NEWS FOR
AND ABOUT
AAUW GRAND RAPIDS
BRANCH
MEMBERS
EDITOR: Arlene Wheaton,
(218) 232-4989
MISSION: AAUW advances gender equity for women and girls through research education and advocacy.
Location: Methodist Church
Social & Registration: 11:00-11:30 Lunch: 11:30-12:15 Program: 12:15-1:10 Rural Women
Speaker: Teresa Kittridge
Teresa
Kittridge, founder of 100 Rural Women, lives in Marcell Township in Northern
Minnesota. She has spent much of her life serving rural people across the
country, with a career that includes executive-level leadership in the private,
public and nonprofit sectors as well as serving in elected office. She has a MA
in Organizational Leadership and a BA in Business Administration. 100 Rural
Women models her life’s work, by serving women to inspire leadership, create
connections, networks, and encourage civic engagement.
Teresa will do her presentation remotely via Zoom.
Menu: Wild Rice Soup, Chicken Salad Croissant, Pineapple Cake
Cost: $13.00
Food Chair: Karen Karls
RSVP to AAUWRSVPGrandRapids@gmail.com by Monday, Feb. 14.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Danielle Witherill,
218-244-1793, danielle.witherill@edwardjones.com
Nominating committee to recruit for two
open leadership positions
The nominating committee is in place for the upcoming 2022-23 year. Marj Lavalier is heading the committee along with members Jan Bilden and Kathy Spencer. The positions open for a 2-year-term are President and Membership Vice President.
President’s Message
This year’s AAUW Minnesota Annual Meeting
in St. Cloud on Friday, April 29, & Saturday 30, 2022, is happily before us
after a two-year Covid-induced hiatus. We are anxious for things to get back to
normal or close to normal. The current winter’s surge in Covid cases should be
passed, spring will be happening. We will be ready for a break in scenery and a
chance for connecting in person.
The annual meeting registration form, meeting schedule and information are being attached to this month’s newsletter. Registration forms will be available at our Branch February and March monthly meetings. I hope Grand Rapids can be well represented at this year’s long awaited and well-planned annual meeting. Of course, I will be attending and driving down. I have room for passengers, please let me if you are interested and/or want a ride to St. Cloud. If finances are a problem, please let me know. We have had some budget to assist with the registration fee.
The St. Cloud branch president, Linda MacLeod, is phenomenal, and the events she organizes are well worth attending. I have gone to one and attended several of her planning meetings.
Please think about the St. Cloud alternative to the historical raffles. We all have plenty of stuff, and the reality is most of us do not want too much more stuff. The sale of AAUW-themed sweatshirt at the annual meeting is a unique alternative to too much stuff and to those of us who consciously felt we had to buy items that were not were not being sold at reasonable amounts.
Change of topic – Please think about
our branch’s two vacating offices – we have to have a President and a
Membership Chair. I have a very hard time understanding how we could put
our Branch in jeopardy. We have survived Covid quite well, with our membership
increasing, but lack of leaders will not be survivable! Lots of help exists for
any of you just feeling a bit unsure about the time commitment. There has to be
one or two of you that can team up to do this job. Cyndy and I were in no way
partners prior to committing to the 2019
Convention in Grand Rapids, and now four years have passed with Covid even messing with the balance of things. Once again, please give this serious thought!
Happy Valentine’s Day,
Deanna Ensley, Co-President
“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women
are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that
strength.”
― G. D. Anderson
AAUW State Convention - Mark your Calendars!
April 29-30, 2022, in St. Cloud. See the schedule, flyer and registration documents attached to this email.
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Meet a
MEMBER
Sue Hutchins
First-year member of AAUW
I grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I attended Grand Rapids Junior Coll0ege and continued my education at Michigan State University where I received a BS and an MS degree in biology.
I moved to Logan, Utah where I worked in a fish lab, a bee lab, and then returned to school at Utah State University to get a teaching certificate. I taught junior high school in Blackfoot, Idaho, and then my husband, Harry, and I moved to the Navajo Nation, where I taught biology at the local high school.
We then moved to Grand Rapids, Minnesota,
where we both taught at Itasca Community College for over 30 years. I taught
biology, environmental science, and other science courses, retiring in 2017. My
husband, who passed away in March 2020, and I traveled a lot, including trips
to Kenya, Costa Rica, backpacking the Chilcoot trail in Alaska, and spending a
couple of months doing research in China.
I have a 28-year-old son who lives in Denver and a 24-year-old daughter in Minneapolis. I enjoy my cat, my yellow lab, knitting, reading, snowshoeing, kayaking, and I especially love trail riding with my horse.
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AUGUST BRANCH POTLUCK
In past years we have had an annual potluck at a member's home. If you would have an interest in hosting the dinner in August, please let Laurie Clausen know at laurel.clausen@edwardjonew.com
We are flexible as to which Monday in
August and we will work with your schedule.
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** INTEREST GROUPS **
*BRIDGE
Day/Time/Location TBD. Group meets year-round. If interested in playing
Bridge, contact Dianne Anderson, 218-327-2651 or 515-450-9252.
*Exploring
Our Community
This group goes on outings to area organizations, typically gathering for a meal. Upcoming outings will be planned for late April, May and June. Contacts are Cyndy Agle, cyndy.agle@gmail.com and Juliet Jones, kcjones50@yahoo.com
*LITERATURE
– Monday group
The group will
meet on Feb. 7, 9:30 am, Room 121 at Zion Lutheran Church, to discuss Summer
of ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand.
