THE GRAPEVINE Volume 64 Issue 1 Livermore-Pleasanton-Dublin Branch September 2016 Inside this issue: WELCOME BACK SOCIAL Saturday, September 17 @ 12:30 2:30 pm Amador Recreation Building 4455 Black Avenue, Pleasanton For members, friends and guests This is the beginning of our 2016-17 AAUW year. Come to meet and greet new and seasoned members, to meet this year s officers and directors, to sign up for group activities, to view the budget, and to hear from the summer Tech Trek girls. It s always just a good time to relax, visit and munch on some cookies, fruit, lemonade, and iced tea. We love hearing and visiting with the Tech Trek girls who have just returned from their week at Stanford. There will be information about our Interest Groups, including the new Mah Jongg group. Perhaps you ll decide you want to play bridge again or discuss one of those books that are displayed for the book groups. Directions: On Black Avenue, enter at the left of the pool, drive around to the back to the parking lot. You will pass the Cultural Arts Building on the left. The Amador Recreation Building is behind the pool. Bear right in the parking lot. Park close to the far end. Follow the walkway to the Recreation Bldg. You won t see the front of the building until you get up around the corner of the walkway. September meeting 1 Board Meeting 1 Officers/Directors 2 President s Message 2 Coffee AND 2 Membership Corner 3 Help Needed 3 Interest Groups 4 New Mah Jongg Group 4 Interest Groups cont. 5 Fall Fund Luncheon 5 Cocktails & Conversa. 5 AAUW Funds Report 5 Public Policy M.C.Smith 6 Tech Trek Mousetrap 6 Let s Go! 7 Tech Trek & Photo 8 Coming Events 9 Nat l Convention 9 Board Meeting Wednesday, Sept. 7 @ 1:30 pm @ Chris
PAGE 2 AAUW LPD Elected Board of Directors 2015-2016 PRESIDENT Chris Alesso president@aauw-lpd.org Membership Marilyn Duman membership@aauw-lpd.org PROGRAM CHAIR Gwen Locke program@aauw-lpd.org FINANCE OFFICER Patti Joki finance@aauw-lpd.org DIRECTORS Sandy Hansen info@aauw-lpd.org Wendy Ping & Charlene Grandfield PRESIDENTS MESSAGE Chris Alesso It s hard to believe that summer is almost gone. Hope you all have had a good one so far. Our program committee has been working hard to bring you an exciting year of AAUW events. Be sure and check your Grapevine each month to see what s on the schedule. This month, I encourage you to join us at our annual fall event on the 17 th. This year s TechTrek girls will be there to share their experiences, and we ll have more information on future programs and new interest groups. (If you would like to try and start a new group, send me an e-mail and I ll give you some time to talk about it.) Finally, it s not too soon to think about the National Convention which will be in Washington D.C. next June 14-17. Information will be on the AAUW.org website after October 1 st. Hope to see you soon. Chris What s this Let s Go! ticket stub? Check out Page 7! secretary@aauw-lpd.org Jackie Shurtleff aauwfunds@aauw-lpd.org Roz Wright advocacy@aauw-lpd.org COFFEE AND Sept 1, 2016 We meet at Sweet and Savory (corner of Stoneridge & Gibraltar Drives) in Pleasanton on the first Thursday of the month. All members are welcome. We like having friends & prospective members, too. WHAT: A social time for all AAUW LPD members & guests. WHEN: WHERE: Thursday, September 1st at 10 AM Sweet and Savory 5685 Gibraltar Dr., Pleasanton
PAGE 3 MEMBERSHIP CORNER Marilyn Duman (membership@aauw-lpd.org) Welcome back for another great year! The Program Committee is planning an interesting and enjoyable roster of activities. I m sure each of you will find something to enjoy, so read this newsletter carefully. We open the year with our annual membership social on September 17th. I look forward to meeting each of you and giving you your new directory. When you join us, bring a friend or two. Look for more information about this great event in this issue of the Grapevine. We have a new member since July 1, Jan Palajac. Jan was a member of the San Jose branch from January 2012-June 2016. While there she attended Book Club and she led the Great Decisions group for four years. She moved to Livermore in June and joined our branch. Jan is a Senior Landscape Architect for the City of San Jose. Current members are in a great position to share AAUW s mission. Get to know our new members, involve them, make them feel welcome and keep in touch with them. Our mission is what ties us all together. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns about your membership in AAUW. I look forward to seeing you at the social. Marilyn COMMUNICATIONS SANDY HANSEN info@aauw-lpd.org HELP NEEDED Our current webmanager needs to retire, so we are looking for someone to take over this job. It entails updating our branch website every month with current program information. This sounds like a big job, but the heavy lifting is done by the Site Resources team at AAUW headquarters. Estimated to be about an hour each month. If this is intriguing but you need some instruction, it is available. Training is available THIS YEAR so that you can be our webmanager NEXT year. For more information, contact Sandy Hansen. webmanager@aauw-lpd.org.
