Daily Archives: August 27, 2025

Membership Doings

MEMBERSHIP DOINGS

By Gloria Yost, Hedda Smithson

AAUW Sacramento begins our 2025-26 year with a burst of excitement. We are
blessed with the addition of 22 new members from the former Citrus Heights-American River (CHAR) branch. They are bringing their dedication, talents and energy with them, along with some new interest groups.

Michelle Davis Baer	Fran Clarke	Darlene Houston
Lisa Barney	Lee Battershell	Pam Bone
Jean Bronner	Trish Caldwell	Janice Chung
Virginia Dunstan	Mary Duval	Charlene Eberwine
Joyce Farruggia	Mary Fenner	Gwendolyn Houk
Pat Boyd	Carol Laursen	Jean Lind
PJ Missman	Roberta Schmalz	Gloria Sears
Virginia Sturdevant	Mary Toutonghi

Please welcome and get to know them.

Since May we also have three new members!
-Cassandra Trevino: Joined us online and lives in Orangevale
-Judy Lane: Is a retired librarian who is interested in Great Decisions
-Julika Barrett: Lives in West Sacramento; is the AAUW CA Office Manager

Welcome to AAUW Sacramento Cassandra, Judy and Julika.

If you would like to connect with and mentor our new members, please contact Hedda or Gloria.

* * * * * * * *
Membership Ambassadors Program Continues!

Latest Ambassadors – Fran Clark, Donna Holmes

Bring in a new member — get your name on our Wall of Honor
Bring in a new member — get your name added for our drawings
Monthly drawing for prizes at meetings
Recruit the most new members — WIN a free AAUW membership for 2026-27

Help us Strengthen our Branch connections and friendships

Gloria Yost and Hedda Smithson – Our contact information can be found in the Membership Directory.

Celebrating August Birthdays!

Jennifer Krebsbach 8/5
Linda Patterson 8/5
Marlys Fredrickson Huez 8/6
Pamela Harder 8/8
Nancy McCabe 8/14
Darlene Houston 8/16
Robin Howlett 8/17
May Ruth Lynch 8/22
Barbara Smith 8/25
Vicki Nicholson 8/28
Catherine Locke 8/31

Celebrating September Birthdays!

Kathleen Keers 9/3
Lynn Wilcox 9/4
Anne Just 9/6
Merilee Colton 9/8
Susan Cox 9/9
Rebekah Machado de Quevedo 9/9
Gail Field 9/10
Jeanette Finn 9/10
Cathy Sallas 9/11
Barbara Kamilos 9/12
Pamella Vaughn 9/15
Malinda Rice 9/20
Hedda Smithson 9/20
Cherril Peabody 9/22
Patricia Poyner 9/23
Elinor Anklin 9/26
Kathryn Brann 9/26
Karen Humphrey 9/27
Joy Clous 9/28

In Memoriam – Member Carolyn Meeker

On July 16, 2025, Carolyn Meeker died as she had lived, with dignity and resolve, and on her own terms. Faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis, she chose to end her life peacefully, using Medical Aid in Dying rather than letting
the disease kill her painfully.

Carolyn was born on March 17, 1940, in Fresno and spent her childhood in Coalinga and LA. A trip to Europe after her sophomore year at UC Berkeley inspired Carolyn to realize that life had more to offer than settling down and
starting a family right after college. After graduating from Cal with a BA in psychology, she entered a PhD program in physiology at UCLA. She earned her doctorate and took a teaching position at Long Beach State.

In 1981, she accepted another lecturer position at Sac State, where she met Gary Meeker. They were married in 1983 on Gary’s sailboat.

After retiring from Sac State, Carolyn supported her husband’s hobbies while engaging in her own interests, including gardening, tai chi, and working on a mystery novel. She joined Gary on sailing adventures in the Delta. After his death in November 2024, Carolyn continued with her walking/lunch group and multiple book clubs until her sudden illness and diagnosis in June.

Remembrances may be made to the Nature Conservancy.

(This article from The Sacramento Bee, July 18, 2025, was edited for brevity.)

Book Groups Update

Book Groups Update By Sharon Anderson

If you wish to see what others are reading, or get ideas for your book group or yourself, please refer to the “books” page under “Activities” on our branch website (https://sacramento-ca.aauw.net/bookgroups/).

Each book group has its own tab, by book group number. (These book group numbers correlate with page 6 of the branch Membership Directory.) On each list, the meeting days, times and coordinator are listed.

