President's Report
There's much to be
proud of in AAUW Utah, and it has been a privilege to lead the
organization during this past two years. Although we have lost two
branches during this time, other branches have held fast and even
grown rapidly. We have a vibrant group of women who care about
today's major hurdles to equity for women and girls.
I thoroughly enjoyed
representing Utah at the AAUW Convention in St. Louis in 2009. It
was eye-opening and exhilarating to hear first-hand from people who
have been on the forefront of the fight to forge a society committed
to equity. AAUW has the ability to help them and to carry their
message further. I realized that although I've been passionate in
my opinions, I've not latched onto any particular vehicle for
expressing myself; AAUW has helped me find a place and to expand my
reach. I'm grateful to AAUW Utah for supporting my travel.
The state board voted
to support the two Utah citizen initiatives: redistricting and ethics
reform. Many of our members have helped with the drive to collect
signatures to put these issues on the ballot this year. The board
also supported the Utah legislation to provide more reproductive
health education options for high school students. Although this
bill did not become law, I think it will return next year, and I hope
AAUW will continue to support it.
Communication with our
members is essential, but in the absence of a newsletter editor, we
have opted for a "online only" Sego Lily, at least for the
time being. The result is a savings of about $900/year, and the
organization may choose to use the money for other projects next
year.
The AAUW Utah Womens
Art Exhibit in 2009 was superb, and we can all be proud of AAUW's
support for this unique event. Plans are underway to have an encore
performance in 2011. Tracey Matthews was the committee chair, and we
are fortunate to be able to have her take the helm again to build on
our string of successes.
We are again able to
fund travel grants for one or two college students who are interested
in the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders
(NCCWSL). Lauren Kadziel did the legwork to get our grant program
made known to Utah colleges and to select the recipients. From all
past reports the conference is inspiring and motivating to the
attendees, and our state's support of young women leaders speaks
well of our organization.
Sue Nissen continues to
keep us involved in the AWE+SUM program at Westminster College, and
that program has inspired the work of the St. George branch in
starting their own eSmart program, with similar goals to getting
girls involved in math and science, at Dixie State College.
In accordance with the
AAUW reorganization, we revised our state bylaws. The primary
changes relate to the representation at the national convention, the
elimination of regional structures, and names (the organization is
simply "AAUW", and "EF" and "LAF" are not separate
foundations but are instead part of "AAUW grants and funds").
With respect to
finances, the news is good, but the reasons behind it are not. Desta
Aure has been taking care of the money and doing a great job. Last
year she consolidated our CDs and moved money out of savings to get a
good interest rate. So, the good news is that we have substantial
funds and are managing them well. The bad news is that we are not
spending money as planned because our state organization is
short-staffed and we cannot take on projects that we would like.
Over the years it has become harder and harder to fill the state
positions, and that means that some activities have to be dropped.
Although Internet web applications make many things easier and reduce
the need for coordinators, my assessment is that we need more people
who can help branches understand and relate to our state projects and
AAUW fund-raising activities.
One important project
is a concerted effort to re-establish a branch in Utah County. This
might be a great way to expand our organization, and I hope this can
be accomplished in 2011.
I would like to thank
everyone who has helped me through my two-year presidency. Maxine
Haggerty and Janet Bunger and Kathy Horvat are stalwarts, Connee
Gates has helped guide me through the parliamentary process with
aplomb, Kathy Bray did a great job with the state convention last
year, Priscilla McLain was our Program VP this year and helped plan
the convention, and I greatly appreciated Maggie Sleight and Diane
Hirning serving as LAF and EF coordinators in 2008-2009. Desta Aure
negotiated the twists and turns of managing our finances, Joyce
Hansen kept track of our membership counts, and my gift to Kim Perrin
for her great work on the Sego Lily was to grant her request
to retire as its editor. The branch presidents have been so loyal in
keeping the connection between the state and the individual members,
and I'm forever in their debt for their forebearance and
cooperation. Carol Sawaya has provided continuing guidance, despite
her yearly reiteration of her intent to be much less active. Of
course, I have probably overlooked others who deserve my direct
thanks, and I hope they'll remind me of it before I leave office.
AAUW Utah has been
recognized for its membership growth (sometimes shaky, but definitely
noteworthy) and its contributions to the Educational and Legal funds,
and we are all members of an organization that is generous and
forward-thinking. Let's all continue to be advocates for AAUW help
the organization's growth.
Hilarie Orman
AAUW Utah President,
2008-2010
