e-newsletter v2009.02

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.