President’s Message

Dear THB members,

It was beautiful in the mountains as many of us headed to Boone for the AAUW state meeting.  We gathered at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on the campus of Appalachian State University on October 9-10.

We took care of many business items, had a few workshops, and enjoyed great fellowship with other members from around the state.

One of the meeting highlights was saying thank you to THB member/treasurer, Nancy Shoemaker for the many vital roles she has played in AAUW NC over the last decade. A framed copy of a resolution was presented to her by AAUW NC president Millie Hoffler-Foushee recognizing her many contributions. Congratulations, Nancy.

Congratulations, too, to branch member Queen Thompson who has been appointed to the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund Committee. She is the only member from North Carolina other than AAUW Finance Vice President Millie Hoffler-Foushee who is serving on any of the national committees and task forces. Congratulations, Queen.

The new structuring of AAUW as a non profit organization has required us to update our bylaws to conform to new changes voted on in St. Louis in June. Board members spent time in Boone working on bylaws issues.  I am happy to announce that your bylaws committee members Nancy Shoemaker, Pat Abell and Doris Bernlohr have finished our update which is now posted on our website.

We also spent time in Boone going over the new AAUW Affiliate Agreement.  All AAUW states and branches must sign this new Affiliate Agreement affirming their affiliation with AAUW by October 31, 2009. By signing this new affiliate agreement, branches and states that are state tax exempt under IRS Code 501(c)(4) also affirm intent to be included in AAUW’s new group tax exemption. With the restructuring of AAUW so that the 501(c)(3) charitable entity is now the organization’s dominant membership entity previous agreements are no longer valid.  Signing this new Affiliate Agreement entitles members to deduct a major portion of their national membership dues on their federal tax returns for the first time.

As our branch without borders moves into our second year, our first nominating committee has been appointed by the board.  The charge to the nominating committee is to craft a slate for the election next spring — president, treasurer, and directors-at large. Many thanks to the following members who have agreed to serve on the committee:

Grace Knechtel, Chair/Raleigh
Judythe Atkinson/Winston Salem
Mary Morrow/Statesville

We currently have 45 members and we need the help of everyone if the branch is to be successful. Remember, I asked each of you to bring at least one new member into our group before Dec. 31. One way to do that is with our gift membership program. To get you started see the new “gift membership” section on the branch web site: http://tarheel.aauwnc.org/give-a-gift

Doris Bernlohr, President
Tar Heel Branch

Recent AAUW updates

• AAUW Celebrates Passage of Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act
• AAUW Member Wins Nobel Prize
• Urge your members of Congress to support AAUW’s policy recommendations!
• AAUW Provides Policy Recommendations for a True “Woman’s Nation” — this is AAUW’s response to the Shriver Report that’s been in the news lately

AAUW NC news

• NCVCE Annual Meeting – those near Raleigh who support AAUW’s work for clean elections may want to participate in this anniversary meeting/reception
• AAUW NC Fall Meeting – information is still being posted on what happened at that meeting

Other branch news

• Welcome new members – July-Sept.
• Are you planning your holiday giving? -  New gift packages available November 1
• Updated bylaws
• Another report on the convention – includes links to videos of programs from St. Louis in June
• Update to branch brochure – be sure to carry at least one with you

If you’d like to “stay in the loop,” one way to do that without getting even more e-mail is to join Facebook. Most people join Facebook so that they can share pictures and other updates with close friends, but it’s also a way to get information from organizations. So if you do join, please become a “fan” of AAUW North Carolina — simply login to Facebook, go to http://bit.ly/aauwnc-fb, then click the “become a fan” button at the top. Information from AAUW NC will show up in your Facebook home page along with the other information from your friends.

YOU ARE INVITED – SAVE THE DATE

What: Hors d’ oeuvres and wine

When:  Friday, September 25, 2009– 5-7 p.m.

Where: Home of branch member, Burlington, NC

This is strictly a social get-together for a couple of hours for anyone who can join us. Her  home in Twin Lakes is less then ten minutes from Exit 140 off I-40.  I hope many of you will join us. Bring a prospective member with you.

In September a reminder will be sent which will include directions and RSVP instructions.  Dress is casual.  We’re keeping it simple, and hope you will join us.

REPORT ON AAUW CONVENTION IN ST. LOUIS

As you may have heard by now, the St. Louis convention was energizing, inspiring, and surprising. Click here for a brief report on what happened.

REPORT ON AAUW NC MEETING IN HENDERSONVILLE

The AAUW NC meeting in Hendersonville provided information on two important aspects of AAUW programming: work on projects to engage girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and the new training project to help college women get the best possible salary in their first job. There was also a discussion on how the AAUW NC public policy priorities fit with the national priorities and how they are developed. Click here to learn more about the summer meeting.

