Daily Archives: August 29, 2019

Fall Showcase to spotlight branch programs, fundraising achievements By Cathy Locke

Join us Saturday, Sept. 21, for our fall kick-off event, focusing on programs for the coming year and young women the branch has sponsored through fundraising efforts.

The fall showcase will be held from 10 a.m. to noon in the community room at the Arden Dimick Library, 891 Watt Ave.

We will hear from our five 2019-20 scholarship recipients: Athena Aviles, Sandra Awais, Brianna Delaney, Emily Wirth, and Asiya Yama. Thanks to the generous donations of our members, each will receive a $2,000 scholarship to aid in their academic pursuits at California State University, Sacramento or one of the Los Rios community colleges.

We also will hear from our next generation of leaders, Billie Veerkamp and Alexis Jimenez, AAUW student affiliate members at CSUS, about their experience at the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL). They were among more than 800 students who attended the AAUW event in May in the Washington, D.C. area. This is the first year our branch has sent students to the conference.

The showcase also will feature a preview of 2019-20 branch programs – including our 100th anniversary celebration Feb. 29, 2020 – and members will have an opportunity to learn about the branch’s many interest groups.

You may register for the free event online via Eventbrite, or by calling or emailing Cathy Locke.

Presidents’ Message: We Say Goodbye, We Say Hello Branch Board 2019-2020 & Looking Within to Expand Our Reach Out by Liz Jordan and Charmen Goehring

Liz Jordan

Thank you to all of our outgoing Board members from 2018-2019.

To outgoing board members who gave days and days of their time to AAUW Sacramento, we can never thank you enough, but we greatly appreciate all that you have done and continue to contribute to our branch.

  • Donna Holmes – Co-President 2017-2019
  • Deborah Dunn – Program Co-Director
  • Sharon Norris – Membership Co-Director
  • Linda Patterson – Membership Co-Director
  • Danielle Metzinger – AAUW Funds Director
  • May Ruth Lynch – AAUW Finance Director
  • Nancy Lawrence – Fundraising Director
  • Cherril Peabody – Interest Group Director
  • Ashley Anglesey – Public Policy Director
  • Susana Mullen – Scholarship Co-Director

 New to the 2019-2020 Voting Board:

We want to welcome to the board this year some new-to-the-board members, as well as

some long-time board members in new positions:

  • Charmen Goehring – Co-President
  • Angela Scarlett – President-Elect
  • Karen Burley – Program Co-Director with Cathy Locke
  • Janice Stuter – Membership Director
  • Merrie McLaughlin – AAUW Funds Co-Director with Kathy Asay
  • Donna Holmes – (temporary) Finance Director
  • Barbara Smith – Fundraising Director
  • Kathy Papst – Interest Groups Director
  • Amy Rose – Public Policy Director
  • Linda Patterson – Scholarship Co-Director with Anna Storey

Continuing 2019-2020 Board Members

These members continue to serve and enjoy the friendships of the board:

  • Elizabeth (Liz) Jordan – Co-President
  • Cathy Locke – Program Director
  • Kathy Asay – AAUW Funds
  • Tiffany Ardisana James – Secretary
  • Angela Scarlett – Communications Director
  • Sharon Anderson – Membership Treasurer
  • Ruth Ann Hines – Parliamentarian
  • Anna Storey – Scholarship Co-Director
  • Shari Beck – Speech Trek Co-Director
  • Ann Arneill – Speech Trek Co-Director
  • Jo Reiken – Teck Trek Co-Director
  • Ashely Gilreath – Teck Trek Co-Director

Board service is a wonderful way to make lifelong friendships, keep up with all the work AAUW CA and National are doing to advance equity for women and girls, and to gain leadership, technical, and interpersonal skills.

What we did at the Board Retreat

The new AAUW Sacramento Branch Board assembled on Saturday, Aug. 3 at Cathy Locke’s home to orient new members, make some plans, set some goals and get to know each other.

The theme for the year

The Co-Presidents presented a theme for our work this year of Equity=Fairness. Under that theme the board decided on two goals:

Expanding our STEM Outreach

  • Look into a cooperative partnership with a Girl Scout Gold Award seeker
  • Develop or participate in a Tech Trek Alumni group

Expanding our Equity Self Awareness

  • Diversity and Accessibility Education
  • Review member and board recruiting strategies

Board Meetings

The board is undertaking some new efficiency measures to expand time for discussion on important topics. Board members will submit their activity reports by email, and the Presidents will collect, assemble the board meeting agendas and resend all to the board members for review before meeting times. Board meetings are open to the membership, and we welcome your participation. A list of the meeting dates, times and location follow in this issue of Capital Ideas.

