President’s Message
Equality, Equity, The Nobel Prize and even Barbie
The AAUW mission statement uses the word Equity rather than Equality. I’ve wondered why, so I researched the differences. Equity encompasses the recognition that equality doesn’t completely solve the past and future effect of gender inequality. Even if financial and educational equality are accomplished, we still have the social inequality that exacerbates progress. Social equality and equal opportunity still require equity.
In my family, we have three siblings. We shared the same genes, home location, economic stability and healthcare. Yet, despite this social equality, we’ve needed different supports. My brother needed braces, my sister needed educational support, and I wanted higher education. Equality wasn’t sufficient, we also required equity.
This year the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences went to Harvard researcher Claudia Goldin “for having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes.” She has spent her career studying the financial impacts of disparity between genders in the United States. Every woman knows about this, of course, but the academic and scientific recognition elevates the subject. This is increasingly important in a time when many previously-won rights, such as the ERA, are being challenged.
The Barbie movie wasn’t really about the toy; it was about allowing everyone to be themselves instead of living in inequality. Barbie has to leave her female-dominated toy world to discover what the male-dominated real world holds. There aren’t any easy answers; both Barbie and Ken must discover what they require to thrive.
AAUW recognizes that inequity must be challenged in all arenas. When Teen Talk Barbie was released in 1992, one of her recorded phrases was “math is hard.” After criticism from AAUW, Mattel deleted it. AAUW’s statement: “What we want is all students to reach maximum potential.” After all, math isn’t any harder for girls (or girl dolls) than it is for boys.
Power and privilege are not willingly surrendered. The fight continues to balance everyone’s rights to equality and equity. As Paul Wellstone, Minnesota Senator, said in 1999: “We all do better when we all do better.”
Upcoming Programs
November 11 General Meeting: Ellen Bashor, Educator and Naturalist
PUSD School Board Member Jane Robertson Also Scheduled
Our guest speaker for the November 11th general meeting will be Ellen Bashor. Ellen moved to Prescott from Minnesota in 2011 where she completed her BA and M.Ed in Environmental Education at Prescott College. After nearly a decade of teaching and providing professional development training through various schools and organizations, Ellen began coordinating the revitalization project at the City of Prescott’s Community Nature Center and became the Education Director there in 2020. She is the Outdoor Learning Coordinator at PUSD, an Environmental Education Instructor at Prescott College, and the founder of the Nature Ninos Prescott.
Jane Robertson and Prescott’s Teacher’s Closet
We will have a brief presentation by Jane Robertson, former educator and current member of the PUSD School Board. Jane, the creator of the Teacher’s Closet, will educate us on the need for the Teacher’s Closet, how it benefits the district classrooms, and where the funding comes from.
Please join us for the November meeting.
9:00 Social | 9:30 Announcements | 10:00 Program
*Center for Spiritual Living
3755 Willow Creek Rd, Prescott, AZ 86301
*Directions to the Center for Spiritual Living, the new location of AAUW Saturday General Meetings. The Center for Spiritual Living is at 3755 Willow Creek Road. If you are coming from Pioneer Parkway, turn left on Haas Blvd. opposite Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. If you are traveling on Willow Creek Road, turn right on Haas Blvd. then another right into the large parking lot.
December 9 General Meeting: Annual Holiday Brunch
Prescott AAUW Holiday Brunch, Awards and Recognitions
Saturday, December 9, 2023
9AM – 11AM
Prescott Lakes Clubhouse
311 Smoke Tree Lane, Prescott
Make a reservation and select your menu option for this year’s holiday get-together on the Brunch Reservation Page. As it was last year, the price is $20 (all inclusive). Reservations must be received by Thursday, November 30, 2023. Signups will be available at the November meeting or on the AAUW website, where you can download a reservation form or pay online via PayPal.
In lieu of a speaker, we would like to invite our members to share a personal holiday story or tradition. If you have a short tale to tell, please contact Margie Crider.
Red Envelope Donations to Focus on Opportunity Award
As per our branch tradition, we will again have red envelopes available at the tables for donations. This year we will be contributing to our newly-created Opportunity Award. More information about this new award is in the Scholarship section of this newsletter.
AAUW Branch Award Nominations Now Open
Nominations are open for our yearly awards to be presented at the Holiday Brunch. Please complete a nomination form and submit it by Wednesday, November 30th. Contact Carol Dosse for more information.
Mover & Shaker- for members who have belonged to our branch for more than 3 years and exhibit personal integrity, leadership, initiative, sustained dedication to the Mission of AAUW, and personal growth opportunities within the membership.
Rookie of the Year – for individuals who are new (within the last three years) to the Prescott AAUW Branch and have quickly stepped up to promote our mission. Criteria for selection can include personal integrity, leadership, and initiative.
Ongoing Stamina Award – for a member who has served AAUW for ten or more years. And, like the Energizer Bunny, she just “keeps going and going and going.” Criteria for selection include personal integrity, leadership and initiative, sustained dedication to the Mission of AAUW, and personal growth opportunities within the membership.
AAUW Prescott Business
AAUW Prescott’s 75th Anniversary is January 13, 2024
Volunteers needed for this event
Seventy-five years ago, in 1949, Prescott women gathered to form a branch of AAUW. We are celebrating this milestone at our January 13, 2024 general meeting. Volunteers are needed to help coordinate our celebration, specifically to update a script from the Arizona Centennial celebration in 2012, and to gather photographs and archives.
With this in mind, everyone is encouraged to take and send us photos from meetings, events and Interest Group gatherings. Additionally, if you have any past photographs, we’d like to request those, too. AAUW photos become part of the Sharlot Hall archives, a valuable resource when researching AAUW’s footprint in the Prescott area. Digital photographs can be emailed, of course, but we’re also interested in developed photos as well.
