AAUW, SALISBURY BRANCH
AAUW: Since 1881 AAUW Salisbury Branch: Since 1951
Spring Planning Meeting,
Thursday May 10, 2012 6:30 PM
Trinity Oaks Retirement Community
Second Floor, Special Events Room
Minutes

The AAUW, Salisbury Branch met on Thursday May 10, 2012 at the Trinity Oaks Retirement Community at 6:30 PM in the Special Events Room. The following members were present: Brunetta Franklin, Eileen Hanson-Kelly, Holly Czuba, Kathy Taber, Billie Simmons, Kathy Pulliam, Edith Alcorn, Greg Alcorn, Linda Hauze, Carol Cody, Becky Hammill, Ann Medlin, Patricia Trueblood, Ruby Walker, and Dixie Scott. The following members were absent: Lori Eberly, Nancy Bilson, Catrelia Hunter, Betty Fellows, Bonnie Hodges, Nicole Sherrill-Corry Zebbie Bradley-Bondurant, Harriet Murphy, Norma Goldman, Erma Scarlette, Elaine Stiller, Linda Kesler, Alyce Lanier, Renee McCachren, Lollie Streiff, Jeannie Sherrill, Judy Grissom, Carolyn Blackman, and Donna Wiseman.

Brunetta Franklin, President, welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Kathy Pulliam, Secretary, presented the minutes from March and April 2012 meetings.  A motion was made by Greg Alcorn and seconded by Linda Hauze to accept the March minutes as corrected. A motion was made by Becky Hammill and seconded by Edith Alcorn to accept the April minutes as corrected. Both motions passed. Eileen Hanson-Kelly thanked Kathy for keeping the minutes the past several years.

Executive Reports:

Programs:

Brunetta reported that the Brunch in April had a good meal with a great program. Eileen was surprised that we did not have any outside people to attend even after we had some advertisement in the paper concerning the Brunch. Many felt that the buffet was preferable over the plated meals as you could choose which items you wanted. Eileen said the cost was the same for either one. She also said we had to pay for the meals of those who didn’t attend and had made reservations. This was not the case last year as we only paid for the total number there. There was some discussion as to whether we wanted to have a change in venue for next year and this would be discussed later.

Membership:

Becky Hammill reported that Kyndall Moore had become a new member and that Kelly Snipes was interested in becoming a member in June.

Finance:

Eileen Hanson-Kelly, Treasurer, provided the Financial Report.

Eileen then passed out copies of the proposed budget for 2012-2013. It basically followed this year’s budget with just a couple of increases relating to convention travel and hotel, supplies, and scholar treats. Eileen expected us to still maintain 30 members and continued sales of Sketches and note cards to provide the necessary income we needed.

Committee Reports:

Bylaws/Policies:

Edith Alcorn reported that the Bylaws Committee had met and made revisions. We had made good changes and are moving along. The revised Bylaws document is in the national office for review. Due to many branches having difficulties with the revisions the deadline was extended to May15, 2012.

Education/LAF:

Holly Czuba had no updates at this time for LAF. Brunetta took a few minutes to explain to our new members what the LAF does and how it is so important to all women. Regarding Education, Holly said that she would be doing a preview of her NCCSWL workshop on Monday May 14^th at 6:30 P.M. at the Catawba College Environmental Science Building. She also reminded members of the Salisbury Heart Chase on May 12^th. This is a fun fitness challenge. Holly also said she would need to give up this committee for next year as she was moving to a different office in our branch.

Goldman Scholarship:

Kathy Pulliam reported for Judy Grissom who was absent. Two scholarships will be presented to two deserving young women at their senior awards assemblies. Kathy would be presenting the East Rowan student with hers and she thought Lollie Streiff would be presenting the other one to a student at North Rowan. These newest Goldman Scholars and their parents will be in attendance at the Annual Picnic in June.

Public Policy:

Eileen reported that she continued to monitor national issues especially those that affect women. She encouraged us to participate in the AAUW Two Minute Activist or the “Take Action” link. Eileen said she would check actions and continue to send items about Title IX, which is our PPP topic.

Publicity/Communications:

Kathy Taber had no updates to report. She continued to send press releases to the Salisbury Post. It was noted that we had more press this year and a big thank you was given to Kathy for helping with this.

