American Association of University Women DELAWARE
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DELAWARE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN STATE BOARD MEETING Minutes of September 9, 2006 The State Board meeting was called to order at 9:38 a.m. by the State President, Dr. Maisha Britt. The meeting was held at the Duncan Center in Dover, Delaware. Board and Branch members introduced themselves. Kay Moses, of the Dover Branch, was introduced by State President, Maisha, as the new College/University Relations Chair. She held a similar position at Delaware State University. Her experience and expertise was greatly appreciated and she was warmly welcomed. There was one correction to the minutes from June 10, 2006, that was made by Dr. Kathy Jacobs. The EF Report should state that the board approved state contributions for the Gail Ames and Hilda Davis funds. Mary Everhart made a motion to approve the minutes and Lana Cobb seconded the motion to approve the minutes as corrected. State President, Dr. Britt, noted that the agenda had been slightly amended. Maria Simoes made a motion to approve the agenda as amended and Carolyn Diehl seconded the motion. LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE REPORT: State President, Dr. Maisha Britt, reported on the leadership conference that she attended in Washington, DC, on June 23-25th, 2006. The theme of the 2006 AAUW Conference of State Leaders was “Expanding a Legacy of Leadership.” She displayed books and pictures from the leadership convention. The conference’s central themes included membership, recruitment and retention, public policy, and program development. Dr. Maisha also shared a book entitled, “Woman-to-Woman Voter Turnout A Manual for Community-Based Campaigns to Mobilize Women to Vote” from AAUW. The purpose of the manual is to help AAUW branches reach out to women and mobilize them to vote. Since women tend to vote as a block, it describes the basic elements of an effective women voter turnout campaign. This is especially helpful for the November 2006 elections. COMMITTEE REPORTSMEMBERSHIP: Membership VP, Marie Mayor, could not attend the meeting. However, Lana Cobb reported on state membership for her. AAUW Delaware is to receive a tool kit from national on how to increase and retain members. Marie Mayor will come and speak to any branch about membership. Contact her by e-mail. PROGRAM: Program VP, Lana Cobb, has begun to plan for the Annual Meeting in the spring of 2007 to also be held at the Duncan Center. This was a favorable site based on the evaluations from the last state convention. The date of April 14th has been chosen even though it is one day prior to Newark and Coastal-Georgetown’s Math and Science luncheon at the University of Delaware. The goal is to increase attendance at the convention; so hopefully, this will not be a deterrent. DE AAUW has applied to the Leader-to-Leader Program whose focus is to establish a mentoring relationship with an Association Leader and our state. The Leaders will be assigned after October 1, 2006. If selected, the Leader will attend the Annual Meeting and will assist with programs from national. The two programs are: Get out the Vote: Challenging citizens to “Why We Need to Vote!” and Membership and Retention: How to keep membership interested in activities and How to recruit younger members. MAR Director, Linda Haigh-Tozier, is on the selection committee. TREASURER: Finance/Treasurer, Carolyn Diehl, reported that as of September 6, 2006, there was a balance of $16,069.45 in a checking account at Wilmington Trust and $5,850.37 in a MBNA CD. A motion was made to obtain a debit card from Wilmington Trust in order to pay Association bills. Shirley Seibert moved to approve this motion and Dr. Kathy Jacobs seconded the motion. All were in agreement with this proposal. EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: Dr. Kathy Jacobs, State EF Chair, has a folder to give each EF Branch chair that contains helpful information on fundraising. The AAUW Educational Foundation awards and administers fellowships, grants, and research and special projects with funds donated by AAUW members and other contributors. Ways to contribute to AAUW EF include business contributions, individual donations, stock, memorial gifts, and bequests. Each member that contributes $100.00 or more to the Eleanor Roosevelt Fund will get an Eleanor Roosevelt pin. She encouraged each branch to try to raise more than 10% in funds for the EF Fund. Delaware ranked 9th