Website

The board is researching updates to the branch website at sacramento-ca.aauw.net. As technology changes, our ways of using our website to connect with members is changing. Also, just keeping annual and monthly updates done is an effort we don’t always get it done as well as we might wish. So, we ask for your patience (and offers of help!) as we make some changes to our website in this year ahead.

 Year Ahead

The year ahead is full of informative programs, our 100th Anniversary celebration Feb. 29 at Northridge Country Club, and making new friends. See the Programs listing in your Directory for more details of the year to come. Our Annual Showcase on Sept. 21 at Arden-Dimick Library from 10 a.m. to noon. We will meet our young women student leaders from CSUS, our scholarship recipients and get an overview of branch Outreach Programs and Interest Groups. Come join the fun and bring a friend or potential new member!

 

Looking Within to Expand Our Reach Out by Charmen Goehring

Charmen Goehring

We live in troubling times. As I write this, the news pundits are discussing the two mass shootings we just experienced in the United States in less than 24 hours. Displays of hate are at an all-time high. Racist comments are tweeted by those in the highest places of power in our government. The risk of irreparable division is real.

Meanwhile, we belong to this amazing organization that has worked tirelessly to help women and girls, and indeed our nation, to move forward in equity and education for over 130 years. Our involvement in AAUW can be a way that we each help to bridge the divide with our community. To that end, the board is making a conscious effort to use an equity lens as we move through this next year – from our meetings to our interest groups to our own attitudes and beliefs. We want to continue seeking out diversity and finding new people to join us. However, in order for that to work well, we have to be something that they see themselves joining and being a part of. I think of it like a restaurant – you might love the food at a certain place, but if you had poor service on your visit, you might think twice about going there again. If the restaurant worked on their service presentation, you wouldn’t hesitate to return and bring your friends, as well. Sometimes, we have to focus inward before we can reach outward.

A website that I highly recommend is Teaching Tolerance | Diversity, Equity And Justice. You can sign up for their monthly e-magazine (or even a hard copy – it used to be free) and there are amazing articles in there. You can also search their archives for articles, lesson plans, and videos on many equity and diversity subjects. I have used it for years and always learn something new that stretches my thinking.

The other thing I suggest is the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT). This measures the strength of associations between subjects. It can be found at Project Implicit, and you can either create an account or log in as a guest. It is very interesting and will make you think about your own bias. Nothing to be ashamed of as we all have them, but being aware is the first step towards empathy and being more inclusive and tolerant of others.

We invite you to join us on this journey of self-awareness and reflection.

Speech Trek Updates by Ann Arneill, Co-Director

The Speech Trek Committee is ramping up its planning for the new Speech Trek Contest season with its first committee meeting of the year. The topic for the 2019-20 year is:

ARE MEN AND WOMEN TRULY EQUAL TODAY? OR ARE THE SUFFRAGETTES OF 1920 STILL SUFFERING IN 2020? 

 For over a century, women have been marching toward equality, starting with the Women’s March of 1913 and continuing to the Women’s Marches at present. With the approaching 100th anniversary of the woman’s right to vote, this question is very timely and should be of great interest to the students!

The Speech Trek Contest will be held on Feb. 15, 2020. Workshops at the Elk Grove Unified High School District campuses to recruit students will begin in November 2019. This year Kathleen Deaver will join Shari Beck, Co-Director of the Speech Trek Committee and Ann Arneill, Co-Director of the Speech Trek Committee in conducting the workshops. We strive to get contestants from each high school. We look forward to another successful year! Any AAUW members interested in volunteering to work on the contest can contact Ann Arneill at 916-668-7371 or by email at ann@arneill.com.

 

Membership Matters by Janice Cesolini Stuter

Janice Stuter

As your newly elected Membership Director for the AAUW Sacramento branch, I am very pleased to meet and greet you through our newsletter at the beginning of our 100-year anniversary celebration. In the recent past, two members have served together as joint Membership Directors. This year, I will be a single Director, and I really could use a support group.