Doris Bernlohr,
President, THB

These links are for further information on our complex organization. Click the ones that fit your interest and time. You can find all of these in the NEWS section on the branch website http://tarheel.aauwnc.org or http://aauwnc.org.

BRANCH INFORMATION

• Welcome to new members — find out who has joined us in May and June
• Branch status — some statistics on how this new branch model is doing as we finish our first year
• Branch financial report (draft) — how are we doing financially? List of 2008-2009 donors. [If you'd like to volunteer to review this report, please contact Doris or Nancy.]

AAUW NC Notes

• New map showing info on the branches (07/26/09) [There are technical difficulties with this, but when it works, it shows an icon for each community-based branch. We hope this will replace the map in our brochure.]
• New ways of communicating (07/16/09) – AAUW NC is using twitter to post updates. Learn more.
• Message from AAUW President Garfein (07/16/09) – This video message introduces you to the new chief volunteer at AAUW.
• Branch/State officer listing (07/07/09) – Did you know AAUW NC maintains public information on contacting all the branches: www.aauwnc.org/contacts/branches/
• New clause in AAUW Public Policy Program (06/28/09)
• New AAUW Bylaws (06/28/09)
• Healthy Youth Act ratified! (06/26/09) – See also the AAUW NC public policy summary for updates on other bills

This newsletter was distributed through the branch e-mail list, and an archived copy can be found there, too. The e-mail edition is more complete since it contains some member phone numbers and direct e-mail addresses.

EMBRACING CHANGE

As delegates prepare for our convention in St. Louis, Missouri June 26-28, I hope each of you have also taken the time to be informed.  Change is in the air as we deal with new bylaw proposals.

The proposed bylaw changes before us all began in 2005 when the boards of AAUW began a strategic process to address AAUW’s ability to be a viable organization in the future.  At the 2007 convention in Phoenix, the members unanimously voted to restructure AAUW. At the same time delegates also instructed the AAUW Bylaws Committee to prepare revised bylaws that reflect this restructuring.

Another major issue to be decided in St. Louis is whether to open our membership to anyone who supports our mission to promote equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research.

A complete copy of the proposed bylaws can be found in the latest special convention issue of Outlook. I invite each of you to check it out.

The Tar Heel branch will be well represented in St. Louis.  At this time– members Karla Atkinson, Shelia Bassoppo-Mayo, Mary Fran Schickedantz, Nancy Shoemaker, and Queen Thompson will be St. Louis bound.  The Tar Heel branch is entitled to one vote, and I will be your voting delegate at convention.

If any of you have questions or comments you would like to address to any of us before we go to St Louis –we welcome and encourage them.

I want to thank each of you for your continued support of the Tar Heel Branch.  If each one of us can bring at least one more person to join us this year, we can double our membership and meet our goal. Let’s do it!

Thanks.

Doris Bernlohr,
President, THB

These links are for further information on our complex organization. Click the ones that fit your interest and time.

Branch News (tarheel.aauwnc.org)

• Branch members help the WRC in Alamance County
• Finance: 4/30 Treasurer’s report; Proposed 2009-2010 budget
• Governance: Proposed branch policies; Note on the bylaws

AAUW North Carolina (aauwnc.org)

• $tart $mart Kickoff in North Carolina (05/28/09) – Branch member Sonya Stafford is taking the lead in organizing  this project in NC. It helps young women negotiate the salary on their first job.
• Registration information for the summer meeting (05/27/09) – All members are welcome at the AAUW NC meeting in Hendersonville, July 17-18. A major section of the meeting will be a discussion of what delegates learn at the Association convention in St. Louis.
• JACKSONVILLE REGIONAL BRANCH MAY-JUNE-JULY 2009 NEWSLETTER (05/14/09)
• Greensboro Equal Pay Day Proclamation (05/04/09)
• See also updates to AAUW NC Public Policy Priorities

AAUW News (aauw.org )

• Attendees at the National Conference of College Women Student Leaders will be joined by luminaries including the Nontombi Naomi Tutu (see keynote speakers) and Diane Rehm (see women of distinction)
• Recent public policy alerts include career training, paid sick days, and hate crimes prevention, as well as the request to call Sen. Hagan about the Paycheck Fairness Act.

[Doris was called out of town and delegated this newsletter to Nancy. When she returns, expect to hear about her Equal Pay Day activities and the AAUW members who worked at the Alamance County Women's Resource Center Herb Festival earlier this week.]

