We hope you can join us for these upcoming events.

New Member Reception

Tuesday March 21, 6:30-8:00

This party probably won't be as much fun as the March 21 event at Deb's house, but set-up for the upcoming book sale will be much easier and more efficient if we complete the book sorting in advance. Books are stored in Leah's garage at 19060 200th Avenue, Big Rapids.

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.

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: Have you Registered? 

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.

Board Nominations

The Executive Board is is still accepting nominations for upcoming vacancies. Our bylaws require that we have the following elected positions: President, Vice President for Programing, Secretary, and Vice President for Membership. All positions except Membership VP need to be filled for the coming year. If you aren’t sure that you have time or enough experience to fill one of these positions by yourself, we’ve had great success sharing the responsibilities of a position between two people, so please consider whether you might be willing to be a co-officer. The Board is a very supportive and collaborative group, so you would not be flying solo even if you didn’t have a co-officer for your position.

Each position has a two-year term of July 1, 2023 to June 31, 2025, and there is a limit of two consecutive terms. Here are brief descriptions of positions that need to be filled:

The President acts as the branch’s chief administrator, sets the agenda and presides over meetings, and serves as the official spokesperson and representative for the branch. This officer is responsible for submitting reports and forms required by AAUW National and AAUW of Michigan. The AAUWMI President holds quarterly Zoom meetings with branch presidents. 

The Vice President for Programing coordinates branch programs and compiles a calendar of programs and events. Members of the branch volunteer to organize individual programs so the VP doesn’t have to do all the programing by herself. The VP checks that details and arrangements for individual programs don’t slip through the cracks, but overall programing is a shared activity within the branch. The Programing VP coordinates with the Communications Director to publicize programs to branch members and the community at large. The AAUWMI VP for Programs holds quarterly Zoom meetings with branch Program VPs.

The Secretary records minutes of board and branch meetings and distributes them to the branch membership. Minutes should summarize the discussion and actions taken at meetings; minutes don’t need to be a transcript. The AAUWMI Secretary holds occasional Zoom meetings with branch Secretaries.

Contact any of the current board members* if you have questions about any of these positions. We encourage self-nominations. Members may also nominate other members, but please confirm that your nominee is willing to serve in a role before submitting her name. Please email nominations to aauwbigrapids@gmail.com.

*Current board members are Jennifer Cochran, Leah Monger, Deb Kennedy, Sarah Lucas, Millie Gillies, and Marilyn Jablonski. As she completes her final term, we thank Millie Gillies for her service as Secretary. Deb Kennedy and Sarah Lucas have one more year to serve on their current term as co-Vice Presidents for Membership.

The Movable Feast and Annual Meeting, May 4

The Movable Feast, our final meeting of the fiscal year, will be Thursday, May 4, at 6:00 p.m. Marilyn Jablonski and Kristen Salomonson have traditionally co-hosted this potluck dinner in their homes across the street from each other; however, they are afraid that our branch has grown in size so that we won't all fit inside either of their homes if bad weather sends us indoors. What a good problem to have! Instead, we will be meeting in the lower level of Artworks. 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.

AAUW-Big Rapids | AAUWBigRapids@gmail.com