!!IT’S MY VOTE!!
!!I WILL BE HEARD!!
OCTOBER 18 Joint Meeting with The League of Women Voters 11am Palmetto Club
A responsible electorate is an educated electorate. Our October 18 meeting will provide you with an opportunity to learn more about the proposed amendments on November’s ballot. Three amend- ments were placed on the ballot by the Florida Legislature and, if approved, will become part of the Florida Constitution
Here are the amendments, with a brief description.
Amendment 1
Water and Land Conservation –
Dedicates funds to acquire and restore Florida conservation and recreation lands. Funds the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to acquire, restore, improve, and manage conservation lands including wetlands and forests; fish and wildlife habitat; lands protecting water resources and drinking water sources, including the Everglades, and the water quality of rivers, lakes, and streams; beaches and shores; outdoor recreational lands; working farms and ranches; and historic or geologic sites, by dedicating 33 percent of net revenues from the existing excise tax on documents for 20 years.
Amendment 2
Use of Marijuana for Certain Medical Conditions – Allows the medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician. Allows caregivers to assist patients’ medical use of marijuana. The Department of Health shall register and regulate centers that produce and distribute marijuana for medical purposes and shall issue identification cards to patients and caregivers. If approved, this applies only to Florida law. It does not authorize violations of federal law or any non-medical use, possession or production of marijuana.
Amendment 3
Prospective Appointment of Certain Judicial Vacancies – Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution requiring the Governor to prospectively fill vacancies in a judicial office to which election for retention applies resulting from the justice’s or judge’s reaching the mandatory retirement age or failure to qualify for a retention election; and allowing prospective appointments if a justice or judge is not retained at an election. Currently, the Governor may not fill an expected vacancy until the current justice’s or judge’s term expires.
The League of Women Voters is recognized for their non-partisan analysis of political issues. They have studied the proposed amendments and their represent-atives will discuss the rationale behind the amendments.
AAUW’s advocacy work builds upon a century of responsible public participation at the local, state, national, and international levels. Our member-endorsed Public Policy Program illuminates and advances AAUW’s mission of promoting equity and education for all women and girls. AAUW conducts comprehensive advocacy to pursue its public policy priorities, developing and imple- menting coordinated legislative and grassroots strategies to break through educational and economic barriers so all women have a fair chance.
In a democracy, it is not only the right but also the obligation of the people to voice their concerns and try to influence policy decisions. If we don’t make our concerns known, then we have ceded the field to those who will. AAUW at the national, state and local level has an active public policy program on issues of concern to women, families, the nation, and indeed the world.
Because Equity is Still an Issue, it’s important for you to TAKE ACTION!
IT IS YOUR VOTE….YOU MUST BE HEARD!
Meet Our Scholarship Recipients
AAUW Daytona Beach donates a scholarship to support a non-traditional woman student at Daytona State College. The recipient of our branch scholarship for Fall 2014 is Ingrid Laas. She lives in Port Orange. She has completed a degree in the culinary management program, finishing with High Honors. She is currently pursuing her bachelors in supervision and management (BAS). She was inducted into the DSC Hall of Fame and is a member of the honor society. She is a work study student and also do some volunteer work. She went through the Fresh Start Program and it inspired her to continue her education. She would like to continue for a masters degree after she has had an opportunity to work for awhile.
Together with the Flagler and New Smyrna Beach AAUW branches we funded a scholarship in Fall 2014 to support a female student whose studies focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). This year’s STEM Scholar is Mina El Karmadi . She is working on an A.S. in Networking Systems Technology and planning to pursue a BS in Engineering Technology at DSC. She volunteers and also works in the math lab. She was born in Morocco, and is now a US citizen.
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Luncheon Selection:
Vegetarian Lasagna or Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad
RSVP: Please contact Terri DuLong at
terridulong@bellsouth.net or 256-2266
to reserve your meal by October 11.
The cost is $15.
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BOOKS GALOLORE
AAUW Literature Club
Meets Second Monday of the Month
10:30 AM
City Island Library, Daytona Beach
November 10, 2014 – “The Lifeboat”
Desperate times, desperate measures? by Charlotte Rogan.
Rogan crafts a harrowing, suspenseful tale of survival, in which a group of disparate people are thrown together after an explosion aboard a luxury ocean liner. Grace, a newlywed, is forced to survive amidst these strangers in a lifeboat.
Elviria LaBarre reviews.
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ANNUAL AAUW FUNDRAISER
This year’s annual fundraiser for the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF) will be held on Saturday, October 18, before and after the joint meeting with the League of Women Voters. Please come early – a half hour or so before our 11:a.m. meeting begins – so that you have time to browse and purchase items to raise funds for LAF. There will be a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction books for your reading pleasure:
Paperbacks $1
Hard Covers $2
Audio CDs $5
Members of our Literature Club have donated books for this fundraiser, making the offerings quite selective. In fact, some titles were featured in their past monthly discussions. If you choose not to purchase a book, donations to LAF are most appreciated!
A WOMAN OF DISTINCTION
Ellen O’Shaughnessy, longtime AAUW Daytona Beach member, was honored as the 2014 Woman of Distinction for Community Impact by the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council at their annual gala on September 27. The Women of Distinction Awards are recognized as one of Central Florida’s most prestigious awards for women.
In its 17th year, the Women of Distinction Awards pays tribute to women leaders who have made extraordinary contributions in their professions and their communities. The award winners are leaders in their fields, innovators of unique programs and services, and lifelong advocates for promoting equality for women and girls everywhere.
