THE TOWN CRIER. St. Augustine, Florida Branch AAUW - February 2012

THE TOWN CRIER St. Augustine, Florida Branch AAUW - February 2012 Website: http://aauwstaugustine.wordpress.com/

Our Mission: To Advance Equity for Women and Girls Through Advocacy, Education, Philanthropy and Research President’s Ponderings It must be the same everywhere. It's a "same people" thing. Isn't it always the "same people" that volunteer for whatever church, community, school group that needs workers? It was at our church - same ladies ladling the gravy on the mashed at Harvest Supper, Spring Fling, Summer Social. And it's the "same people" here in St. Augustine as well. We know who they are, the volunteers, and most of the time we are grateful for them. I know I'm grateful for the ladies that showed up at my house to stuff favor bags for the card party. (Okay, I fed them pizza, but still...) It was, not surprisingly, the same people that are on our board and on our committees. We need some NEW people: new faces, new ideas, new blood in our organizational veins. There's plenty of opportunity. We have, for example, three openings on the board for next term. We need someone to take my place and serve as Co-President with Debbie. We need a Treasurer to take Diane's spot and a Program Director to replace Judy. I'd like each member to consider taking her turn at becoming one of the "same people". It's way more fun than you might think, which is why folks stay at the task for so long. You'll be welcomed with open arms and, believe me, we'll all be grateful. Lee Rouland, Co-President

Calendar of Events Branch Events February 4 - Saturday - Card/Games Party and Luncheon Fundraiser 11AM - 4PM February 7 - Tuesday - Branch Board Meeting - 6:30PM February 14 - Tuesday - 25th Anniversary of Main Library - 9:30AM February 17 - Friday - Lunch Bunch Outing - 1PM February 22 - Wednesday - Literature Study Group - 11:30AM February 25 - Saturday - Page Turners Book Club - 10AM St. Augustine Events February 3 - Friday ~ First Friday Art Walk ~ 5PM-9PM ~ 131 King Street St., St. Augustine, Fl 32084. On the first Friday of every month, enjoy the latest art exhibits, music, entertainment and refreshments at over 20 participating galleries. The walk begins at the Rembrandtz Gallery at 131 King St. and continues on King St., Aviles St., Saint George St. and to galleries in downtown. St. Augustine Sightseeing Trains and Old Town Trolleys offer a complimentary shuttle service to most of the galleries. Call (904) 829-0065 for more info. February 24 and 25 - Friday and Saturday ~ Jacksonville Symphony. Canadian Brass 8PM ~ Fabio Mechetti, conductor. The hallmark of a Canadian Brass performance is entertainment, virtuosity and - most of all - fun. February 25 - Saturday - Faver-Dykes State Park-A Day in Old Florida ~ 10AM - 3PM. 1000 Faver-Dykes Road, St. Augustine, FL 32086. Visit Faver-Dykes State Park today and experience living history, including pine needle basketry, a 1700s Trapper Trader Camp, blacksmiths, a Native American display, and a demonstration of the art of mullet net knitting. There will be a nature’s painting wall exhibit where children can paint a natural habitat as well as an activity center with arts & crafts. We have a variety of interpretive programs scheduled, along with a bird walk, live entertainment and wagon tours of the park. Food will be on sale, including Minorcan clam chowder. Admission is $5 per vehicle. Call (386) 446-6783 for more info.

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Card/Games Party Update Is it possible that this fundraiser is now only days away? A great deal of time and effort has been put forth for this event and it shows. Reservations for tables for card/game playing and reservations for lunch have been coming in steadily so this event promises to be a successful fundraiser for AAUW Scholarships and the branch Legacy Fund. The reservation deadline is Tuesday, January 31. Please call Diane Boyce for a reservation at (904) 794-5751. There is still plenty of room for more reservations and we are again taking reservations just for lunch. Many thanks to all the members who have signed up for tables or just lunch reservations as well as donating their time, talent and treasure. The absolute deadline for reservations is Tuesday, January 31. No walk ins will be allowed because the caterer has to have a definitive number to know how many lunches to prepare. Also, if there are any changes to the contract on the day of the event, there will be an extra charge and we are trying very hard to keep costs down for this event so that, except for expenses, all of the money raised will go to AAUW Scholarships and the branch Legacy Fund. January Branch Meeting - The January branch meeting was held on Saturday, January 14 at Emeritus of St. Augustine. Approximately 30 attended and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast. Branch member Rita Nickel spoke on Women of Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. February Lunch Bunch - We’ll be meeting at 1PM on Friday, February 17 at King’s Bistro located at 6 Mackey Lane. This address is just off West King Street one block east of Pellicer Lane. Phone number is 217-3541. Please let Debbie Brinsfield ([email protected] or 940-7379) know you are coming no later than Thursday, February 15. Members who have been there give it rave reviews. Date has been changed from the 16th because they are not open on Thursdays ~ only Friday, Saturday and Sunday so please mark your calendars. The Literature Study Group will meet at Le Pavillon on Wednesday, February 22 beginning at 11:30AM. The book to be discussed is “The Camel Bookmobile” by Masha Hamilton. Gerry Linton will lead the discussion. Please call Judy Crane at 471-3262 if you are not coming or plan to bring a guest with you. Please be on time so we can start on time. Page Turners Book Club will meet on Saturday, February 25 at 10AM. The book to be discussed is “Water for Elephants” by Gruen. Please contact Linda Bevan for information at 217-0113 or Kathy Simic at 687-1920. In the year 2000, Beverley McLachlin became Canada's first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Some 70 years earlier the same court had ruled that women were not “persons.”

