Today is Women’s Equality Day, the 90th anniversary of the official day the 19th amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution. Georgia did not ratify the Women’s Vote amendment until 1970. We need the Paycheck Fairness Act legislation to pass to get pay equity.

Cartersville-Bartow Branch in conjunctions with the GHC student PAGE chapter is sponsoring a State School Superintendent Candidate Forum on October 7, 7:00 p.m. at Georgia Highlands College. It is located at the Cartersville Campus, 5441 Highway 20, NE, Cartersville, GA. This is a great opportunity to hear what the candidates have to say about the future of education in Georgia. You are invited to submit questions for the candidates in advance. Please send questions to Diane Sakmar.

AAUW Georgia has a new Facebook page. Check it out at http//facebook.com/aauwgeorgia and click on the LIKE sign.  Sign up for Facebook and get AAUW updates right in your news feed if you are not already a member. If you have women friends and colleagues on Facebook, tell them to check it out.

Rick Tew, Human Resources Director, Floyd Medical Center Mary Shotwell Smith, President of Rome Branch Helen Cobb-Runninger, Network Day Service Center

Rome, GA AAUW gave their first Family Friendly Workplace Place Awards to two employers in May. The effort was an initiative promoted by Immediate Past President Patricia DeWitt during her term in office.

The complete report is available by downloading here.

Delegates and members at the 2009 AAUW Convention approved changes to the AAUW Bylaws that enabled all AAUW members (whether or not they attend the convention) to elect candidates for the AAUW Board of Directors and vote on other items of business such as bylaws amendments, resolutions, and the Public Policy Program.

AAUW has prepared a briefing on the new One Member One Vote process. It is available on the AAUW website.

Submit an application to be a candidate for election to the AAUW Board of Directors for a two-year term beginning in July 2011. Click on the links below to review leadership position descriptions.

• President
• Vice President
• Finance Vice President
• Secretary
• Directors-at-Large

Candidate application forms must be submitted by October 1, 2010.

Information about candidates for board positions will be posted on December 1, 2010.

New Co-President, Karvey and Immediate Past President DeWitt

Seventeen state leaders had a full day at the Shorter University Atlanta Campus in Riverdale discussing a range of topics and learning about how to use AAUW tools. The meeting ended with small group discussions on a variety of topics.

Topics included:

AAUW Georgia is now using the AAUW Membership Payment Program. It is now operational for all states and branches to use. Branches are encouraged to sign up. The Branch President must initiate the program. Cobb Branch reports that the MPP is easier than the old way and AAUW sends the state dues back promptly. Check out all the specifics at the Member Center at the AAUW website.

The AAUW One Member One Vote is moving forward. States are exploring options for how to govern themselves. The new AAUW structure only requires an administrator (President) and a financial contact (Treasurer). Smaller states and branches no longer have to scramble to fill multiple positions.

• AAUW Georgia will partner with Georgia Women for A Change on state policy public efforts. Their positions are complementary to AAUW public policies. They have paid staff and lobbyists that can advocate at the Georgia Legislature.
• The Atlanta branch members reported on their ongoing effort with Audrey Salgado, AAUW Leadership Corp. She was the evening speaker at the state AAUW Convention in April. Atlanta took her us on her offer to provide free help with goal setting and reviewing their structure. A second retreat is planned to review their generative action plans. Audrey is available to help branches. Audrey has helped the branch think differently about what they offer. For example, you don’t need a program very month, use your money to grow the branch rather than being so generous with outside groups, if you give scholarships now, maybe hire the people as an intern instead. College students need volunteer credit, consider the branch as a vehicle for them to volunteer.
• Participants talked about the the generational differences between younger women and the older AAUW members. AAUW’s mission should resonate with younger women.
• Debbie Karvey gave a tutorial on the AAUW website reviewing the Membership Center, the Membership Services Database, and Resources for State Leaders on the AAUW website. The computer lab allowed each person to do hands-on work. Ann MacKay offered a tutorial on Facebook using the link from the AAUW home page. She encouraged members to sign up, set the privacy settings to friends only, only friend people you know, and lurk for awhile to see what it is all about. Twitter was quickly reviewed using the AAUW link.

There will be a Georgia AAUW Summer Leadership Workshop on July 24th, at the Shorter University extension campus in Riverdale, Georgia

Current officers and new officers are encouraged to attend this collaborative workshop. The meeting will be held at Shorter University Campus, Riverdale, GA, which is located at 1903 Phoenix Blvd Atlanta, GA 30349-5588.

10:15-11:00            Report on 2009 Convention changes and initiatives and impact on AAUW of Georgia

11:00-11:15             Morning Break

11:15-12:15               Computer Training:  AAUW.org / MSD / MPP / Tools

12:15-1:00                 Lunch

1:00-1:45                   Online and Support Resources for Branches and Office

1:45-2:00                        Afternoon Break

2:00-2:30                        Public Policy Considerations for State/Branch actions

2:30-2:45                        2010 / 2011 Proposed Budget

2:45-3:45                        Officers brainstorming collaborative

3:45-4:00                        Wrap-up and evaluation

Registration fee for the day is $15.00, which includes continental breakfast, lunch and materials.  Box lunches will be provided by Chik-Fil-A.  We will have sweet tea, unsweetened tea and water.

The registration form can be downloaded here.

The AAUW Outlook, Spring and  Summer issue, should be in your hands by now. Notice it is encased in plastic. Why? There is the Membership Survey and return envelope included with the magazine. Please make time to complete the survey. It will provide valuable information about your priorities and evaluation of AAUW. A membership organization like AAUW needs to listen to the members and this is one way for AAUW to do just that. You may also complete the survey online at www.aauw.org/membersurvey2010

AAUW has released new radio public service announcements using the “In That Moment I Knew” creative concept which was used in the very well-received  AAUW annual report earlier this year.

Here is the list of Georgia stations that have received the 30 and 60 second PSAs. Branches are encouraged  to contact the stations in your local area to ask that the PSAs be played.

GreatNonprofits.org is a place to find trustworthy nonprofits and AAUW is highly rated based upon the reviews by members.
The GreatNonprofits is the place to get first hand accounts of members stories about nonprofit organizations. Check out the AAUW page. Here is a sampling of AAUW reviews

“I’m a relatively new member to AAUW, and I wish I’d found it decades ago. There’s so much to be proud of: AAUW has had the greatest impact of any non-profit on women’s rights and equality. With our Legal Action Fund, we’ve supported many things that impacted women in a historical way, such as Title IX. AAUW provided Marie Curie with over $100,000 id research funds when no one else would find her because she was a woman. at 130 years old, the accomplishments and reach of AAUW are great, and I wish more people knew of and participated in this great organization.”