Click on the blue “Peace” button below for more information on “BELONGING: UNITY IN COMMUNITY”, FEATURING JOHN NOLTNER SEPTEMBER 14 – 25, 2025
Peace
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Since 1933, our branch in Beaver Dam Wisconsin has been supporting AAUW’s mission of advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.
We are an active group of about 45 members. We meet monthly September through April, with a brief business meeting and then a fun and informative program. A delicious brunch and program on a Saturday in May ends the year. Our group also hosts monthly morning and evening book clubs.
We sponsor two to three $2,000 scholarships to area high school seniors each year. In 2019, we started a new scholarship program for women who are returning to school through Moraine Park. We have been able to give two $1,000 scholarships through this program. The money for these scholarships is the result of the community’s generosity at our one and only fundraising event: the Scholarship Gift Basket Auction, held each year in October. Check out the scholarship page for more information, including another opportunity offered through the State of Wisconsin’s AAUW.
A message from your branch president:
August 1, 2025
A huge thank you to Roberta Marck for serving as the AAUW branch president for the past four years. I appreciate her consistent leadership and attention to detail. Best wishes to her as the Mayor of Beaver Dam and continuing as an AAUW member.
Your AAUW Board of Directors has assembled great topics for our monthly meetings. Of course, as you should know by now, September is devoted to the Noltner residency. October will be our annual basket auction. Hope you have some creative basket ideas that will delight our members and guests as well as build a healthy scholarship fund.
I also would like to thank Mary Kahler for her faithful editing of “Pieces and Bits”. Her updating of our membership directory and the handy dandy bookmarks will help us keep in touch with one another and commence with our reading for morning and evening book clubs. Remember, the Beaver Dam Community Library will be closed for the month of August. It will reopen in early September at a temporary location (the old Bassett Furniture building).
Anyone can go to a book club meeting—whether day or night. I am hoping to send e-mails to those who have attended in the past—to remind you of upcoming dates. If you would like to receive a reminder and you have not attended these meetings, please contact me at autrie@charter.net.
The planning committee for the Unity in Community residency of John Noltner in September has been meeting for many months, in fact, years, to bring this timely program to our community. A special thank you to Annette Kamps, Anita Streich, Robin Hanson and Bobbi Marck who comprise the core group. I have enjoyed working with such a dedicated group of women.
All AAUW members are invited to opening night of the Noltner residency. There will be a private reception at the Beaver Dam Art Center from 5 to 7 p.m. on September 14. Comments by John Noltner on the exhibit will be at 6 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. Thanks to the many members who have answered the call to volunteer for the week of his residency (September 14-20). We so appreciate your interest, time and talent!
Fifteen of you ordered AAUW shirts which will be available August 19. We hope to distribute them to those members who ordered them on August 20—which is the date of our opening social at Ooga. If you can’t attend, I will contact you to arrange a time for you to pick them up at my house.
Jan Sutter and Cindy Noe will be splitting duties as Finance/Membership Chair. Cindy will be the Membership Chairwoman. Thanks, Cindy, for your many years as our treasurer. Jan Sutter will become the treasurer. She will also continue to serve as the Scholarship Chair.
Dee Disch will serve as our board secretary, as she has for the past many years! Diane Kitchen will continue as Basket Auction Chair and Robin Hanson will continue as Public Relations Chair. All are much appreciated for their helpful presence on the board. Past-president, Bobbi Marck, will continue to update us on public policy issues as AAUW empowers women and fosters higher education.
In mid-July, I had the opportunity to meet with our District 1 president, Consuelo Juarez, and attend a zoom meeting with the past and new state AAUW presidents. This is an inspiring group doing great things. Next April, District 1 will host the AAUW State Convention in Madison. The very capable Mary Kahler is already helping organize this and it would be wonderful if others of you would join the planning committee which zooms once a month. “Many hands make light work!” I hope to hear from those of you who may be interested in assisting in the state convention.
I hope, as members, that you will contact me if you have suggestions and input for the year ahead.
“Our history is filled with both beauty and pain woven together. They can’t be separated. We need to address the wound if we want it to heal. We must be brave and set our egos aside and allow ourselves to imagine new possibilities.”—John Noltner, “Lessons on the Road to Peace”
–Andrea Utrie