New model branch bylaws now available! Click here to download the files. [Member Center login required on AAUW national website]

Branch Bylaws Updates Required

ALL PA branches must update their bylaws by OCTOBER 31 to bring them into compliance with the new AAUW bylaws passed in St. Louis in June. Compliance is required to be able to vote on April 17 at the state convention business meeting.

It’s simple to do:

Option 1: New model branch bylaws are now available on the AAUW website.Just fill in the blanks with your branch information. There is no need for branch or board vote on required changes to any sections to bring them into compliance.

Option 2: Simply go through the list of required changes and adapt your current bylaws accordingly.

Click here to download the Model Branch Bylaws OR to download the list of required changes [Member Center login required on AAUW national website].

If you want to make other changes to your bylaws beyond those required, please submit a draft to Dot McLane for approval by DECEMBER 1. After she responds, your branch must vote on them, and then you need to submit the finalized document to Dot by MARCH 31.

If you have questions, please contact Dot McLane, Bylaws Chair, bylaws@aauwpa.org, or Deb Roney, Co-president, president@aauwpa.org.

Hotel Carlisle, Embers Convention Center
Carlisle, PA
April 16-18, 2010
With

Keynote Speaker:
LINDA HALLMAN, AAUW Executive Director
and
Important state bylaws votes
State Public Policy Priorities selection
Engaging workshops
Networking opportunities
Elections
And more.

Be there!

(from the comfort and privacy of your own home or from anywhere on your cell)

September 10

with

Lisa Maatz

AAUW Director of Public Policy and Government Relations
7:00-8:00 p.m

At the recent AAUW National Convention, AAUW encouraged all attendees to call and urge their senators to support pay equity and the Paycheck Fairness Act.  The first state delegation to fill their senators’ voice mailboxes with these messages would receive a special prize.  Through our wonderful activism, tenacity, and enthusiasm, the AAUW Pennsylvania delegation won!

As a reward for ensuring Sen. Specter heard AAUW’s voice from St Louis, Lisa Maatz would like to invite you to join her on a conference call on Thursday, September 10, at 7 p.m. ET,  just for AAUW Pennsylvania members.  Participate from the comfort of your own home or from anywhere on your cell phone.  We hope you’ll find this call informative and motivational as we work together break through barriers for women and girls.

To RSVP for this conference call, please go to the following link to fill out the RSVP form.
http://tinyurl.com/kwvrts

After you’ve filled out the form, you will receive an e-mail prior to Sept. 10 containing the phone number and passcode that you will need to join the conference call.

Topics for Discussion Include:
Education policies | No Child Left Behind | Paycheck Fairness Act | Health Care Reform
Making an Impact with Few Resources: Effective Public Policy Action
And more

Join us on the call or listen to the recording later!

Details on making the connection and on accessing the recording will be on the AAUW-PA website: www.aauwpa.org

All members are welcome!! Remind your branch!

Branch Bylaws

ALL PA branches must update their bylaws by DECEMBER 1 to bring them into compliance with the new AAUW bylaws passed in St. Louis in June. Compliance is required to be able to vote on April 17 at the state convention business meeting.

It’s simple to do: New model branch bylaws will be available on the AAUW website in August. You just fill in the blanks with your branch info, and no branch or board vote is needed on any sections required to be changed to bring them into compliance.

If you have questions, please contact Deb Roney, Co-president, president@aauwpa.org.

The Co-Presidents’ Report On Convention:

Deb Roney, president@aauwpa.org

Kate Sweeney, co-president@aauwpa.org

Seven PA delegates arrived together in St. Louis on the same flight out of Philadelphia. Others flew from various PA airports, alone for part of the time and with other delegates in and out of St. Louis. Three delegates were delayed leaving PHL and spent the night in the Detroit airport. Three other delegates made the trek by car. One solo delegate missed the entire convention because each of her Pittsburgh flights progressed from ‘delayed’ to ‘cancelled.’

With little time for sightseeing, two recommended places were the Basilica of St. Louis for a show of mosaics as grand as seen anywhere and the St. Louis Arch reaching up from its 60-foot foundation, designed to sway 1-18 inches in winds up to 150 miles per hour. Weather was calm for Convention weekend.

