Grand Rapids Timberline
NEWS FOR
AND ABOUT
AAUW GRAND RAPIDS
BRANCH
MEMBERS
Volume 45, Issue 10 Summer
2021
EDITOR:
Arlene Wheaton
Arlene@honeybearwoods.com
(218) 232-4989
MISSION: AAUW advances gender equity for women
and girls through research education and advocacy.
President’s Message
Happy Summer! We
had a delightful evening at Forest Lake downstairs for our May meeting.
It was wonderful to see each other again and have a nice sit-down meal with three
choices on the menu. Marj Lavalier sent me a note and said,
“Everyone looked so beautiful!” It was festive and fun.
We also had a
great speaker, Dr. Stacy Holl of Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital, who spoke
on Covid and vaccinations; she answered so many questions for us. The
interesting thing was that she was scheduled before Covid was ever heard of and
was going to speak on shingles and other vaccines...that sure changed!
If you had
renewed your membership by May 19, you were entered in our drawing for a free
membership; our lucky winner was Mac Custer. Her
response was "Yikes! I never win anything! Thanks so
much!"
A special thank
you to Cheryl Vogel for serving as our treasurer and chair of the
finance committee for the past seven years. She also served as treasurer
for the state convention, which was a full-time job in itself. We really
appreciated all that you did for so many years!
We want to thank Marge
Domish for serving as co-chair of the Program committee for the past two
years. There were many challenging times with scheduling
speakers. Your efforts were very appreciated!
Kathleen Spencer and Helen Ahlbrecht have been
working with the scholarships and also the STEM program at ICC. This is
one of our local educational programs. There are two STEM camps at
ICC and our AAUW will be providing snacks for one day at each of the two
camps. Check out the list (distributed at our May 17th meeting
and attached to this email) to see if
you have anything that you can donate—everything from old window screens to
thick cardboard poster tubes to First Aid supplies to frisbees.
Our Grand Rapids
branch will be meeting throughout the summer. In addition to our three
summer programs, there will be "Exploring Our Community" events. Enjoy
your summer!
Cyndy Agle, Co-President
SUMMER
PROGRAMS
Join us
for three fun community outings that will typically include a brief tour or
program and lunch.
Monday, June
21, 10:30 am, Central Square Mall: Visit “Crafted”, the Lifestyle Options
nonprofit gift store. See many great inexpensive, fun items and gifts for sale.
Also, visit the on-site workshop. Lunch at the mall to follow.
July [date
& time to be decided] Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital Gift Shop tour.
Hannah Chesness, Gift Shop Manager & Volunteer Coordinator, will meet with
us. Lunch to follow in hospital cafeteria, which has an outdoor patio and
overlooks scenic hiking trail.
Monday,
August 16, Center Yoga and NoPo Coffee Shop. Details
to come.
It’s not too late to pay your AAUW annual
dues
By Marj Lavalier
As COVID rules are being relaxed and
members are coming back to AAUW, we had 51 members at our spring
banquet on May 17. It was so wonderful to see everyone again after a long
winter.
Treasurer Cheryl Vogel is happy to
receive your dues, which remain at $85. Her address: 20401 Mishawaka Shores
Dr., Grand Rapids, MN 55744. The deadline for dues payment is June 30, but it’s
really helpful if you can make your payment earlier in the month.
I am going outside to put blankets on my
flowers for the night on May 27. But I know whenever AAUW Members gather, it is
always a warm and interesting time. Hope to see you at our summer gatherings.
Sunshine and Caring
REMINDER: If you or anyone you know in our Branch
could use a word of encouragement, a sympathy or get-well card or “thinking of
you”, please notify Juliet Jones at kcjones50@yahoo.com
“It’s possible to climb to the top without stomping
on other people.”
― Taylor Swift
Travel Treasures
From Marlys Mestemacher and Nancy Raymond
We have had great success with our Travel
Treasures drawings at monthly meetings, adding over $70.00 to our Scholarship
Fund, plus finding out about the wonderful trips our members have taken. We
will be resuming Travel Treasures at our September meeting, so please bring
back a treasure from your summer adventures!
AAUW Camper Scholarship for ICC Summer
Engineering Camp
From Kathleen Spencer
Our AAUW branch is offering a camper scholarship
for female high school students to participate in the Itasca Community College
(ICC) 2021 Summer Engineering Camps. This year the two camps will be held as a
day camp with one for senior high students and one for junior high students. An
AAUW camper scholarship will be available for each of the two camp sessions.
Senior High Camp – Explore Engineering Design
July 12-16, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Grade Level: entering 10-12 grade Fall 2021
Junior High Camp – Get Inspired!
July 21-23, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Grade Level: entering 7-9 grade Fall 2021
This year, our AAUW branch will provide snacks
for one day at each of the ICC Summer Engineering Camp sessions – Senior High
and Junior High. Also, attached to this email you will find a Supply Wish
List – a list of supplies needed for various design projects for the campers.
If you would like to donate any items, contact Kim Damiani, Camp Director,
218-322-2370, or email kimberly.damiani@itascacc.edu
Meet a MEMBER
Danielle
Witherell
First-year member of AAUW
Hello, everyone!
My membership began last fall when my co-worker Louise Koglin-Fideldy told me
about this fun group of women dedicated to equality and gender rights. This was
during the presidential election last fall, and my three daughters who were
eligible to vote for the first time took a big stand on their opinions and
future. It f0elt right to join this group and make a difference.
