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Grand Rapids Timberline
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NEWS
FOR AND ABOUT
AAUW GRAND RAPIDS
BRANCH
MEMBERS
|
Volume
39, Issue 7 April-May 2015
FROM THE PRESIDENT – Opportunities
for sharing with others...
Our March 16th
meeting was another well-attended, informative evening. It was difficult to
hear of the stark reality that our teachers and social service workers see and
experience regarding children and young adults living in poverty in Itasca
County. The presentation by Deanna Winge, Jessica Babrowski and Suzan Bubacz
gave a well-rounded perspective coming from their different careers.
This brings me to share with you
an opportunity for our group to be involved with a Habitat Women Build Project on May 6-7. Your board was enthusiastic
about helping lay the in-floor heating tubes and providing lunch these two
days. Specific information will be given at our April 20th meeting.
At our March meeting, Mac Custer
and Jan Mary Hill encouraged members to become involved with one of our literature
discussion groups, which are described on page 5 of your AAUW directory. You
may join at any time.
I am disappointed to realize I
am the only one planning to attend the AAUW state convention. I was hoping
there would be more. I know it is a long way, but I do believe we should at
least have our president there. We are one of the strongest branches in the
state.
Our AAUW branch blog is current
now, so check it out (see link and url on p. 4 of this newsletter). If you have
a news item to put on it, our blog contacts are Karen Karls or Myrna
Peterson.
Our national election is open
from April 15 to June 19. We are thinking of having a way for our members to
vote at our May meeting at Ruttger’s, if we can get set up on computers.
Check out your new AAUW Outlook magazine for the
"E" section and look at the public policy issues and candidates for
office.
Please remember former AAUW
member Mae Howe, who is terminally ill, with your cards and support: c/o
Priscilla Marto, 2001 Oakwood, Grand Forks, ND 58201.
Our May 18th meeting will be at Ruttger's, and as advance payment and registration is needed, I encourage you to register at our April dinner meeting. Treasurer Cheryl Vogel will be prepared to collect for our April ($10) and May ($27) programs as well as our annual dues ($70).
At our May meeting, we will have
a "different style show" that you won’t want to miss. See Marilyn
Rossman’s program description on p. 3.
Your
president, Marj Lavalier
QUOTABLE
“The test of
our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have
much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
** BRANCH NEWS **
April 20 Dinner Program
Location: Methodist
Church, Grand Rapids
REGISTRATION/SOCIAL: 5:15-5:30 PM DINNER:
5:45 PM
Business Meeting: 6:15 AM PROGRAM: 6:45 PM
MENU: Pork Tenderloin with mashed potatoes & gravy, vegetable, roll and dessert
Business Meeting: 6:15 AM PROGRAM: 6:45 PM
MENU: Pork Tenderloin with mashed potatoes & gravy, vegetable, roll and dessert
TOPIC: Nutrition in our Schools
Polly Podpeskar, Food & Nutrition
Director for school district 318, will discuss school food programs. School
lunch programs are an indicator of many things about our K-12 student population
and its needs. The information about school food program is used for many financial
decisions and allotments. It is estimated that almost 55% of school children in
the United States qualify for the "free lunch" and/or breakfast programs
in our public schools. The content of the school food programs has become
political as the issue of obesity and children's health has become a rapidly growing
concern.
BOOK SALE
FUNDRAISER FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
At
our April meeting, we will host our semi-annual used book sale to raise funds
for scholarships for women and girls. Please bring to this meeting used books
that are “good reads”—no manuals or reference books. Remember to bring some
cash for shopping, or you may write a check to make your donation.
May 18 Dinner Program
Location: Ruttger’s
Sugar Lake Lodge (12 miles south of Grand Rapids)
Social Hour: 5-6 PM Dinner:
6 PM Program: 6:45 PM
Buffet Menu: Chicken with garlic &
herbs, maple Glazed Salmon, sides and dessert
Cost: $27 for all (Note: Our “free meal for a guest”
does not apply to this program.)
Pre-payment
is required by May 4 to Cheryl Vogel, 20401 Mishawaka Shores Dr., Grand Rapids,
MN 55744. Any questions, call Cindy Agle, 239-223-0457.
