American Association of University Women NC
Summer Board Minutes
Marriott Courtyard - Winston-Salem, NC
July 23, 2004

Branches Present: Asheville, Brevard, Charlotte, Gaston Regional, Greensboro, Hendersonville, High Point, Jacksonville, Raleigh/Wake, Salisbury, Sand Hills/Southern Pines, Statesville, Twin Rivers/New Bern, Winston-Salem

Officers and Committee Chairs Present: J. Hill, M. Peterson, E. Mercer, M. Hoffler-Foushee, K. Atkinson, A. Bradke, BA Hughes, M. Folsom, N. Shoemaker, Q. Thompson, S. Abromitis, L. Jackson, S. Champion, MF Schickedantz, L. Ward, J. Atkinson, L. Sarkis, E. Laney

President Joanne Hill called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM. She thanked everyone for taking time from their busy summers to attend the meeting. Three members attending their first state Board meeting were recognized. She thanked members of the Winston-Salem branch and Judy Atkinson for their hospitality and excellent accommodations. SAR Director Ann Terry and Lisa Maatz, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy at National AAUW, were introduced.

Ellen Morris, President of the Winston-Salem Branch, welcomed the group.

Karla Atkinson, secretary, called the roll and moved that the minutes of the March 2004 Spring Board Meeting be approved. These minutes were approved with two corrections: Rumbley was misspelled under “Coalition Representatives” paragraph; change “Fall” to “Summer” Board meeting under “Corresponding Secretary and Housing” paragraph.

A reading committee was appointed, including Mary Fran Schickedantz, Esther Lumsdon and Lois Ward.

Parliamentarian Lois Ward read the meeting rules which were adopted.

The agenda was adopted as presented, with a correction of the spelling of Millie Hoffler-Foushee’s name.

President’s Report - Joanne Hill
a) A vacancy still exists in the Federal Public Policy slot on our State Board. Mary Stevens, High Point, indicated some interest in this position and will let Joanne Hill know tomorrow if she will accept this role.
b) Lois Ward was appointed Parliamentarian due to the resignation of Lou Dean Howard.
c) The Wilson branch has voted to disband and is in the process of formally completing that process
d) Given the volume of her email, Joanne stressed the importance of emailing her more than once if a response is not forthcoming. Also important is indicating AAUW somewhere on the subject line of these emails to her. Branches were encouraged to send their newsletters to Joanne on a regular basis.
e) Joanne noted that the theme for the Leadership Conference for incoming state presidents was “Purpose, Power and Progress.” She emphasized the need to send the agenda for each state board meeting out at least six weeks before each meeting. She encouraged everyone to prepare a one-minute “elevator” speech that speaks to AAUW’s mission.
f) Joanne pledged that the efforts of the Reconnection Committee would continue this year.
g) The Leader on Loan program will be put on hold for one year (see notes below).
h) The administration of the 21st Century program will be transferred from Association to the state level (see notes below).
i) Association has not budgeted to pay dues to IFUW.
j) Association will kick off a One-in-a-Million Campaign this year (see notes below).
k) On a federal, legislative note, she announced that gender, sexual orientation and disability were added to the Local Law Enforcement Enchancement Act (S. 966) in an effort to expand the definition of hate crimes.
l) Among other efforts to get more fiscally responsible, Association is debating various options for the disposition of its building in Washington.

SAR Report - Ann Terry
a) Association continues to institute more cost savings measures in its operations. For example, all Association Board members will now assume their own Board traveling expenses. In addition, a new Futures Team will assess and plan in a 5-10 year framework in three areas: structure of the association; program and mission; and stake holder services.
b) The Regional Conference in Atlanta in June went well, with approximately 140 people in attendance. The conference broke even.
c) Ann reminded the branches that the affiliates agreement should be signed and returned to Association by January 1, 2005. A bylaws change will be proposed at the 2005 Summer Association Convention that all branches must complete all required federal IRS documents so as not to jeopardize Association fund raising efforts.
d) Association is beginning a membership project at the branch to continue the discussion re. opening up AAUW membership to individuals without four-year degrees (see notes below).
e) Association is trying to improve communications from the Helpline. Everyone in this department is being cross trained to handle any aspect of Helpline operations. Helpline questions are now being tracked.
f) Ann encouraged all interested members to become involved in Association committee work. There are opening on several committees. More information and job descriptions are available on the Association web site. The deadline for application is August 15, 2004.
g) Lisa Maatz agreed to take a question about the Emerging Leaders Program back to Association for an answer.