Yearbook:

Ann Medlin asked if there were any suggestions regarding our yearbook. Holly suggested photos of members be included as it would be helpful to put names with faces especially for new members. Billie Simmons agreed. It was also suggested to have the membership date of each member listed in the yearbook and a page devoted to the founders of our local AAUW Branch. Regarding identifying members it was suggested that nametags would be nice to have especially some kind that could be permanent and worn at the meetings. Greg Alcorn said that he would get nametags made up and printed for next year. Brunetta sais that to access the AAUW website you needed to use your member id.

Other Business:

Brunetta said that we would need to choose a theme for the 2012-2013 year. A suggestion from Dr. Patricia Trueblood was “Equipping Women and Girls for the Future”. Meeting dates for 2012-13 were discussed with the second Thursday at 6:30 still suiting everyone. If Harriet Watson and her husband agreed it was suggested to have the Christmas Covered Dish Meeting again at their Clubhouse as this past years was enjoyed by all there. Possibilities for a program could come from Program in a Box again. Kathy Taber said all the information one would need was there for a clear, concise program.

The Nominating Committee, with discussion concerning some positions, had come up with a slate of names and these would be presented at the June meeting for approval. The positions needing to be filled and the nominee are as follows:

• Program Vice-President: Holly Czuba
• Treasurer: Eileen Hanson-Kelly

Any openings in Committee positions will be appointed by the President and do not require nominations.

AAUW NC Annual Meeting:

Brunetta provided us with the names of the new officers on our agendas. She said that the Vice President will take whatever is needed such as membership, etc. Online memberships are now available. Mini grant money is still available and she asked us to think of possible grant opportunities. Some suggested were Food for Thought (backpacks with food for hungry students and their families over the weekend), 8^th Grade girls visiting a college campus, and Knootz Elementary School needs. At the meeting members were encouraged to join the Tarheel Branch for $5.00 as it gave a great access to other members and ideas. The website is Tarheel.aauwnc.org. The National AAUW Convention will be held in New Orleans, LA June 9-12, 2013.

June Picnic:

Billie Simmons said that it would be held at the covered picnic area at Rufty-Holmes Senior Center on Thursday June 14, 2012 at 6:00 P.M and there would be a sign out front to let members know where to go. Reservations need to be in by June 6^th so Billie could contact the caterer Debbie Suggs with a total count. Eileen said that she would be out of town and everyone will need to send their reservations/checks to Kathy Pulliam. Eileen also said that members could include their dues with their check for the picnic. Brunetta said that Judy Grissom will make sure the Goldman Scholars and their parents are invited.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 P.M.

AAUW, SALISBURY BRANCH
AAUW: Since 1881 AAUW Salisbury Branch: Since 1951
Membership Meeting,
Thursday March 8, 2012 6:30 PM
Trinity Oaks Retirement Community
Second Floor, Special Events Room
Minutes

The AAUW, Salisbury Branch met on Thursday March 8, 2012 at the Trinity Oaks Retirement Community at 6:30 PM in the Special Events Room. The following members were present: Brunetta Franklin, Eileen Hanson-Kelly, Holly Czuba, Kathy Taber, Dixie Scott, Billie Simmons, Kathy Pulliam, Harriet Murphy, Nancy Bilson, Edith Alcorn, Greg Alcorn, Linda Hauze, Carol Cody, Lollie Streiff, Betty Fellows, Patricia Trueblood, and Ruby Walker. The following members were absent: Lori Eberly, Ann Medlin, Becky Hammill, Bonnie Hodges, Erma Scarlette, Zebbie Bradley-Bondurant, Nicole Sherrill-Corry, Elaine Stiller, Norma Goldman, Linda Kesler, Alyce Lanier, Renee McCachren, Jeannie Sherrill, Judy Grissom, Catrelia Hunter, Carolyn Blackman, and Donna Wiseman.
Guests were: Pat Murtaugh, Donna Wilson, Lorene Leane, Kim Fahs, Ruth Meade, Pat Beck, Herb Maier, Richard Taber, Ed Hanson-Kelly, and Watson Murphy.

Brunetta Franklin, President welcomed everyone to the meeting and said that today was special in the sense that it was International Women’s Day. She also introduced our new members Ruby Walker and Dr. Patricia Trueblood. Both ladies spoke briefly about themselves and both said that they looked forward to getting active and being involved with the Salisbury Branch.

Eileen Hanson-Kelly spoke briefly about International Women’s Day, which has been celebrated since the early 1900’s in March. It was started as a way to celebrate the economic, political, and social accomplishments of women past, present, and future. Eileen introduced Dr. Roxanne Newton, Director, Humanities & Fine Arts, at Mitchell Community College who was tonight’s guest speaker. Her program was titled “Fabric of Hope and Resistance: Women on Strike”.

