University Woman Texas Volume 73 l Issue 1 l August 2021

Message from the President Your AAUW Texas State Board met in person in July for the first time since the start of the COVID 19 pandemic. What a pleasure it was to visit face-to-face, hold some spirited discussions, and do the business of AAUW Texas. We have renewed the SHARE GRANTS for NCCWSL, for funding branch ZOOM accounts, the Branch Projects grants will be used to reimburse every branch who sends a member to the April convening for one Early Bird registration, and we created a new category to offer project assistance to student groups. Speaking of the Convening – be sure to put the dates April 29/30, 2022, on your calendar now and look for your Golden Opportunity to attend. Watch your emails for more information.  Gloria Long AAUW Texas President

AAUW Gatherings: Put Safety First Many members are understandably eager to return to in-person affiliate gatherings. However, due to the recent rise in the COVID-19 delta variant, we strongly advise caution. It’s critical to follow all city, state and county guidance and be mindful of the risks. The pandemic isn’t over, and many of us regularly engage with young people and others who may be unvaccinated. It’s also worth remembering that virtual gatherings can help enable diversity and inclusion by allowing you to expand your reach to new groups.

September Zoom Conference Calls Calls will begin at 6:00 P.M. and take place in:  September – November – March – June  (Please note new time.)  Please RSVP to the Board Member who is hosting to receive the Zoom link.   September 7, 2021, 6:00 p.m. - Membership with Barbara Cager bcager@sbcglobal.net   September 9, 2021, 6:00 p.m. – AAUW Funds/Fundraising with Margie Poole margiepoole11@yahoo.com   September 14, 2021, 6:00 p.m. – Public Policy with Pat Rehm pacrehm2017@gmail.com   September 16, 2021, 6:00 p.m. - Program with Terry Whaley whaleyterry@gmail.com    Remember that Zoom calls can be accessed by phone for anyone unable to connect virtually.

Let Us Increase AAUW Texas Membership Welcome to our AAUW Texas 2021-2022 year! As a community of women standing strong for gender equity AAUW leads the way. Our membership makes our powerful voice even louder on critical issues affecting women and girls. During these challenging times, continue to join and support our AAUW Texas branches as we do the critical work necessary to advance gender equality and push AAUW’s mission forward.  Growing our membership in AAUW is extremely important now during the many challenges we are facing with the COVID viruses and gender equality.  Being a member of AAUW provides opportunities to explore the issues affecting women and girls, to become empowered and to make a difference.  Please join us as we invite new members to our branches, encourage previous members to renew their membership, and invite members from the Texas State National AAUW Roster to join our branch. Strive to provide a special welcome back to all members whether in-person or virtually held for 2021-2022 year. Extend an invitation to branch meetings, book reviews, listening to a speaker, having lunch, movie discussions, museum visits, etc. Together we can ride the waves of these challenging times. Let’s stay in touch while remaining strong and safe.    I look forward to you joining our first quarterly 2021-2022 AAUW State Zoom Membership call on September 7, 2021, at 6:00 pm. Have a Superior AAUW Year and Stay Safe! Barbara Cager Membership VP AAUW Texas

CALL FOR PROPOSED BYLAWS AMENDMENTS AND RESOLUTIONS Any AAUW Texas member or Texas branch may propose amendments to the AAUW Texas bylaws. Proposed amendments should be submitted to the Bylaws Chair, Ann Berasley at ann.berasley@gmail.com by October 15, 2021. Bylaws Amendments The current bylaws are posted on our website at aauw-tx.aauw.net/forofficers. Amendments must not conflict with AAUW bylaws and mission. Proposed bylaws amendments must include: (1) a copy of the original section of the bylaws being amended, (2) a marked-up version showing the specific wording of the amendment, (3) a clean version showing the language as it would be revised, (4) a statement of rationale for the amendment, and (5) if applicable, the fiscal impact of the amendment.

Legacy Circle Tip…One Easy Way to Leave a Legacy 1.    Open a POD (Payable on Death) savings account with a bank. 2.    Ask specifically for a POD account. Bankers know what this means. If your local bank or credit union does not offer POD accounts, most major banks will be happy to do so. 3.    Make your POD savings account payable on your death to: American Association of University Women 1310 L Street NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20005 EIN 52-6037388 4.    It’s a good idea to inform your significant other and family that you have done this. 5.    You can write a check on your current bank account to put funds into your new POD savings account. 6.    You can add additional funds to the account through the years. You also have the flexibility to take money out of the account or close it. 7.    Many banks offer online access to your account so that you can view and verify amount. 8.    With some accounts you may need to have some activity during the year to maintain the account and to avoid inactivity fees. 9.    Once you have set up the account, fill out the simple AAUW Legacy Circle enrollment form, available online at https://www.aauw.org/resource/legacy-circle-enrollment-form/, and AAUW will be delighted to welcome you to the Legacy Circle. 10.  For more information, contact Jackie Littleton, jackielit@hotmail.com.

Please Read This! Diane Roberts, AAUW Texas Finance Officer I know you guys think nothing is happening here at AAUW Texas, but I assure you, we have been busy. Think about that swan swimming placidly over the lake, but underneath, the webbed feet are paddling furiously. Some of that paddling involves money for your branch. Consider this: This last fiscal year, AAUW Texas offered to pay for Zoom subscriptions for each branch - applied for $2,065.23 (12 branches). There was an AAUW Texas grant to pay part of NCCWSL (National Conference for College Women Student Leaders) convention registrations for student groups to go to their convention which was held virtually this year - applied for $750 (two branches). Fiscal year 2019-2020, AAUW Texas funded a grant to pay $1,500 for StartSmart/WorkSmart expenses - applied for $1,500 (one branch). This fiscal year, 2021-2022, there will be funds allocated for: branches to purchase Zoom subscriptions NCCWSL conference registrations reimbursement of the Convening registration fee for one member per branch grants to support student projects Do not leave this free money sitting on the table! It is intended to help your local branch directly. Maybe there is a project you would like to have help funding that we have not thought of. Please tell us about it because we really want to know, and we might be able to help. Contact glorialong911@gmail.com to tell your president what you need most.

