Public policy advocacy continues to be a priority for the Tar Heel Branch. THB members were instrumental in developing a pilot program to track legislation in North Carolina, and continue to lead efforts among all AAUW NC branches to keep members informed and engaged in public policy advocacy.
Read some background, as well as recent efforts, of the THB to invest members’ time in this area. Go to PP Report Tar Heel Branch Annual Meeting
Our branch’s annual report highlights our accomplishments this past year, including retaining our membership and continuing support for STEM, C/U partnerships and public policy advocacy. THB officers and board members for 2015-2016 will be introduced at the THB annual meeting which will be held on March 21, 2015 in Greensboro, as part of the AAUW NC Annual Meeting. THB members are encouraged to attend and comment on a proposed seven-year assessment of the THB.
Link here for a copy of the Tar Heel Branch 2015 Annual Report:– AAUW THB 2015 – Annual Report.docx
Since 2011 Chesney Reich has served as the AAUW representative for AAUW College/University partner Western Carolina University. In 2014 she joined the Tar Heel Branch board as its contact for college/university relations last year.
Here is her report on the status of AAUW issues on campus.
This is a (delayed) annual report on branch finances for the fiscal year 7/1/2013-6/30/2014
It shows the branch started the 2015 fiscal year in good financial shape, so if you have a project to recommend, write info@tarheel.aauwnc.org or join the branch action list (subscribe here) and pitch it to that group of folks who are interested in the nuts and bolts of running the branch, or contact one of the members of the branch board.
Thanks to those who made donations to the branch (6/30/2013-7/1/2014) or to AAUW (during 2013):
Abell, Patsy
Atkinson, Karla
Bernlohr, Doris
D’Addario Jean
Evans, Michelle
Gallucci, Kathy
Hallman, Judith
Heath, Jaquelin
Hill, Joanne
Imgrund, Janice
Jennings, Dana
Keller, Marie (Bea)
Kirkwood, David
Knechtel, Grace
Lambert, Naomi
Madden, Robbie
Maiz-Pena, Magdalena
McLaurin, Sandra
Mengert, Sue
Novello, Caroline
Pearre, Kathleen
Shoemaker, Nancy
Stephenson, Martha
Our practice has been to prepare an annual report to present/discuss at the branch annual meeting.
We hope to see many of you at this year’s meeting on Saturday morning, March 29. [See information on AAUW NC annual meeting for more details.]
Note that throughout the report there are bracketed numbers that are references to the endnotes starting on page 3.
The branch met before the AAUW NC meeting in Burlington on April 13.
Thanks to Denny McGuire for taking the notes and Michelle Evans for chairing the meeting and reviewing them.
Twenty six members of the branch, including two new members, attended the Tar Heel Branch annual meeting on Saturday, March 31. No business was conducted, so there are no formal minutes.
The results of the online branch ballot were announced. 71 of 122 members voted.
For more information on other aspects of the branch, see the annual report, which was distributed at the meeting.
Nancy Shoemaker
Tar Heel Branch President
Three AAUW NC meetings were held this fall: two on 9/17 in Brevard and New Bern and one last Saturday in Statesville. Forty-one members representing 15 of the 20 branches attended at least one of the meetings. Of the 41, 18 were members of the Tar Heel Branch and we welcomed one new member, Janice Imgrund of Winston-Salem, who joined at the Statesville meeting.
Five Tar Heel Branch board members attended (Shoemaker, Evans, Atoji, Pearre, and Abell). The meetings were sponsored by the AAUW NC officers (K. Atkinson, Van Order, McGuire, Abell, Richardson) with support from Mary Peterson — and all of these women are dual members of the Tar Heel Branch.
This report comes from my attendance at the Statesville meeting.
The bulk of the time was spent on the Public Policy Pilot Project that is proposed for branch action during 2011-2012. Branches are being encouraged to
Additional information:
to pp-admin@aauwnc.org as soon as possible.
In late October, the coordinators of the project will be assigning issues to branches based on branch preferences, but hopefully avoiding much duplication. Then two email lists will be populated with subscribers:
During the year, all involved in the project would be asked to make notes on the project to help with an evaluation of whether or not additional state resources should be allocated to it for 2012-2013.
The Tar Heel Branch may contribute to this in unique ways. Jenine Atoji and I will be supporting the project with the technical issues of creating and maintaining the email lists. It is understood that many of our members who joined as “at-large” members of the state may not have time to put into research on particular issues, but it is hoped we will have many members who agree to receive the information and take action as long as the messages are clear and focused.
The AAUW NC executive committee (acting as the board in this year where we’ve suspended the bylaws) approved the 2011-2012 budget. The important things to note are:
There was some discussion of the AAUW Juvenile Literature Award which the NC Literary and Historical Society has administered for AAUW NC since 1953. As documented on the UNC Library page about the NC Literary Awards, this is part of a series of several awards. There was a discussion about the benefit of the award and an idea to encourage all the branches to purchase copies of the winning book for their local libraries received more support than adding a cash award to the winning author.
The consensus was to continue support for the event. That entails contacting the winning author and arranging to host the author at the Literary and Historical Society awards ceremony, as well as arranging for a cup to present it. It was noted that Elizabeth Laney, a member of the branch and the Lit/Hist Society, has been one of the judges for years.
This year’s award ceremony will be Friday, Nov. 18 at the Sheraton in downtown Raleigh as part of the Annual Meeting of the Lit/Hist Society. The awards potion of the program is 1:30 – 2:00 and part of the afternoon session which is free and open to the public. If you’d like to attend, please contact Karla or Lill for details on who will be representing AAUW NC, particularly if you’d like to join the author for lunch or take materials to share about AAUW. (Full program, registration.)
There was a lively discussion of how to get state information out to all the members. While email would seem to be a logical way to communicate, issues about going “email only” included
There was a consensus to continue with last year’s format of a simpler annual meeting near the center of the state.
There was a reminder that by a vote last spring we suspended the bylaws and our current structure is quite different from the one described there. It is still too soon to know how it is working, but it was noted that the nominating committee will need some guidance in what offices will be filled for 2012-2013.
Tar Heel Branch Annual Meeting
March 26, 2011, 8: 00 am
Best Western, High Point, NC
AGENDA
I. Call to Order
II. Reports
(The above reports are posted on our website except the presidents which remains fluid)
III. Unfinished business
IV. New business
V. Adjourn
A goal of $1000 was set for the amount to donate to AAUW Funds by the Tar Heel Branch. Two letters with directions for giving were sent via the branch website to members urging them to support the mission and contribute in the name of the branch. The total donated was $790 by nine members and one organization. With more members, greater understanding and education we hope to reach our goal for the branch next year.
Pat Abell
To help the branch reach its 2010-2011 and 2011 goals, please review the areas of AAUW philanthropy and consider the option to donate now.
AAUW Tar Heel Branch 