Tag Archives: Membership

Birthdays, Books, and Printable Articles

Celebrating August Birthdays! By Donna Holmes

Happy (Belated) Birthday to All!

  • Jennifer Krebsbach                           8/5 
  • Linda Patterson                                 8/5
  • Marlys Fredrickson Huez                 8/6
  • Nancy McCabe                                  8/14
  • May Ruth Lynch                                8/22
  • Susan Rubinstein Szabo                  8/22
  • Barbara Smith                                   8/25
  • Vicki Nicholson                                  8/28
  • Catherine Locke                                8/31

Celebrating September Birthdays! By Donna Holmes

Happy Birthday to All!

  • Kathleen Keers                                  9/3
  • Anne Just                                            9/6
  • Fakhri Alereza Rice                           9/6
  • Rebekah Machado de Quevedo     9/9
  • Jeanette Finn                                     9/10
  • Barbara Kamilos                               9/12
  • Marchetta Schneider                       9/13
  • Pamella Vaughn                               9/15
  • Malinda Rice                                     9/20
  • Hedda Smithson                              9/20
  • Cherril Peabody                               9/22
  • Elinor Anklin                                     9/26
  • Kathryn Brann                                  9/26
  • Danielle Metzinger                          9/26
  • Karen Humphrey                             9/27
  • Joy Clous                                           9/28

September Book Groups By Sharon Anderson

Book Group 2:
The Code Breaker, by Walter Isaacson, on Sept. 6; coordinator is Carol Hayes

Book Group 3: 
Caste: the Origins of our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson, on Sept. 28; coordinator is Carolyn Meeker

Book Group 4: 
The Daughters of Yalta: the Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans, by Catherine Grace Katz, on Sept. 14; coordinator is Pat Morehead

Book Group 6: 
Infinite City: a San Francisco Atlas, by Rebecca Solnit, on Sept. 19; coordinators are Angela Scarlett, Gloria Yost

Book Group 8: 
Afterlife, by Julia Alvarez , on Sept. 26; coordinator is Diana Squire

Book Group 10: 
Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook, by Celia Rees, Sept.15 ; coordinator is Sandi Schoenman

Book Group 12: 
Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir, on Sept 1; coordinator is Linda Cook

Book Group 33: 
Lady Clementine, by Marie Benedict, on Sept. 1; coordinator is Jane Pivetti

Printable Newsletter Articles

Click here for Printable Newsletter Articles

Reminder – It is Time to Renew!

Reminder – It is Time to Renew! By Marty McKnew

If you have already renewed – thank you!

The renewal process has changed!

  • Have you accessed your new AAUW account yet?  If so, skip to the next bullet.  With the new account you will have more options to self-service your account information and the ability to view past registrations, purchases and more.  Follow this step-by-step process in the tutorial under Logging In:  https://www.aauw.org/new-systems-update/
  • Once you have accessed your account, you can Renew your Membership online.  Using the above link, scroll down to Managing Your Membership for a tutorial on how to renew, or use the hints below.
  • Hints:
    • You will be asked for your College, Degree, Degree Field and date conferred.  If you know the year, any date will work.
    • Under Membership Type, if you do not have a Lifetime membership, select National.
    • Select Yes to add Branch and State membership.
    • Scroll down the list to CA0092-Sacramento, Inc., select it, then scroll to the bottom and click on Next.  If you are a dual member, select all your branches at this time.  The next screen will give you the opportunity to select your main branch.
    • Repeat for the state of CA-California.
  • If you want to pay with a check, click on the application link here to print an application and  follow the instructions.

Need help?  Contact us, our contact information is in the Membership Directory.

Donna Holmes and Marty McKnew
Co-Membership Directors

Named Gift Honorees

Named Gift Honorees By Charmen Goehring

Congratulations to Karen Burley and Kim Rutledge for being our special Named Gift Awardees! Each year, AAUW allows a branch to “name” part of the branch Funds monies in honor of a member who has demonstrated exemplary service to the branch.

As the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, Kim had the continuing challenge of creating programs that would be of interest to members whether in person or online. With ever changing virus transmission rates, she and her committee had to pivot their planning to provide programming that kept us all safe. With just two in-person events, members likely missed the social interaction, but we were still treated to quality programs each month that represented AAUW’s mission. Kudos, Kim!

Staying connected is important at any time but especially during an ongoing pandemic! Karen successfully leveraged technology to keep us informed via the newsletter, signed up thanks to EventBrite and connected on Zoom! As this pandemic lingers, I have no doubt that Karen will continue to learn new ways to help keep us connected to one another! Thank you, Karen!

Thank you to all branch members who contributed to the AAUW Funds this year! AAUW Sacramento sent in more than $13,000 in donations and landed in the top 10 spot for per capita giving in California!!