The Renaissance Grand Hotel became an AAUW cocoon from Friday to Sunday, and some PA delegates saw only that and the airport, but we made new AAUW friends and learned so much.

Audio clips of several motivating speakers, including Lilly Ledbetter, can be accessed at www.aauw.org. One powerful speaker whose remarks are not available online was Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). She serves in the House of Representatives, her tenth term, and describes herself as a “heat-seeking missile” as she works for women’s pay equity and opportunity. She complimented AAUW’s leadership for its great vision in shaping the debate, noting that the Lobby Corps shows up quietly and often in Congressional offices. Of AAUW, Rep. DeLauro said, “No one does it better in action for equity.”

Nine hundred ninety-seven delegates from across the U.S. attended workshops, briefings, and speeches; voted for a new Association President and seven Directors-at-Large; adopted new bylaws designed for more flexible governance of AAUW; and adopted a new set of public policy priorities for 2009-2011.

Sally Chamberlain and Linda Tozier ably book-ended the election speeches and represented Pennsylvania and themselves admirably. PA delegates campaigned enthusiastically for both our native daughters. Linda’s position of last on the roster was turned to good use, as PA representatives reminded delegates to vote for Tozier, the last name on the ballot. Linda mentioned early in her four-minute speech that she could bust tension in a board meeting by singing a song. Three minutes later, she ended her speech in a song that spelled her name on two hand-held signs, L I N D A T O Z I E R. All thirty-five PA delegates stood up and cheered! We learned the next day that Sally had run a very close second to Carolyn Garfein for President and that Linda had won by a wide margin her Director-at-Large position on the new AAUW Board of Directors. Our warmest appreciation to and respect for both AAUW-PA leaders.

A couple of other notes in conclusion:

Parliamentary procedure works! Briefings held ahead of the Business Meeting provided the best methods for voicing disapproval of and support for the proposed bylaws. At the Business meetings, the method was simple enough: Read the motion. Second it. Taking advantage of a half-dozen microphones spaced around the hall, open the motion to discussion, offering limited but equal time (two minutes each) for delegates to speak in favor of or against each proposal or amendment. When both sides have been heard (without dominance or repetition), the vote is called and the majority rules.

Three Fox Chapel proposals, well presented by Margaret McGrath, were defeated, as were some other proposals similarly offered.

A voice vote approved almost all of AAUW’s proposed bylaws. One notable exception was the much-discussed opening of membership to non-degreed supporters. First, voice vote didn’t determine an outcome. A standing vote followed, also without clear results. Finally, a multiple-card vote was called and each delegate submitted a yes or no paper vote for each vote represented to be hand counted. The result of the open membership vote (defeated) was announced on Sunday morning.

All required business was concluded in just over three hours because of patient and knowledgeable leadership by Ruth Sweetser, President; Caroline Pickens, Bylaws Committee Chair; and Coco Siewert, Parliamentarian.

Kudos to the National leaders and staff who produced a successful convention.

On Other Business:

*** With Association Convention 2009 concluded and Association bylaws adopted by members from across the country, the state board turns its attention to upcoming district meetings, preparation of the State Convention in Carlisle, April 17-18, 2010, mandatory revision of state bylaws before 10/31/09, optional bylaws revisions at the state convention, and transition of leadership to the new state President(s) and Program Vice President. We welcome your input.

*** Dues are now due, state dues are still a bargain at $10 and $46 of the $49 national dues are now tax deductible.

*** Please plan to attend your district meeting and bring an AAUW friend or two with you. All state members, and especially District 2 members, are encouraged to attend any (or all) district meetings as is convenient.

*** Complete revision of the branch recognition program (formerly STARS) is being considered. Do you think the concept is valuable? What areas of branch action most call for recognition? How simple must the process be? Membership Vice President Jean Macaluso is chairing the working committee. Give her your ideas at membership@aauwpa.org.

*** We surely recommend serving as an officer on state board for 2010-12. Please consider within your branches women who will look after branch needs from the perspective of state board action. Contact Stephanie Johnson at SJohnson3@pghboe.net with suggested candidates. Also, AAUW is looking for some national leaders to join the new Leader Corps; information is available at www.aauw.org.