TOPIC: Women and Clothes - Dressing in Style
We
are hosting a style show with some unusual twists. Along with current styles
from area stores, you will see “travels of a T-Shirt in a global economy”. Highlights
will be clothes we love and the historical background of what we are wearing
that evening. Members are urged to wear your favorite or historical (for you)
clothes and jewelry. It will be a good
time to wear your "unusuals" or your vintage frocks, service clothes
or items of interest, or maybe something from your family history. Shoes, hats, purses, jewelry, scarves are
important. Sandy Krough has agreed to narrate the event. There will be music
and some displays. JoAnn Bakken will be organizing the models and all are
encouraged to display some clothing item.
If you have an historical clothing item for display, please contact
Marilyn Rossman, 326-6775 or mbro@paulbunyan.net
Branch Member Survey Coming
From Cyndy Agle and Marilyn Rossman
From Cyndy Agle and Marilyn Rossman
A survey evaluating the programs, meeting
arrangements and general member benefits will be emailed to all Grand Rapids AAUW
members during the first week of April.
Members can reply via email and will have a chance to submit a paper
response at the general, or interest group, meeting during the month. We have about 85 members and want to hear
from all of you. Our membership is active with high participation. We have a
large portion of "snowbirds" who are willing to help when they are
here. Ours is the only branch in Minnesota that has an active summer program.
Our AAUW board wants to serve the membership
well in this time of rising prices and challenging issues for women and
girls. So please help us out and fill
out the survey. The surveys will be read and recorded by two members not on the
board and results given via email in the next month or so.
There will be room to give suggestions and we
look forward to hearing from all members.
Thank you in advance for your participation!
Visit our updated BLOG
Our AAUW Grand Rapids Branch blog is now updated.
Share it with others, view it at http://grandrapidsaauw.blogspot.com/p/about-gr-aauw.html
NEW ADDRESSES FOR MEMBERS
Ginny
Saxhaug, 722 Pokegama Ave, Rm
303, Grand Rapids (Ginny reported that she has moved from Garden Court Chateau
to the Manor House.)
Jean Hoshal, 1515 Timber Ridge Ln, Grand Rapids (Her address is correct in our 2015 directory but a few recent mailings have gone to her former address.)
Jean Hoshal, 1515 Timber Ridge Ln, Grand Rapids (Her address is correct in our 2015 directory but a few recent mailings have gone to her former address.)
FINANCIAL UPDATE 3/11/15 bank
statement from Cheryl Vogel, Treasurer
v DUES INFORMATION FOR
POTENTIAL NEW MEMBERS:
After March 15, 2015, the full price ($70) will include the rest
of 2015 and
all of 2016).
So far, 7 new members have participated in this program!
v TAX INFORMATION
·
AAUW national individual member dues for fiscal year 2015 is $49.00, of
which $46.00 is tax deductible; the remaining $3.00 is not tax deductible
and will go to support the AAUW Action
Fund's Section 501(c)(4) activities (Lobby Corps and get-out-the-vote
activities).
○ Student Affiliate dues, $16.00 will be tax deductible and $1.00 will not be tax deductible for the same reason.
○ Student Affiliate dues, $16.00 will be tax deductible and $1.00 will not be tax deductible for the same reason.
v GENERAL
CHECKING ACCOUNT: $6,286.55; Savings Account: $1,694.26
·
Total Assets: $7,980.81
o
2,112.00 - Dedicated Funds included in
total checking account, which have not yet been distributed.
§ AAUW
Educational Foundation: $1,069.00
(Profits
from Jar Fund Raiser were retrospectively allocated to this fund.)
§ GRACF
Anniversary Foundation: $374.00
§ NCCWSL –
Leadership: $400.00
§ Local
Scholarship (ICC): $269.00
$2,112.00
v
DEDICATED FUNDS - Local Foundations: $56,642.07
·
Local Scholarship ICC Foundation:
$28,222
§ $
19,269 (endowment – permanently restricted)
§ $
8,953 (temporarily restricted funds)
Community Foundation: Grand Rapids AAUW Anniversary Scholarships: $28,304.88
GRACF (endowed fund): $25,956.77; GRACF (non-endowed fund): $2,348.11
v Membership: As of March 23, 2015:
99 Paid Members with one additional member pending:
95 Regular Members; 2 Life Members; and 2 Dual Members
95 Regular Members; 2 Life Members; and 2 Dual Members
** INTEREST
GROUPS **
Any
member can start a new interest group.
Current interest groups are open to any member. Each group decides on its meeting time,
calendar of meetings and subject or purpose of the group.