Treasurer’s Report - Millie Hoffler-Foushee
The report covered the period of March 16, 2004 - July 22, 2004. Total income was $9,345.77. Total expenses were $3585.48. Millie noted we were “moving along quite well,” though there are a number of branches who have not yet paid dues or underpaid dues. A question arose re. convention expenses. The importance of using the Convention Guidelines document for all planning was stressed for future convention host branches. The treasurer’s report was filed for audit.

Program - Mary Peterson
Mary outlined the program for tomorrow (July 24) which will feature Dr. Pam Silberman discussing health issues and Lisa Maatz presenting coalition building tips in the morning. Nancy Shoemaker will lead a workshop in the afternoon on participating in an electronic board meeting. Lunch is structured so that state and branch counterparts can talk together. She asked several state board committee chairs to meet to decide on a theme for the spring 2005 state convention in Asheville. Mary also made a pitch for members donating frequent flyer miles to enable the program committee to bring in well-known speakers for next year’s convention.

Membership -Evelyn Mercer
Evelyn has not received any information from Association yet. She urged all branches to make member recruitment and member retention a priority. She outlined those sections of the bylaws which cover disbanding a branch, including low membership.

AAUW Coalition Partner Reports
See Public Policy Chair's report for NC Women United.

AAUW Director of Govt. Relations and Public Policy - Lisa Maatz
a) Lisa briefly reviewed voter education campaign efforts at Association level. She summarized those tools available from Association to conduct voter education activities at the local level, including congressional voting records.
b) She discussed a new project, the Congressional Report Card, which will report on candidates’ campaign “promises” that have not been completed. The report card will be available in September on the web site as an electronic postcard that can be emailed.
c) Under the Association “Get Out the Vote” grant program, four states (Maine, Arizona, South Carolina, Missouri) are working in this area. At least 15 other states are undertaking voter education activities. The Voter Education Campaign web site will go live in about eight days.
d) Another new get-out-the-vote effort is a “debate watch party” which branches can host. Kits and discussion guides guide a branch in hosting such a party.
e) Association is partnering with Rock the Vote in an effort to reach younger voters.
f) At both national party conventions this summer, AAUW will cosponsor a Young Women Leadership Conference for women ages 18-24. The web site site is ywlc04.org. Attendees will learn about the political process, public policy and will be encouraged to think seriously about running for office in the future.
g) The Under the Microscope Report from EF reviews the work of women grantees from the National Science Foundation. This report was sent to key officials on Capitol Hill.
h) Association is partnering with the United Negro College Fund under the Higher Education Act to look at specific fellowships for women and people of color in the sciences.

Finance Committee- Sandra Abromitis
Sandra thanked Millie for a timely financial report. She reviewed some of the information, noting that difference between the budget and YTD income from membership dues was lower than projected. Fundraising efforts through the pins and pens have generated some (but not enough) revenue. Sandra welcomed any ideas for future fundraising projects. Expenses exceeded the budget by $3890, though travel expenditures have been kept in check.

Bylaws - Sandra Champion
Nothing needs to be changed at this time in state or branch bylaws. There may be changes necessary in 2005, depending upon any bylaws change that may be approved at the 2005 Association convention. A few branches have made bylaw changes to reflect co-officer positions. The bylaws are available on the web site for anyone’s review.

Strategic Planning - Mary Fran Schickedantz
Strategic planning efforts will continue when the work of the Reconnection Committee is completed.

Diversity Report - Queen Thompson
Queen organized a Democracy NC party in her neighborhood, inviting candidates for political office to attend. Queen reported that the Charlotte branch is planning more
democracy parties this fall, inviting judicial candidates to attend.