Summer Books, Birthdays, and Printable Articles

Celebrating June Birthdays! By Donna Holmes

  Happy Birthday to All!

  • Della Knowles                              6/2
  • Patricia Peck                                6/2
  • Sandra Cavey                               6/4
  • Mahnaz Khazari                           6/4
  • Shirley Wheeler                           6/8
  • Pamela Spears                             6/8
  • Jane Reinmuth                             6/10
  • Rita Walker                                   6/10
  • Ellynrose Sheehan                      6/11
  • Sharon Lee Swanson                  6/11
  • Carmen Hobbs                            6/12
  • Charmen Goehring                     6/19
  • Kathleen Papst                             6/20
  • Carol Hayes                                  6/29

Celebrating July Birthdays!

Happy Birthday to All!

  • Nancy Kniskern                            7/1
  • Gloria Sears                                  7/3
  • Karen Ann Rystad                        7/5
  • Patricia Winkle                             7/6
  • Judy Foote                                     7/8
  • Michele Hobza                             7/8
  • Linda Sparks                                7/9
  • Ruth Werner                                7/10
  • Shari Beck                                    7/13
  • Lisa Howard                                7/14
  • Vivian Counts                              7/16
  • Marty McKnew                            7/20
  • Lori Franz                                     7/24
  • Martha H McDowell                   7/24
  • Joan Heikkila Rhee                     7/28
  • Gina Schumacher                       7/31

July Book Groups By Sharon Anderson

Book Group 2:
No July meeting; coordinator is Carol Hayes

Book Group 3: 
Inheritance, by Dani Shapiro, on July 27; coordinator is Carolyn Meeker

Book Group 4: 
Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell, by Charlotte Gray, on July 13; coordinator is Nancy Lawrence

Book Group 6: 
No July meeting; coordinator is Angela Scarlett, Gloria Yost

Book Group 8: 
Matrix: A Novel, by Lauren Groff , on July 25; coordinator is Diana Squire

Book Group 10: 
No July meeting; coordinator is Sandi Schoenman

Book Group 12: 
Stoner, by John Williams, on July 7 coordinator is Linda Cook

Book Group 33: 
No July meeting; coordinators are Jane Pivetti, Nancy Lawrence

August Book Groups By Sharon Anderson

Book Group 2:
No August meeting; coordinator is Carol Hayes

Book Group 3: 
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, by Dominic Smith, on August 24; coordinator is Carolyn Meeker

Book Group 4: 
Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead, on August 10; coordinator is Nancy Lawrence

Book Group 6: 
The Other Americans, by Laila Lalami, on August 15; coordinator is Angela Scarlett, Gloria Yost

Book Group 8: 
All That She Carried, by Tiya Miles , on August 22; coordinator is Diana Squire

Book Group 10: 
No August meeting; coordinator is Sandi Schoenman

Book Group 12: 
The Girl with Seven Names, by Hyeonseo Lee, on August 4; coordinator is Linda Cook

Book Group 33: 
No August meeting; coordinators are Jane Pivetti, Nancy Lawrence

Printable Newsletter Articles

Click here for Printable Newsletter Articles

May Program – In Person!

May Meeting to Celebrate Our Members By Kim Rutledge

The AAUW Sacramento Branch will hold its May membership meeting on Saturday, May 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sacramento Dharma Center, 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA 95826. The meeting will feature a presentation from this year’s Speech Trek winner (tentative), plus recognition of our 50-year members and our named gift honorees, and installation of the 2022-23 branch officers.

Following the program, a catered lunch from My Sister’s Cafe will be served. My Sister’s Café is a volunteer-based support program for My Sister’s House to help domestic violence survivors get back on their feet financially. My Sister’s House serves domestic violence survivors of all ethnicities.

Please RSVP using the Eventbrite link here no later than Friday, May 13. It is important that you RSVP by that date so we can provide the caterer with an accurate head count. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required to attend this event, so please bring your vaccination card or digital vaccination record on your phone. We ask all members to pay $5 cash at the door to help offset the catering cost.

We are excited to see our members in person on May 21!

Membership Update and Renewals

Membership Update for May By Donna Holmes and Marty McKnew

We have two new members: Joy Clous and Mahnaz Khazari!  They don’t know each other, yet, but both want to join Great Decisions III.  We are hoping they will attend our May 21st IN PERSON meeting.  Look for more details in the May program article.

Additionally, we have three new 50-Year Members: Mary Lou Lentz, Linda Sparks and Sue Whetstone.  They will be presented with their certificates at our May meeting.  Although Sue may not be up to attending, we are asking her daughter to come and receive her mother’s certificate.

Renewals:

The new National software, called Nimble, is still being rolled out and has a few issues that are being worked on.  Per our National contact, Angie Cooper, indicates that more renewal information will be coming out soon.  The new National dues are $67 of which $64 is tax deductible. A number of the Board members have used the new renewal process successfully.

