We hope you can join us for these upcoming events.

Our branch of AAUW has held a book sale for many years, and it remains our sole source for scholarship money, which everyone agrees is worthwhile when we award scholarships to young students at our December dinner. It is important that every member be involved in some way.

To make setup for this year's used book sale fundraiser easier and more efficient, we plan to sort all book donations in advance. Our first book sorting party will be Saturday, March 4 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Leah's garage where we store our book donations. We will order pizza and salad from Jet's Pizza for lunch at noon. If you would like to contribute beverages, cookies, or another lunch item, that would be great too. Leah's address is 19060 200th Avenue, Big Rapids.

A second book sorting party is planned for 1:00-4:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, same location. Sign-up sheets for setup on April 13 (8:00 a.m.-finish, usually around 5:00 p.m.), hours during the sale on April 14 (9:00 a.m.-5:00 pm.) and April 15 (9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.), and sale takedown and cleanup (April 15, 2:00 p.m.-finish) will be available at both book sorts. As many people as possible are needed on Thursday for the setup and the cleanup on Saturday. We will also need trucks and vans to transport books from Leah's garage to the sale on Thursday morning and to return unsold books we keep for next year to Leah's garage on Saturday afternoon.

AAUWMI Regional Leadership Conferences

March 25 or April 1 

AAUW Big Rapids Annual Used Book Sale Fundraiser

April 13 (Setup); 14-15 (Sale)

You should have received an email from AAUW of Michigan announcing these meetings. The Big Rapids branch is encouraged to sign up for the session on Saturday, March 25 from 9:00 a.m. to noon, but go ahead and sign up for another session if this date and time doesn't work with your schedule.

The 2023 sale to raise funds for our scholarships and other activities will be held April 14-15 at the First United Methodist Church. Setup for the sale will be April 13. Sign up to help with advance preparations, setup, the sale itself, and the takedown here.

The Movable Feast and Annual Meeting, May 4

Marilyn Jablonski and Kristin Salomonson host our annual movable feast in their homes across the street from each other on Thursday, May 4, at 6:00 p.m. (The feast moves when we walk from one house to the other.) We will also hold our annual meeting and elect new officers. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to the date.

Cocktails & Convos

May 8, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

We will hold our fourth and final Cocktails & Convos of the year on Monday, May 8, in the lower level of Artworks. Our discussion topic will be Economic Equity. We will share issues on women's financial security, student debt, equal pay, etc. More information to follow from Membership co-VPs Sarah Lucas and Deb Kennedy.

We continue to spotlight our newest members.

Donna Drake moved to Big Rapids in 1990 from Richmond, VA when her husband Chuck began his 30 year tenure as an Engineering Technology Professor at FSU. Donna was raised in Petoskey, MI and received her Associate Degree in English from North Central Michigan College in 1968, her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from CMU in 1970, and her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education in 1994. She taught First Grade in Petoskey in 1970, then moved with her husband and infant son to Sault Saint Marie, MI when Chuck decided to further his education. Next was Houghton, MI for 3 years at MTU. She did much subbing during those years, always interesting! When she moved to Richmond, VA in 1977, she stayed home and raised her 3 children until her youngest was in first grade, then it was back to subbing.  She was a teaching assistant at Hickory Hill Special Needs preschool for 2 1/2 years until moving back to Michigan. Focus on Fours Preschool in Big Rapids was just starting in 1990, and she began as the assistant there. The teacher was in poor health, and after going back to CMU to renew her teacher certification and attain her Master’s degree, Donna became the Director and Early Childhood Specialist of the program until her retirement in 2010.

Donna enjoys visiting grandkids in NC and AL, traveling adventures, walking 5 miles most days, singing with Voca Lyrica and at church, any musical activities, laughing with friends, and good movies. She belongs to 2 book clubs, DKG Retired Teacher Sorority , and joined AAUW to help empower women. Her good friend Millie has spoken very highly of the good works of AAUW, so she thought it sounded like a good fit for her.

My name is Geryl Lobert and I have lived in the Mecosta area all my life, but love to travel anywhere. I earned my Bachelors in English Education from Ferris State University and a Masters in Teaching from Marygrove College of Detroit. Currently, I am teaching high school English at Chippewa Hills High School, I am the High School MTSS coach, a Teacher Consultant with the National Writing Project, and Past-president of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English. I am a wife, mother of 2 daughters and step-mother to 2 sons, I have 5 grandchildren with another arriving in August. I love to go fishing with my husband, working around my home, and reading about History and writing. I was introduced to AAUW at the Rally for our Rights this past summer and joined after attending the Cocktails and Convos this winter. I joined AAUW because their mission aligns with my beliefs, and I want to be a part of an organization that is promoting positive change for the future of girls and women. 

