News & Notes- March 5, 2020

Convention Registration Now Open

The countdown to the 2020 GFWC Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia from June 27–July 1 has officially begun!

The earlier you register the better. Registering early will not only give you time to prepare for your trip to the “Hollywood of the South” but ensure you get the early bird rate (deadline is April 15). While registering, book your tour before spaces fill up! Our tours, Indoor Skydiving, Atlanta Close Up, and Southern Hospitality, are varied to meet everyone’s interests. View the electronic version of the Call to Convention for these and other details, including registration assistance.

Join us in Atlanta in as we remember the yellow rose—and all the brave women and clubwomen who fought for our right to participate in the political process.

Buy Your Convention T-Shirt

When you register, don’t forget to buy your 2020 Convention T-Shirt! It’s a short-sleeve, ladies-cut V-neck, featuring the Convention logo on the front with the yellow rose of suffrage. The back will be left blank to allow you and your club to customize after Convention. The shirt is perfect for wearing while participating in suffrage celebrations all summer.

Your t-shirt will be waiting for you when you pick up your registration at Convention.

Register by April 15 to secure the early bird rate. See you in Atlanta!

Cares & Concerns

Kathy Ferrara, GFWC Past Director of Junior Clubs (2010–2012), has recently undergone hip replacement and partial leg amputation surgery. Cards can be sent to Kathy Ferrara at Green Acres Nursing Home, 1931 Lakewood Rd. Toms River, NJ 08755. Please continue to keep Kathy in your thoughts.

A powerful tornado has hit the state of Tennessee. GFWC International President Mary Ellen Brock sends her love and thoughts to GFWC Tennessee and all those impacted by this tragedy. For ways to help, visit the American Red Cross.

Volunteers in Action

This week’s GFWC Blog features GFWC Monahans Tau Lambda Study Club (Texas), GFWC Oregon City Woman’s Club (Oregon), GFWC Woman’s Club of Parsippany Troy Hills (New Jersey), and GFWC Women’s Club of Gulfport (Mississippi). Read and comment on their activities hosting a health event, donating blankets to homeless students, hosting a Spelling Bee, and repairing damaged land due to hurricane Katrina.

Have a success story to tell? Email pr@gfwc.org.

Sunday Is International Women’s Day

Celebrate International Women’s Day this Sunday, March 8. Check out the 2019 Top Projects for ideas and inspiration on how your club could observe this important day. Whether your club provides breakfast for hungry mothers and children or creates a community garden, there are countless ways to make an impact.

The first National Woman’s Day was observed in the U.S. on February 28, 1909. The Socialist Party of America designated the day to honor those who participated in the 1908 garment workers strike in New York City. The following year, Women’s Day was established by international charter in Copenhagen to honor those participating in the women’s rights movement around the world. Throughout WWI, International Women’s Day was used by women as a vehicle for advocating for peace and to express solidarity with other activists. It wasn’t until 1975 that the observance officially began to be celebrated on March 8.

After you’re done celebrating International Women’s Day, don’t forget to share your success story with pr@gfwc.org to be considered for GFWC’s Blog.

Arbor Day: Tree Tidbits

Trees need water to survive, just like humans. A large tree can consume 100 gallons of water out of the ground in one day and discharge into the air as oxygen and water vapor. Participate in the Arbor Day Grand Initiative on April 24 and leave your mark this Federation Day!

PCAA: Child Abuse Prevention Month

Everybody plays a part in preventing child abuse and neglect. From a firefighter in Fremont, CA, who reads to after-school groups at the local public library to help ease stress on parents in her neighborhood, to a noodle bar manager in Raleigh, NC, who launched “$1 Ramen Day,” a fundraising event where every purchase (and every tip) benefits his local chapter—these are the people taking small but impactful steps to help children, families, and entire communities thrive. That’s how Prevent Child Abuse America arrived at its 2020 Child Abuse Prevention Month (CAP Month) theme: “Everyone can make great childhoods happen—especially you!” You don’t need to have special skills to help make great childhoods happen—just be willing. To learn more about how you can participate in CAP Month, visit PCAA’s website.

Buy a Convention Program Ad

Get excited for the experience in Atlanta by purchasing an ad in the 2020 Convention Program to recognize your club or fellow Federation sisters. Use our Convention Program Ad form to order and pay for your ad by March 27!

Meet the Credentials Committee
by Debbie Hall, GFWC Credentials Chairman

We are Debbie Hall, Marlene Wine, Peggy Barnes, Rosemary Brown, Lisa Hedrick, Susan Martin, and Angela Paez. We are the ladies that meet and greet you as you arrive at the GFWC Annual Convention. But our work starts before you all arrive.

After registration has closed, our committee is sent the list of attendees and we verify your voting status. This is really important this year because we will be electing our new GFWC Officers besides considering Bylaws and Resolutions.

Can you vote?
Is your name tag white or blue? A white name tag is for voting delegates and blue is for non-voting delegates, boosters, and guests. Since this is an election year, a voting delegate will also be given a voting card.

The first criteria for voting is that you have to register for the entire Convention. Attendees paying daily registration fees do not receive voting privileges.

