Edie’s Editorial:  Catching up from the summer

 

Hi from your new Branch President.  I’d like to welcome you to a new and exciting year for the Corvallis Branch of AAUW.  A lot has happened over the summer and I’d like to catch you up on summer events and what we on the Board are planning for this coming year.

Our annual “Welcome Back Brunch” is scheduled for September 15 and is one of the highlights of the year.  You will be able to visit with friends old and new, sample some goodies, and sign up for various interest groups.  Details are elsewhere in this newsletter.

Our new AAUW Oregon State University (OSU) University Representative is Donna Champeau. Donna is the first director of the new Office of Women’s Advancement and Gender Equity and is an award-winning OSU faculty member with extensive teaching and research experience in women’s studies and public health. Donna will present a program at a Corvallis Branch meeting this year. We look forward to welcoming her.

I attended an AAUW State Leadership Retreat in Coos Bay this summer.  The emphasis at the Retreat was on planning programs that are related to the AAUW theme:  “Education as the Gateway to Women’s Economic Security”.  Many of our programs this year are related to education and are presented by OSU professors.  The potential for greater collaboration with OSU and the opportunity to be more of a presence on the OSU campus will be valuable to both our local branch and the university community.

Our “Christmas in May” collection for orphans in Kenya was a huge success!  Please see the article in this newsletter for details.

I want to thank all our new and returning board members for saying “Yes” when they were asked to volunteer.  The position of President-Elect is still vacant and it would be wonderful to have someone fill that position.  There are also many opportunities to help even if you are not a member of the board.  There will be a sign-up sheet at the September Brunch listing dates when help is needed.  We would appreciate your participation, and you will get to know other members better by being more involved. 

 I hope that your summer has been fun and eventful, and that you are ready for the adventures of a new year.  I hope to see you at some of this year’s programs.

Edie Lee
President

---