AAUW Oregon State Meeting Report

AAUW Oregon State Meeting Report, April 7-9, 2022 (Sheila Ramerman)

Some stats, to start off with:
With 91 delegates, it was the SECOND annual state meeting where all 23 state branches were represented.  Eugene-Lane Branch’s delegates were Jean Simutis and Sheila Ramerman.

Note that all sessions were recorded and are available on the AAUW Oregon YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJOb-EcZjf55EiP_r8upeYQ

Friday April 1: virtual wine tasting. Tasting and Learning with a Wine Expert, Scott Burns,
Prof. Emeritus of Geology, PSU. A geologist and well-known wine expert, Dr. Burns is particularly interested in terroir, the natural environment where wines are produced, and the different AVAs in Oregon.

Thursday, April 7: Can We Get Along: Examining our Personal Experiences of Connection and Community, Chisao Hata, Oregon Humanities Conversation Project Leader. Chisao Hata is an artist, facilitator, community activist and highly regarded presenter. Ms. Hata facilitated an interactive session exploring the theme of conversations with those who hold opposing views.

Friday, April 8:

  • Aging Gracefully, Dr. Neesha Patel, OHSU at 3pm. Patel is a family physician who provides care for the whole family. She has special expertise in geriatrics and enjoys helping patients navigate the changes that come with aging and focus on quality of life.
  • Keynote Speaker, Representative Pam Marsh, Dist. 5 at 7pm. Representative Marsh was first elected in November 2016 to represent Southern Jackson County. Current challenges at the legislature include the need for expanded broadband service, fire recovery, housing assistance, hemp regulation, and climate extremes. Rep, March was interesting and informative as she talked about “how stuff gets done” in Salem especially in pandemic and politically polarizing times.

Saturday, April 9:

  • Business Meeting at 11am with opening remarks by Gloria Blackwell, AAUW CEO.
    • The business portion of the State Meeting included Officers’ Reports, introducing the slate of State officers for 2022 – 2024-2023 and the Nominating Committee for 2022-2023; there were no nominations from the floor and both slates were elected with no opposing votes.
    • There was one amendment to the State Bylaws proposed: to limit the appointed officers specifically listed in the bylaws to parliamentarian, AAUW Funds chair, public policy chair, governance chair. Rationale was that some of the other appointed positions have been vacant or are no longer relevant or activities have been absorbed by other positions; the deleted positions are historian, university relations chair, local arrangements committee chair, dues/data manager, AAUW Oregon newsletter editor, web manager.
    • The same bylaws amendment formally defined the Technology Committee as a Standing Committee.

Note that neither amendment will affect our branch bylaws.

The 2023 Annual Meeting will be in April 2023 in Ashland, at the same location that THIS year’s Annual Meeting was supposed to be held. I believe the dates are April 7 – 9.

The Annual Meeting Workbook (agenda and details needed for each item on the agenda) and the Officers Reports can be accessed at the AAUW Oregon website  here: https://aauw-or.aauw.net/2022-conf-annual-mtg/

  • Awards Celebration at 1pm.
    • The program opened with guest speaker Safia Farole, AAUW American Fellowship recipient at PSU, whose postdoctoral work is in political science with specialization in comparative politics and African politics. 
    • Lisa Palermo, Development Director of Oregon Tradeswomen, was named the 2022 recipient of the AAUW Oregon Breaking Barriers Achievement Award.
    • Oregon Named Gift Honorees were Sue Klumph, Pat Lehman, and Nancy Brown.
    • FOUR Eugene-Branch members met the AAUW 140th Anniversary $140 challenge: Holly Alexander, Marian Spath, Ellen Otani, and Margot Zallen. Thank you!
    • Claudia Gray issued a Title IX 50th anniversary challenge: Donate $50 to the Greatest Needs Fund (Fund # 9110) in May or June. Send your check to the Branch Funds chair or to Claudia Gray directly. DO NOT donate online due to ongoing Community Hub integration issues. Our branch funds chair is Ardith Hinman.

The Awards program can be accessed at the AAUW Oregon website here: https://aauw-or.aauw.net/2022-conf-annual-mtg/