Tag Archives: Membership

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.”

President’s Message

President’s Message By Angela Scarlett

Hi all,

When I started my presidency, one of my goals was to make our branch’s board meeting

minutes and financial documents available to all members.

To that end, Karen Burley, our communications director, worked with AAUW National to add a secured web page to our website. I wanted to remind members that this is now a resource.

If you haven’t visited our website before (it’s at https://sacramento-ca.aauw.net/), let me show you what the main landing page looks like:

To navigate to the Members-only page, hover over the Membership link at the top and click on the “Members Only” link.

Once you are on the “Members Only” page, you will see a password prompt. I won’t share this information here for security’s sake, but you can reach out to Karen Burley or me for the password. Our contact information is in the directory.

When you are on the page, you will see links for our current governing documents, other archives, board meeting minutes, and financial records. I want to encourage our members to use this secured page to familiarize themselves with our branch business and documents. We welcome feedback!

If you have problems viewing the screenshots, click here to view a PDF, which might help.

Thanks,
Angela Scarlett, Branch President

AAUW CA Annual Event

2022 CA Annual Event– A Real Adventure!

Calling all AAUW adventurers!

Grab your compass and join the expedition to AAUWLand at the AAUW Annual Event on Saturday, April 30th 9-3 via Zoom.  We will all be explorers, searching for new routes to connect to AAUW and its mission.

To launch the trip, the morning session will: 

  • Kick off with inspirational words from Gloria Blackwell, AAUW CEO, and Lisa Maatz, Senior Adviser, Ohio Citizen Action and former AAUW Policy Rock Star.
  • Focus our telescopes on the year’s accomplishments.
  • Honor our AAUW expedition leaders with the announcement of the Named Gift Honoree, Equity Champion, and Top 10 Branch Fund Contributions.
  • Review our advocacy efforts.
  • Share important news and updates.
  • Hear inspiring words of the three Speech Trek finalists.
  • Listen to the hosts of the breakout sessions pitch their topics.

During the afternoon route we will:

  • Be introduced to the accomplished candidates for the 2022-23 board of directors.
  • Meet a dancing scientist, Jasmine Sadler, owner and founder, The STEAM Collaborative.
  • Honor the three winners of the 2022 Branch Activity of the Year Award and hear about what they did.
  • Award a Speech Trek winner.

Along the way, we will wind into unfamiliar territory. You will have the chance to venture out and “Choose Your Own Adventure” with a self-guided journey deep into the “topical” jungle of AAUW ideas that you might be interested in talking about.

There will be multiple Zoom breakout rooms hosted by Trail Guides, members who have offered to host informal conversations on topics they hope you might want to talk about.  No agendas. No PowerPoints. No handouts. We’ll just network and share thoughts, stories, experiences, and maybe some debate. You will be able to move freely back and forth between breakout rooms to stay and share or take off and find another!

Don your pith helmet and register for Adventures in AAUWland! Click HERE to Register.

Membership Renewal

Membership Renewal By Donna Holmes and Marty McKnew

Welcome to renewal time!  National dues are increased to $67 while State and Branch dues remain $20 each for a total of $107.

You have until June 30 to become a paid life member at the old rate for a savings of $100.  Simply pay $1,240, 20 years of National dues, and never have to pay again!  The whole amount is tax deductible in the year paid.

Fifty-year members do not have to pay any dues anymore.  In our branch, 20 percent of our members are life members.  Look for an eblast in April on renewing your membership.

Lots of hugs,
Donna & Marty

April Birthdays, Books and Printable Articles

Celebrating April Birthdays! By Donna Holmes

  Happy Birthday to All!

  • Anne Rhodes                               4/1
  • Lori Gualco                                  4/2
  • Carol Nyman                               4/3
  • RosaLee Black                             4/7
  • Theresa Chekon                         4/9
  • Sandi Schoenman                      4/10
  • Sandra Young                             4/11
  • Ann Pickens                                4/17
  • Pamela Saltenberger                4/17
  • Janelle Kauffman                       4/19
  • Carol Doughty                           4/22
  • Loretta Hom                              4/25
  • MJ Hamilton                              4/26
  • Margaret Brown                       4/27
  • Ronni Riemer                            4/28
  • Dorothy Hodel                          4/30

Book Groups By Sharon Anderson

Book Group 2:
A Long Petal of the Sea, by Isabel Allende, on April 5; coordinator is Carol Hayes