in contribution growth over the previous fundraising year. Kathy will get a copy of the contribution form to national. The deadline for EF contributions is December 31, 2006. LEGAL ADVOCACY FUND: Dr. Peg Prouse, State and Dover Branch LAF Chair, mentioned that you can get an update on LAF at their National Website: http://www.aauw.org/laf/index.cfm. There are no active court cases in Delaware at this time. PUBLIC POLICY: Shirley Seibert is the State Public Policy Chair, as well as PP Chair for the Wilmington and Newark branches. There was a good discussion of several issues relating to public policy in the State of Delaware. Noteworthy, were women from Afghanistan in Delaware, the fact that there is no prison for girls in the state (they are sent to South Dakota), and the League of Women Voters. State President, Dr. Maisha, said that this is an organization that AAUW would benefit from getting involved with. She mentioned that Jean Bauer, of the Dover Branch, is on the board. COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY RELATIONS: Kay Moses, from the Dover Branch, is a recent AAUW member and the new College/University Relations Chair. She held a similar position at Delaware State University and is researching information on this subject on the Internet. You may contact her at kaymoses69@yahoo.com. DIVERSITY: Ada May Shipley is the Diversity Chair for the State and Coastal-Georgetown Branch. Ada May initiated four diversity goals for Delaware AAUW. These goals are: to have each Branch Diversity Chair plan and implement a diversity program yearly, to become informed of the increasing diversity in the state as a result of immigration, to respond locally and positively to these population and cultural changes in our communities, and to become involved as volunteers in ways to help these immigrants adapt to their new home. She asked that the board move to approve these goals. Laura Singleton made a motion to approve the goals and Lana Cobb seconded this motion. Dr. Maisha also stated that this was a goal of hers to have each Branch have a Diversity Chair. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Dr. Gertrude Burrell, (TRU-DEE), the International Relations Chair, submitted a very interesting report on her many international involvements. She spent the month of June in Scandinavia attending several conventions and conferences addressing women’s issues. Denmark has the best health care system for women in the world. She stated that AAUW in the United States is no longer a member of the International Federation of University Women (IFUW). President Maisha will find out if we can still become an individual member of IFUW. This may need to be approved by National. BY-LAWS: Mary Sherlock, Esquire, is preparing for a trial and is unable to attend the State Board Meeting. You may contact her at her e-mail address in the directory. HISTORIAN: Alice Ryan, State and Newark Branch Historian, is preparing materials to hand over to the Morris Library at the University of Delaware every three years. Sylvia DuRoss, Middletown Branch member and former State Recording Secretary, has 60 years of State Board Meeting minutes to archive. BULLETIN/DIRECTORY: Mary Everhart distributed the new 2006-2007 AAUW Delaware Directory. The deadline for the next newsletter of The First Stater is October 13, 2006. WEBMASTER: Anne Powell, Webmaster, can be contacted at anne@jpdesignassociates.com with information for the State Website. BRANCH REPORTSCOASTAL-GEORGETOWN: Maria Simoes, President of Coastal-Georgetown Branch, reported that their branch will have a unique meeting on September 16, 2006. They will have lunch at the home of member, Linda Fisher, situated on the Delaware Bay, and then visit the five Tall Ships in Lewes to celebrate the 375th anniversary of Lewes. They also have a new fundraising technique for LAF. They will attend performances of the Henlopen Theatre Project and the Possum Point Players and will make a donation to LAF with each reduced admission or low admission cost to a theatre production. On April 19, 2007, they will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Branch with a dinner at the Sussex Pines Country Club. DOVER: The September Covered Dish Dinner meeting will be hosted once again at the lovely home of Joyce Parent. The Returning Woman Scholarship will be awarded to a worthy recipient. Mary Everhart, who is in charge of the Newsletter for the Branch and the First Stater and Directory for the State, represented the Dover Branch. There are monthly