If you want to renew now, go to AAUW.org and then to Membership.  In the upper right-hand corner of the screen, click on the ‘login’ button. The first time you log in, you’ll need to reset your password by clicking the “Forgot Password” link. From there you will be directed to your “Personal Snapshot”. Do try it. Click HERE for instructions and several tutorials on how to set up your Personal Snapshot, the new term for your personal AAUW portal. (As a current member, you don’t need to be concerned about the information in the video on how to add new members.)

Once you are logged in you will land on your personal page, which has your personal information such as email address, home address and phone, in addition to your current membership information. At the bottom of the page you will see a blue ‘RENEW’ button.  When you click on it you will enter the renewal process.  Your branch and state membership are not automatic. On the branch page you will need to scroll to CA 0092, that is the Sacramento Branch ID, and click it.  On the next page you pick your state, click on CA for California.  Scroll to the bottom (every branch and every state are listed on these pages!) and submit.  At this point you may pay by credit card or directly from your bank account.  You will be given the option to make a National Fund donation.  Or, you may mail me a check.  We will be mailing paper renewals to members not completing online.

If you are an Honorary Life Member you still need to renew but no money needs to be paid and we can do those in bulk.

Look for e-blasts to follow with renewal information – thank you.

Donna Holmes & Marty McKnew
Co-Directors Membership

May Books, Birthdays, and Printable Articles

Celebrating May Birthdays! By Donna Holmes

  Happy Birthday to All!

  • Ellen Nathan                               5/1
  • Patricia Stillwell                          5/1
  • Patricia Morehead                     5/5
  • Stephenie Moczydkowski         5/7
  • Janis Appel                                  5/13
  • Margaret McCarthy                   5/16
  • Elizabeth Mark                           5/17
  • Rosemary Howard                    5/18
  • Deborah Dunn                           5/22
  • Cheryl Fuller                               5/24
  • Frances Vitulli                             5/24
  • Merrie McLaughlin                    5/26
  • Tamara Olson                             5/28
  • Patty Taylor                                 5/29
  • Margot Leidig                              5/31

Book Groups By Sharon Anderson

Book Group 2:
Ghosts of Gold Mountain, by Gordon Chang, on May 3; coordinator is Carol Hayes

Book Group 3: 
The Book of Lost Names, by Kristin Hamel, on May 25; coordinator is Carolyn Meeker

Book Group 4: 
Slouching Towards Bethlehem, by Joan Didion, on May 11; coordinator is Nancy Lawrence

Book Group 6: 
Damnation Spring, by Ash Davidson, on May 16; coordinator is Angela Scarlett

Book Group 8: 
Libertie, by Kaitlyn Greenidge , on May 23; coordinator is Diana Squire

Book Group 10: 
Interior Chinatown, by Charles Wu, on May 19; coordinator is Sandi Schoenman

Book Group 12: 
The Premonition: A Pandemic Story, by Michael Lewis, on May 5; coordinator is Linda Cook

Book Group 33: 
Open to Another Choice, by Carol Finney, on May 5; coordinators are Jane Pivetti, Nancy Lawrence

Printable Newsletter Articles

Click here for Printable Newsletter Articles

Nominating Committee – Slate and Vote

Nominating Committee Report By Liz Jordan
With Two Positions for Membership Vote

The Nominating Committee, Linda Sparks, Vicki Nicholson, Nancy Lawrence, Cherril Peabody, and Liz Jordan, present an incomplete slate of candidates for the Branch vote on April 9, Branch meeting and Author’s Event.

 

The slate is:

Secretary for a two-year term: Carole Cline. 

Carole has just served one year as secretary, completing the previous term left vacant.

Finance Director for a two-year-term:  Susana Mullen

            Susana has an MBA in accounting and is retiring from an accountant position.

Open and Unfilled:  President or Co-Presidents

            This position is necessary for branch function.  Leads the board action and in decision-making.

Open and partially filled: Co-Directors of Program

One member volunteered with qualification for this position; she needs a co-director.  She is very experienced but will not serve as the sole director.

The Branch is slated to vote on April 9 at our branch meeting designated as the Author’s Event.  Every member can vote. 

Job descriptions for open positions are available on the sacramento-ca.aauw.net website under the Membership tab, Members Only link. Anyone interested in serving in either of the two open positions, please contact Liz Jordan, Vicki Nicholson, Angela Scarlett, or Nancy Lawrence.  Phone and email available in the Directory.

What Happened at the Leadership Crisis Meeting?

What Happened at the Branch Leadership Crisis Meeting? By Liz Jordan

On Wednesday evening, March 16, more than 35 members signed into a branch meeting, open to the entire membership.  The goal of the meeting was to help solve a leadership crisis: to find members willing to serve the branch.