Book Group 3: 
The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between, by Hisham Matar, on April 27; coordinator is Carolyn Meeker

Book Group 4: 
Humankind, by Rutger Bregman, on April 13; coordinator is Nancy Lawrence

Book Group 6: 
The Premonition: A Pandemic Story, by Michael Lewis, on April 18; coordinator is Angela Scarlett

Book Group 8: 
Being Human, by Maggie O’Farrell , on April 25; coordinator is Diana Squire

Book Group 10: 
The Code Breaker, by Walter Isaacson, on April 21; coordinator is Sandi Schoenman

Book Group 12: 
Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier, on April 7; coordinator is Linda Cook

Book Group 33: 
The Four Winds, by Kristen Hannah, on April 7; coordinators are Jane Pivetti, Nancy Lawrence

Printable Newsletter Articles

Click here for Printable Newsletter Articles

Membership Matters

Membership Matters… By Donna Holmes & Marty McKnew

Welcome our newest member:  Margo Davidson.  Margo moved to this area in 2020 from the Bay Area.  We have her friend in Austin, Texas to thank for encouraging her to join our ranks.  Margo is semi-retired and is looking to get involved in governmental affairs as well as meeting some new people.  Look for her contact information in the next Directory Update.

Consider Lifetime Membership!

This is a great time for current members to upgrade to lifetime membership for $1,240, a $100 savings compared to the cost after June 30. Lifetime membership is fully tax-deductible and allows you to put your values into action for many years to come!  Contact Marty or Donna to apply.

Beginning July 1, the AAUW national dues will be $67, of which $64 will be tax-deductible.  This is a $5 increase for 2022-23 year.

A Golden 100 Years

The women of California struck gold when the first branch of AAUW was founded in 1886 in San Francisco. By 1921, branch leaders knew they had tapped the deep vein of women’s interest in pursuing equity, and they formed an umbrella organization to unify their efforts: AAUW California.  Since then, AAUW California has grown to 119 branches with 9,571 members. The past 100 years have given a rich treasure of accomplishments, most notably the establishment of the Tech Trek program, which has provided hands-on STEM learning to more than 13,000 seventh-grade girls. The program was so exemplary that AAUW adopted and expanded it nationally.

AAUW California also sponsors the Speech Trek public-speaking contest for high school students. Through the generosity of its members, AAUW California has the distinction of completing 245 AAUW Fund endowments.

Always innovative and nimble, it pivoted to virtual programs during the pandemic, reached out to all members through multiple channels, provided an entirely homegrown educational webinar series, and launched a marketing campaign to build brand recognition and membership.

Thanks to a robust and innovative leadership team, AAUW California has weathered war, social change, COVID-19 and Twitter. And it continues to support branches with the resources and education they need to carry out the AAUW mission.

Sacramento AAUW is proud to be a member of AAUW California.

March Birthdays, Book Groups, and Printable Articles

Celebrating March Birthdays! By Donna Holmes

  Happy Birthday to All!

  • PJ Missman                              3/1
  • Patricia Morgan                      3/5
  • Margi Park                               3/5
  • Sharon Norris                         3/6
  • Marjorie Patzer                      3/6
  • Julia Maclay                             3/8
  • Vicky Lovell                              3/9
  • Andrea Woelfle                       3/11
  • Alice Bauer                              3/14
  • Mary Lou Lentz                       3/17
  • Carolyn Meeker                      3/17
  • Cecilia Delury                          3/25
  • Elizabeth Jordan                     3/28

Book Groups By Sharon Anderson

Book Group 2:
News of the World, by Paulette Jiles, on Mar. 1; coordinator is Carol Hayes

Book Group 3: 
Passing, by Nella Larsen, on Mar. 23; coordinator is Carolyn Meeker

Book Group 4: 
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman, on Mar. 9; coordinator is Nancy Lawrence

Book Group 6: 
The Golden State: A Novel, by Lydia Kiesling, on Mar. 21; coordinator is Angela Scarlett

Book Group 8: 
Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague, by Maggie O’Farrell , on Mar. 28; coordinator is Diana Squire

Book Group 10: 
The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles, on Mar. 17; coordinator is Sandi Schoenman

Book Group 12: 
Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson, on Mar. 3; coordinator is Linda Cook

Book Group 33: 
Inheritance, by Dana Shaprine, on Mar. 3 coordinators are Jane Pivetti, Nancy Lawrence

Printable Newsletter Articles

Click here for Printable Newsletter Articles

Membership Matters

Membership Matters By Donna Holmes and Marty McKnew

We are saddened to announce the passing of two members of Sacramento AAUW, Tina Taggart and Marjorie Daughhetee.