Your help is much appreciated: email aauwprescottbranch@gmail.com or contact Carol Dosse, President, AAUW-Prescott.
Request for AAUW Event Photographers
Got a Cell phone with you?
Want to Help AAUW?
We are looking for a group of members to photograph AAUW events. You do not have to commit to all of them. Many hands can share the task.
Now that cell phone cameras are getting so good and software to edit them is too, it is easy to take photos at various AAUW meetings and events. You can use your digital camera or a cell phone. We have a short list of tips we can send to you.
Contact Gail Shay or Stephanie Brown for more details.
Love the AAUW Directory but not your photo?
You can get it replaced!
You can update your photo that is in the membership directory by contacting Stephanie Brown. (No surprise, the contact information is in the directory!)
Membership News
Membership Co-VP
Our membership numbers have decreased somewhat due to members who didn’t rejoin or who have moved from the area. However, we have welcomed two new members this past month. Letters have gone out to board members and interest group leaders regarding our new members’ information. A coffee will be scheduled for a Saturday in the spring to welcome this year’s “newbies.”.
Branch Member Stewart-Smith to Speak at ERAU
Branch member Natalie Stewart-Smith MA, MEd will present From Boxcars to Jets: Arizona’s Aviation History on Thursday, November 9, 2023, for the ERAU Aviation History Lecture Series. Her talk begins at 6pm in ERAU’s Davis Learning Center Auditorium. All are welcome, admission is free.
As a member of the AZ Humanities Council’s AZ Speaks Program, Natalie shares this topic throughout the state. Previously, Natalie told us about the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) of WWII. She also lectures on the 1929 All-Women’s Air Race—which she will present at our Women’s History Month topic in March 2024.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about a unique contribution to aviation history.
Public Relations
Public Relations Position Revitalized with Member Sue Marceau
Public Relations
Our Public Relations Officer, Sue Marceau, is pleased to share an article about AAUW Prescott from the Aug/Sept ’23 issue of Prescott Woman Magazine. Follow this link to view the story. The speaker for our October General Meeting was Breeanya Hinkel, the magazine’s publisher. Read below the recap of Hinkel’s presentation: “What Makes a Prescott Woman.”
Award-Winning Publisher Embodies ‘What Makes A Prescott Woman’
Publisher Breeanya Hinkel radiated the organizational leadership earning her a 2023 Prescott ATHENA Award, and effectively embodied What Makes A Prescott Woman, while speaking at the October General Meeting.
Hinkel, owner and publisher of Prescott Woman Magazine, shared the publication’s philosophy for advancing area women of all professions, goals and life achievements.
To view the complete article, click here.
AAUW National
AAUW National Bylaws Under Review
AAUW is proposing changes to the bylaws as part of its regular and periodic review of the organization’s national bylaws. Go to 2023 AAUW Bylaws Proposed Changes to review the proposed changes.
Scholarships
New Opportunity Award Approved
Since our main scholarships are so well-funded, the Scholarship Committee, with Board approval, is initiating a new award, the AAUW Prescott Opportunity Award. It will be administered by AAUW Prescott rather than through YC Foundation, and will be available for educational opportunities such as conferences, seminars, special presentations, etc. There will be a maximum of $500 per award. Application will be open to women students enrolled at Yavapai College, Prescott College, or Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Applicants must provide a description of the opportunity, date(s) of participation, a letter of reference, and GPA information.
Recipients will be chosen by Scholarship Committee chair[s] and two members of the Scholarship Committee. Following the experience funded by the Opportunity Award, they will be asked to give a short presentation, in person or via video, at an AAUW meeting, describing the experience and what they gained from it.
To donate to this new initiative, send checks to the AAUW Prescott Treasurer at PO Box 10881, Prescott AZ 86304, with “Opportunity Award” on the memo line. You can also donate using PayPal.
We hope our membership will support this award to enhance educational experiences for women students.
Sandra Bennett and Julia Appletree
Interest Groups
Great Decisions Group Open for New Members
Do you want to understand more about what is happening in the WORLD? Great Decisions can’t solve the problems but can educate us to some of the Foreign Policy actions and reasoning. Our 4th Wednesday Group is open to a few more members. We meet in homes and sometimes via zoom. To
learn more, contact Stephanie Brown.
AAUW Photo Group Offers Diverse Photo Opportunities
The AAUW Photo Group Meets every 3rd Thursday 10:00-noon via Zoom. Please join us on our photographic journeys as we improve our skills and indulge our artistic sides. Below, you can see our assignments from 2023 to give you a sense of what we do. We welcome new members of all skill levels.*
To learn more about the group, click here for the website.
Each month the collection of photos is posted on this site .
We welcome new members of all skill levels.
Come explore with us–
–Contact Gail Shay or Chris Maxwell
*If you signed up at the Meeting on Oct 14th, please contact Stephanie Brown, who managed to lose that list. (Good heavens!!)
Travel Discussion Group
Join us on Tuesday, November 14th, at the Prescott Public Library, Founders Suite B for our next meeting. Would you like to be on the Travel Discussion Group email list? Check out our Interest Group webpage and contact Janet Orr or Chris Maxwell.
Holiday Travel Topics for Discussion
– Holidays in Other Countries
What’s Open?
Celebrating with locals.
– Transportation – Flights, Trains, Cars
When to book and travel dates
Weather, Safety, Health
– Holiday Sites
European Christmas Markets
Holiday Decor – NYC, Williamsburg
Ski or Beach?