AAUW Boise Area Branch MAY 2015

AAUW Boise Area Branch
http://boise-id.aauw.net
MAY 2015
Newsletter Editor: Carol Stirling
SAVE THE DATE
Annual Luncheon
Saturday, May 9, 11am,
Chateau Lemmon, 5516 Hill
Rd., Boise
Movie Group, Sunday, May
10, 12:40 pm,
The Flicks, 615 W Fulton, Boise
Happy Hour, Thursday, May
14, 5 pm, New York Richi’s,
5865 N Glenwood, Boise
Bridge Group
Wednesday, May 20,
12:30 pm, Kay Hamilton,
1349 W Garfield , Boise
Book Group, Sunday, May
17, 2 pm, The Cabin
(downstairs), 801 S Capitol
Blvd., Boise
Daytimer’s
Thursday, May 28, 11:30 am,
Foothills Learning Center
4650 N 36th, Boise
MAY BIRTHDAYS
05/02 Amie Bruggerman
05/13 Penny Stanard
05/14 Cathy Downs
05/15 Susan Logan
05/15 Sarah McFeely
05/16 Judy Secrist
05/17 Janice Foster
05/19 Twila Gallaher
05/21 Wendy Barrington
05/23 Ileen Bunce
05/26 Andy Gibson
05/26 Linda Kahn
05/26 Sally Norton
05/30 Stephanie Canning
DRINK UP!!!
The Basque Market is
generously donating $1.00 to
the Branch for every drink
purchased at the Spring
Luncheon cash bar. Basque
and Spanish $6.00 wines and
$5.00 beer were be
available.
The funds support special
projects.
President's Corner
Our luncheon and silent
auction on May 9, 2015,
mark the unofficial end of
another year of branch
membership engagement
and involvement. Here are
some highlights:

Membership continues
to grow - we've added
25 new members this
year.

Fundraising efforts
continue to be
successful - in 2014, the
combined proceeds
from our three
fundraisers (garage
sale, holiday greens
sale, and silent
auction) set a record.

Branch members of
the Statehouse Lobby
Corps attended
hearings, provided
testimony, and
regularly contacted
legislators during the
recently-concluded
legislative session.

More than forty
members and guests
attended the branchsponsored Un-Happy
Hour on April 14
commemorating Equal
Pay Day.
I am very proud of what our
branch achieved this year
and know we will continue
to build on those
achievements in the
coming year. I am excited
about the plentiful
possibilities. The branch
board will work hard to
develop and provide
programs and activities
that will enhance your
membership experience and get you involved!
Annual Luncheon
We asked a sister member,
“What do we want to put in
the Newsletter about the
annual luncheon?” The
response was, “Bring
appetites, money for the
auction, and expect to
have fun!” Well said. The
luncheon cost is $25.00.
Please send checks made
out to AAUW Boise Area
Branch, Inc., to Mary
Slaughter, 1112 E Hays,
Boise, 83712. We must have
the checks by May 1, the
deadline for final count
based on the caterer’s
need to finalize food
preparations.
Chateau Lemmon was built
by Warren and Judy
Lemmon to hold family
events; they occasionally
rent to others. The
by Julie Custer
Here are some glimpses for
next year:

A new venue for our
monthly meetings - The
Riverside Hotel.

A special public event
sponsored by our
branch and AAUW
Idaho, tentatively titled
"Forum on Issues
Impacting Women
and Children in Idaho"
with keynote speaker
Lisa Maatz.

