President Mary Jo Pribble welcomed the members. Secretary Pat Abell
called the roll. Twenty branches were present. Phyllis Guberman
presented the credentials committee’s report. There were 32 State
representatives, 6 of which were past NC presidents, 26 are NC board
members, 5 of those are branch presidents, 4 of the 5 have designated an
alternate vote for them, 16 co-branch presidents of which of those, 11
are voting members, 22 other voting branch delegates for a total of 103
people. A quorum was present.

Parliamentarian: Acting parliamentarian, Nelda Howell, presented
the rules of order. The rules were approved.

SAR Report: LaRonnia Williams expressed appreciation for cards and
letters received during her recent illness. She asked that members write
on the card provided the Good, kudos for things association is doing
that are good; the Bad, things to do better; and the Ugly, those things
that association is not doing.

Association- Jackie Woods, executive director, and Toni Crouch,
director of the association were welcomed as new staff. Financial
deficit is still present but lower. Management of investment portfolio
has been transferred to Bank of America. The 1880 pin will now be $120.
Note cards are sent to all members without cost. New Sales Catalog is
out. A $25 minimum order is required. Tool kits are still available. The
convention will be held in Washington, DC every six years.
Programs- 75 AAUW in Action and 25 Outlooks for $20 or 100
Outlooks for $20 or 100 AAUW in Action for $20 are offered if ordered
soon. A new membership brochure sponsored by Americard is offered.
LaRonnia suggested that the amount of dues be filled in ahead of handing
them out. The Give a Grad a Gift Program will be offered again starting
April 15. Emerging Leaders Program and Shape the Future Programs should
be remembered for future branch program planning. The AAUW Voting Record
for the 106th Congress, the final report of the Voter Education
Campaign, and Get the Facts are available now
Diversity: Add the word “class” to all diversity statements.
Educational Foundation: Some staff changes have been made. Eleanor
Roosevelt pins are available for $100 donation. Community Coalition
Manual can be requested from EF. Sisters in Action grants are available,
but application due date is April 6. A forum on Educational Equity will
be held July 24 during the Eleanor Roosevelt Teacher Institute. A
minimum of 101 branches hopefully will participate in the Eleanor
Roosevelt Walk/Run in Oct.
LAF: $28,000 has been awarded. LAF videos and the LAF pin
are available.
Convention: Convention will be held June 22-25 in Austin, Texas. One
resolution on gun control, minor changes in Public Policy Proposal, and
four Bylaws changes will be presented.
IFUW: Convention in Ottawa.
AAUW Opportunities to serve: Director in Leadership, Director of
Diversity, 4 Membership, 4 Program, 4 Public Policy and 9 Diversity
Resource key members are needed. Vita forms and questions must be
requested from Association.
21st Century Branch Recognition Program: This replaces the 5 Star
Program.

Educational Foundation Report: Beth Norris brought greetings from
the EF Board. The American, the International, the Community Action
Grant and the Eleanor Roosevelt Awards Panels met in March. 280
candidates out of thousands were recommended for awards. An
International Conference on the impact of educated women in their
country was held last Nov. A report will be made soon. Beth asked for
support of the Eleanor Roosevelt Fund and unrestricted gifts to the
Foundation. She discussed the publication ¡Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can,
Latinas in School, and encouraged unrestricted gifts to allow the
Foundation to continue to hold conferences and publish reports.

Leader on Loan: Ruth Sweetser reported that loss of membership has
not been as great as had been expected. A study of many organizations
revealed that Members at Large are interested in finding out more about
AAUW. There will be two workshops on the College/University Program. She
explained in greater detail the Twenty-First Century Branch Recognition
Program. She reported that there will be a new report on Sexual
Harassment at the end of May and an overview of the impact of the new
economy on women due in the fall. The Give a Grad a Gift program will
begin again April 15, and she suggested that names of new grad members
be sent to the State College/University Chair so she will have the size
of this new membership.

President Pribble recognized Mary Peterson who presented the idea
of a message in a bottle. She asked for donations to pay for an ad
promoting AAUW/NC’s 75th anniversary for $120 placed in the program of
the Association Convention.

Secretary Pat Abell distributed the printed minutes before the
meeting and moved that they be accepted as written. The motion carried.
A reading committee was appointed consisting of Judith Schmidt,
Elizabeth Laney, and Mary Fran Schickedantz.

Membership Vice President: Sue Metz announced that we had lost
membership, dropping from 1507 to 1380 members. The branches acquiring
the most members this year were Asheville and Brevard with 11 each. She
distributed certificates for the membership star to the Pembroke,
Asheville, Brevard. Franklin County, Mooresville, Greensboro, and
Tarboro branches. Sue mentioned several membership programs, such as
Shape the Future, Give a Grad a Gift from April to August, Membership
brochures and leaving them in the library, the Membership Tool Kit
(second edition), and a new Affiliate brochure to help branches to
increase membership.

Treasurer: Bobbie Edmisten gave a printed report to each member.
After explanation of expenditures and questions from the floor, the
report was accepted as printed.
Bobbie presented the budget from the Budget Committee, pointing out
that it was based on having 1400 members. Many items have been cut
considerably. Bobbie moved that the budget be accepted. The motion
carried.
The budget committee consisted of Chair Mary Marrow, Bobbie
Edmisten, Sandra Abromitis, and Alyce Lanier.
Bobbie displayed a chart showing the income of the last three years
and the expenses. The past two years have had a deficit resulting in the
use of reserve funds.

President Pribble asked Kathleen Ehlers to come forward. Kathleen
presented AAUW/ North Carolina with a beautiful wooden ballot box. She
urged the organization to carry out correct elections on proper ballots.