Send an E-Card

Equal Pay Day Activities
If you have written a letter to the editor, sent a message to Sen. Hagan, sent an equal pay postcard to a friend, watched the AAUW video, or plan to watch AAUW’s Lisa Maatz in one her presentations this week, please make a quick comment on our branch web site. You’ll find the comment form at the bottom of the post on Equal Pay Day which has links to instructions for all those and more. [See the branch home page http://tarheel.aauwnc.org or the state home page http://aauwnc.org for links to the two minute video from YouTube.]

Advocacy Day Followup
There’s still time to use the virtual advocacy campaign to contact your NC legislators about the issues that were on the NC Women’s Agenda.

Special alert: Contact Senate majority leader Tony Rand, 919-733-9892 and ask that he ensure that the School Violence Prevention Bill, SB526, the “bullying bill” be heard in the Senate Education Committee by May 7 so that the full Senate can consider the bill before the May 14 crossover. [Bills that don't affect the budget need to be passed by either the House or Senate by the "crossover" deadline, or they die until the next legislative session (i.e. 2011-2012).]  AAUW NC has voted to support this bill so if you call, you may identify yourself as an AAUW member. For more information see http://www.aauwnc.org/about/aauw-nc-public-policy-priorities/.

$mart $tart Campus Negotiation Workshops
Branch member Sonya Stafford who works for the Employment Security Commission is a local contact for the WAGE Project’s $tart $mart Workshops to teach junior and senior college women how to benchmark the salary of the job they want when they graduate and learn basic salary negotiation skills. AAUW members have an opportunity to get involved in this important project. See http://www.wageproject.org/content/get_even/aauwenlist.php and the attached flyer with Sonya’s contact info.

Welcome to our new members:

• Cheryl Lewis, PI/Director, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, at Elizabeth City State University joined at the College/University event at UNC-CH on April 3.
• Karla Atkinson, incoming co-VP of Programs for AAUW NC and a member of the Brevard branch
• Martha Smith of Burlington who had been an at-large member of AAUW

We now have 31 members, 18 “primary” members and 13 who belong to at least one other branch.

2009-2010 memberships
We’re now accepting dues for 2009-2010. Watch for an invoice after May 1, but if you want to cross one more thing off your list, you can use the online “join now” form on the web site — just choose either the link for $60 (if this is your primary branch) or $11 (if you pay AAUW dues through another branch). No need to complete the form unless your contact information has changed. If you have any questions, please contact the treasurer, Nancy — 919-773-1340. Reminder — if you renew by June 30, branch dues are $0. After that they will be $5 (and the amounts on the links will change to $65 and $16).

In addition to Cheryl, Karla, and Martha welcomed above, the following members have already paid for 2009-2010 and will not be getting a renewal invoice: Meagan Cody, Sonya Stafford, and Queen Thompson.

If you have the Tar Heel as your second branch, please do pay your dues in your first branch promptly so that we can “connect” you correctly to the Tar Heel Branch.

Again, watch for more details early next month!

Here’s to ending the need for Equal Pay Day soon!

-Nancy, for Doris.

BRANCH NEWS (tarheel.aauwnc.org)

FROM THE PRESIDENT
Doris Bernhlohr, info@tarheel.aauwnc.org

Making Progress
Thanks to all of you for your patience as we continue to put in place the operational functions that have made the Tar Heel Branch possible.
We owe special thanks to our communication team of Birgit Pauli-Haack and Nancy Shoemaker. Their work was absolutely vital to the start-up process for this new branch. They continue to provide very important services to each of us.

Your bylaws are almost done
The bylaws committee has worked out a proposal that has been approved by the AAUW Bylaws Chair. Thanks to committee members Pat Abell and Nancy Shoemaker who worked with me on this. Thanks, too, to Caroline Pickens for her help in ensuring that the new branch stands on a firm foundation that is in agreement with AAUW policies. Please review the  proposed bylaws and the rationale document that accompanies them, and contact the committee at bylaws@tarheel.aauwnc.org with any comments. I have asked Nancy to serve as the point person for this discussion, so if you prefer, call Nancy. We need your comments and questions by February 20, so the proposal can be finalized for a vote by the branch.

Who pays for it all?
We have had some start-up expenses to deal with, and the board will be having a discussion on how best to fund this new branch to meet our  needs.   Dues this year for the Tar Heel Branch have been $0. The board will make a recommendation on what amount to set as the dues, and that will need to be approved by the branch. This is a very important decision we must make very soon. Every member of our present board of directors has made a donation to help pay the bills.

Elections
We are beginning to prepare for our first annual meeting of the Tar Heel Branch to be held at the state convention in Wilmington on March 27.  As we get closer to that time you will once again be voting on some important business.  One of the things we must do is elect officers for 2009-2010. The current officers have agreed to be re-nominated. If anyone else would like to have their name placed on the ballot, email a 2-3 sentence bio to me,
and also tell me what you would like to accomplish. Indicate what office you would like to run for.  I must receive this information by Feb. 20.