Please wear a mask and bring your own beverage. For more information, contact
Nancy Salmi, 326-3147 or salmi@earthlink.net
*LITERATURE
– Wednesday group
The group will meet on Feb. 9, 10:30 am, Room 121 at Zion Lutheran Church, to discuss The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck. The book for the next meeting on March 9 will be Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Jess Kidd. Note that masks are required by the church. For more information, contact Vicki Holmstrom at agiledog5@aol.com or 218-245-2294.
*Walking & Talking group
We are now on our winter schedule of walking on Tuesdays at 1 pm. 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 very 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.
Membership NEWS
By Marj Lavalier
This week appears to be our January Thaw.
With the temperatures moderating, it will be great to enjoy your favorite
winter outdoor activity. Whether it be downhill or cross country-skiing,
snowshoeing or walking. Note I left out ice skating; I don't want to break a
bone at this age!
I want to remind you we will be hosting a “bring a first-time qualified
guest” to our April meeting. The
cost of the meal for a guest on April 18th will be $7.00, and the
program will be "Visit Grand Rapids". We will also be having our
spring used book sale to raise money for our scholarships, and travel treasures
too. So, it will be a great evening to invite someone to see what AAUW is all
about.
I am on the nominating committee and want to
encourage you to consider "why
not" take part in your AAUW group as a committee member or as an officer
with this great organization? The
important thing to remember/know is that this board works really well with the
officers and committees, and NO ONE has to work alone. I know as I have served
as president of this branch.
It is February and we are on our way to longer days and warmer weather. YEAH!
AAUW member
teaches upcoming Drawing classes
A new AAUW member, Julie Erickson, is teaching classes at the MacRostie Art Center, and if you have an interest, please join one of her two classes. Julie taught these classes from 2014 to 2020 (then Covid hit) at White Bear Center for the Arts in the Twin Cities.
#1 Drawing from
the Paper Up
The atmosphere
will be light and fun and no “natural ability” is required, so come and
discover the joys of drawing in a supportive environment. You will learn the
differences in and uses of various pencils, pencil strokes, papers, erasers
(hint: they’re not just for mistakes) and shading techniques; the class will touch
on composition, values and perspectives.
Starts March 17, four Thursdays, 1:00-3:30pm
#2 Portrait Drawing
Capturing the
emotion, expression and/or personality of someone is the biggest challenge and
biggest reward of portrait drawing. You will first learn the dos and don’ts of
drawing each individual facial feature then draw a full portrait from start to
finish. Prior experience and/or training in shading techniques and use of the
various drawing pencils is required.
Starts April 14, four Thursdays, 1:00-3:30pm
Scholarship
Funds Report
From
Julie Skallman, Treasurer
AAUW
Grand Rapids MN Branch Scholarship funding July 1, 2021 to Jan. 17, 2022
Donations
in honor of individuals = $437
Donations from sale of cards/masks = $151
Donations from travel treasures = $153
Donations from book sale = $115
Donations from raffle tickets = $1000
Donations from individuals = $92
TOTAL so far this fiscal year = $1948
AAUW Grand Rapids, MN Branch General Meeting Minutes
January 17, 2022
The Grand Rapids branch met at the United
Methodist Church January 17, 2022. Twenty-eight attended. Health measures
included wearing masks and limiting four individuals per table for both lunch
and program.
A social hour and lunch preceded the general meeting and program. Deanna
Ensley, co-president, opened the meeting by welcoming all and reading the AAUW Mission
Statement. Travel Treasures reported raising $50.
Karen Teff, owner of Clara’s Cupboard and
Clara’s Closet provided the program.
She shared her experiences in opening a business in mid-life (while continuing a career in Math Education) and incorporating community support as part of her business model by collaborations with Second Harvest and Crafted by Itasca Life Options.
Respectfully submitted by
Dianne Anderson, Secretary
Grand Rapids AAUW
Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, January 17, 2022 – United Methodist Church
The
meeting was attended by Sue Mattson, Karen Karls, Julie Skallman, Dianne
Anderson, Marlys Mestemacher, Norma Eppinga, Deanna Ensley, Kathleen Spencer,
Marj Lavalier, Helen Albrecht.
Secretary’s report: Minutes read and approved as submitted. Motion made by Karen Karls and seconded by
Sue Mattson.
Treasurer’s report: The account balance as of January 17,2022 was
$9429.65.
Warm
& Cozy Review: The December 2021
fundraiser earned $1000. Board Members discussed possible changes for wider
distribution of winners and the possibility of “2nd chance” prizes.
Marlys suggested chances be drawn from a “fishbowl” container rather than the
small brown bags for each donation in order to mix the chances more completely.
It was decided to wait for the newly elected president to select next year’s
theme.
Membership: Marj Lavalier reported we have recruited five
new members since October. Marj has also
agreed to chair the nominating committee for new officers. A slate will be ready by
April.
Communications: Karen Karls submitted
an AAUW article to the Herald Review prior to the January meeting.
Scholarship Committee: Helen Albrecht reported meeting with Charlie Black at ICC to discuss clarification of scholarship requirements. A discussion was held to consider possible changes. Karen Karls will write up revised requirements for board review. Helen will reconnect with ICC. Kathleen Spencer reported the GR Community Foundation needs volunteers to review scholarship applications. Karen Karls, Deanna Ensley and Gayle Coyer will review the applications.
Announcements: The AAUW State Annual Meeting will be held April 29 and 30, 2022 at the Park Event Center in St. Cloud. The next Board meeting will be held April 11, 2022 at 9:30 am.
Respectfully
submitted by
Dianne Anderson, Secretary
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
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