PAGE 4 INTEREST GROUPS DUPLICATE BRIDGE Group Co-Chairs: Nancy Rensink Fern Corley dupbridge@aauw-lpd.org The Duplicate Bridge Group meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 7 PM. Call either of the chairs if you are interested in joining the group DATE: Tuesday, September 27 @ 7 pm Robin Morgan AFTERNOON BOOKS Group Chair: Mary Ann Karlsen pmbooks1@aauw-lpd.org DATE: Monday, Sept. 12 @ 1 pm BOOK: The Games AUTHOR: James Peterson HOSTESS: Helen Dourov MONDAY NIGHT BRIDGE Group Chair: Marti Silva, monbridge@aauw-lpd.org The Monday Night Bridge Group usually meets the 2nd & 4th Mondays at 7 PM. DATE: DATE Monday, September 12 @ 7 pm Karen Cowan Monday, September 26 @ 7 pm Evie Eckard EVENING BOOKS Group Chair: Connie Squires, pmbooks2@aauw-lpd.org DATE: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 7:30 pm BOOK: The Day the World Came To Town 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland AUTHOR: Jim DeFede Reviewer: Chris Alesso Hostess & Cohostess: Maria Kennedy 2551 1Skimmer Ct., Pleasanton MORNING BOOKS Group Chair: Sally Stock ambooks@aauw-lpd.org DATE: Thursday, Sept. 22 @ 9:30 am BOOK: The Arrangement AUTHOR: Ashley Warlick REVIEWER: Harriet Lawrie HOSTESS: Harriet Lawrie Mah Jongg Group Chair: JoAnn Houk DATE: Tuesday, Sept.13 @ 1-4 pm HOSTESS: Pat Wilen\ DATE: Tuesday, Sept. 27 @ 1-4 pm HOSTESS: JoAnn Houk PLEASE RSVP IF YOU WOULD LIKE PLAY OR LEARN TO PLAY.
Page 5 INTEREST GROUPS (CONTINUED) DINING AROUND GROUP CHAIR : Vicki-Dawn Rader diningaround@aauw-lpd.org WHEN: Thursday, September 22 @ 6 pm WHERE: Casa Orozco 7995 Amador Valley Blvd., Dublin RSVP: JoAnn Houck Save this date! The annual Northern California AAUW Fall Fund Luncheon Saturday, October 29 Crow Canyon Country Club Danville. Don t miss this wonderful opportunity to hear Fellowship and Grant recipients share their experiences. HOSTESS: Dot Bishop WHEN: Thursday, October 27 WHERE: more info coming Information regarding registration for the luncheon will be available next month. Volunteers needed for the rest of the year, too. Call Vicki-Dawn SOLO: GROUP FOR SINGLES Group Chair: Sandie Brown solodining@aauw-lpd.org DATE: Friday, Sept. 16 @ 6 PM WHERE: Mangia Mi 234 Main St., Pleasanton NOTE: RSVP: Gloria Green by Sept. 14 COCKTAILS & CONVERSATIONS We meet for conversation, visiting, good food, general camaraderie and some brainstorming on the first Tuesday of each month at 828 Main. WHEN: Tuesday, Sept 6, 2016 @ 6 pm. WHERE: 828 Main Street, Pleasanton, AAUW FUNDS JACKIE SHURTLEFF aauwfunds@aauw-lpd.org Branch members have very generously contributed $2,480+ to the AAUW Fund and other designated funds through the second quarter of 2016. Your donations support AAUW s mission of advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research. Donations are appreciated at any time during the year and can be made on the AAUW website or by check. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE MISSION-BASED PROGRAMS OF AAUW!
PAGE 6 PUBLIC POLICY ROZ WRIGHT advocacy@aauw-lpd.org In 1964, Margaret Chase Smith became the first woman presidential candidate for a major party. As the first woman elected to both the House and the Senate, she said that she received many letters encouraging her to run. However, she was not encouraged by the party establishment. At her campaign announcement in front of the National Women s Press Club, you can hear the audience laugh as she describes one of the reasons she was told not to run: It is contended that as a woman, I would not have the physical stamina and strength to run. And that I should not take that much out of me for what might even conceivably be a good cause, even if a losing cause. Margaret Chase Smith, 1897-1995 Maine U.S.Representative 1940-1949 U.S. Senator 1949-1973 First woman to serve in both houses of the U.S. Congress. First woman to represent Maine in either. 2016 LPD Tech Trekker in Engineering Design expertly wields a drill as she works on her mousetrap car.