A series of compelling
programs developed
from ideas submitted
by members on the
recent branch survey.
I hope to see many of you
at our Spring Luncheon and
Silent Auction next
Saturday!
by Andy Gibson and Mary Slaughter
Chateau has extended
glass windows on three of
the four sides, overlooks the
valley below Hill Road, and
boasts a full kitchen, brick
BBQ oven, and large
balconies with overhangs
where we will hold the
auction. Warren, a member
of the Lemmon Family
Band, will entertain us on
the guitar during lunch.
A number of novel items
have been donated for the
auction, including several
fun opportunities for sharing
camaraderie. For
example, you can bid on
an enchanting Happy Hour
for six with skyline views of
the city (picture on right).
If you have received the
invitation and have not yet
responded, please say “yes”
and send in your money!
This is going to be a fun event
and worthwhile fund-raiser
for our AAUW Branch!
SILENT AUCTION DONATIONS
If you are donating an item
to the silent auction, please
have the item to Kay Reed
by Saturday, May 2. You can
reach Kay at 830-4452 or
[email protected].
.
2
AAUW Boise Area Branch
Book Group by Lee Hipsher
AAUW Book Group meets
at 2:00 p.m. on the third
Sunday of each month at
the Cabin, 801 S. Capitol
Blvd., Boise. Guests are
welcome!
Interest Groups
Book Group:
Lee Hipsher
[email protected]
Bridge Group:
Dena Duncan
[email protected]
Craftastiks:
Juli Sinclair
[email protected]
Daytimers' Group:
Dena Duncan
[email protected]
Dinner Group:
Noreen Pusey
[email protected]
Games Group:
Kathy Scott
[email protected]
Great Decisions:
Carolyn Lunstrum
[email protected]
Happy Hour:
Kathy Scott
[email protected]
Gayle Wilde
[email protected]
Movie Group:
Susannah Price
[email protected]
and flowering of the arts in
our Boise community.
Presenter: Carolyn
Lunstrum
Next meeting: Sunday, May
17
ATTENTION ALL PAST AND
PRESENT BOOK CLUB
MEMBERS
In The Blue Doorknob, Rita
Rodriguez captures the
extraordinary life and spirit
of artist Cornelia Hart Farrer,
a founder of the Boise Art
Museum and Art in the
Park. This work, filled with
Cornelia’s paintings and
story, brings to life the birth
We’re currently creating a
database of all the books
we’ve read throughout the
years. I have 85 books from
2010 to the present. Do
any of you have listings
from previous years? Please
bring them to the May
luncheon. Your lists will be
returned or you can email
them to be at
[email protected].
Thank you so much!
Daytimers’ Group by Dena Duncan Bridge Group
The Daytimers group will be
visiting the Ruth Melichar
Bird Center, and the Jim
Hall Foothills Learning
Center on Thursday, May
28th. We will meet first at the
Ruth Melichar Bird Center,
4650 N. 36th Street, in Boise
at 11:30AM. This is a rescue
facility for injured and
abandoned or lost baby
birds. We will then proceed
to the Jim Hall Foothills
Learning Center, located
at 3188 Sunset Peak Rd. for
a 12:30PM tour for
identifying the most
common birds seen in the
Hulls Gulch area. To reach
this facility, take 8th St. north
to the end of the
pavement, then proceed
1/3rd mile farther. If you
plan to attend, please
RSVP to Twila Gallaher, by
e-mail,
[email protected], or
call her at 297-7596.
Movie Group by Susannah Price
The group will meet at Flicks
Theater on Capitol Blvd on
May 10 to see Desert
Dancer at 12:40. Members
should watch their group
email if they are signed up
for the film group if there is
a schedule change. If
Desert Dancer is no longer
showing on that date, our
group will attend the first
show of the day for 5 Flights
Up. If you have questions,
you may reach Susannah
at
[email protected]
or call 362-9013.
The bridge group will meet
on Wednesday, May 20th
at 12:30PM at the home of
Kay Hamilton, 1349 W.
Garfield in Boise. If you plan
to play, please RSVP to Kay,
e-mail [email protected],
or by calling her, 345-3658.
AAUW Boise Area Branch
Dues OH Yes, Dues! by Kay Hamilton
Just another friendly
reminder that the $76
renewal amount is due by
June 30. Membership
committee members will
help the Finance Officer
collect dues at the May
luncheon; and then make
personal contact with
those members who have
not either paid in person or
via mail by June 20th. New
members who have joined
since January are currently
paid until June of 2016. If
you bring new members,
they can pay their $44 fee
any time before June
30; please be sure they get
and fill out an
application. Also, remember
that national AAUW offers a
program for recent college
graduates called "Give a
Grad a Gift." If you have a
relative or friend who is a
recent graduate (within the
past two years) please
consider giving the person
this gift as an introduction to
our vibrant AAUW
organization.
Public Policy by Gayle Wilde
The April happenings
important to our public
policy were adjournment of
the Idaho Legislature and
our Equal Pay Day
Unhappy Hour. I’m betting
they will have to call a
special session because of
the child support bill which
the House committee did
not pass late the night they
adjourned.
Thanks to Kathy Haley and
her helpers for the Equal
Pay Day observation at the
Riverside. If you haven’t
already done so, please
write our federal legislators
(addresses in the back of
our Branch yearbook)
asking them to support the
recently introduced
Paycheck Fairness Bill. We
must keep the pressure on.
district. Every vote counts,
and every hour of time
volunteered counts.
We need to get more
women elected in
legislative positions,
particularly in Idaho. If your
legislators are supportive of
AAUW political priorities,
you can work for a
candidate in another
Equal Pay Day Un-Happy Hour by Kathy Haley
Thank you to the 30 branch
members that attended
our event at the Riverside
on April 14. We (along with
the 10 community
members who joined us)
enjoyed an evening of
good eats, a friendly
bartender and helpful
staff, enjoyable company
and enlightening speakers.
I mailed off 38 postcards
signed at the event to
Senators Risch and Crapo