I grew up in
Grand Rapids and moved away to attend college at NDSU where I received my B.A.
in Business and Marketing. My husband, Todd, and I moved around a lot for job
opportunities before we had a family. Then, we returned to our hometown when
our kids turned 4 to be close to our families. We have triplet daughters who
are now 19 years old and are attending college at MSUM in Moorhead, MN. I
currently work for Edward Jones, starting in 2008 as an office administrator.
When my kids got older, I studied to get my licenses to become a financial
advisor. My specialty is educating families, especially women, on how to
achieve their financial goals so their hopes and dreams become reality.
Way, the Northern
MN Builders Association, and we are members of Zion Lutheran Church.
My family lives
on Sugar Lake, and we like to spend time fishing, hiking, reading, baking, and
gardening. We have a huge garden of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and
apple trees with some veggies in there too. We recently traveled to Yellowstone
National Park in the middle of May and my photo (shown here) is at the
Yellowstone River.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Saturday, October 2: AAUW Fall Gathering in Brainerd
Note: It was held it in Grand Rapids in Fall 2018. The six northern branches of
Ely, Duluth, Hibbing, Virginia, Brainerd and Grand Rapids make up the Northern
Conference.
** INTEREST GROUPS **
We have two groups—Bridge and Public
Policy—that have not yet resumed due to the pandemic.
*Exploring
Our Community
1) AITKIN: Art Center tour and lunch, Thursday,
June 3
Tour the Jacques Art Center, 121 2nd St. NW, Aitkin,
218 927 2363, contact person is Pamela Andell. Time to tour and enjoy the gift
shop.
Lunch at the Block North Brew Pub, 302
Minnesota Ave N, Aitkin, 218-928-8090, two blocks from the Jaques. Meet at Zion Lutheran in Grand Rapids to
carpool at 9:30 a.m. Tour of the gallery will start at 11:00 a.m. opening time.
Lunch reservations will be for 12:30 p.m. RSVP to Juliet Jones: kcjones50@yahoo.com RSVP deadline was May 27, but contact Juliet to see if still space.
2) First
Friday/Bowls, Beer & Bits, July 2, 6-8:30 pm at MacRostie Art Center, 405
NW 1st Ave, Grand Rapids
Register on your
own, $45 per person (for all, MacRostie member or not). Call 326-2697 or
register at the MacRostie in person or on the website. Two bowls to be glazed, plus
two drinks of your choice and appetizers. Bowls will be in the kiln all fired
up and can be retrieved in a few days. Apart from the cost, we are supporting
the ARTS to keep them alive in our community! Class is filling up fast, so RSVP
ASAP.
3) Effie
Stampede/Rodeo, Saturday, July 24, 2:00 pm, 68270 County Rd 5
If desired, carpool
from Juliet Jones' at 454 Trout Lake Rd (Co Rd 21), 6/10 of a mile on the
Prairie River side. Park across from the travel trailer. Meet at 12:30 p.m. Late
lunch/early dinner at 4:00-4:30 pm at Timberwolf Inn, 50021 Jack the Horse Rd,
Marcell, 218-832-3907. RSVP to Juliet at kcjones50@yahoo.com by Sat, July 17. Spouses, friends and
family are welcome. Entrance fee for the rodeo is $13/person.
4) Pokegama Golf
Course, Thursday, August 12 (time TBD)
We will be having a program at Pokegama Golf Course ⛳ with a meal, sandwiches/burgers/wraps/salads all
for $12.00 a person with tax included, either a luncheon or dinner and a
program about the history of Pokegama Golf Course. It just depends on whether
Bob Cahill or Mike Krabaugh will present. Bob would be available at noon, and
Mike would do either lunch or dinner. We can have a social hour outdoors, and
if we wish for dessert, we can bring our own chocolates or cookies! More to
come via email.
LITERATURE –
Monday group
The Monday
Morning Lit Group will meet on Monday, June 7, at 9:30 am at the Forest Lake
Restaurant to select our books for the next few months. If you are going to
attend, contact Nancy Salmi at 218-326-3147 or nsalmi@earthlink.net by Tuesday, June 3, for a reservation.
Please bring your book suggestions.
LITERATURE –
Wednesday group
The Wednesday book group will meet on Wednesday, June 9, at 10:30 am at
Veterans Memorial Park. The book we will be discussing is The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. We will also pick books
for the upcoming year. We will not meet
again until September. Contact is Vicki Holmstrom, agiledog5@aol.com
or 245-2294.
**NEW Writers Group
would like to start a Writers group. If anyone
would like to join, call or email Marilyn Rossman, 326-6775, mbro@paulbunyan.net or Emilie Zasada, 326-4909, emiliezasada@mac.com
Walking & Talking group
We walk Wednesdays at 9 am. The locations
change from week to week but will be in the Grand Rapids area. The group is
open to new members interested in walking. If you would like to join us, send
your email and cell number to Karen Karls at k.karls@yahoo.com You will receive an email with the weekly walk location.
Members walk when they can or want to; no need to
RSVP. We generally walk for about one hour. If the weather is really dreadful,
we may cancel, and we’ll let you know. However, we are a hardy group of women
who value the fresh air and exercise as well as the companionship.
Websites
for local, state and national AAUW information:
Our Grand Rapids AAUW blog: http://grandrapidsaauw.blogspotcom/
MN AAUW website: http://aauw-mn.aauw.net
National AAUW website: www.aauw.org
ADVANCING EQUITY FOR
WOMEN & GIRLS
– FOR MORE INFORMATION
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION www.aauw.org
AAUW MINNESOTA www.aauwmn.net
with a meal,
sandwiches/burgers/wraps/salads all for $12.00 a person with tax included.