The Membership Committee, which is listed in this position’s job description, was officially approved by the Board in August 2012 and reviewed in June/July 2017, but currently has no standing members. The Membership Committee functions as an informal interest group. You could contribute as much or as little time as you prefer to its activities. If, after you have read some of the activities associated with the Membership Committee, you are interested in becoming a member, please email me using the subject heading AAUW Membership Committee and indicate your particular interest area. Thank you for giving thoughtful time to what you are willing to contribute to maintaining and extending AAUW’s lifeline to our community!

Members of this group would fall into various categories:

  1. Those willing to provide on-call, occasional back-up or substitute representation at monthly program meetings. (This involves signing in members and guests in attendance when neither myself nor Reservations Chair Dawn Boyd may be available.)
  2. Those willing to be involved in new member introductions and activities (One example would be the “Happy Networking Hour.” Other possibilities could be explored.)
  3. Those willing to be involved in building existing member involvement and connection with other members (ZIP Code Area meetings, local political activism and cultural trends get-togethers are only some of the possibilities.)
  4. Recruitment brainstorming focusing on increasing diversity, connecting to like-minded political groups and any other possible ideas you might have.
  5. Those interested in updating and streamlining membership procedures and records. (This would involve helping me go through the extensive membership files I’ve received from past membership chairs and winnowing and organizing them for the most effective present-day and future use.)

 

Interest and Book Group Calendars, Our Proposed Branch Budget, Upcoming Save the Dates and Miscellaneous News

 

 

2019-20 Budget Needs Branch Approval by Donna Holmes & May Ruth Lynch

The Board of Directors has approved the budget for the fiscal year 2019-20, shown here. Branch members are asked to review the proposed budget, which will be voted on at the September Showcase.  Please direct any questions or suggestions to Donna Holmes at 916-863-7551 or wyndelndonna@sbcglobal.net. Many thanks to all of you for your continued support of our branch. Bushels of gratitude to May Ruth Lynch for her years of devotion as our Finance Director! Enjoy not having to attend board meetings and handling this task.

Save the date for Tech Trek brunch By Cathy Locke

Mark your calendars for Saturday, Oct. 19, for a special brunch spotlighting AAUW’s Tech Trek program.

Middle school students will talk about what they experienced during their week at the UC Davis Tech Trek Camp. Members also will have an opportunity to ask questions and get acquainted with the girls.

“They are very excited to meet you all and want to thank you for all your generous support,” said Jo Reiken, branch Tech Trek director.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to noon in the American River Room at Rancho Cordova City Hall, 2729 Prospect Park Drive, Rancho Cordova.

Look for more information in the October newsletter.

AAUW CA Convention: Save the Date!!!

April 17-19, 2020
Remembering the Past, Rockin’ the Future.
Westin San Francisco Airport

AAUW Sacramento Board Meeting Dates

All meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of the month with the exception of September.  All meetings are held at County Office of Human Assistance, 2700 Fulton Ave., Sacramento, CA unless otherwise arranged.

  • September Meeting – Monday, August 26, 2019
  • October Meeting – Monday, October 7, 2019
  • November Meeting – Monday, November 4, 2019
  • December Meeting – Monday, December 2, 2019
  • January Meeting – Monday, January 6, 2020
  • February Meeting – Monday, February 3, 2020
  • March Meeting – Monday, March 2, 2020
  • April Meeting – Monday, April 6, 2020
  • May Meeting – Monday, May 4, 2020
  • June Meeting – Monday, June 1, 2020

Board Briefs: June Board Meeting, June 3, 2019 by Cherril Peabody

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

  • Co-President D. Holmes announced that Nancy Lawrence and Barbara Smith will be Co-Directors of Fundraising for 2019-20. She also announced that the Work Smart Challenge is underway, with the goal of having 500 people take the training this summer.
  • Tech Trek Co-Director J. Reiken reported that the girls who attend camp this summer will talk about their experiences at a branch meeting in October. The Tech Trek Committee is looking for new grant opportunities and fund-raising ideas to support the program.
  • Program Co-Director D. Dunn announced plans for some of the programs for the rest of the year. Katherine Lemke Waste will speak at the Holiday Luncheon scheduled for Dec. 14 at the Northridge Country Club. An advocate for women artists, she works with an organization called 25 in 25. The IBC Luncheon for AAUW members from seven area branches is slated for the last Saturday in January 2020.

New Business

  1. Jordan presented her outgoing co-president D. Holmes with a name tag that lists her many official past positions in AAUW Sacramento.