BRIDGE
There is only
one Bridge group playing now on the first Thursday, 12:30 PM at Grand Rapids
State Bank community room. If you are interested in playing bridge, contact
Sandra Nyvall at sandra.nyvall@gmail.com or 218-327-1009.
CREATIVE ART
Open studio for painting is held at the MacRostie
every Tuesday, 10 AM through the afternoon. Free for members; nonmembers pay
$5. Margaret Z. Morris sends an email to those interested each week, including
if this group will not meet some weeks. Bring your lunch. This is open for
anyone of any level of painting or any media. We have watercolor and
acrylic, and welcome other media. No cost or instruction, learning
from each other and having fun. Margaret’s email: ipaint@paulbunyan.net or phone 999-9683.
LITERATURE –
Monday group
Group meets on 1st Monday at
10:00 AM at
Grand Rapids State Bank Annex. For more
info, contact Jan Hill, 246-9791 or jmhgkh@paulbunyan.net
April 6: Nightingale by Suzanne Congdon Leroy,
discussion leader, Janet Coy
May 4: Citizens of London by Lynne Olson, discussion leader, Jan Hill
June 1: Still Life with Crumbs by Anna Quindlen, discussion leader, Sandra Nyvall
May 4: Citizens of London by Lynne Olson, discussion leader, Jan Hill
June 1: Still Life with Crumbs by Anna Quindlen, discussion leader, Sandra Nyvall
LITERATURE – Wednesday group
Group meets at 10:30AM on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, Grand Rapids Library, September-May. Contact is Barbara Zimmer, 327-0911.
Group meets at 10:30AM on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, Grand Rapids Library, September-May. Contact is Barbara Zimmer, 327-0911.
April
8: Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan
May 13: A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence
and Power by Jimmy Carter
PUBLIC POLICY
The group will meet Thurs., April 9, 4 to 5:30 PM, KAXE Building meeting room.
The group will meet Thurs., April 9, 4 to 5:30 PM, KAXE Building meeting room.
We
will be talking about policies around hunger issues. Members are urged to read
a book or articles about public policy in regard to food and nutrition. We are
interested in the policy issues and public interest vs. the lobbying efforts
and the poverty issues that go with food policy. Newspaper or magazine articles,
as well as books, are resources to read and bring to the group discussion. We will try to have information on the ways
our community is addressing the food needs of our population. A nice topic
tie-in, our April general meeting will feature the director of the School
District 318 food program.
The
May meeting will be on Thurs., May 14, 4 to 5:30 PM, KAXE meeting
room. Subject to be decided.
WALKING & TALKING
The group continues to meet on Tuesday afternoons
at 1 PM. As the weather warms up we will
switch to our Wednesday morning schedule, probably mid-May; then the time is 9
AM. We've met for lunch prior to some of
the recent walks. If you want to be
notified of the walk location/lunch plans let me know at k.karls@yahoo.com
We plan the walks on a weekly basis and
the group is notified by email. You may
join us as frequently as you are able or interested; we welcome casual
walkers. We are always open to
suggestions for walking areas. In
spring/summer we venture outside Grand Rapids and do have plans to walk some
sections of the Mesabi Trail. We generally
walk for 1 to 1 1/2 hours and then have coffee and conversation. When we walk outside the immediate Grand
Rapids area, the time schedule may change a bit since we also like to try new
or favorite lunch sites.
APRIL-MAY BIRTHDAYS – Best Wishes!
April 4 – Margaret Barrick April
6 – Kay Erickson April 13 – Pat
Mahoney April
15 – Jean Halverson April 17 –
Emilie Zasada
April 22 – Mary Singsank
April 22 – Mary Singsank
May 1 –
Kathleen Currie May 5 – Alice Stark May 16 – Barb Popkin
May 17 –
Donita Soucek May 18 – Margaret Morris
May 24 –
Cheryl Vogel May 25 – Mary
Erickson, Stephanie Schuette
AAUW Northland Get
Together
SAT, SEPT 12, 10 AM
to 2 PM, Program & Lunch, cost is $25
Hartley
Nature Center, 3001 Woodland Ave, Duluth
Mark
your calendar for this annual gathering of AAUW members from Brainerd, Duluth,
Ely, Grand Rapids, Hibbing and Virginia. We hosted this program at the Forest
History Center a few years ago. This is a great opportunity to become
acquainted with our AAUW sisters around the region. Registration forms to come
closer to the event. Questions to 218-724-9321.
