Cocktails and Convos Returns, Tuesday, August 6

Tessa Gawrylowicz will be our guest speaker at the next Cocktails and Convos event at 5:30 p.m. in the Lower Gallery at Artworks on August 6. Tessa will be speaking on the issue of advocacy.

For the past decade, Tessa Gawrylowicz has organized for reproductive freedom in the Midwest. As the Senior Campaign Organizing Manager and Reproductive Freedom Advocate at Reproductive Freedom for All Michigan, she leads initiatives in Michigan and supports chapters in other states. A Morley resident, Tessa embodies values of equality, justice, and compassion. As a mother of two, she is committed to ensuring everyone can make informed reproductive health choices.

Click on above image to download flyer suitable for sharing.

Tessa Gawrylowicz

This Cocktails and Convos gathering will start at 5:30 p.m. with networking and refreshments. Please park in the lot behind Artworks and enter through the building's back door. At 6:00 p.m., Tessa will make her presentation following a brief introduction. After Tessa's remarks, our branch Public Policy Directors, Julie Alexander and Debbie Newman, will talk about AAUW"s own advocacy efforts and serve as facilitators of small group table discussions .

Branch members should please bring some sort of light refreshments or a bottle of wine to share. Guests are welcome to attend, so please invite friends! The event is also posted on our Facebook page, so please share the post with your friends on that platform.

Michigan Women's Equality Day Celebration--August 24

AAUW of Michigan is the sponsor of the Women's Equality Day on August 24 in Livonia. You've probably received email announcements about the event.

Deb Kennedy sends this promo for this event:

"A great way to celebrate, learn, and be inspired is to attend the Women's Equality Day in Livonia! This year's schedule of speakers is amazing and sure to be a motivational powerhouse. I sincerely hope we get a carpool (at least one full car!) to attend. Guests are welcome too! As a past AAUWMI state president, I fully endorse this event!"

If you interested in attending, but you don't want to travel that far by yourself, please email Leah by August 7 to express your interest in forming a carpool. The deadline to register is August 10, so we will want to finalize travel arrangements prior to registering.

Welcome Back Picnic--Saturday, September 14, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Our annual Welcome Back picnic to kick off our official AAUW year will once again be held at North End Riverside Park, 17700 Trestle Bend Drive, in Big Rapids. Guests are welcome to join us as we discuss possible projects, events and how YOU can help during our upcoming AAUW year!

Stay tuned for more details including lunch options.

Last year's Welcome Back picnic

Report on June's Summer Gathering

We had 16 attendees, including three guests, at our no-agenda Summer Gathering at Kathi Parker's house. Many thanks to Kathi for hosting! While it threatened to rain, we managed to stay dry under her back porch. One of our guests was Tracy Ruell, a candidate for the 100th district of the Michigan House of Representatives. We were all interested to hear her reasons to run for state office and her position on issues related to AAUW public policy priorities.

AAUW-Big Rapids | AAUWBigRapids@gmail.com