*** As we approach the Biennial State Convention and revision of state bylaws, we must choose whether to continue alternating our statewide gathering between a state convention and an annual meeting. Do we continue to hold a state leaders training meeting in July? Are Regional Meetings useful to branches? Your decisions on these questions will determine state planning. Please give us, president@aauwpa.org or co-president@aauwpa.org or your district coordinators your opinions on these important issues which will be decided at the April convention in Carlisle.

Kate and Deb

AAUW is growing. AAUW is building. Be a part of it. We are recruiting AAUW members to be a part of a new initiative called the Leadership Corps.  Would you be a good candidate for this program? Perhaps you might recommend one of your AAUW colleagues.

The Leadership Corps is a new member involvement opportunity being created to support AAUW’s grassroots. It is based in community-organizing principles and tactics and will provide a corps of trained member leaders, serving as grassroots liaisons to help us identify and address current needs, encourage branch leadership development, foster effective multi-way communication, increase sharing of resources and strategies, and assist membership growth.

Any AAUW member with a passion for the mission, a vision for AAUW’s future, and a talent for seeing and inspiring leadership in others will want to be a part of the Leadership Corps. The Leadership Corps presents an opportunity for AAUW members to apply their insights and skills to assisting branch development, encouraging membership growth, and nurturing leadership to advance AAUW’s mission and future. Leadership Corps grassroots liaisons will receive training in identifying and mentoring leadership talent in others, membership recruitment, effective communications strategies, and other community/relational organizing skills.

Leadership Corps grassroots liaisons will have the opportunity to connect with members and leaders at the grassroots level and learn more about local needs, issues, resources, etc. This will provide Leadership Corps grassroots liaisons greater insight into branch, state, and member interests and priorities and help them provide guidance in local planning and implementation of AAUW’s mission-based programming and membership development. It will also help to convey specific interest areas, concerns, and/or geographic needs to national leadership and staff, facilitating quicker, clearer, and more effective communication. In addition to the skills training and experience this offers Leadership Corps grassroots liaisons, it also provides them the satisfaction of supporting member leaders as they initiate programs and form collaborative partnerships within their communities.

If you are interested in learning more about the Leadership Corps, you can go to the AAUW website, and you are welcome to join me on the phone for a nationwide conference call for AAUW members interested in this new program. The conference call will be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 8:00 pm EDT (please adjust for your time zone). To RSVP for the conference call please fill out the form at the following website: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dE01OXdzT1lFdW92YXRndjZNTm4xdnc6MA.

Finally, if you think that one of your AAUW colleagues would a good candidate to be a Leadership Corps grassroots liaison, please forward this e-mail to her.

Sincerely,

Seth

Mr. Seth A. Chase

Field Director
Public Policy and Government Relations
AAUW

1111 Sixteenth St. NW

Washington, DC 20036
www.aauw.org

Traditionally, we have sent contributions to Association’s National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL), contributing either to the general operating fund or to the general scholarship fund. This year, we are inviting branches and individuals to also support the AAUW-PA scholarships to women student leaders attending colleges or universities in PA. You may do this by sending a check to Leslie Wachob, AAUW-PA Financial Officer, 1201 Porter Street, Chester Springs, PA 19425, with NCCWSL in the memo line.

In 2009, AAUW-PA granted two full scholarships to Katie Cibort from Juniata College and to Sandra Dunne from Northampton Community College, with a partial scholarship from Board member donations to Cornelia Dalton from Bryn Mawr. Scholarships do not include travel expenses, so your branch may want to support the travel costs of an sttendee in the area. Approximately 35 students from PA colleges and universities attended in 2009, more than in recent years. Most are supported by either Association’s general scholarship fund or by their colleges.

Questions? Contact Graham Boose, GDBoose@comcast.net or 610-405-2993.

Good afternoon,

Thank you for joining us as a Supporting Organization for the sixth annual Pennsylvania Governor’s Conference for Women!  As the Conference Outreach Director, I look forward to working with you in the coming months.

Our supporting organizations play a critical role in the success of the Conference, and we appreciate you spreading the word about what this incredible event has to offer.  With keynote speakers Suze Orman, Tory Johnson, Marcus Buckingham and Judge Glenda Hatchett, the Rework Career Fair, hundreds of exhibitsand unparalleled networking, the conference – slated for Thursday, September 17 in Philadelphia – promises to be our best event yet.