Educational Foundation - Rusty Bradke
The financial situation at EF is poor. Funds needed to complete an International or American Fellowship have been raised from $100,000 to $200,000 within a shortened period of 15 years. Named Unit programs have been discontinued. Funds for the Research and Project Grants have been increased to $75,000 which must be raised within a shortened 10 year period. Eleanor Roosevelt Teaching Fellowships are on hold for one year. The program is being assessed because it has not been self-supporting and fewer applicants than anticipated have applied. Ann Terry noted that EF has reduced the size of their Board in an effort to save money and make meeting arrangements easier. Lisa commented that despite the financial situation at the national level, the last Association Board meeting was exceptional in that the conversation, creativity and commitment among the three boards of Association resulted in a budget that will allow continued programming. Staff are excited about the future, she said.

International Affairs - Shirley Quisenberry - No Report.

LAF - Lil VanOrder
No oral report, though a copy of Lil’s comments were placed in each branch’s folder.

College/University Program - Lola Jackson
Lola now has a working list of her branch counterparts. Bennett College has been added to the roster of university affiliates. Greensboro is working with Bennett College on a project and alumni of Bennett College contributed to Bennett’s AAUW membership fee.

State Public Policy - Barbara Ann Hughes
Barbara Ann reported that HB1414 (the budget bill) was finally passed by both the house and the senate in a marathon session. Barbara Ann did not have all the final details but did report that the teenage pregnancy prevention initiative, out-of-wedlock birth prevention and school nurses all received legislative support. She reminded members to thank their legislators for their support and also thanked AAUW members who contacted their legislators. North Carolina Women United (NCWU) had their annual meeting which Barbara Ann attended. (AAUW NC is part of this coalition.) She announced the counties who would be participating as part of the Women’s Agenda Assemblies and urged AAUW members to become involved. In preparation for these assemblies, NCWU has created four work groups to create this year’s draft of the agenda for the assembly. They include 1) access to health care, 2) civic participation and equality work, 3) economic self sufficiency and 4) violence against women.

Cluster Meeting Announcements
Mountain - October 23, 2004
Southern Pines/Triangle/Northeast - April 2, 2005
Foothills -October 16, 2004

Historian - Clara Allen - No report

Administrative Asst. - Judy Atkinson
The 2004 Fall Board meeting will be held in Eden on Saturday, October 2. The Tar Heel News will be sent six weeks before this meeting date.

Nominating Committee - Linda Sarkis
Linda thanked Pat Abell, Joanne Hall, Carol Kaiser and Judy Atkinson who were elected to serve on the Nominating Committee. The committee will be seeking candidates to fill the positions of President Elect, Treasurer and Program Vice President.

Resolutions - Elizabeth Laney - No report.

Technology - Nancy Shoemaker
The online state/branch officer directory, a major project, is almost completed, with 19 of 22 branches reporting. Nancy encouraged every branch officer to use the directory to make personal contact with their counterparts. At the meeting each branch received a copy of the directory to proof for accuracy and were asked to return the document to Nancy. Nancy also prepared a copy of the counterparts for branch officers. She distributed a brochure describing the aauwnc. org web site. As Raleigh/Wake treasurer, she noted that Pay Pal had been added as a financial tool and encouraged Asheville to look into using Pay Pal as a registration tool for convention 2005.

Tar Heel News Report - Marty Folsom
The copy deadline for the next issue is August 3. Marty’s new email address is marty@penstrokes.com.

Reconnection Committee Discussion
Under Goal IV (Face to Face) activities the ambassadors visited many branches. They all pointed to the great diversity among branches. Marty Folsom recommended that the concept of the ambassadors be renewed, with the understanding that the ambassadors do not necessarily have to personally visit each branch but do need to make themselves available and keep information flowing between the state and the branches. A speaker’s bureau could be formed from this group. Joanne Hill noted that she hopes to attend all cluster meetings within the next two years.
Under Goal VI activities, the emphasis is on structure and bylaws of our state organization. The members of the committee include Mary Fran Schickedantz, Karla Atkinson, Joan Robertson and Joanne Hill. One more committee member is needed. The committee plans to meet before the fall Board meeting and have an updated report at that time. Sandra Abromitis recommended that state Board meetings be linked to cluster meetings so branch members could feel more connected to state Board members and state activities.
There were no reports for Goal I ( setting statewide goals), Goal II (improving Board practice), Goal III (Programming to improve state meetings and Goal V (identifying expertise in branches).

