AAUW NEWS OF NOTE

President: Kay Campbell (781) 740-0788

Membership VPs:Sheila Doherty (781) 848-8122 and Hollie Bagley (781) 749-6274

Program VPs:Allison Marshall (781) 749-8591 and Jane Moore (781) 659-9443

Mission Statement: AAUW promotes equity for all women and girls, lifelong education, and positive societal change.

Vision Statement: AAUW is committed to making a significant impact on education and equity for all women and girls.

We will remove barriers and develop opportunities to enable women and girls to reach their full potential.

This shared vision drives the work of AAUW at all levels.

HINGHAM AREA BRANCH DECEMBER 2006

CALENDAR

December 10, Sunday Holiday Brunch, 12 Noon

Atlantica Restaurant, Cohasset

December 12, Tuesday Girls’ Game Night, 7 pm,

home of Sandy Carle,

December 14, Thursday Writer’s Group, 7:30 PM

home of Gwen Sayian

January 9, Tuesday Branch Meeting, 6:30 PM

Potluck Supper and Book Discussion of The Women of the Silk

Derby Academy, Hingham

January 23, Tuesday Board Meeting, 7:30 PM

Home of Kay Campbell

HOLIDAY SOCIAL

Do you  prefer breakfast, lunch or dinner  foods ?    The Atlantica  Restaurant in Cohasset has it all.....Our Holiday Social will be held there this year on Sunday, December 10 at 12  noon.   We will feast from noon until 2:00  while enjoying the beautiful  view of Cohasset Harbor.   The cost is $ 22 per person  payable on that day in cash to me.  This includes the buffet, coffee, tea, and a chocolate fountain....for those of us who love chocolate!   There is a carving station, an omelet station and a dessert station.   Other selections include fresh fruit, salad, bacon, sausage, eggs, Belgian waffles, French toast, salmon and breakfast pastries . ...to name a few.  The Atlantica Restaurant is located at 44 Border Street in Cohasset.   I hope to see you all there....You need to contact me (Sheilad1234@usadatanet.net or through my cell, 781-267-1098) by December 6th so I can confirm the number coming to the restaurant.     Thanks,  Sheila

REMINDER

The January branch meeting (1/9/07) will be held at Derby Academy in Hingham. The Soup - Salad - Book Discussion meeting will begin at 6:30 pm.  The book to be discussed is Woman of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama.      

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Thanks, kudo’s and brava’s to branch meeting co-chairs, Hollie Bagley and Anne Foley, who produced a truly outstanding branch meeting on ‘Decluttering Your Space and Your Mind”. The room was packed with members, many guests and even spouses. That’s the sign of a great meeting! The speaker was delightful and organized, and had us laughing while building up more courage to start throwing stuff out. The Q&A section was especially interesting. Didn’t you find it liberating and therapeutic to hear others’ clutter questions? In the next week, I was inspired to do some major de-cluttering. And, it felt great! How about you? Thanks to all who attended, brought friends, and helped spread the word. And….a warm welcome to Sandy Pierson of Hingham who came to the meeting, and joined our branch!

The holidays are here – and I am looking forward to our brunch at Atlantica in Cohasset on December 10^th, at noon. Thanks go Sheila and her group of taste testers who scoped it out in advance on our behalf. Hope you can take time for a break from your holiday ‘to do lists’. Relax and share some conversation, laughs (and great food!) with your AAUW friends.

Don’t forget to put on your ‘to do’ list…read The Women of the Silk for our January meeting. Remember how frustrating it was if you came to the book discussion last year and hadn’t finished the book? Don’t let that happen again!

All the best to you and your loved ones for a happy, safe and peaceful holiday season. Kay

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

‘Tis the season to be thinking about gifts and remembering our friends and loved ones. What better way to honor those we hold dear than to give them the gift of AAUW membership? Skip the mall and the searching for the perfect gift. Give a gift that will support women and girls for years to come. For those near to home, give a branch membership. Visit the branch web page at http://www.aauw-ma.org/

Hingham%202005/index.htm. Download our branch brochure, fill it out and mail your check to Ginny Giordano. Take advantage of the half-year membership dues ($34.50) by starting the membership beginning January 1, 2007. We will send your giftee a card announcing your gift membership (or we will send you the card for your giftee, whichever you prefer.) For those afar, give an individual membership ($47). You can give your membership gift online, by mail, by fax or by phone. Visit http://svc.aauw.org/join/joinform.cfml for all the details. Tell your giftee to look up the local branch. Giving a gift of membership is a win-win situation. Your loved one will become an AAUW member. You will get credit as the recruiter and be eligible for the awards and prizes in the Member-Get-A-Member campaign. New members can be males or females holding an associate degree or equivalent (nurses, etc.) or a baccalaureate degree. Students can be enrolled as student affiliates. Call Sheila (781 267-1098) or Hollie (781 749-6274) if you need more information.

