Fergus Falls Branch
President: Katrina Wass email 218-998-0879
The Best from Fergus Falls Branch
Fergus
Falls AAUW sends you greetings! Our 57 members have had a busy year.
In keeping with the theme of “Education as the Gateway to Women’s Economic Security,” in October 2005 we invited Steve Kelley, Chair of the State Senate Education Policy Committee to be our speaker. He spoke on the current issues of K-12 and higher education in Minnesota. We have also had an environmental education intern who is moving on to a full time job in Alaska and a young refugee woman living in Pelican Rapids who is currently attending college in Fergus Falls and will go on to the University of Minnesota next fall.
Our biggest fundraiser occurs every other year. In the fall of 2005 we held the Holiday Tour of Homes. This year the theme was “The Icing on the Cake.” We showcased four homes and a former creamery converted into a triplex. Area florists and decorators provided the pizzazz and our members provided lovely cupcakes and a multitude of other goodies at a reception. We include bussing to make this a carefree day. We also have an annual book sale each June. We raised our prices this past year and made twice the money! The sale is held in conjunction with the area Summerfest celebration.
In keeping with this year’s theme is our use of fundraising activities to provide scholarships to area women. This year there will be four $750 scholarships in addition to the Georgia Dieseth scholarship. Georgia was a member of our AAUW who died at a young age. She was very interested in the arts, so the scholarship is given to someone pursuing educational opportunities in that area. This year’s recipients will be honored at our April meeting.
In addition to traditional membership activities our Co-membership team has published “Member Tidbits” in the monthly newsletters. This has been a fun way to get to know our fellow members. Also, they have hosted summer membership picnics to greet and meet prospective members in a relaxed atmosphere.
Our branch has several special interest groups. There are two bridge groups of long standing at Fergus Falls AAUW. Each fall we also have a cultural trip. In 2005 our group traveled to Red Wing and Hastings during October. They got a sneak preview of what the rest of us would see at the State Convention. Our book study group had a busy year reading and discussing the following books. Four members take turns leading the discussions at a noon meeting. Our books included:
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
Other noteworthy items:
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The Otter Tale newsletter kept us well informed throughout the year.
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Our May meeting will honor our local AAUW Woman of the Year. She will be chosen from our branch. This banquet is always a highlight to the end of our programming year.
We’ve had a full and rewarding year as we have tried to live our mission of promoting equity for all women and girls, lifelong education and positive societal change.
Beverly Rund, Branch President