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25th Anniversary Celebration of the Main Library - St. Johns County Tuesday, February 14, 2012 ~ 9:30AM In 1874, St. Augustine opened the oldest library in Florida as a “subscription library.” The library was named St. Augustine Free Public Library. Patrons gave money that helped to buy books for the library but there was no charge to check out books from the library. The prime mover was Frances L. Wilson who worked steadily on library matters. Wilson negotiated with the US Government for rent free use of two rooms in the US Customs House for the library. In 1895, the Wilson family purchased the birthplace of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith on Aviles Street to use as a library. The house was given to the St. Augustine Library Association under trusteeship as long as the building was used for a library for the public. It was “hard times” for the library in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Methods of non-government funding were tried. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, President of the Association in 1942-1943, lent her name to various fund-raising drives. In January, 1976, a movement toward a county library system was led by the American Association of University Women, joined by the Junior Service League and others. In 1977, an ordinance was passed setting up a county system and appointing a five member advisory board. That following January, the Friends of the Library of St. Johns County was formally organized. A contract was signed in February 1978 between the County Commission and the St. Augustine Library Association for use of the Aviles Street building as a main county library. In 1981, Richard Waters began a library development study under a grant from the State Library. In 1984, Davenport Park was the recommended site for a new library building and a request was made to the St. Augustine City Commission. The city deeded a portion of Davenport Park to the County for the new Main Library of the St. Johns County Public Library System. On November 6, the voters passed a county-wide referendum for $1 million in funding to provide for the new library. The ground breaking ceremony was held one year later. On February 14, 1987, the dedication for the Main Library was held. (Valerie Peischel Mull, Main Library Branch Manager)

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Branch January Board Meeting Minutes Summary The Board met on January 10 to discuss the Card Party and upcoming branch meetings. The board decided that there needs to be a push for more reservations and more silent auction and raffle items. Reservations for the branch meeting at Emertis was 26 with many members eager to hear Rita Nichols speak. Our current membership is 76. In January, February and March, the national and state dues are cut in half, so the membership dues until July are $40. We should all encourage friends and neighbors to join since this is a great way to get introduced to AAUW. The nominating committee is meeting to select a slate of candidates for Co-President, Treasurer and Program Chair. Gerry Linton is chair of the nominating committee. The scholarships applications are available on our website at www.aauwstaugustine.wordpress.com and at the St. Johns County Libraries. FSU, UF, UCF, Stetson University, St. Johns River State College and Flagler College have accepted applications for distribution to students. The deadline is March 15, 2012. The Legacy Fund Mission Statement with the Policy and Procedures was passed by the Board and the initial investment papers with Vanguard were signed. We are continuing to work to encouraging women 18-30 to vote through a developing Facebook page and a series of spring Cocktail and Convos. Gerry Linton was appointed National Liaison to help the board keep informed about national AAUW initiatives.

Branch Website Be sure to take a look at our website. Lots of information and photos of events: http://aauwstaugustine.wordpress.com/

“So often we think we have got to make a difference and be a big dog. Let us just try to be little fleas biting. Enough fleas biting strategically can make a very big dog very uncomfortable.” Marian Wright Edelman (1939 -) African American Founder of the Children’s Defense Fund -5-

2011-2012 Creative Writing Contest

The deadline for the 2011-2012 AAUW Florida Creative Writing Contest is: March 1, 2012. Email entries will be accepted. Email entries have the same entry fees as typed entries. All entry fees and all typed entries with fees must be postmarked by March 1, 2012. Categories: Fiction – Short Fiction Fiction – Flash Fiction Fiction – Children’s Verse