urging them to support the
Paycheck Fairness Act.
There’s still time to urge
Congress to act this year!
Simply copy and paste the
link below into your Internet
browser to visit the AAUW
Action Network Two-Minute
Activist page. PLEASE TAKE
ACTION TODAY – it only
takes a couple of minutes!
http://salsa4.salsalabs.com
/o/50796/p/dia/action3/co
mmon/public/?action_KEY
=13741&killorg=True.
Of course, special thanks
goes to all who contributed
to the evening’s success:
Lee Hipsher, Kris Hooker,
Julie Custer, Andy Gibson,
Mary Slaughter, Gayle
Wilde, Sylvia Chariton,
Kathy Scott, Pat Alpine,
Stephanie Hoffman,
Woodina Livingston,
Pauline Irish and Rep. Ilana
Rubel. Your efforts were
much appreciated.
3
4
AAUW Boise Area Branch
Impact Scholars by Kathy Scott
Our collaboration with Boise State's Impact Scholar
program is moving in a new direction. When we first
started working with the students, our involvement was
limited to Christmas gifts, meals, and birthday cards.
Branch volunteers wanted a closer relationship with
these students to provide mentoring and many other
supports as needed by the students. We began
working on this in January, and in the short amount of
time since then and now, two students have dropped
out of school. The high dropout rate of former foster
students is the primary reason we became involved in
this program—to use our talents to support these
students so they could and would stay in school!
Currently we have four students in a mentoring
relationship with AAUW Boise Area Branch members. If
you are an Impact Scholar volunteer and did not get
called upon to mentor, it is only because of the small
number of students that responded to the offer of
additional help.
Branch
History Has
Gone Digital
By Kathy Haley
As your branch historian, I
wanted to report to
members that since
January 2014 our archival
system has gone digital.
Although it’s difficult to let
the hard-copy notebooks
go away, due to storage
limitations and other
considerations, this is how
our legacy will be
preserved moving forward.
Branch members and
leaders are urged to send
me any files you’d like to
be saved as part of our
digital branch record at
[email protected].
Records are organized and
sent to the Idaho Historical
Society for safekeeping.
We are new at this and learning as we go along. In the
three weeks since we met with the students to initiate a
higher level of support, we've already had issues
surface. We are working as a team to resolve these
issues in a way that benefits the students and is within
the parameters of the support we are able to provide.
If you have questions or comments, you may contact
me ([email protected]), Andy Gibson
([email protected]) or Mary Slaughter
([email protected]).
AAUW Boise Area Branch
Our New “Reservation” System by Julie Custer,
Andy Gibson, and Mary Slaughter
Our branch has sponsored
events which require
knowing how many
members (and guests) are
going to attend. The
number of attendees
determines how the
meeting venue will be set
up, how much food to
provide, etc. We've tried
various techniques in the
past to contact members
requesting their RSVP: e.g.,
personal email and snail
mail. These techniques
required manual follow-up:
tracking responses, sending
emails to non-respondents,
etc.
We've been looking for an
online tool that could help
"automate" these
processes. Punchbowl.com
is a powerful tool that does
all the work! We used this
tool to send your invitation
to the May Luncheon and
Silent Auction. The site
tracks RSVPs and allows us
to know, day by day, how
many people plan to
attend as well as the
addition of guests they are
bringing. Punchbowl.com
also has the ability to send
a reminder to nonresponders.
at The Riverside Hotel. We
will use Punchbowl.com to
request your RSVP each
month. More details about
this process will be sent to
you in the weeks ahead.
If you do not RSVP on the
Punchbowl.com May
Luncheon invitation, but
send in your money only,
there may be a lag that
may trigger a follow-up
reminder. It is very helpful to
us that you RSVP on the
Punchbowl.com invitation,
even if you do not plan to
attend the event.
Effective September 2015,
all branch meetings and
special events will be held
A Golden Member by Kay Hamilton
Yes, in April Janet Ward
joined the Golden Girls club
by maintaining her
membership in AAUW for 50
years. Janet began her
AAUW journey back in 1965
by joining the Blacksburg,
VA chapter. She and
husband Fritz lived in
Virginia while he finished his
graduate degree, and
shortly thereafter
they moved to Boise where
he became a valued BSU
faculty member.
It is fitting for April (Earth
Month) to be Janet's
anniversary month
because she has
passionately worked within
AAUW promoting programs
and issues related to our
earth and
environment. Back in the
70s and 80s she lead the
branch study group "This
Beleaguered Earth," held
the Environmental Chair for
the state, and actively
campaigned with our
Eastern Idaho sisters to get
the name of Saint Mary's
Nipple changed to Saint
Mary's Knoll. Of course she
also served as State
Legislative chair during this
time period and spent
many hours at the Idaho
Statehouse lobbying for
state kindergartens. The
branch is proud to
acknowledge and honor
Janet's dedication and
active participation in
AAUW. We remind her
that it is not over yet: the
fat lady has not sung.
Janet Ward
5
6
AAUW Boise Area Branch
Newsletter Contributors
Dena Duncan
Kathy Haley
Lee Hipshser
Kay Reed
Andy Gibson
Branch Officers
President
Julie Custer
[email protected]
Vice-Presidents, Programs
Kris Hooker
Susan Lamberson
[email protected]
[email protected]
Vice-President, Membership
Kay Hamilton
[email protected]
Secretary
Dena Duncan
[email protected]
Finance Officer
Kathy Scott
[email protected]
Kay Hamilton
Susannah Price
Kathy Scott
Welcome, New Members!
The following women became members of
our branch in April 2015:
Carolyn Moore
Susan Olszewski
Mary Slaughter
Gayle Wilde
We are now 127 members strong!