Who Will Lead?  The annual Nominating Committee has not been able to find a volunteer[s] to serve as President or Co-Presidents or as Program Director or Co-Directors.

Other branch leadership needs discussed were for volunteers to lead our Tech Trek Program and one to lead our Public Policy activities.

Job Descriptions are available from Nominating Committee Chair Liz Jordan and/or by clicking on the Membership tab through to the Members Only link of the AAUW Sacramento website sacramento-ca.aauw.net.

Survey: The membership was alerted to this meeting by eblast and each eblast contained a link to a survey about branch activities.  The survey gleaned responses from about a quarter of the membership and then comprised the focus for the meeting discussion. (See article by Gloria Yost about what members responded).  The members attending this meeting were able to see some of the members responses, and then members were randomly assigned to one of five break-out rooms where they discussed one of the questions, as well.

The five questions from the survey, then discussed by the break-out groups, were:

  1. What are your reasons for being a member of AAUW Sacramento?
  2. Our mission is to empower women and girls. How do you think we can motivate our members to participate in mission-based activities?
  3. What reasons do you have for serving or not serving on a committee or as a board leader?
  4. Do you ordinarily participate in Branch meetings and programs? Why or why not?
  5. If we reduced the number of our branch outreach activities, which ones would you eliminate?  Or change and in what way? These four activities were discussed:
    • Scholarship – women 25 years or older, returning to college
    • Speech Trek – high school kids speak to a question about gender equity
    • Tech Trek – six middle school girls who have talent but may lack motivation go to STEM Camp on a college campus for a week.
    • NCCWSL – National Conference of College Women Student Leaders – conference once a year over Memorial Weekend at University Maryland.

Discussion: Volunteer recorders in each of the five breakout rooms kept notes and reported back to the larger meeting during the last half hour.  The discussion was wide-ranging, and all possible ways to restructure branch activity were on the table.  A strong possibility of a Strategic Planning Committee to work on streamlining branch activities and leadership positions is under discussion.

Please:  Anyone willing to serve in either of the open board positions or on the Strategic Planning Committee is strongly encouraged to call or write Liz Jordan, Nancy Lawrence, Cherril Peabody, Linda Sparks or Vicki Nicholson.  Please see the directory for contact information.

Membership Response to Recent Survey

Membership Response to Recent Survey By Gloria Yost

AAUW Sacramento branch leaders put out a plea to members for help in dealing with a leadership gap and just under one fourth (42) of our membership responded with their ideas.  In addition, these questions were discussed by the 35 members who participated in a robust exchange of ideas about the future of AAUW Sacramento.  Below is a summary of responses.

We are members because:

We enjoy the friendship of other educated women and support AAUW’s mission.  We enjoy our interest groups and want to continue promoting education by helping women and girls.

We can motivate participation in mission-based activities with:

We want improved communication and sharing within our branch and more opportunities for more gratifying personal interactions.  Our interest groups are important to us and could also incorporate some mission-based activities.  We’d like stronger interpersonal links with those we empower through our outreach efforts.   We also think we need to do more to broadcast our accomplishments

Our reasons for serving, or not, on committees or as board leaders are:

We serve because we think it’s important and to share some responsibility for branch operations, and we like to be in the know and help with planning.  We also appreciate learning new skills from fellow board members.

However, some of us have been there and done that, and though we might help on committees, we don’t want to be in charge.  Time commitment, health issues and concern about technical proficiency are reasons for no participation.  Some of us also find other organizations providing us with more focus and new input.

We do, or do not, participate in branch meetings and programs because:

Participation provides us an opportunity to keep up with the work of the branch and branch members, visit with friends and make new ones.  We also get inspired by what we learn from women who are working to improve our community and the world.

Some of us don’t find program topics to be engaging.  We want business and announcements to be as brief as possible.  Transportation and meeting times are difficult for some and Zoom is not a welcome alternative.  Zoom can also be hard for those with young children.

We want to keep participating in all of our outreach programs, but if that isn’t possible, eliminate NCCWSL.  (National Conference of College Women Student Leaders)

Some of our ideas about other ways to change branch activities are:

Reduce the size of the board and streamline its activities to increase member willingness to serve.  Embrace the fact that interest groups are a vital part of Sacramento Branch and the board should strengthen ties with them.

Eliminate some branch meetings and focus on doing the others well, perhaps getting out of a rut of doing the same thing again and again. Bring back WOW (Women of the World) or something similar, as we all need to be connected with the whole community.  Do things more collaboratively with other groups and agencies to learn about problems and solutions.

“I’m so proud of all that we have done and will do to empower people to have better lives. These outreach programs make me feel like I’m part of the solution, especially as a retired person who no longer contributes in a paid position.”