While we will be calling for a vote later in the month on the issues of dues, approval of the bylaws, and election of the board members, there is one item of business we need to handle now. Judy Atkinson has volunteered to be our delegate at the AAUW NC convention. [Link to ballot was in e-mail version.]

Barnes and Noble discounts
In case you missed this announcement earlier, check out the new AAUW-Barnes and Noble partnership.  As an AAUW member you can now receive a 5% discount and other perks that may apply.  Go to www.bn.com/aauw for the details. Click “AAUW Award Winners” on the left to get the list of recent AAUW NC Juvenile Literature Award winners.

Thanks,
Doris

AAUW NEWS (www.aauw.org)

• January/February 2009 Mission & Action e-newsletter – most of you received this bi-monthly e-newsletter in e-mail a couple of days ago. If not, you can read it on the web.

AAUW NC NEWS (www.aauwnc.org)

• Spring 2009 Tar Heel News, the AAUW NC newsletter (02/05/09) – get the online version of the newsletter that will be in your US Mail soon.
• Registration is open for AAUW NC convention (02/05/09) – if you are coming to the branch annual meeting on March 27, here’s where to register
• Financial independence workshop, Friday, March 27 (02/05/09) – information about the workshop on Friday morning, March 27
• Announcing the 2009 Web Scavenger Hunt (02/05/09)  – do you use aauw.org and aauwnc.org regularly? Test your skills and enter a drawing to win a $60 dues voucher for next year.

BRANCH NEWS (tarheel.aauwnc.org)

• Electing our delegate to the AAUW NC convention - results of the ballot noted above. Deadline is Feb. 20!
• Initial branch financial report – information on our income/expenses for December and January
• Proposed branch bylaws for review – the proposed bylaws and the rationale
• Nancy in DC – pictures of Nancy at a meeting in DC last Monday that was also attended by several from the AAUW staff
• Checkoff for judicial campaign fund – a video on the checkoff on the NC Income Tax Form that funds the state judicial campaigns

This newsletter was distributed through the branch e-mail list, and an archived copy can be found there, too. The e-mail edition is more complete since it contains some member phone numbers and direct e-mail addresses.

FROM THE PRESIDENT
Doris Bernhlohr

I want to take this opportunity to invite all of you to Wilmington on March 27, 2009 for the AAUW NC Convention.  The Wilmington Branch will be our hosts and I can guarantee you an informative and fun time.  Watch for the next issue of the Tar Heel News for all the details.  For those of you who have never been to a state convention before I hope you will join us.

I am looking for a volunteer to be a voting delegate at the state convention.  If you are going to be present in Wilmington on March 27 and are willing to be a delegate please notify me.  Our entire membership will need to have time to vote on this delegate selection.  Watch for a ballot to select a delegate.

With Congress and the NC Legislature now in session many issues important to all of us will be on their agendas.  Please stay in touch with your legislators in both Raleigh and Washington and let them hear from you. This also keeps you up to date with AAUW priority issues.   If you need information about what is going on please refer to the following website:

Sign up for the Action Network (Two Minute Activist Alerts)
http://capwiz.com/aauw/mlm/signup/ or the Join Now link on the upper right of the aauw.org Advocacy­ Public Policy main page

AAUW NC NEWS (www.aauwnc.org)

• AAUW News (01/28/09) — Lots has been happening over the last few weeks. This includes an extensive section of links on Pay Equity. You can subscribe to get this e-newsletter directly. Contact Nancy Shoemaker.
• Ledbetter bill passes Congress (01/28/09) — How the North Carolina delegation has voted on the two important bills, links to videos of the signing ceremony, and other Pay Equity news.
• Is this you? (01/15/09)  — AAUW NC needs someone to step up to the position of treasurer starting July 1, 2009. This article describes what’s involved in the job.

BRANCH NEWS (tarheel.aauwnc.org)

• Burlington gathering on Feb. 17 – members near Alamance County should have heard about this, but just in case you’re “in the neighborhood”
• How do we communicate – part 3 – thoughts on using social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook to connect with other branch members
• How do we communicate – part 2 – information on this new e-mail list
• Celebrate International Women’s Day (March 5) & A POWERFUL NOISE Live! – Information from AAUW on a movie that will be shown in Raleigh, Concord, and Charlotte
• Introduce a friend to AAUW – links to the branch brochure and the “join now” page

This newsletter was distributed through the branch e-mail list, and an archived copy can be found there, too. The e-mail edition is more complete since it contains some member phone numbers and direct e-mail addresses.