, as she delivers her winning speech on the very significant and grave contest topic: How can we – students, parents, faculty, communities, and organizations such as AAUW – eliminate violence aimed at our schools? What actions can we take to prevent another tragedy from taking place?

In addition, you will be able to mingle with the members of our new Branch Leadership Team as elected officers for 2019-20 will be installed. Named Branch Gift Honorees will be announced, and 50-year members will be recognized.

The May meeting will also provide an opportunity to socialize with and better get to know other Branch members over coffee and light refreshments. We have a fun activity designed to spark interaction and conversation, so plan on participating!

Please register for the May 18 meeting via Eventbrite (no charge). You can access Eventbrite from this link. Alternatively, you can register by emailing Dawn Boyd at darnone1@att.net. Registering in advance helps the Program Committee with planning. Hope to see you there!

Read here for Interest Groups, Book Groups, Branch Birthdays, Printable Articles and Open Board Positions

  • Click here for Interest Groups
  • Click here for Book Groups
  • Click here for Branch Birthdays
  • Click here for Printable Articles

HELP WANTED

Public Policy Co-Director – Our current Public Policy Director, Ashley Anglesy, who works with the California State Legislature and wants to continue to help the branch in this position, needs a Co-Director work with her to carry out all the duties of the position; most critically she needs help with attending monthly board meetings. Contact: ashleyanglesey@gmail.com

Interest Groups Director – a member to help maintain the connection between the Branch Board and the Interest Groups.  Should be able to attend monthly board meetings and write about interest groups for Capital Ideas.  Contact: lizjord@msn.com

Presidents’ Message by Donna Holmes and Liz Jordan

Donna’s Farewell

Donna Holmes

As my two years of being your co-president come to an end, I want you all to know what an honor and pleasure it has been. When I came on the board 10 years ago as your finance officer, it was a challenge and out of my comfort zone. I never thought I would be president. What I should have remembered is we are a group of volunteers, college-educated women who belong to AAUW for the Mission. We help and support each other. So, thank you for everything: guiding me on proper board procedures, Robert’s Rules of Orders, keeping me on track, forgiving my errors and all the new and wonderful friends I’ve collected in the process. Special thanks to my co-presidents, Marty McKnew and Liz Jordan, our finance officer May Ruth Lynch, fabulous board members and, from behind the scenes, Gloria Yost and Molly Dugan.

Think you could never do it? Well, you can. Jump in, the water is fine!

Updates from Liz

Liz Jordan

On Saturday, March 30, members gathered at the Center for Sacramento History on Sequoia Pacific Boulevard to hear about the archives that are curated there on behalf of all of us who live in Sacramento County. AAUW Sacramento has been donating our records and memorabilia to this center since its inception. One of the largest donations to the Center came from Eleanor McClatchy.

We started the program with a delightful look back at the Sacramento AAUW choir called the Musettes. Jean Brown, who sang with the choir, brought programs from the AAUW California 50th Anniversary celebration in which the choir sang as well as other memorabilia to share. Several members attending remembered singing with the group.

We heard from archivist Kim Hayden about the archives. Kim displayed AAUW Sacramento President’s books, scrapbooks, puppets, a copy of “Vanishing Victorians,” and with many other items from our members. Kim led us on a tour of the archives where we saw a variety of artifacts such as old train station signs, farm equipment, baby carriages, hats and an Eleanor McClatchy donated map dating back to the 15th Century! Additionally, we enjoyed hearing many stories from members about book groups and branch meetings.

  • Don’t forget to vote in the national AAUW election. “Online voting …will close on May 14 at 3 p.m. Pacific time. You can find more information about the candidates for the AAUW Board of Directorsand the 2019–2021 Public Policy Priorities on the AAUW website.
  • From AAUW CA: Our state AAUW has refreshed the Financial Literacy portion of the aauw-ca.org website. Money Trek, the first financial literacy project (2008) has an updated outline of a curriculum to teach high school and college students basic personal finances. Start Smart are workshops designed for college students entering the job market and how to negotiate for salary. Work Smart teaches working women how to confidently evaluate, negotiate and articulate their worth on the job market. We have a Branch goal to get 20 members through Work Smart this year!