PAGE 7 The Travel Group is back new name = Let's Go! Some of these are docent-led tours, minimum required = 10 sign up early, so we can confirm our reservations. Note person to contact. Some involve advance purchase to get group discount. Note deadlines. Fall 2016 schedule: Thursday, October 13 - Group tour at the newly remodeled San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, focusing on the top two floors, followed by lunch (about $20.00) at the Cafe on the 5th Floor. Stay as long as you like, SFMOMA closes at 9 PM on Thursdays. MUST HAVE 10 in group to get private tour - order tickets BY Sept. 20 through Sandy Hansen for group discount. We'll travel on BART leaving East Dublin/Pleasanton at about 10 AM. (216-4945 or sandyhansenaauw@gmail.com) Thursday, Nov. 10 - Visit the Computer History Museum in Mountain View and enjoy the special exhibit on Ada Lovelace, "mother" of modern computing. A docent-led tour has been requested. Discover the roots of today s Internet and mobile devices. See over 1,100 historic artifacts, including some of the very first computers from the 1940s and 1950s. Lunch in the museum cafe. Carpool to the museum, leaving Dublin Barnes & Noble lot about 10:15 AM. Reserve with Sandy by October 15. December - Date TBD. Holiday tea and tour Dublin Heritage Park and Museums (Dec. 3 or 4 ONLY) or at Ravenswood (Victorian Yuletide Dec. 11). These DO sell out and reservations are being taken NOW. Let's choose a date and make our group reservation by Sept. 30. Each is at a historic local home with tours available and both are handicapped accessible. We're looking at FREE or low-cost choices in 2017, using tickets available at public libraries through the Discover & Go program. Check the possibilities: http://discoverandgo.org/venues/ venuenames.php Thanks to Sandy Hansen and Dot Bishop for planning this LPD Interest Group.
PAGE 8 TECH TREK WENDY PING lpdtechtrek@aauw-lpd.org 2016 LPD Tech Trekkers and counselors (the two on far right) Tech Trek update: LPD s eight Tech Trekkers are now back from a fabulous week on the Stanford Campus. Camp Curie once again offered our girls an eye-opening week of hands-on math and science. The girls enjoyed living in a dorm on campus where they were well-looked after by their dorm moms and spent each morning attending their core class. These included Marine Biology, Forensic Science, 3D Math, Engineering Design, App Inventor and Cyber Security. Afternoons and evenings were spent exploring other areas, such as Robotics, Astronomy, Nanotechnology, going on field trips and attending a Professional Women s Night where they met women in a variety of inspiring STEM careers. Three of our Tech Trek Committee members (Carolyn Kotch, Karen Cowan & Wendy Ping) attended the Camp Curie Visit Day on July 14.We visited each of the core classes and got to see the smiling faces of our campers and hear about their activities. We left wishing we, too, could be Tech Trek campers! We were so impressed with the dedication and flawless organization that Camp Director Pat Ivester and her team bring to Camp Curie., In addition to hearing glowing reviews of how well our Trekkers were doing, we were thrilled to learn that LPD had two former Trekkers (from 2013) were counselors this year. Pat tells me that this year, they received 54 applicants or counselor positions but could only choose six. Two of these six were LPD girls! We are SO proud of them! Can t wait to hear more? Be sure to attend the September 17th Welcome Back Socialwhere you ll have an opportunity to meet this year s Trekkers and hear about their experiences!
PAGE 9 CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS 2016 DATE EVENT LOCATION/TIME Sept. 1 Coffee AND Sweet & Savory 10:00 am Pleasanton Sept. 6 Cocktails & Conversation 828 Main 6:00 pm Pleasanton Sept. 7 Board Meeting Chris Alesso 1:30 pm Pleasanton Sept. 12 Afternoon Books Helen Dourov 1:00 pm Livermore Sept. 12 Monday Night Bridge Karen Cowan 7:00 pm Livermore Sept. 13 Mah Jongg Pat Wilen 1:00 pm Pleasanton Sept. 14 Evening Books Maria Kennedy 7:30 pm Pleasanton Sept. 16 Solo Mangia Mi 6:00 pm Pleasanton Sept. 17 Welcome Back Social Amador Rec.Bldg. 12:30 pm Pleasanton Sept. 20 Let s Go! SF MOMA reserve tickets Call Sandy H. Sept. 22? Morning Books Harriet Lawrie 9:30 am Dublin Sept. 22 Dining Around T.B.A. 6:00 pm? Sept. 26 Monday Night Bridge Evie Eckard 7:00 pm Livermore Sept. 27 Mah Jongg JoAnn Houk 1:00 pm Pleasanton Sept. 27 Duplicate Bridge Maria Kennedy 7:00 pm Pleasanton Sept. 30 Let s Go! Holiday Events reserve tickets early Call Sandy H. Oct.13 Let s Go! S.F.M.O.M.A. 10:00 am meet at BART Oct. 29 Fall Funds Luncheon Crow Cyn C. Club Danville Nov. 10 Let s Go! Computer History Museum Mt. View, carpool
Livermore-Pleasanton-Dublin Branch P.O. Box 661 Livermore, CA 94551-0661 Address Service Requested By joining AAUW, you belong to a community that breaks through educational and economic barriers so that all women and girls have a fair chance. AAUW EMPOWERS ALL WOMEN AND GIRLS TO REACH THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL. VISIT THE AAUW WEBSITES www.aauw.org www.aauw-ca.org www.aauw-lpd.org THE GRAPEVINE A monthly newsletter of the AAUW Livermore Pleasanton-Dublin Branch Ten issues are published yearly, September to June. Newsletter Editor Carol Guarnaccia @ newsletter@aauw-lpd.org Next Deadline: Please submit articles to Carol for the October Grapevine by September 18, 2016.