Nonfiction – Travel Writing Nonfiction – Nature Writing Nonfiction – Personal Memoir Poetry – Traditional Poetry Poetry – Experimental Poetry Poetry – Haiku Poetry – Concrete/Visual Poetry

ENTRY RULES: 1. All Florida AAUW members are eligible to enter. The contest may be entered either through the USPS or via email ([email protected]). 2. Email submissions are encouraged. All email entries should be sent as attachments. 3. Each entry must include an individual cover page with the title of the entry, category of the entry, entrant’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and branch name. 4. Each entrant will receive a copy of the annual journal. All of the selected writers for the annual journal will be recognized in both FloriVision and at the AAUW-Florida state convention. 5. ENTRY FEES: One haiku may be entered for free per entrant; $9 per poetry entry (up to five poems); $18 per fiction/nonfiction entry (up to three selections); $21 for seven entries maximum (regardless of category). All fees are used to cover the cost of printing the annual journal. Please make checks payable to: AAUW-Florida 6. Mail entries and entrance fee checks to: Ms. Kate Ann Heidelbach, 411 Anastasia Ave, Apt. 402, Coral Gables, Florida 33134. 7. Please contact Ms. Heidelbach at any time with any questions or concerns: 630-5645129 and/or [email protected].

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We Welcome A New Member Becky Howard has lived in St Augustine since 1999 after graduating Hygiene school in Gainesville Florida. She has worked as a Dental Hygienist for 13 years at Greg Russell's, and she has temped and held part-time work at different offices. She is a recent graduate at Flagler college where she obtained her BS in Public Administration. She looks forward to being a member of AAUW and meeting and helping other women.

Correction to Branch Directory The telephone number for Zuhal Ulben is incorrect in the directory. The number should be 794-9155. Please correct this in your directories. Speaking of the directory, now is a great time to put in all the meeting dates for the remainder of this year (Feb-May) on your 2012 calendars. AAUW History 1971 - Convention delegates vote to support the Equal Rights Amendment. ERA ratification is later voted the Association's top priority in 1975, a stand reaffirmed by each subsequent convention. In that year, the board votes to hold national meetings only in states that had ratified the amendment. 1972 - AAUW is instrumental in the passage of Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funds. Rep. Patsy Mink (D-HI), an AAUW member, co-authored the law. 1975 - The Legislative Hotline is instituted to provide current information on congressional bills of concern to AAUW. Capitol Hill Lobby Corps is also formed to monitor hearings and lobby for bills supported by the Legislative Program Committee. AAUW NEWS FROM WASHINGTON Layoffs of public sector and school support-staff employees in New York City in October had a disparately severe impact on black women, Women's eNews reported in December. Women of color held the majority of the 642 jobs the city laid off that month, many of which have now been outsourced to private contractors. This fits with a national trend toward eliminating public sector jobs and turning to contractors to provide the same services. Women have accounted for 66 percent of the public sector job losses; black women are 22 percent more likely to work in the public sector than are non-black women and so have been doubly affected. Additionally, the contract employees hired to fill positions vacated by layoffs are often paid less and have more limited access to benefits such as paid sick leave than did the public sector workers.

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AAUW supports greater availability of and access to benefits and policies that promote work-life balance, which are critical for women to achieve equitable access and advancement in employment. AAUW is concerned at the disparate impact layoffs have had on women of color and will continue tracking how high unemployment is affecting all women. With some GOP presidential candidates and others targeting Social Security, the Economic Policy Institute found it prudent to publish an article debunking some of the ten most common myths or misunderstandings about Social Security. The fact sheet addresses confusion over the size of benefits, the strength of the trust fund, and the costs of the Social Security program. AAUW believes that it is vital to women’s economic security to provide for the long-term solvency of Social Security and to maintain its current guaranteed benefits. The current Social Security system is more than just a retirement program--across the lifespan, it is one of the most successful anti-poverty programs in our nation’s history, providing benefits to many children, disabled workers, surviving spouses, and retirees. Older women especially benefit greatly from this program, since many depend on Social Security as their primary source of retirement income. A new study found that providing paid family leave to workers proves beneficial for working families, businesses, and the public. The research by the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, showed that women who use paid leave are much more likely to be working nine to 12 months after a child’s birth than those who do not take leave. These women also reported an increase in wages post-birth. The report, Pay Matters: The Positive Economic Impacts of Paid Family Leave for Families, Businesses and the Public, called for an examination of the United States’ family leave policies – which only guarantee unpaid leave at businesses with at least 50 employees – to meet the work-family needs of today’s workers. AAUW believes that creating a work environment that helps employees balance the responsibilities of work and family is smart for businesses and good public policy. AAUW is committed to greater availability of and access to benefits and policies that create a family-friendly workplace environment, which are critical to women's equitable access and advancement in employment. Census data reveals that in the second quarter of 2010 approximately 48.6 percent of the national population lived in a household that received some form of government benefit. Since the start of the recession in 2007, more Americans than ever are seeking outside assistance through unemployment benefits, subsidized housing, Social Security disability, or the food stamp program (SNAP). Means-tested programs were the largest source of benefits to families; in the second quarter 34.4 percent lived in a household benefiting from food stamps, subsidized housing, Medicaid, or other programs. AAUW promotes the economic, social, and physical well-being of all persons. Essential to that well-being are an economy that provides equitable employment opportunities, a reduction of poverty, and a livable wage.