Convention Planning Update and Guidelines - Mary Peterson
Marty Folsom has reviewed the convention guidelines and will present the document at the fall Board meeting. The state treasurer should also be involved in convention planning. Currently the program VP and committee are responsible for the content of the convention. The host branch is responsible for supporting the program (registration, site, meals, etc.) The convention guidelines should be used by any branch hosting a state convention in the future.

Fundraising Activities - Joanne Hill
NC AAUW pens are for sale ($5 each), with all profits going into the state treasury. Joanne proposed that one person should be in charge of state fundraising activities. Discussion centered on the concept of a state AAUW “club” that would recognize members who gave significant amounts of time and/or money in support of AAUW. The following motion was proposed (Nancy Shoemaker), seconded (Millie Hoffler-Foushee) and unanimously approved: “AAUW NC will establish an AAUW NC 100 Club where membership is available to those who have given 100 hours to AAUW at any level or $100 to AAUW NC in calendar year 2004; club members will be recognized at the 2005 state convention.”
Financial contributions will not be tax deductible. 100 club funds will be kept in a separate account.

Membership Requirement Dialogue in Branches - Joanne Hill
Joanne distributed information for each of the branches from Association which requests each branch and each state organization to conduct a discussion on the current requirements for membership in AAUW. The information included a Q&A sheet to guide the discussion. There appeared to be some confusion as to when branch discussions should complete their discussion and to whom the information should be sent. Association needs to clarify this information. (NOTE: Following this Board meeting, Association clarified the deadline in an email message which they sent to branch presidents on 8/30/04. Branches are to send the results from their dialogues by November 15, 2004).

Changes at Association - Joanne Hill
a) EF and LAF are now discussing their relationship. Any new operations agreement between EF and LAF will have to be approved by the IRS. One option now being discussed is LAF wants to be a LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) under the EF, rather than being dissolved or turning their assets over to another organization with a similar purpose. Staffing for LAF would come under support from EF. There would be no LAF nominations at national convention this year
b) The Administration of the 21st Century Recognition is being turned over to state AAUW organizations because the program has been very staff intensive. State will recognize branches; regional directors in consultation with their program development committee will develop a process to recognize state organizations. Under this new arrangement states are not required to replicate the 21st program as it now exists, i.e., states can develop any criteria and process they choose to recognize branch contributions to AAUW. The following motion was proposed (Mary Peterson), seconded (Marty Folsom) and approved unanimously: “ The President of AAUW NC will appoint a task force of 5-7 people to look at possible state recognition programs and make a report and recommendation at the fall Board meeting.” Joanne invited members with an interest in this committee to contact her. Local branches in NC who received 21st Century awards this year were cited for their achievements. Joanne read the citation for the silver award which AAUW NC received in this program.
c) The Leader on Loan program is on hold for one year. AAUW NC was fortunate to be able to have Lisa Maatz as our leader on loan for this summer Board meeting, given this new restriction.
d) Association has not budgeted funds to pay IFUW dues this year. Board members questioned what Shirley Quisenberry’s position as IFUW Representative was on this issue. Her position is not known at this time.
e) Association will launch a One-in-a-Million Campaign, aimed at MALs who would each purchase an 1881 equity for $120 each. Projected income from this project would be about one million dollars.

Open Dialogue
a) Evelyn Mercer asked about the AAUW theme for 2005. “Purpose, Power and Progress” is the theme which runs through the 2005 Association convention. “Because equity is still an issue...” is a tag line. Board members noted many items that could be purchased with this tag line imprinted on the item.
b) Esther Lumsdon summarized the Sally Ride TOYChallenge, a contest which invites coed teams of middle school students to invent/design toys. The website is www.toychallenge.org. Each team must have an adult advisor. Esther suggested this could be a great branch program, offering the chance for local branch members to mentor children and get good publicity at the same time.
c) Marty Folsom asked any branch president who is receiving multiple copies of the Tar Heel News which she does NOT want to distribute to contact her. She asked for feedback from all presidents on what they do with their extra newsletters. Currently extra copies are bundled for each branch. Marty can make good use of extra copies which are being wasted.

President Hill adjourned the meeting at 9:58 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Karla Atkinson, Secretary

Approved: 2-Oct-2004
Last updated: 28-Oct-2004
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