As our way of saying THANK YOU for your tremendous support, we are offering a special discounted registration rate for our supporting organizations and their members.  You can take advantage of this individually or by purchasing a table(s) for your organization.

The special table rate is $1,150 (a $350 discount off the final registration fee) and includes 10 tickets to the Conference, access to the networking breakfast, keynote addresses and luncheon, all breakout sessions, exhibit hall and this year’s new Rework Career Fair.  In addition to the table discount, individual members of your organization can attend at the discounted rate of $115 ($35 discount off the final registration fee).

Please tell your members about this special offer, available when they register online with CODE paeb09 at http://pagovernorsconferenceforwomen.org

There are many ways you can help us spread the word about the conference, including via Facebook and Twitter, a one-page flyer and promotional banners: Please visit http://www.pagovernorsconferenceforwomen.org/spread-the-word.htm and help us SPREAD THE WORD!

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions – thanks again for your support!

Shannon Gravitte
(407) 656-9748 (O)
(407) 443-4441 (cell)
sgravitte@conferenceforwomen.org

Take action and make your voice heard on Capitol Hill.  For more than a century, AAUW has influenced public policy debate on critical issues such as education, Social Security, sex discrimination, civil rights, reproductive choice, affirmative action, Title IX, welfare reform, vocational education, pay equity, family and medical leave, and health care reform.

If you are interested in learning more about AAUW’s public policy priorities, visit the “Issue Advocacy” section of the AAUW website http://www.aauw.org/TakeAction. From this page, you can access AAUW’s Public Policy Program, Legislative Agenda, Congressional Voting Record, and position papers.

Join the AAUW Action Network!

Keep up with issues that matter to you and Take Action with the AAUW Action Network. Visit http://www.aauw.org/TakeAction and click on “Join the AAUW Action Network.”

Thanks to all branch members who responded to the Every-PA-Member Survey.

Dot McLane compiled these results:

With a 20.5% return of surveys, 550 of 2673 AAUW-PA members representing 45 of 47 branches responded.

Of the 20.5% response,

80%               are 60+ years of age
68%               opposed opening membership
54%               would remain members either way
71%               want anyone serving on Association committees to be an AAUW member
83%               favor every AAUW member having one vote
52%               would retain the state board as it currently functions
52%               would retain the state board with fewer officers
79%               would not eliminate the state board completely

State board functions that received more than 50% approval are:
Conventions                                                           61.7%
Leadership Training (e.g. July Mtg.)                   59.8%
Public Policy Initiatives                                         62.2%
Association Information Source                           55.3%
State Website                                                        59.6%

I have often heard branches ask why they should contribute to the Educational Foundation (EF). The Educational Foundation funds our cutting-edge research initiatives and awards grants and fellowships for doctoral and post-doctoral work. It also awards Community Action Grants for branches. The Ophelia Project and Let’s Read Math were both funded through Community Action Grants. National Conference of College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) is funded through the Leadership and Training Institute. Contributions can be made to NCCWSL and NCCWSL scholarships and can be designated for Pennsylvania recipients if you wish.

A description of the EF funds can be found on the PA website, www.aauwpa.org, under the EF link. There is also a Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF) link on our PA website.

The 2010-2011 fellowships and grant applications will be available online as of August 1, 2009. The AAUW website (www.aauw.org), EF link and LAF link are also a wealth of information. We have found that all new information is communicated through the website.

Please be aware that with the July 1 organizational transitions, the AAUW Educational Foundation now does business under the united (c) 3 that is AAUW. All the work that the Educational Foundation did will continue but just be called AAUW. AAUW Funds is a way to contribute to AAUW and support all (c) 3 work. This includes educational programs, the Legal Advocacy Fund, and the Leadership and Training Institute.

Contribution Report Form Reminder-WE HAVE JUST BEEN NOTIFIED BY AAUW THAT, WITH THE JULY 1 ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSITONS, THERE IS A NEW CONTRIBUTION REPORT FORM. The form can be downloaded from the AAUW website-www.aauw.org by clicking on the Member Center under Forms. This information will be on the PA website as soon as possible. Please be sure to send a copy of your submitted Contribution Report Form to Rosemary Baker (EF, LTI) or Sabina Howell (LAF).

We are always available if you have any questions, Please feel free to contact us.

Rosemary Baker, EF  | Sabina Howell, LAF