Please extend a warm welcome to our newest member: Sandra Pierson. Sandra attended our November meeting and decided to join on the spot after learning more about us from Kay. Thanks, Kay, for your AAUW enthusiasm.

Chit Chat: Marine Mark Bologna has returned from Iraq. What good news for proud parents Pat and John! Speaking of returning, it was good to see that Jane Street has returned from the Vineyard. Congratulations to Beatrice Kelly who is our latest member to enter the ranks of retirement! Beatrice very recently retired from the Hull Public Library. Wasn’t it fun to see spouses at the November program, thanks to Claudette Newhall, Jane Moore and Sondra Schmidt? And a very special thanks to Cathy Barnes for sharing her new house for our new member orientation. Kay Campbell, Ruthanne Kennedy, Patricia McKay, Elizabeth Rowe, Sandy Carle, Lynn Howard, Beatrice Kelly, Jo Loughnane, Carol Sullivan-Hanley, Sheila Doherty, Hollie Bagley and Cathy all agreed they had a lovely time and learned something about AAUW too. Lynn graced us with her presence even though it was her birthday! Heather Gregory writes she is still taking courses, this time - Museum Studies. Basketball season is in full swing and Heather is coaching a sixth grade girls' travel team. She and her family traveled to California Thanksgiving week to be with her brother’s wife while her brother is in Afghanistan. Travel reminds us that Sheila and Hollie had a wonderful time abroad as did Cathy Barnes who was on the same trip with Hollie. While at the hotel in Italy, Hollie bumped into Judy Donovan, an AAUW member from the Danvers-Topsfield Branch. Small world! We wish you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season and hope to see many of you at the holiday brunch. Hollie and Sheila

PUBLIC POLICY

Women Make Gains in the House As a result of the November 7 elections, for the first time in U.S. history a woman will be speaker of the House when the 110th Congress convenes in January. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has been elevated to speaker now that the Democrats have won the majority of seats in the House. Pelosi addressed the AAUW National Convention in June 2005.

While Pelosi’s achievement is notable, women candidates won in other ways. There were 134 women running for House seats of which 71 were either elected or reelected. There were 67 women in the House during the 109th Congress, so women have gained at least four seats and possibly more. Ten new women were elected, while several incumbent Republican women lost their reelection bids. Eight races in which women were running are, at this writing, still considered too close to call.

Many Women up for Leadership Roles in Reorganized House Women in the House are poised to take on some key leadership positions, if they move up the ladder as seniority would dictate.

All Incumbent Women Senators Re-Elected Twelve women in total ran for the Senate, of which eight were either elected or reelected. This brings the total number of women in the Senate up to 16 for the 110th Congress – a gain of two.

Women Governors Add a Seat Ten women ran for governor across the country, six of whom were either elected or reelected. This brings to nine the number of women governors for 2007. This represents a modest increase of one over 2006. However, governor slots are seen as a good pathway to the presidency, so any increase here is notable.

Voters Support Paid Sick Days New polling results show 61% of women and 46% of men are more likely to support a Congressional candidate who favors providing paid sick leave for all workers. Women’s support for the issue cuts across political party lines: 48% of Republican women would vote for candidates who support paid sick days, as would 72% of Democratic women. AAUW believes flexible workplace policies such as paid sick days are necessary to address the family responsibilities of employees, and improve the economic security of women.

Heather Gregory

Public Policy Chair

DECLUTTERING CONTINUED

Calling all clutter-bugs! Were you inspired by November’s program? Do you need more motivation or support to get going on decluttering? A request has been made to form a Special Interest Group on decluttering. This group would work as a support group in much the same way as Weight Watchers works. We all know what needs to be done, but some of us need a little extra motivation or to actually “put our money where our mouth is” to accomplish the decluttering process. As we envision it, the support group would meet on a regular basis (intervals to be decided by the group). At each meeting we would choose a specific type of clutter to tackle. We would discuss ways to declutter and come up with a plan of attack, taking into account individual comfort levels. Our homework would be to work on our clutter using the plan to meet a specific goal by the next meeting. Hopefully our successes with small things will help us to continue the process. As a group we can decide if, at times, we want to hire Patty McPherson, professional organizer, as a consultant to address a particular problematic area and, at other times, we can “volunteer” to be the group leader to research how to best divest ourselves of a type of clutter. If this group is something you think might be of interest, please let Hollie Bagley (HollieBagley@gmail.com) know asap. The projected first meeting would be on an evening in January. Make a New Year's resolution to get going on clutter!

Writer’s Group:

We will meet at Gwen Sayian’s home on December 14^th at 7:30PM. If you’re interested in joining us (we always welcome aspiring writers or those who are just curious about how a writing group works) please contact Patricia McKay at: 781-337-3375. She’ll fill you in on our next ‘assignment’.

Adventures in Dining

Watch this space for a date and details of going for tea in Boston this winter.