Nominations: The Nominating Committee consisted of Doris Bernlohr,
Chapel Hill; Kathleen Ehlers, Hendersonville; Bernadine Carpenter,
Gaston Regional; Pauline Joos, Jacksonville Regional; and Mary Fran
Schickedantz, Greensboro. Mary Fran presented the slate and asked the
candidates to introduce themselves. President-elect nominee1yr. And
President 2 yrs, Laura Rumley, Jacksonville, spoke first followed by
Program Vice president nominee, Grace Knechtel, Raleigh. Bobbie
Edmisten, Statesville, Treasurer nominee, spoke third. There were no
nominees from the floor. The nominees were elected by acclamation.
The new Nominating Committee, Janet Weber, Sand Hills; Gelene
Lineberger, Foothills Cluster; Judythe Atkinson, Triad Cluster; Lill Van
Order, Southeastern Cluster; and Sandra Abromitis, Mountain Cluster, was
elected. The executive committee would meet after the business session
to elect the chair.

Committee Reports:
Bylaws Chair, Alyce Lanier, reviewed the Bylaws changes scheduled for
the Business Session of the Association Convention in June.

Educational Foundation Chair, Claudia Rose, reminded the
members to look over the Silent Auction items and make a bid. Bidding
would close at the end of the banquet.

International Affairs Chair, Shirley Quisenberry encouraged members to
attend IFUW in Ottawa in August. She is an official delegate for AAUW.
She also encouraged members to sign up for the Virginia Gildersleeve
Breakfast. She said that the committee had spent much time on
International Family Planning. AAUW has joined other like-minded
organizations in sending a letter protesting the gag rule imposed by
President Bush in January on family planning.

Legal Advocacy Fund Chair, Marleen Hansen offered LAF brochures to the
members for the taking. LAF contributions totaled $564,192, an increase
of more than 60% this year. Chapel Hill had the highest total and the
highest per capita giving. The first research report, A License for
Violence, has been issued. The Harassment Resolution Officers Network at
NC State was nominated for the Progress in Equity Award to be awarded at
the convention in June. An LAF video could be viewed in the Counterparts
session. She thanked the members for their efforts on behalf of LAF.
Resolutions Chair, Elizabeth Laney, presented a resolution
proposed by the Public Policy Committee opposing the bill that had
passed the Senate that the lieutenant governor be appointed by the party
of the governor. Mimi Cunningham, from the Women’s Forum, which has
drafted a similar resolution, spoke for the resolution. A motion to
adopt the resolution was passed.

President Pribble asked that the remaining items on the agenda be
transferred to the Sunday morning business session. The motion was made
and was approved. The meeting was adjourned.

Pat Abell Secretary

Business Session Continued, April 1, 2001
President Mary Jo Pribble called the business session to order.
Mary Peterson announced that $226.00 had been donated to purchase an ad
in the Association Convention program in June.
Carolyn Taylor issued an invitation to come to Greensboro for the
75th Anniversary Convention, April 15-17, 2002.
SAR Director LaRonnia Williams performed the installation of
officers. She used a key chain theme presenting Laura Rumbley with a
ball and mitt. Program Vice Chairman, Grace Knechtel received a soccer
ball light. Treasurer Bobbie Edmisten was given a silver dollar. These
were the keys to unlocking the doors to progress.

Ruth Sweetser gave the Convention Wrap Up. She urged the members to
change the “Same“ to “Different” and to let people know who we are.
Public Policy Co-Chair, Mary Peterson, commented on the Federal
Issues. The Patient’s Bill of Rights with John Edwards a leader on this
bill, has been presented in the Senate. There is a state bill also.
April 6 is Pay Equity Day to call attention to the Pay Equity Bill that
is in Congress. Action Alert has information on this bill. Advocacy Day
was January 30. Twenty-seven members representing 12 branches were among
400 women attending.

There is a new AAUW/NC Public Policy folder. It was given to all
senators and representatives.

The president commented on Clara Allen’s History report. Several
members offered to help Clara work on the History of AAUW/NC and were
told to call her.

Resolutions Chair, Elizabeth Laney, read a resolution from her
committee, praising the Wilmington Branch for the fine convention they
had put on. The resolution was adopted.

LaRonnia Williams had collected the cards written for her. There
were two questions. One was “Are AAUW lists used for any other
purpose?”. The answer was NO. The other comment was to permit all
delegates to present themselves and their literature when running for
office.

New Business: Nancy Shoemaker made a motion to convert the Beth
Norris named unit to a Research and Projects Endowment supported by
Raleigh/ Wake County and Franklin County.The motion passed.

Gloria Blanton read from the State Bylaws concerning Voting
Delegates. She made a motion that the Bylaws Article XIII, Sec. 2a (1)
[on p. 9] on the voting body of state meetings be followed in subsequent
state meetings as written in the current Bylaws, which have been
approved by the Association Bylaws Committee. She stated that branch
presidents are clearly listed as state representatives and should not be
counted as branch delegates according to Sec. 2a(2). President Pribble
asked Laura Rumbley, the Program vice president, to preside so that Mary
Jo could speak to the motion. Association Bylaws state that the Branch
President is the first delegate. State Bylaws are not the same. After
discussion the motion passed.

Kathy Perry, Winston-Salem, asked if different branches within a
cluster could support each other financially, and share information
about Association Convention. After further discussion a decision was
made to appoint a task force to investigate financial support for
branches to send members to Association and State Conventions. The
members were Nancy Shoemaker, Sandra Abromitis, Bobbie Edmisten,
Virginia Roth, and Sandra Perry. This task force will report to the
Summer Board meeting.

Thirteen members were planning to attend the Association
Convention.
Sibyl Lange asked for support of the Gun Control Legislature.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:35am.

Pat Abell, Secretary