She was interested in labor studies and women studies due to the fact that her father was a textile mill worker in Mooresville, NC and later a brick mason and her grandparents as well as her mother were mill workers. She set about to interview women for her study but found the pool of women to talk to very small due to the low rate of unions in NC and only a few strikes occurring here. She did find one woman to talk to that was involved in the General Textile Strike of 1934 and to several others in the areas of textiles, tire workers, paper workers, and telecommunications. They all agreed to speak to her if their identity was kept confidential. She centered her talk on five women-Naomi, Linda, Annie, Millie, and Kim.

Naomi was a paper worker and participated in the paper strikes of 1974 and 2001. She was forced to quit when she became pregnant but was rehired to the “swing-shift” after her child was born. She decided the best jobs went to men so she decided to take advantage of the union’s encouragement of women to get training. She took the training to become an electrician because she felt she could be “as good as the boys”. Due to health impairments she was unable to fulfill this and the plant closed. Not being retirement age she only got a fraction of her pension. Linda worked for Southern Bell when it was mandated in 1978 that telecommunications include women and people of color. Men didn’t want women working with them and tended to talk down to them according to Linda. All workers had to climb poles with cleats as part of the training and Linda recalled sexual remarks being said when she climbed the poles and many times she was sent on jobs to neighborhoods that the men said were “too dangerous for them to go to”. Annie crossed picket lines for a union job in 1934 in Charlotte, which she found out was due to women not getting equal pay. During WW I, the union helped women to get equal pay but as soon as the war was over, these same women were fired and men were hired. Annie organized for the union and was illegally fired for this. She won after a six-year battle and received back pay and seniority. She found that fear influences people so much that many will not join a union. Roxanne noted that this is still a prevailing trait in NC thus leading to our low union participation of just 2.7% statewide. Millie is an African-American tire worker and she participated in the 1999 United Steel Workers Strike. At her plant of 1,100 workers, there were 13 women and Millie along with others assumed leadership roles in the union. Millie said, ”women will get stuff done.” Kim said in her interview that she may not have the same things in life as others but she would stand by you. She went on strike for an hour with her company in solidarity with an African group of steelworkers. Roxanne ended her program and there was discussion on women’s issues in the workplace and labor movements and ways we can be involved. Eileen thanked Roxanne for providing us with such an informative program and presented her with a copy of Sketches of Old Rowan.

Before the Business part of the meeting the refreshment break was held and Lollie Streiff and Linda Hauze provided the refreshments.

Business:
Kathy Pulliam, Secretary, presented the minutes from the previous meeting. A motion was made by Kathy Taber and seconded by Harriet Murphy to accept the minutes as presented. The motion passed.

Billie Simmons reported that the Annual Picnic would be held on June 14th at Rufty-Holmes Center in the picnic area. She said that they would be finalizing food in the next several weeks and would let us know the cost per person at that time. Edith Alcorn along with Carolyn Blackman had been instrumental in getting the plans for the picnic done.

Brunetta reported that Nicole had made the final arrangements for the Annual Brunch on April 14th at the Salisbury Country Club. The cost of the meal is $18.00 per person and reservations/checks need to be sent to Eileen before that date. Bruentta said that she would be sending out an email to all concerning the Brunch.

AAUW By-Laws Revision and Change:
Edith Alcorn reported the By-Laws change/revision memo had been forwarded to everyone and she will make sure that we are in compliance with the national AAUW By-Laws.

Education/LAF:
Holly Czuba gave an update regarding the Title IX suit victory in Indiana over the girls’ basketball games. She also spoke of an opportunity to attend a free program on March 23rd entitled “Be Who You Want to Be” by Mia Smith. Holly also told everyone that she had been accepted to be a workshop speaker at the NCCSWL conference in June. Her topic is “Your On-line Presence: Control your Brand”. She said that she would need assistance to help cover the $400 registration fee to attend. Brunetta suggested that since we only had one NCCSWL applicant, Allison Andrews, that Holly be sent in the second allotted slot. Edith Alcorn made the motion that this is done and Eileen seconded it. The motion passed. Holly thanked everyone for our assistance in this way and she looked forward to representing us at the conference.

Other business;
Brunetta reminded everyone of the AAUW NC Annual Meeting on March 30-31, 2012 at the Country Inn Suites in Burlington, NC. She would be attending and anyone else was welcomed to attend as well.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathy G. Pulliam
Secretary