President's Message

Dear Branch Members,

I hope you had a wonderful summer! We’ve had a blazing start to the 2022-2023 year and have been busy throughout. Thank you for your participation and enthusiasm – I encourage you to stay engaged all year! You can begin by attending the Fall Membership Lunch on September 11.

A Productive First Two Months: Benefit to the Community and Visibility for AAUW

Numerous branch events since July gave us outstanding visibility, an AAUW National focus, which is critical as we work to impact the lives of women and girls. Our combined expertise and experience working towards our mission of gender equity make us an impressive force.

We started our year by showcasing freedoms worth fighting for in the 4th of July parade; holding conversations about DEI and reproductive rights in the Morgan Hill library (July 26); participating in the National Night Out event highlighting how we make a difference in the community (August 2); presenting the virtual talk by environmental activist, Debbie Mytel (August 10) and publicizing our wonderful community action grants for local nonprofits. And that’s only in two months!

The talk by local author Beth Anstandig (August 23) about the lessons of leadership learned from observing animals was unfortunately postponed with our speaker getting delayed in New York, but we look forward to it in the future. The upcoming Candidates’ Forums with Leadership Morgan Hill will educate, as well as help with visibility, and I hope you will attend these important events.

Our Secret Sauce

What was the “secret sauce” of our flourishing 40-year-old branch? I was asked that question at a California AAUW meeting last month. My reply: Our ability to adapt to external, ever-shifting circumstances and stay relevant while still congruent with our mission; the expansion of our bandwidth to appeal to many needs and tastes and offer something for everyone within our three generations of members to keep them motivated, as well as attract new members; and continuing to plan for a blazing future onward to our next milestone of 50 years!

Strategic Plan and Feedback Survey Show the Way

At the July 9 Board Retreat, our strategic plan and membership feedback survey helped us focus and create our year’s goals. Sixty-one members took the survey, and we thank you for your effort and time. All comments and suggestions were examined and incorporated into our plans where possible. Please contact me if you want access to the survey data.

Our Goals

The survey established that all our mission-based activities are important to members. We will therefore focus on our mission and our members, as well as National AAUW’s goal of visibility for our organization. We are fortunate to have a diverse range of activities to attract many, and perfecting what ticks seems logical.

I encourage each of you to have at least one reason to stay connected regularly with our branch. It will help you find friendship, fun, and meaning in our midst. I know I have.

By Suman Ganapathy, President, AAUW Morgan Hill

Return to September/October 2022 Newsletter