September Book Groups

Book Group 1:
Beyond That, the Sea, by Lora Spence Ash, on Sept. 11; coordinator is Susanna Mullen

Book Group 3:
Night Watch, by Jayne Phillips, on Sept. 24; coordinator is Julia Maclay

Book Group 4:
A Little Chapel on the River, by Gwendolyn Bounds, on Sept. 10; coordinator is Pat Morehead

Book Group 8:
Foster, by Claire Keegan, on Sept. 22; coordinator is Diana Squire

Book Group 10:
Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimerer, on Sept. 18; coordinator is Sandi Schoenman

Book Group 12:
The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon, on Sept. 4; coordinator is Linda Cook

Living Our Mission of Equity By Charmen Goehring

We hope you will join us in a monthly equity conversation where we look at our own biases, seek actions we can take to attract diversity to our branch and become better people in the process. Each month, we read a section of our selected book then meet to discuss what we have learned, along with exploring other issues related to race and equity. We meet the first Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8 PM on Zoom.

The Zoom meeting code is 737 420 3780 or you can join using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7374203780

We will discuss our current book, Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine, by Uche Blackstock, MD, on September 3 at 7 p.m. We will discuss Part 3 and will also pick our next book. If you have questions and to RSVP, please email Charmen at charminme@yahoo.com.

Interest Group Happenings

Interest Group Happenings
By PJ Missman

September is when we get back to spending time with our AAUW friends, stretching our minds and learning new things, and getting active again! I am looking forward to meeting new friends in our expanded Sacramento AAUW Branch. Many CHAR members have transferred to our branch and have brought along a few new interest groups to add to our already busy schedules! If you are interested in participating in any of our Interest Groups, please contact the coordinators listed here.

I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and the new groups. I am PJ Missman, the new Interest Group coordinator. I’ve been a dual member of CHAR and Sacramento for several years. I am a 26-year member of AAUW. I already know many of you, and I hope to get to know many more this year. My contact information, as well as the contacts for each of the Interest Groups, is in your Membership Directory.

September is the time of year when Great Decisions leaders plan for the coming year and order discussion books. If you are thinking of joining a GD group, please contact the group coordinator now so that books can be ordered.

The new Interest Groups on our list have been active for many years and are hoping to have a few new members join them. One is a Great Decisions group that will be ordering books in October but does not actually meet until February. The group meets in members’ homes, twice per month, and starts off the meetings with the video provided by the Great Decisions’ Foreign Policy Association. World Country Study chooses a different country to study each year. The members choose topics to present and meet in members’ homes. Lunch Bunch is a get-together just to enjoy each other’s company, always finding a small nonchain, locally owned restaurant to support. Mahjong also meets twice per month and is open to all because they ask for $5 to play and it is a fundraiser for AAUW Funds.

Art and Architecture: This group meets the first Friday of the month starting in October. Contact: Deborah Dunn
Bridge: To continue the bridge group that CHAR offered, we need a volunteer for group leader. Then the leader and those interested can work out the details and logistics. Any volunteers? Please contact PJ Missman.
-Great Decisions I: Monday, Sept 29 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. The topic will be
“American Policy in the Middle East”. Contact: Cathy Locke
Great Decisions II: Thursday, Sept 11 at 6 p.m. on Zoom. The topic will be “AI and American National Security”. Contact: Lynn Blair Wood
-Great Decisions III: Monday, Sept 15, 1 p.m. Meets in a member’s home. Contact: Margaret McCarthy
-Great Decisions IV: Books are ordered in October, but meetings are 1st and 3rd Tuesdays beginning in February through May. Meets in a member’s home. Contact: Virginia Sturdevant
-Healthy Heart Lunch: Friday, Sept 19 Time and Place TBD Contact: Jane Cooley
-Lunch Bunch: Wednesday, Sept 10, Noon at Rudy’s Hideaway, Rancho
Cordova. Contact: PJ Missman
-Mahjong: Thursday Sept 11, 1-3 p.m. and Thursday Sept 25, 1-3 p.m. at Edgewood Community Center 5700 Spyglass Center, Citrus Heights. Cost is $5/meeting as this is a fundraiser for AAUW Funds. Contact: Darlene Houston
-Reader’s Theater: Meeting in October. Contact: Diane Petersen
-Scrabble Just For Fun: Monday, Sept 29, 1 p.m. Eskaton Village Carmichael game room. Contact: Vivian Counts
-Singles Dining Out: Sunday, Sept 28, 6 p.m., Fuji Sacramento, 1235 Broadway. There is parking on 13th Street and in a lot on 13th between Broadway and X Street. RSVP before Sunday. Contact: Nancy McCabe
-World Country Study: Wednesday Sept. 24, 1:30 p.m. Meets in
members’ homes. 2025: we are studying Greece. Contact: Fran Clarke

October Program

October Program By Kathy Papst

This year our branch Public Policy will shed a “Spotlight on Education”

The October program will focus on current issues regarding US and California legislation that is undermining public education and replacing it with school vouchers and charter schools. I will either have a speaker, or I will present the program with a slide show and present ways to become active.

Save the Date for this program: Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Time: TBD
Location: TBD

Stay tuned! More information to follow.

Public Policy News

PUBLIC POLICY NEWS By Kathy Papst

Welcome to the 2025-26 year for the Sacramento Branch of AAUW.
I am excited to continue as director of Public Policy. I hope that everyone had a great summer and that you are set to begin a new year exploring our mission of equity for women and girls through research, education and philanthropy.

