President’s Message

At the Fall Meeting in Greensboro, two committees formed. The first committee was charged with redesigning the structure of the state board for AAUW NC. The second committee’s task was to plan the annual meeting. Both of these committees have been working diligently to fulfill their tasks. The Annual Meeting will be March 25 and 26 in High Point. This year, each member in good standing who attends will have a vote.

I met with Lill Van Order from the Wilmington Branch and Mary Peterson from Twin Rivers Branch on Saturday. Lill presented the proposed state board structure to us. The proposed structure is very “light and lean”. Lill and Karla Atkinson (Brevard Branch) have agreed to continue as co-presidents for one more year. At the Annual Meeting, we will be voting on the new board structure as well as a slate of officers to serve for a one-year term.

I will be presenting the proposed state board structure at our February meeting. I am looking forward to seeing many of you on February 28. Connie Gamble Ochse has arranged for us to meet at The Colonel’s Lady Bed and Breakfast in downtown Jacksonville. Details are below.

– JoAnn Hall

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Our next meeting: February 28 (Monday), 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. at The Colonel’s Lady Bed & Breakfast, 215 Mill Avenue, in downtown Jacksonville. Program: JoAnn Hall will update us on AAUW NC; Marion Dubose Goodman, owner, will give us a tour of her lovely Victorian bed and breakfast. Refreshments will be provided.

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When was the last time you heard “ballet, opera and Jacksonville” in the same sentence? Well, you are hearing it now. Carmike Cinema in Jacksonville is showing live broadcasts of world-class ballet performances and operas! The next showing is “Don Quixote” performed by The Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow, on Sunday, March 6, 11:00 a.m. An encore performance will be Wednesday, March 16, 7:30 p.m. The cost is $20 for the ballets. There are three more ballets planned through July.

“The Magic Flute” opera performance from the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy, will be March 24, 2:00 p.m. “Macbeth” is scheduled for June 13.

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Interesting: Equal pay is an ongoing AAUW concern. In its Dec. 2010 issue, the AARP magazine printed a state-by-state comparison of women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings for the year 2009. North Carolina women are in the top eight at 80.7% of what a man earns. The women who earn the highest percentage of what a man earns are in Washington, D.C. at 88.2%. The women earning the lowest percentage of what a man earns are in Wyoming, earning 65.5% of what a man earns.

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CALENDAR

February 28, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. – Regular meeting at The Colonel’s Lady Bed and Breakfast, 215 Mill Ave. (downtown Jacksonville). Program: JoAnn Hall addresses the proposed AAUW NC structure; Marion Dubose Goodman will give us a tour of her exquisitely decorated Victorian bed & breakfast. Refreshments will be served. You may park at the side of the B&B on 2nd Street or across from the B&B in the empty lot on Mill Ave.

March 28, 3:30 p.m. – Location TBA.

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*Advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.*