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St. Augustine AAUW Card/Games Party and Luncheon

PROCEEDS FROM SILENT AUCTION AND ALL RAFFLES WILL BENEFIT AAUW SCHOLARSHIPS, AND BRANCH LEGACY FUND Saturday, February 4, 2012 ~~ 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM St. John’s County Convention Center at World Golf Village $35/person, inclusive Pecan Chicken Salad (also available without Pecans) on a Bed of Lettuce with Sliced Fruit, Rolls & Butter ~ Water, Iced Tea and Coffee ~~ Dessert Cash Bar: Wine, Champagne, Mixed Drinks, Beer, Fruit Juices, Soft Drinks Complimentary Hors D’oeuvres Name&Address:__________________________________________________________________ Phone&Email:____________________________________

Number of Tables to Reserve______

Credit Cards, Cash and Checks Accepted for Payment on the Day of the Event for Silent Auction Items and Raffle Tickets Winners Need Not Be Present To Win ~ Lunch Only Reservations Also Available

Deadline for Reservations is Tuesday, January 31, 2012 Reservations are payable in advance, please. Your check will secure your reservation. Please make reservation checks payable to “AAUW, St. Augustine Branch” For reservations and information please contact Diane Boyce, AAUW Treasurer 141 Moses Creek Blvd., St. Augustine, FL 32086 ~~Telephone: 904-794-5751 Please Advise of Food Allergies - Driving directions will be provided after making a reservation

Directions to Convention Center in World Golf Village For AAUW Card/Games Party and Luncheon - Saturday, February 4, 2012 For GPS, the address is: 500 South Legacy Trail, St. Augustine, FL 32092 Phone: (904) 940-8000 for Renaissance Hotel which is next door to the Convention Center

From I-95 North Take Exit 323. There will be signs on I-95 that read “World Golf Hall of Fame” and “International Golf Parkway”. Stay to the right on ramp which will turn into International Golf Parkway. At the stop light, make a right turn onto World Golf Village Boulevard (WGV Blvd.). You will immediately be crossing over a bridge. Stay in the right lane. Continue on WGV Blvd. You will cross over a second bridge after which you will see a sign to the left that reads “The Residences.“ The golf course will be on your right. Continue on WGV Boulevard, staying in the right lane. You will come to where you can only turn right or left. Continue to the right and you will then be on Legacy Trail. (A left turn at that point would take you into the Cascades housing development and you don’t want to go there.) You will cross over a third bridge. Continue on Legacy Trail until you see the Renaissance Hotel to the right. To the left of the Hotel is the Convention Center. Take a left turn into the parking lot that has a sign that reads “St. Johns County Convention Center - Parking and Deliveries“. This is the first large parking lot to your left. The north entrance to the Convention Center is to the left of the two flags. There is a portico and drop off at the front of the entrance. Branch members will direct you to the rooms. From I-95 South Take Exit 323. There will be signs on I-95 that read “World Golf Hall of Fame” and “International Golf Parkway”. Stay left on the ramp. There will be stop light at the top of the ramp. Turn left at the light. You will then be on International Golf Parkway. At the next stop light, make right turn onto World Golf Village Boulevard (WGV Blvd.). You will immediately cross over a bridge after which you will see a sign to the left that reads “The Residences.“ The golf course will be on your right. Continue on WGV Boulevard, staying in the right lane. You will come to where you can only turn right or left. Continue to the right and you will then be on Legacy Trail. (A left turn here would take you into the Cascades housing development and you don’t want to go there.) You will cross over a third bridge. Continue on Legacy Trail until you see the Renaissance Hotel to the right. To the left of the Hotel is the Convention Center. Take a left turn into the parking lot that has a sign that reads “St. Johns County Convention Center - Parking and Deliveries“. This is the first large parking lot to your left. The north entrance to the Convention Center is to the left of the two flags. There is a portico and drop off at the front of the entrance. Branch members will direct you to the rooms.