Thank you for your interest in learning more about AAUW. Our mission is: To empower women through education and career development. One important way we do this is through our scholarship program. To raise funds, we will be collecting and selling used books and accepting cash donations. To help provide educational opportunities to more women in our community, please make your tax-deductible donation now.
MAY LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Joyce Moyer
This will be the last editorial I will be composing, at least for a while! Your new President will be Roxann King. She has been president before and volunteered to take the next two-year term. Roxann has been a member of AAUW since 1998 and will serve you well. She has spent the last several years as Chair of AAUW/MD’s Public Policy Committee. She has done an exceptional job keeping us informed and involved with supporting appropriate legislation in Annapolis and Washington D.C. Roxann has always been the first one I call when I need to know about something from the Branch history. She is very knowledgeable about AAUW on all levels and will keep the Branch focused and engaged on the important issues affecting our membership and our audiences.
Recently, new members brought fresh ideas and programs to the membership. Susan Crawford, Co-VP for Programs, spent a great deal of time promoting the ERA initiative with Zoom programs and the development of publicity materials. She also spent time helping with activities for our Branch Board, the Book Sale and more. Her cohort, Ellen Shiery, also a Co-VP for Programs brought us excellent speakers with Jeff Holland, author and Poet Laureate of Annapolis, and Kate Fritz, CEO of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. Linda Peco-Dehoff, Co-VP for membership, redesigned the Branch brochure, helped update our membership files, and greeted members and guests at meetings. Diane Jackins, our treasurer, has done an absolutely stellar job keeping our finances in order. She has served more than two full terms, during which she converted the financial files to a new system developed by AAUW, paid our bills on time, kept bank records in order, and prepared reports for the Branch Board every month!
We are lucky to have Sara Morris as Secretary, providing detailed minutes of our board and membership meetings. When Sara is not available, Barbara Marder or Roxann King take turns doing the minutes. Each of these ladies are excellent note takers! Colleen Kane has been keeping the board in touch through Zoom every month. She ensures that everyone receives the newsletter, updates the web page, works with the Nominating Committee, and helps with a dozen other things that help us use technology to our advantage. Nan Jarashow does a wonderful job getting the newsletter together and ready for dissemination every month. She reminds everyone when articles are due, arranges the pages and edits as needed. Barbara Marder and Suzanne Furr chair the respective committees that solicit scholarship applications for the awards made each year. This is an arduous task, and the culmination of everything we do during the year to provide funding that goes to deserving women. Awardees are the best of the best, with financial assistance making the difference for them to complete their education in a timely manner, and with as little debt as possible. They are the first to give back to others through their service and inspiration.
And there is also Alice Harrison, who has done an outstanding job of getting us through the last two years of the Book Sale – our one and only fund raiser that keeps us together as an organization and provides most of the funds for the scholarships. Alice worked tirelessly throughout the year to establish the sale site, schedule the book collections, recruit staffing for all related activities, and notify the public who support us year after year. She will be missed as she takes some time for friends and family.
I hope seeing all these names and activities in print will give each of you some sense of what you are a part of by maintaining membership in AAUW. Without all the people mentioned above, plus many more who support our leadership and committees, AAUW would not accomplish nearly so much. With everyone sharing the work, doing what they can as they can, we can accomplish all we need to do. The Nominating Committee is chaired by Caroline Flaherty. Despite the efforts of the committee, we still need help for next year with communications (we would like to try Zoom membership meetings), a book sale chair, and help with programs and membership. There is room for all who want to help others, to work with a great group of women, make new friends, and pick up a few new skills. Please join us as we make good things happen for others.
I hope each of you will become an active member of AAUW/AAC. Your experience, energy and commitment are so important to meet the needs of those we serve. A sign I keep on my desk reads: “Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says: ‘Oh crap, she’s up!’”
For information about the branch’s Special Interest Groups and activities, please browse our website and contact us using the link above.
In accordance with its bylaws: AAUW is not affiliated with and does not support any other non-profit organizations; AAUW does not support the campaigns of any candidates for public office; but AAUW does support public policy initiatives related to education and equity for women and families that have been approved by the bi-annual voting of the AAUW members.