**Community
News**
Poverty and Public Policy
On
Tues., April 7, 11 to 1 PM, the movie “A
Place at the Table” will be shown at the Grand Rapids Public Library. There
is no charge and lunch is provided. Reservations can be made at the Circles of
Support office, 218-999-5883. Circles of Support is providing a series of
movies and documentaries about poverty and public policy issues concerning the
needs of our population.
Rapids Reads 2015 - Everybody read!
The
2015 selection, The Road Back to
Sweetgrass, is a powerful novel of love, hardship, and family bonds on an
American Indian reservation. Set in northern Minnesota, this novel follows a
trio of American Indian women, from the 1970s to the present, observing their
lives intersect on the fictional Mozhay Point reservation. Various characters
tell their own story through narration that shifts between third and first
person. Multiple copies of The Road Back
to Sweetgrass are available for checkout at Grand Rapids Area Library,
along with discussion questions.
Upcoming
Rapids Reads events:
Mon., March 30, 6:00 p.m. - “Songs
& Stories of the Ojibwe”
Anne
Dunn & Annie Humphrey
Experience
this mother-daughter duo reflect on time-honored values through music and
story. Highlighted themes include our relationship
to the earth, social justice, the power of family tradition, and respect for
all humankind.
Thurs., April 16, 6:00 PM -
“Ojibwe, The Shining People: A Cultural and Historical Context”, Elaine Fleming, Leech Lake Tribal College
Learn
more about the cultural and historical context that inspired The Road Back to Sweetgrass. Discover
how US policies shaped the world depicted in the novel.
For
more information, visit the “Why Treaties Matter exhibit” currently touring
schools in the region, or check out www.treatiesmatter.org The exhibit will
be at Rainy River Community College during April, then at Nashwauk and Greenway
in May. If you are curious about words used in the book, go to the website for The Ojibwe People's Dictionary at http://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/ - this site has language and is also a gateway to some
of the collections at the Minnesota Historical Society.
AAUW GRAND RAPIDS BRANCH MEETING
March 16, 2015, 6:00 PM, Methodist Church, Grand Rapids
Marj
Lavalier welcomed everyone, including about five guests. She gave a public
thank you to Deb Cleven for the wonderful meals she prepares for us. She
mentioned the March birthdays and that there is an election of a couple of
officers in April. Cheryl Vogel has agreed to be the treasurer again. Program
chair office is open. The state convention is April 10 and 11 in Austin. Marj urged members to check out our blog. The
address is in our AAUW directory on page 5. Jan Hill and Mac Custer talked
about the two book clubs. There will be a used book sale fundraiser at the
April meeting. Marilyn Rossman introduced the three panel members for the
topic, “Children Living in Poverty”.
Respectfully submitted, Jan Miland, Secretary
AAUW GRAND RAPIDS BOARD MEETING
March 23, 2015, 4:00 PM, Public Utilities Building, Grand Rapids
Members
present: Karen Karls, Cheryl Vogel, Jan Hill, Marj Lavalier, Cyndy Agle, Jan
Miland, Marilyn Rossman, Lynette Eck, Nancy Raymond
The
secretary’s minutes was approved and passed.
Cheryl
Vogel reported that the treasurer’s book was audited by Sonia Larsen with the
comment that it was well done and accurate.
A
recommendation was made to set up a guide for meal charges.
A
motion was made by Cyndy Agle, seconded by Lynette Eck and passed to set the
cost for the May meeting at $27.
There
are presently 95 paid members.
The
program committee, Marilyn Rossman and Cyndy Agle composed a member survey.
Anything
for the chapter blog may be given to Myrna Petersen.
Karen
Karls needs speaker information earlier for newspaper article.
Cyndy
Agle recommended that the Christmas meeting be a week earlier and in late
afternoon. The May event will start with a social hour at 5PM.
The
state convention registration fee is $85. Grand Rapids Chapter can have 5
delegates. Nancy Raymond will donate the
silent auction item. Marj has registration forms.
The
national AAUW election will be held from April 15 through June 19.
Habitat
for Humanity is having a women’s work week the first week of May. If any in our
group would like to participate, they may work May 6 or 7 any time during the
hours of 8:45 AM to 3:30 PM.
Marilyn
moved, Karen seconded, that we promote this event with Marj Lavalier as the contact
person.
Meeting
adjourned.
Respectfully submitted, Jan Miland, Secretary
ADVANCING EQUITY FOR
WOMEN & GIRLS
– FOR MORE INFORMATION