Exploring Our Interest Groups: Art & Architecture by Cherril Peabody

Art & Architecture is perhaps our most popular interest group. Over 60 women are members, although it is the type of group where members are not expected to come every time, so each activity will have much fewer participants. They meet September through June on the first Friday morning of the month, and they explore a variety of activities related to art and architecture, including some that are located out of town. One group member plans each activity and is the contact person for that day. The group goes to lunch afterward somewhere in the area where they have met.

The activities during this program year have included an architectural tour of the Crocker Museum, the Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour, and an exhibit of women artists at the Haggin Museum in Stockton. This month the group will take a walk in the Sacramento midtown area to check out some of the galleries there.

Deborah Dunn is the chair of this group. For more information about the group, contact her at deborahdunn80@gmail.com.

Board Briefs March Board Meeting, April 1, 2019 by Cherril Peabody

Here are the highlights of the April AAUW Sacramento Board Meeting:

 

  • Co-President L. Jordan reported that the Paycheck Fairness bill passed the House of Representatives.
  • Membership Co-Director L. Patterson announced that the next new member orientation is Saturday, April 13 at Ettore’s. Membership Treasurer S. Anderson reported that the branch now has 227 members. Co-President and acting Finance Director D. Holmes is working on a way to implement the new mandated National AAUW dues collection system so that it will be user-friendly for our membership.
  • Scholarship Co-Director A. Storey reported that the Scholarship Committee met on March 23 and selected five women who will receive $2,000 scholarships for 2019-20, including four current recipients.
  • Funds Co-Director K. Asay is working with the Membership directors to explain changes in AAUW National’s Funds for this year’s renewal application so that members who wish to donate to Funds will know which ones they want to support.
  • College/University Liaison G. Yost reported via email that student leaders from Sac State, UC Davis and ARC met with the presidents of the CHAR and Davis branches and AAUW branch College/University liaisons for a brunch on March 10. The goal of the meeting was to begin building a coalition among the campus affiliates to help promote AAUW on the campuses.
  • Tech Trek Co-Director J. Reiken announced that the Tech Trek Committee met on March 23 with Tech Trek applicants for the summer math and science camp at UC Davis, and they selected six young women to attend the camp this year. Reiken also told the Board that the program has received grant funding for two camp scholarships from the Rotary Club.
  • Program Co-Director C. Locke reported that the March 30 Branch program at the Sacramento History Center went well. Co-Director D. Dunn gave details of the upcoming Author’s Luncheon featuring journalist and playwright Ginger Rutland.
  • Speech Trek Co-Director A. Arneill announced that Esther Joy Turay, who won first place in our Speech Trek contest on Feb. 16, was not selected by State AAUW to participate in the State finals. Esther will give her speech at the May 18 installation meeting. The Tech Trek Committee has decided to purchase its own camcorder for use in future contests. They have been renting equipment, and it has not always been satisfactory.

Speech Trek Contest Celebrates Its Donors By Ann Arneill

The Speech Trek Contest season is drawing to a close.  We have one final event that we urge you all to attend. At the May 18 Branch Meeting, our First Prize winner, Esther Joy Turay, will deliver her speech on the topic: “How can we—students, parents, faculty, our communities, and organizations such as AAUW—eliminate violence aimed at our schools?  What actions can we take to prevent another tragedy from taking place?”

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many Branch members who contribute to Speech Trek annually.  It is because of you that we can award $900 in cash prizes to our winners each year.  Donors include Kathleen Asay, Alice Bauer, Shari Beck, RosaLee Black, Jean Bonar, Ruth Burgess, Vivian Counts, Kathleen Deaver, Deborah Dunn, Judy Foote, Cheryl Fuller, Joan Hammond,  Jennifer Henderson, Marlys Fredrickson Huez, Elizabeth Jordan, Virginia Kidd, Catherine Locke, Danielle  Metzinger, Susana Mullen, Kathleen Papst, Bonnie Penix, Diane Petersen, Anne Rhodes, Elizabeth Rose, Karen Rystad, Mary Schneider, Sandi Schoenman, Ellynrose Sheehan, Hedda Smithson, Diana Squire, Shirley Wheeler, Linda Whitney, Patricia Winkle, Sandra Winter, and Gloria Yost.