Tina, a 50-year member of AAUW, was born in 1933 and passed away on Aug. 30, 2021.  She was a native of Sacramento and spent most of her life here.  With a BS in journalism from the University of Oregon, she became a kindergarten teacher, a stay-at-home mom and finally an information officer at the Department of Food and Agriculture. She was also a 50-year member of the Delta Zeta and the Tuesday Club.  She is greatly missed by her husband, three children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Marjorie joined AAUW in 2015 and was active with Book Section No. 2 and, more recently, with the Games Night.  Marjorie passed away a few days before the AAUW holiday party, which she planned to attend.  She came to California from Nebraska to teach home economics at Placerville High School.  She met her husband, Larry, in a summer graduate program.   Marjorie and her husband were seasoned travelers, touring all over the world and across the US until Larry’s death a few years ago.  She leaves one son in Ithaca, NY, and numerous nieces and nephews.

(Thank you to Alice Bauer for the biographical information.)

Membership Co-Chairs,
-Donna Holmes
-Marty McKnew

February Birthdays, Book Groups and Printable Articles

Celebrating February Birthdays! By Donna Holmes

  Happy Birthday to All!

  • Anna Storey                             2/1
  • Kathleen Deaver                     2/2
  • Arlene Cullum                         2/4
  • Margaret Ann Dukleth           2/7
  • Susan Whetstone                   2/9
  • Barbara Puett                         2/10
  • Jane Cooley                             2/14
  • Nancy Fox                               2/16
  • Ann Louise Kinnison             2/21
  • Linda Howard                         2/22
  • Jean Brown                             2/24
  • Carol Finney                           2/25
  • Inger Lindholm                      2/26
  • Karen W. Smith                      2/26

Book Groups By Sharon Anderson

Book Group 2:
The Paris Library, by Janet Charles, on Feb. 1; coordinator is Carol Hayes

Book Group 3: 
Nemesis, by Philip Roth, on Feb. 23; coordinator is Carolyn Meeker

Book Group 4: 
Bad Blood, by John Carryrou, on Feb. 8; coordinator is Nancy Lawrence

Book Group 6: 
TBD, on Feb. 21; coordinator is Angela Scarlett

Book Group 8: 
The Origin of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson, on Feb. 28; coordinator is Diana Squire

Book Group 10: 
The Book Woman of Troublesom Creek, by Kim Michelle Richardson, on Feb. 17; coordinator is Sandi Schoenman

Book Group 12: 
Midnight in Broad Daylight, by Pamela Rotner Sakamoto, on Feb. 3; coordinator is Linda Cook

Book Group 33: 
Lola on Fire, by Rio Youers, on Feb. 3 coordinators are Jane Pivetti, Nancy Lawrence

Printable Newsletter Articles

Click here for Printable Newsletter Articles

Membership – December Update

Membership – December Update By Donna Holmes and Marty McKnew

One-third of our membership participated in our all-inclusive Holiday Party in December!  This was our first in-person event since February 2020 and it was lovely.

Members are the branch and together we change the world.  Membership directors are automatically on the Program Committee plus other non-board members who volunteer.  With Kim Rutledge’s leadership, we work out a plan for the year and who will work on each program.

At our December program we try to support another group in need, and this year we chose the Afghani refugees served by the Highlands Community Charter School.  We also learned about other cultures and their holiday observances.

The program team was made up of Bonnie Penix, Shari Beck, Gloria Yost, Barbara Smith, Jan Stuter, Kim Rutledge and Donna Holmes, with technical support by Karen Burley.  In total, 68 members made this event a rousing success.  The photo shows gifts collected at the holiday luncheon that made more than 100 children very happy.  Remember, membership is all of us — no one has to carry the whole load.  When you can, volunteer, take a chance to join a committee, interest group or even the board.  Together we are advancing gender equity for women and girls through research, education and advocacy.

Join us on Jan. 29 at the IBC Zoom meeting to hear from three fellows who received part of the $5M given out by Association this past year.

Happy New Year!

-Donna Holmes & Marty McKnew