SHARE Grant Information for 2021-2022 Hello Members! We are in the process of working up the SHARE grants for this year! We will be back but in a bit of a different format. Here is some basic information I can share as we move forward. SHARE Grants – Branch Projects As we begin to move forward, we will cover a grant for a single member per branch to attend the state convening in April, 2022. This will be in the form of a reimbursement so stay tuned as how to apply. SHARE Grants – NCCWSL We will fund some NCCWSL registrations, but unsure the number at this time. National has not established the registration cost at this time. SHARE Grants – Zoom We will fund Zoom accounts again this year. It will be the same process as last year. Having a Zoom account broadens a branch’s reach and ability to bring in speakers from outside. If your branch has not taken advantage of this great opportunity, please consider it. SHARE Grants – Student Affiliates Student affiliates are hard at work and the board decided that their efforts should be rewarded. Therefore, student affiliate branches can apply on their own behalf for an AAUW mission-based project. More information on this is also to follow. Sorry that this is still TBA, but we want to get things in place before any formal announcements are made.

NCCWSL Testimony This past spring AAUW Texas and its branches sent a record number of students to the virtual NCCWSL (National Conference for College Women Student Leaders) event. Students at Texas A&M competed for grants to attend by earning points for participation in the campus student AAUW group. Below is the experience of one of these young women. Perhaps your branch would consider supporting a local student at the 2022 NCCWSL event. The format has yet to be announced.  I attended NCCWSL this May via Zoom because I earned enough points during the semester for my admission to the event to be covered by TAMU AAUW’s grant. The events that called out to me, in particular, were ‘Panel Session I: How to Amp Up Your Political and Civic Engagement’ and ‘Workshop Session II: Be Social, Emotional, and Intellectual: Soft Skills for Gen Z’. It was so great to hear women with lots of experience in their careers with valuable information to share gearing their content toward people my age. Adding my LinkedIn and what I was hoping to get out of the conference to the Google Sheet that was shared also helped me to learn about the amazing women who also attended the event. Caroline O’Neal, a rising Junior at TAMU.

Congratulations to all the Texas branches that participated in the Five Star Program for 2019-2021. A new round of the Five Star Program began on July 1, 2021. If you did not participate in the first round, your branch has another opportunity. For those branches who did, participation in the next round brings the opportunity to earn another, different badge to add to your website. Visit the AAUW website at https://www.aauw.org/resources/member/initiatives/5-star-program/  for the details. 5 Star Branches: Northeast Tarrant County                               North Harris County                               San Antonio Incorporated                               West Harris County                               Tarrant County            4 Star Branches: Tyler 3 Star Branches:  Fort Bend

87th Texas Legislature Update While the national AAUW Staff has been keeping our statewide membership aware of Federal Public Policy issues and related legislation, the AAUW Texas Board's lobbyist and four state members have been representing our state membership in the 87th Texas Legislature.  Throughout the 2021 Regular Session, which ended on May 31, they saw some of our top priority items passed into law by identifying and monitoring bills of interest which relate to AAUW's mission and policies. During its board meeting in July, the AAUW Texas Board agreed to extend Mr. Stewart's contract as our Lobbyist through October, in order to stay involved in the legislature during the remaining summer and fall Special Sessions.   Since the lack of a quorum during the first Special Session has led to the convening of a second special session on August 7, Mr. Stewart and the AAUW Texas Advisory team will continue working toward equity in our selected priority issues and will keep our members informed and represented. The advisors include Gloria Long, AAUW Texas President, Pat Rehm, State Public Policy Chair; Georgia Kimmel, Public Policy Chair for the West Harris County Branch; and Pat Sanford, Public Policy Chair of the San Antonio Branch. The previous areas of interest have been Women's Healthcare, Childcare and Education, Family Paid Leave, Job Training and Advancement, Elections, Voting Rights, and Voter Suppression.  These and other equity issues may have high priority bills to be considered in the Special Sessions. Redistricting is a mandated procedure following the release of Federal Census data every 10 years, to determine new district boundaries. The 2020 data was released on August 12, and hearings have been scheduled in the Texas Legislature from September 7 to 18. This will be a tentative topic for the next AAUW Texas quarterly public policy Zoom meeting on Tuesday, September 14, at 6:00 PM (new time). All AAUW Texas members are invited to attend. Please RSVP to pacrehm2017@gmail.com to receive the link. NOTE: Our Lobbyist, Kevin Stewart, has prepared a list of five agenda items of current interest to AAUW members, for monitoring during the Second Called Session. His recommendations appear in an adjoining UWT article.

Elected Officers   Gloria Long Terry Whaley Barbara Cager Margie Poole Diane Roberts Mary Smith Elected District Representatives Betsy Calabro Marsi Liddell Sara Wood Emelia Hoefle Lucy Barrington Standing Committees Ann Berasley Pat Rehm Appointed Positions Crystal Garcia Lynn Hagan Karen Reichensperger Marina Rivers Communications Team Malinda Gaul Janani Janakiraman Pam Wolfe Contact at:https://aauw-tx.aauw.net/about/leadership/

President Program VP Membership VP AAUW Funds VP Finance Officer Secretary South District Central District North District North District West District Bylaws/Parliamentarian Public Policy Diversity and Inclusion SHARE Grant Coordinator College/University Rep Branch Services UWT Editor/Email Communications Website Website/Facebook