Membership Matters by Linda Patterson and Sharon Norris

This May we honor three of our Sacramento Branch Members who have reached 50 years of continuous membership in AAUW and will receive their Honorary Life Membership certificate and pin. Our new Honorary Life Members are: Mary Gene Page, a graduate of USC with a Bachelor’s degree in Radio and Television and UC Davis with an master’s degree in agricultural economics; Jeannette Finn, a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in education; and Georgia L. Richardson, a graduate of California State University with a bachelor’s degree in language arts. Congratulations, ladies!

Congratulations are also extended to Jane Cooley, Anna Storey and Ellynrose Sheehan, who have been awarded free national memberships for the 2019-2020 year through the Shape the Future program. All three women are demonstrating leadership and support for the Branch through their volunteer roles.

Please join us in welcoming new member Mary Conteh and returning member Kimberly McDaniel.

You should have received your membership renewal information in the mail recently. We would like to remind you that Dues Assistance is available if needed. You will find the process and an enrollment form on the Branch website.

Funds Update: What’s a “Nick Whistle?” by Kathleen Asay and Danielle Metzinger

What’s a “Nick Whistle?”

It’s only the premier leadership event for college women in the United States and globally! Begun in 1983 by representatives of gender equity organizations, the National Conference of Collegiate Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) has been under AAUW management ever since. Some statistics: 10,000 women have attended, 800 attended in 2017, 48 states were represented that year and 306 colleges and universities. This year it will be held May 29-June 1 at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Attendees will spend three full days in the company of women from colleges across the country, meeting recognized women leaders and being trained and inspired by this year’s trailblazing “Women of Distinction.” They will return home with new skills and understanding of how to lead others. They will put their new skills to use on their campuses and in their lives wherever they go.

For the Sacramento Branch’s first trip into the exciting arena that is NCCWSL, the board voted to send a young woman from our CSUS affiliate branch. Then we heard a donor was offering to pay for a second student! We’re hoping we can do at least one each year forward. The branch membership is being asked to help make this possible. When you renew your membership, note the box for NCCWSL donations and help make two fine young women’s dreams come true.

Billie Veerkamp is a sophomore English major with a minor in Women’s Studies at CSUS. She is vice president of AAUW on campus. She says she is looking forward to being part of a community of strong women, acquiring leadership skills and networking. She wants to be a better campus leader in order to increase campus involvement in our organization.

Alexis Jimenez is also a sophomore at CSUS. She’s a first-generation college student who is studying anthropology with a career goal of being a primatologist. She is currently treasurer of the AAUW affiliate. She says she “cannot wait” for the workshops on Activism, Women’s Issues, Identity, and Diversity so she can share what she learns on campus and with other women she knows.

What’s a “Nick Whistle?” Amazing, transforming, one woman inspiring the next who inspires the next…..

Branch Activism Continues during the 1980s By Linda Sparks

During the ’80s our branch was actively involved in various community issues as well as continuing activities we had been doing in the ’70s. Our interest sections helped create member interest is many local issues including health, parenting, education, and finance.

Several new sections were started by involved members during this decade. They included: Education section based on Guilford’s intellectual theory, a Parenting Resources Network, Families Facing Change, Money Talk, Women’s Health, Great Music, Artist Paint Together, Mother’s Support Group, Culture Alliance, and a new Health section.

Our branch membership started at the beginning of this decade with about 800 members. By the end of 1989, the branch was down to about 600 members.

One of our major fundraisers for scholarships had been the Yearly Book Sale. It required many volunteers to organize and process the thousands of books we sold each year. With dwindling volunteers, it was finally ended in the mid-1980s.

Members volunteered to visit City Council meetings, Board of Supervisor meetings and various school board meetings. We reported back to the board, and many members spoke at these meetings representing our branch positions on various items.

“Vanishing Victorians” was a huge success to the community in the ’70s. We were still voting for new printings of the original book in softbound copies as well as hardbound editions of this popular book in the ’80s. The branch also made and sold note cards with drawings by Karen Yee.

In the mid-’80s, the board voted to donate our central files to the History Center for archiving. We also donated $200 to the center. I used our archived materials to write this article. Our stored materials are there for you to use, but you need to make an appointment during their specified times.