Club Level
Two members from every Woman’s, Junior Woman’s, or Juniorette Clubs of 20 or fewer may be voting delegates. For each additional 10 members—or major fraction of 10—one more delegate can represent your club. To be eligible, your club had to pay their dues by February 15, 2020.

Board Level
All members of the GFWC Board of Directors and of the GFWC Standing and Special Committees are eligible to vote.

Region Level
Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer of Regions are delegates.The Region President votes as a GFWC Board of Directors member.

State Level
The following elected officials may be delegates: President-elect; First, Second, and Third Vice Presidents; Secretary; Corresponding Secretary; Treasurer; and Director-elect of Junior Clubs. The State President and State Director of Junior Clubs vote as a GFWC Board of Directors member. Appointed State Community Service Program and other chairmen can be delegates as noted in Bylaws Article VIII Conventions. Section 8.2.C.

GFWC National or International Club
One delegate from each club.

National Organization or International Affiliate
One delegate from each organization.

View the online Call to Convention for more information. Please vote if you’re eligible! Use it—don’t lose it!

Register for the entire Convention now. We will be looking for your smiling face in Atlanta!

State Director’s Project: South Carolina, Carrie Zimmerman

The Director of Junior Clubs for South Carolina’s special project is Special Olympics. Special Olympics is meaningful to Carrie Zimmerman because of her daughter’s passion to work with this population and programs. This Director has volunteered with Special Olympics since she was a young elementary student too.

The goals for the project were to locate local Special Olympic activities or special education sports programs in club members’ respective communities and support by either, volunteering, fundraising, financial assistance, and/or supporting local sports that serve this population. A superhero theme was used to promote this Director’s project at GFWC South Carolina club meetings and conventions.

This Director used three categories of Supergirls: “BAM,” “Wonder Woman –“POW” and Superheroes – “ZAP,” to highlight the projects and choose winners throughout the state. Many GFWC South Carolina clubs, Junior and Women’s alike, supported throughout this Administration and continue to highlight through social media and State Convention Awards. The impact brought awareness and support to many local South Carolina communities and Special Olympic events.

One club, Junior Woman’s Club of Lake Murray, has participated the last two years in a local polar plunge, dressing up as superheroes and raising funds for their local Special Olympics “Freezin’ for a Reason” and plunging into the lake. This Director participated in February 2019.

GFWC Southern Region: Kay Chadwick

This President’s theme for this Administration is Giving Your Heart to GFWC Membership. Our membership committee brought us great information from GFWC and provided skits to let us know that all we need to do is ask and invite someone to our meetings and events. If they are truly interested in volunteering and giving back to their communities, they can’t help but join once we show them our spirit and pride. Being a part of a much bigger club, GFWC, provides our members so many opportunities to become a great clubwoman. Southern Region voted during this Administration to invite clubs from Aruba, Belize, and the Grand Bahamas to become part of our southern sisterhood and have enjoyed them attending our semi-annual meetings. Clubwomen also gave from their hearts when the Region was struck by the terrible hurricanes and offered relief in the way of donations and prayers.

This president issued a membership challenge for the Region that increased its membership during this Administration to win a cash award of $300 to the state with the highest increase. This will be awarded at our meeting in Atlanta at the 2020 GFWC Annual Convention.

Our Special project is women’s health, especially our mental health. The project I chose was to focus on Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Senility: “ADS.” More than 5.5 million men and women were diagnosed through 2018. Its effect on families has not only been physical, mental, and stressful but also costly. Clubwomen in the Region have been encouraged to become more educated about ADS warning signs and when to reach out for help to loved ones. It’s a debilitating disease that affects so many; I know from experience when it happed to my mother and so many more.

Parliamentary Pointers
by GFWC Parliamentarian Deen J. Melero

When defining terms of office in your bylaws, you must include when the term begins. If it begins immediately upon election, then no start time is needed. But in any other case, it must be defined, such as, “at the close of convention in the even numbered years” or “after installation at the annual dinner.” As soon as the new officers take their place, the term of the outgoing officers ends. How many consecutive times a person may hold office should be specified.

The length of the term should never be unqualified, such as “for two years.” That could leave you without a person in the office if there is no candidate for that position. There are two options.

The first is to write, officers “shall hold office for a term of ____ year/s or until their successors are elected. The second is “shall hold office for a term of _______ years and until their successors are elected. This may seem insignificant, but according to Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised there is a huge difference.

If you use the word “or” in the sentence, then an officer may be removed from her position by 2/3 vote of those present and voting, or by a majority vote if previous notice of the vote has been provided.

If you use the word “and,” then an officer may only be removed for a specific cause and this may involve a disciplinary hearing or a trial.
Removing a member from office is never a pleasant task. Your club/state has to decide which option will be more appropriate for them.

 

Marketplace: 7 Grand Initiatives T-Shirt

It’s almost time for Arbor Day! Have you started planning your club’s project? Complete your projects in style with the GFWC Seven Grand Initiatives T-Shirt. With its extra soft cotton and beautiful colors, this might just become your new favorite shirt! Get one today for $20 at the GFWC Marketplace.