The Women of Distinction Awards honor not only excellence, but also ingenuity and the ability to overcome barriers that still exist for women. The women selected for this honor represent a diversity of professional fields, as well as personal characteristics and life experiences. There were seventy nominees for the five awards which were announced at a black tie event at Rosen Shingle Creek.
Ellen was nominated by AAUW Daytona Beach with recommendations from The Center for Women and Men at DSC and the Museum of Arts and Sciences. She was selected for her ability to build bridges between organizations to improve opportunities in the community for women and girls and to mentor others.
She is a retired professor and the co-founder of what was originally known as the Center for Women at Daytona State College. Ellen, along with a friend and colleague, had a vision to create a program for displaced homemakers with little to no work experience, and who because of divorce, widowhood, or a variety of circumstances had to suddenly seek employment. Their love for teaching and students led to the establishment of the Women’s Center in October 1976.
Because of Ellen’s vision and her continued support and efforts, 38 years later the Center has maintained its long history of successful service to the College and to the community. In 2012, when the Women’s Center recognized the changing needs of students and society, Ellen gave her full support as the name evolved into the Center for Women and Men. It is because of this change, the Center has been able to impact the lives of many students to include the young, non-traditional, and those who never envisioned they too could achieve the dream of higher education. Ellen continues to lend her knowledge and expertise in serving and working on the Center’s Advisory Board and several of our community outreach projects.
Because of her continued interest in Daytona State College, she has encouraged AAUW Daytona to support the Center for Women and Men AAUW provides two scholarships for women at DSC. Ellen was instrumental in developing those scholarships, which serve women returning President and Chair of both the Long Range Planning Committee and the Charitable Giving Committee. Under her leadership, the Museum instituted its new What is Your Legacy planned giving program identified that a Community Action Grant given by AAUW might be a good fit for a local educational project and encouraged the Museum of Arts and Sciences to apply. This led to the partial funding of the Archeology Lab Project at the Burns School for Science and Math in Oakhill. AAUW members were happy to volunteer in the project, because of her encouragement, and to hear from the students about their processes and discoveries.
Ellen has served as President, Scholarship Chair, fundraiser, and mentor for AAUW. She makes a real difference to our community, not just because of her commitment to projects and organizations she supports, but also because of her ability to see opportunities to build connections.
She is a quiet and thoughtful woman, and a wonderful mentor for women of all ages. Not only is Ellen an effective, respectful leader, but she also provides the behind-the-scenes support, which enables others to be a success in their leadership roles. She is welcoming and supportive of new members of our community. Her encouragement has been instrumental in the ongoing success of several organizations. If Ellen commits to a task or a project, it will be completed in a timely, professional, and inclusive manner. Her calm presence helps others to see problems clearly and reach consensus for the good of all. She is generous in sharing her talents and abilities with others.
As she noted in her remarks at the awards ceremony:
“The Girl Scouts taught me to paddle my own canoe and to build rope bridges.”
She continues to forge ahead building bridges as she goes, not only in our community but in whatever community she finds herself.
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Day Trippers:
11a.m. Wednesday October 22
Visit to the Southeastern Museum of Photography at Daytona State College to see two new exhibits and then enjoy lunch together.
JUDITH FOX: SEA OF DREAMS
Judith Fox has been focusing her camera on a small stretch of the ocean since 2001. The resulting body of work, Sea of Dreams, speaks to the deep and joyous primal relationship humans have with the sea. This series is divided in two sections, Secret Kingdom— a reflection of the play between the pulling tides, wind and tossed up sand in the space just before the sea meets the land, and Sirens— an allegorical reference to the age-old lure of the sea in which Fox imagines a group of teenagers morphed into Sirens — the beautiful young women whose songs lured sailors to their deaths.
ALEJANDRO ALMARAZ: PORTRAITS OF POWER
This exhibition presents two recent series by Argentinian photographer, Alejandro Almaraz. In his series, Portraits of Power, Almaraz layers source material from paintings and photographic portraits of world leaders into single images, revealing subtle nuances within the traditional portrait across numerous countries. Almaraz also presents work from his series titled Places I’ve Never Been Present, utilizing a similar layering method to create representations of these places through existing images found on the Internet.
RSVP Pat 386-252-1659
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A MESSAGE FROM YOUR PRESIDENT:
Thank you so much to Margaret Smith for speaking to our branch last month and to Joanne Eaton-Morriss for introducing her. It was an interesting meeting and we enjoyed gathering at Riptides.
Did you know that both AAUW Daytona and the League of Women Voters, Volusia County were founded at the Palmetto Club? On October 18, we return to the Palmetto sharing a joint meeting to discuss the amendments proposed to the Florida Constitution in the November election. As always, friends, partners, and community members who are interested in the topic are welcome. Come and become a more informed voter!
Several of us were honored to attend the 17th annual Girl Scouts of Citrus Council Woman of Distinction Gala in Orlando where Ellen O’Shaughnessy was selected to be honored as the Woman of Distinction for Community Impact.
Please let her know how much we all appreciate her efforts to improve our community. She has been a longtime, dedicated volunteer with several organizations and has made a real difference.
I was surprised to discover that our branch had funded an AAUW Educational Foundation Research and Projects to honor past president Daphine Marshall. The recipients of this award are now listed on our webpage, but I would like to know more about Daphine Marshall. Did anyone know her? Next year will be out 70th anniversary as a branch and I am trying to uncover interesting projects and members so we can share our successes with the community. Please let me know if you can help.
I look forward to seeing you on October 18. Please RSVP to Terri.
Yours in equity,
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Patricia Ross
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