Hi, I'm Karen Turnbull. My luck was to grow up in East Detroit as a "union" UAW baby in a working-class automotive culture. I attended Central Michigan University where I received a BS and MA in Speech and Language Pathology. I spent my life helping children with communication problems and teaching them the power of their language. I loved every minute of it, including my teaching at CMU for aspiring SLP's. I am now involved in water protection - and politically involved in making changes for cleaner water, air, and land. I love to travel, sew, read, walk, garden, and try always to balance my life with more joy and kindness. I am blessed with a husband, two sons, a wonderful daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren, who are central to my life. I am excited to learn more about AAUW and how it may help my confidence as I try to do good work in this world. 

We want to spotlight our members who aren't new in our newsletters, but we don't want to call them old!

Hello! I’m Jennifer Cochran, immediate past president of AAUW-Big Rapids. I was born in Chicago but grew up in Dayton and suburban Cleveland, Ohio. I attended Indiana University, earning my Bachelor’s degree in French. During my time at IU I had the privilege of spending a semester abroad in Rennes, France, living with a French family and teaching English in a local elementary school. After graduating I took an 8-year hiatus to work before returning to graduate school at Ohio State University, where I earned my Master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). I continued on at OSU to complete my Ph.D in Education with an emphasis on classroom research. While studying in Columbus I met my husband, Richard, also an OSU doctoral student and library administrator. We’ve been happily married now for almost 36 years! We came to Big Rapids in 1998 when Richard was hired as library dean at Ferris State University to help plan and oversee the construction of FLITE, FSU’s library.

My working life has included college teaching, supervising graduate student research, and at Central Michigan University, serving as the Director of the Off-Campus Master of Arts in Education program which served approximately 800 students in 28 locations around the US and Canada. After I retired from CMU I turned my sights on voluntary public service in Big Rapids – first as a member of the Big Rapids Planning Commission and since January 2018, as a Big Rapids City Commissioner.  

I became an active member of AAUW-BR in 2018 because I believe in the mission and values of AAUW. I think back on all the opportunities I had to gain my education and wanted to belong to an organization whose purpose is to educate women and help them find their voices and their paths in leadership. Our branch has several members who have broken ground for women in their careers; some have been members for over 50 years! I am also delighted to welcome the new members to whom you have been introduced in previous newsletters!  This combination of generations, perspectives and energy is what powers our engine and we look forward to a productive year ahead!

I’m Leah Monger, and I've been a member of AAUW and the Big Rapids branch since 2013. I’ve been acting as the branch “administrator” since Jennifer stepped down as President. Additionally, I serve as the branch’s communications coordinator. In this role, I manage the Facebook page, edit the newsletter, and create publications like the brochure and posters. Creating a branch website is a future goal. I am nearing the end of my second term as AAUW of Michigan’s Vice President for Membership. I also work part-time as AAUWMI’s State Services Manager, managing AAUWMI’s website and social media, producing the newsletter and most other emails you receive from AAUWMI, and providing administrative assistance to the AAUWMI board and members across the state.

A Hoosier native, I earned a BA in English and Spanish and a Master of Library Science degree from Indiana University. Jennifer and I have compared the years we were at IU, and our paths would not have crossed since we missed each other by a year or two. While working at my first professional job at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, I completed a Master of Liberal Studies degree with a concentration in English. My next job was Head of Cataloging at the library of Trinity College in Hartford, CT. My daughter Megan was born in Hartford. We moved to Big Rapids in 1997 when I accepted the position of department head at the FSU Library. I worked under Jennifer’s husband during the building of the FLITE Library. (When Deb Kennedy asked Jennifer and me to submit our bios for this edition of the newsletter, I’m sure she didn’t know our paths had so many points of convergence.)

I am now Staff Emerita after 24 years serving as department head, assistant dean, and interim dean of the library at Ferris. In addition to my AAUW work, I am a board member of the Michigan ACE Women’s Network, and I sing in Voca Lyrica, the women’s choir based in Big Rapids. My personal interests include birding, long walks, biking, x-country skiing, music, reading, gardening, and replacing the non-native plants on my property with natives. 

AAUW-Big Rapids | AAUWBigRapids@gmail.com