meetings at Wesley College and a Book Club. Dover Branch has supported the EF Fund with a Silent Auction at their annual Christmas Social. This year it will be held at the Duncan Center, as will the January luncheon. MIDDLETOWN: Maria Gregors, Co-President Middletown, reported that they raised four hundred dollars ($400.00) at the annual peach festival. On September 18th, the annual covered dish dinner will be held and the members will share their summer trips. In October, they will hold a wine tasting fund-raiser to benefit local students. The November holiday auction is also a fund-raiser to provide money for a scholarship. In January of 2007, the Branch will plan their events for the remainder of the year. NEWARK: Alice Ryan, Historian, spoke on how the Branch is trying to encourage attendance with luncheon meetings. The Annual Math/Science Luncheon to honor a high school junior girl excelling in math and science will be held at the University of Delaware on April 15, 2007. It is a joint venture with the Coastal-Georgetown Branch. SEAFORD: There was no member from the Seaford Branch present at the board meeting. However, Jenny Werner, President, had mailed a report indicating that the Branch was petitioning national to change its name to Western Sussex Branch. The name change is an effort “to expand our horizons and open the opportunities for expanded membership beyond the Seaford community.” They are eagerly planning on how to recruit old and new members, where to hold their meetings, and scholarship eligibility requirements. With the population growth in their area, they intend to broaden their horizons and gain more diversity. The theme of their programs this year is “Celebrating Delaware Women.” Programs, speakers, and books will be chosen with this theme in mind. Speakers already chosen include: Seaford’s Teacher of the Year, Dara Laws, Stephanie Wright from the Aerospace Educational Foundation, and Delaware’s Poet Laureate, Freda Brown. The branch is looking for a member who can become their Webmaster to help keep abreast with the state website. WILMINGTON: Carolyn Diehl, State Treasurer, from the Branch reported on the many activities and meetings to be held. In November, David Mitchell, Secretary of Homeland Security, will speak to the group. All are welcome to attend this informative meeting. In February, the Annual Used Book Sale will be held in the Concord Mall on February 22-25th, 2007. Maria Matos, Director of the Latin American Community Center, will be the speaker in February as well. In March, Ayesha Sammander, Information Specialist with the Delaware House of Representatives, will give a talk entitled, “Life in Afghanistan as a Woman.” At the Annual Spring Luncheon in March, Susan Del Pesco, a Superior Court Judge, will be the keynote speaker. A list of the meetings and speakers can be found on the Wilmington Branch Web Page: www.aauwwilmington.org. NEW BUSINESSWEBSITE: Submit to Anne Powell, Webmaster, any information that a Branch may want on the Delaware AAUW Web Page. The website has been paid a year in advance till June 2007. Omnis will now send a bill and it will be paid with a debit card. The website is: www.aauwdelaware.org. DIRECTORY: Mary Everhart distributed The AAUW Delaware Directory for 2006-2007. 2007 ANNUAL MEETING THEME/LOCATION: The 2007 Annual Meeting will be held on April 14, 2007. The theme will be Education as The Gateway to Women’s Economic Security. Lana Cobb made a motion to hold the Annual Meeting at the Duncan Center. Dr. Kathy Jacobs seconded this motion. AAUW LEADER-TO-LEADER PROGRAM: The DE AAUW has applied for a grant to participate in the 2006-07 AAUW Leader to Leader Program. Lana Cobb was instrumental in applying for this to national. EF/LAF CONTRIBUTION REPORT: The deadline for contribution is December 31, 2006. Dr. Kathy Jacobs will forward a copy to National. AAUW 125TH ANNIVERSARY: November 28, 2006, marks the 125th anniversary of AAUW. 2007 AAUW NATIONAL CONVENTION: The National Convention will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, at the Hyatt Regency from June 29-July 2, 2007. NEXT AAUW DE MEETING DATE: The next State Board Meeting is January 6, 2007. ANNOUNCEMENTS: The offices of President-Elect, State Secretary, and State Membership VP are up for election for 2007-2008. These will be voted on and installed at the Annual Meeting. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m. Submitted by, Laura M. Singleton Secretary ATTENDANCE:
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