Last year, under the leadership from Program Vice Presidents Hedda Smithson and Barbara Smith, we presented programs of “Lights, Camera, Action!” the Right for Freedom To . . . on reproductive freedom, Title IX, pay equity, voting rights, and civil rights/DEI. These programs were very informative, and spurred discussion and encouraged actively getting involved. Thank you Hedda and Barbara for all your work and dedication to programs.

I will present a public policy program in October focusing on school choice. I will also present the March program, which will highlight another avenue of the future of our educational system. I will have more information on that later in the year.

This year I will have a display of PUBLIC POLICY NEWS at all of our programs, with informational pamphlets and a look into the research on aspects of public policy from AAUW fellowship and grant recipients. Please take a look when you attend these events. I will be available for questions before and after the program.

AAUW CA Public Policy News will resume with the October newsletter.

If there is a public policy topic that you would like to know more about as it pertains to the AAUW mission, please reach out to me. My contact information can be found in the Membership Directory.

I look forward to a productive year of exploration on the AAUW mission for equity for women and girls.

Scholarship News

Scholarship News By Elizabeth Rose

Our 2024-25 AAUW Scholarship Committee has awarded scholarships for the coming school year to four talented women.

Reese Lavering and Irina Alina Hernandez are students at California State University, Sacramento, and each will receive a scholarship in the amount of $5,000. Elizabeth Hammer and Jacqueline Rios are students at the University of California, Davis, and each will receive a scholarship in the amount of $6,000.

Reese Lavering is studying psychology with a minor in counseling at CSUS. She plans to graduate in May 2027. Reese is a first-generation college student and completed her AA degree in interdisciplinary studies on a part-time basis while working full time. She “want[s] to assist others with practical needs and life skills …” One of her professors, in his letter of recommendation, noted that Reese was among the top 15 per cent of students he has taught over his last 20 years of teaching at the collegiate level in California.

Irina Alina Hernandez plans to obtain a bachelor’s in social work in December 2026 and hopes to pursue a master’s degree. Irina is a single mother and has balanced her responsibilities as the sole provider for her son, as well as being a full-time student. She plans to become a licensed child therapist and establish her own practice, to provide “compassionate care to children who are navigating emotional and psychological struggles, offering them the tools to thrive despite adversities.” Alina is receiving the Wyndel L. Holmes Scholarship, provided by Donna Holmes in memory and honor of her husband.

Elizabeth Hammer is studying biochemistry and molecular biology. She plans to graduate in May 2027 and then attend medical school. Elizabeth grew up in foster care. Her career focus arose from a serious illness suffered by the foster mother she identifies as her greatest support system. During that illness, Elizabeth researched her mother’s condition, identified necessary information, and realized that she “wanted to be the person others could turn to in moments like that … someone who brings clarity, care and strength when it’s needed most.” Elizabeth is married with two children.

Jacqueline Rios is studying pharmaceutical chemistry and expects to graduate in spring 2027. Jacqueline has been interested in chemistry since elementary school. During her studies at Sacramento City College, she became determined to become a pharmaceutical chemist, to “be a part of creating procedures with newer technology.” Jacqueline’s long-term goal is to work toward her master’s and doctoral degrees.

The quotes above were taken from the statements provided by these students.

Many thanks to our members who supported these scholarships and made a positive impact on these students’ lives. We have invited the students to join us at an upcoming program.

Did You Know?

Nineteenth Amendment Celebrates 105 Years!

On August 16, 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment was certified. The amendment prohibits states from denying the right to vote based on gender, and it is the culmination of decades of effort by women who sought equality at the ballot box.

Are You “In the Know”?

On our website, https://sacramento-ca.aauw.net there is a banner across the top of the screen telling the viewer what we offer. Click on Membership and a drop-down menu appears. Click on Members Only and everything you want to know about the Sacramento branch of AAUW, from bylaws to our operating budget to Board meeting minutes are at your fingertips. But you need to know the password. While we can’t publish the password here, you can easily find it in the back of your Membership Directory under “Social Media.”

Ordering AAUW Name Badges By Nancy McCabe

You probably have seen some of our members wearing AAUW badges with our branch inscribed. We ordered them about six years ago when we were using paper badges on a string around our necks. It reminded some of a work badge or a nametag for a cocker spaniel. Ten dollars looked like a bargain for a bit of self esteem. The badges are $11.50 and can be ordered at aauw.source4.com. My second line is ‘Sacramento Branch, Inc.’ We chose not to add our leadership position name as we often change jobs within our branch. The badges are pretty cool, so feel free to order yours, and shop the site for other logo stuff!

Sunshine Chair

Pat Winkle is our Sunshine Chair and needs to hear from you if you know members who might appreciate a get well, sympathy or “thinking of you” card. As she doesn’t know everyone, she needs your help in remembering our friends. Her contact information is in the directory.

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