November 22, 2021
There’s no denying it, the holidays are upon us. What happened to August? Here at the Stewart homestead, we celebrated the 4th of July, then my birthday in September, and BAM just like that I’m preparing my Thanksgiving menu. Goodness!
Along the way, Christie Walker and the Program Committee have been creating fun events for us. This year we’ve been kayaking in the summer, hiking in the fall with Helaine, toasting friends on Margarita Mondays, and learning at our Lunch & Learns. Have you thought about joining the Writer’s Group or the Literature Group or even the Reader’s Theater? There seems to be something for everyone. No? Well, if you have an idea you’d like to share, please do by contacting me or Christie.
Jana Bryant and her Speech Trek committee have started the prep work for our 2022 Speech competition. A new development…our branch members can now act as judges. A timely speech contest topic is “Has the United States lived up to its pledge of liberty and justice for all? Would requiring the study of diversity equity and inclusion in a high school setting help ensure liberty and justice for all?” If you are interested in being involved with this committee, contact Jana!
Our Annual Holiday Party is taking shape and promises to be a fun event. For insurance reasons, this event will be virtual. Now please don’t let this discourage you from joining in the fun. I’ll be sending out some holiday cocktail & mocktail recipes to try so we can have a toast in style. If you have a favorite recipe you’d like to share, please send them my way. As we sip our yummy drinks, we’ll participate in a holiday trivia and ugly apparel contest with fabulous prizes. Dress up to win. We hope you will participate. The grand finale of the party will be a live auction. The flyer for this event went out today!
Our fundraising chair, Lisa Patterson has been working hard to gather some fantastic “experiences” that are going to be auctioned off first online, and then the final bids will happen during our party. Terry Gold and her husband George have donated a pottery-making session. Helaine Apollo will take a party of four on a kayaking experience with lunch. Marikay Lindstrom is giving a tour at the airport tour and lunch at the Barnstorm and yours truly is offering a tamale-making class for two. There will be nine experiences in all.
Can you tell I am super excited about this event! Mark your calendars for December 5th for the start of the online auction and then the 12th for our virtual event from 5 to 6 pm. What a way to get us all in the holiday spirit.
Everything I mentioned above has one thing in common…being involved and participating. Past president, Sara Tully shared with me one of her “President’s Messages” that she had sent out. In her message, she states that AAUW is many things to many people. At the time, we’d experienced impressive member growth reaching just shy of a 100-member milestone. She wrote that our organization thrives when every member participates at some level, however big or small. And there are so many ways to be involved! Join a committee, attend a fun one-time activity, sign-up for a monthly interest group. The thread that runs through all that we do is a dedication to our mission: Advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education philanthropy, and research. Thank you, Sara, for sharing this with me, it gives me great pleasure to share with our membership.
By being involved and participating, we have raised plenty of funds to provide six single mothers in our community grocery gift cards so they may have holiday meals for their families. This makes the third year of participating with the Valley Collaboration. It makes me very proud of our organization for being involved.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, eat good food, and spend time with your friends and family. Stay safe and healthy, and I am looking forward to seeing you at our holiday virtual party!
Find your joy,Annette StewartBBV AAUW President