The 2024 Scholarship Gift Basket Auction was a huge success with an increase this year in dollars raised! We had 74 members and guests registered for the dinner at Old Hickory, with 31 live baskets and 18 silent auction baskets. Again this year, we had a table of books and puzzles, donated by members, which generated an extra $188 for our mission! Our auctioneer, Nathan Weyenberg from Appleton, WI, returned for a 7th year. Overall, we raised $7,886.75 for scholarships! Thank you to all the members who created baskets or made a donation and to everyone who helped support our mission! The following committee members helped make the night a success: Bobbi Marck, Diane Kitchen, Andrea Utrie, Heidi Freeby, Jan Sutter, Cindy Noe, Mary Kahler, Deanna Disch, Robin Hanson, and Kristin Hanson.
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The third annual Summer read “Unity in Community Program” brought together 84 people to hear about the book, “Milked: How an American Crisis Brought Together Midwestern Dairy Farmers and Mexican Workers” by Ruth Conniff.
Ruth, pictured at podium, was the guest speaker with a panel afterwards consisting of Alison Pfau, Bilingual Regional Dairy Educator; Amanda Garcia, Community Health, Noble Community Clinics; Betsy Ramsdale, Bilingual Family Liaison, Beaver Dam Unified School District; and Claire Skivington, Attorney, QBS, Mayville; and Ruth.
Many thanks to our AAUW “Unity in Committee” members who worked on this event for the past year! To watch the event, click on the YouTube video below.
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We kicked off our new year of 2024/25 with a gathering at Ooga Brewery. We enjoyed good food, good drinks, and good company on their patio on a beautiful summer evening. Eighteen members and two guests joined the fun.
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We ended our 2023/24 season with our annual meeting and brunch at First Lutheran Church, with good company and good food. Member Kay Stellpflug was recognized as an Honorary Lifetime Member because she has reached her 50th year as a member of AAUW! Kay is pictured above with President Bobbi Marck in the middle and Treasurer and Membership Chair Cindy Noe on the right.
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AAUW Summer Read Receives Beaver Dam Community Foundation Grant
The AAUW (American Association of University Women), Beaver Dam branch, recently received a $1,000 grant from the Beaver Dam Area Community Foundation to promote AAUW’s 2024 community summer read. The funding supports multiple purchases of the book, “Milked: How an American Crisis Brought Together Midwestern Dairy Farmers and Mexican Workers” by Ruth Conniff. It will be presented to a number of community entities as an introduction to the read.
“Milked” is a collection of stories from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, detailing life and work experiences that unite rather than divide people. It explores rural farming communities, shedding light on shifts in policies, immigration, issues of labor, cultural matters, food, economics, and the relationship between the two countries. The book was selected by AAUW’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion committee which now includes outreach community members to continue a public discussion about the impact of hatred and prejudice.
This is the third year that the organization has initiated a community-wide read to engage people of all interests and representations in a dialogue that reflects the theme, “Unity in Community.” Committee chair Annette Kamps said, “Audience feedback at last fall’s culminating presentation by Pardeek Kaleka, co-author of the book, The Gift of Our Wounds, encouraged us to continue this conversation which underlines a primary goal of the national AAUW organization. We are asking everyone to help make the read a success by encouraging family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others to read the book and attend the special program featuring the author.”
A public forum presenting Ruth Conniff, “Milked” author and editor-in-chief of the Wisconsin Examiner, will be presented on Wednesday, September 18, at the BDACT Fine Arts Center, 117 W. Maple Avenue, Beaver Dam.
The book is available at the Beaver Dam Community Library, book stores and on line.
Tom Heffron, above, Advisory Board President, Beaver Dam Area Community Foundation, presented a $1,000 grant to members Annette Kamps and Robin Hanson of the AAUW, Beaver Dam branch, in support of its 2024 community summer read, “Milked: How an American Crisis Brought Together Midwestern Dairy Farmers and Mexican Workers” by Ruth Conniff. The grant will make it possible to present copies of the book to a number of Beaver Dam entities as an introduction to the community-wide read.
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We were “wowed” with our final program of the season in April when we were treated to our very own Andrea Utrie and her husband David showing us their dance moves. They have trained for and participated in ballroom dancing for over 15 years. After they showed us samples of various dances, complete with costume changes, they gave us some instruction on a couple of dance steps.
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In March 2024, 13 members and 2 guests enjoyed an inspiring and informative tour of the awesome new PAVE facilities given by Executive Director Emily Shier, pictured below. We now have the most modern, spacious and secure domestic violence shelter in the state! It’s amazing to see what the dedication and generosity of people can accomplish. PAVE stands for Protect, Advocate, Validate, and Educate. We also donated $112.00 and several shopping bags full of items to PAVE. And in case you didn’t know, our own Marge Theis, pictured in the front row in light pink, is one of the founders of PAVE! Thanks for your hard work and vision, Marge!
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We heard from member Betsy Ramsdale for our February program. Betsy is the bilingual family liaison for the Beaver Dam Unified School District. She talked to us about immigration and its local impact. Several of our snowbirds were also able to join the meeting via Zoom.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________Our January 2024 program was held at the Art on The Town studio where 9 members braved the cold and were rewarded with a fun evening of art, wine and camaraderie. Members chose an item of art that they wanted to create.
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At the November 2023 program, we heard the inspiring story of Beaver Dam’s Loaves and Fishes, the passion project of John and Linda Smedema (pictured below). Because of their passion and generous donation of time, they currently feed a complete hot meal to an average of 500 people every Tuesday out of the kitchen at First Lutheran church. The program was very interesting as to how they and their team of volunteers pull-off this amazing feat every week.
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The 2023 Scholarship Gift Basket Auction was a huge success with an increase this year in attendance, baskets, and dollars raised! We had 77 attendees registered for the dinner at Old Hickory, with 38 live baskets and 19 silent auction baskets. Again this year, we had a table of books, donated by members, which generated an extra $139 for our mission! Our auctioneer, Nathan Weyenberg from Appleton, WI, returned for a 6th year. Overall, we raised $6,638 for scholarships! Thank you to all the members who created baskets or made a donation and to everyone who helped support our mission! The following committee members helped make the night a success: Bobbi Marck, Diane Kitchen, Andrea Utrie, Heidi Freeby, Jan Sutter, Cindy Noe, Kathy McMichael, Teresa Haack, Mary Kahler, Carmen Hanson, and her sister Sharon Kempinger from Oshkosh.
Shown below, Chapter President Bobbi Marck, left, and Fundraising Chair Diane Kitchen, along with Auctioneer Nathan Weyenberg (in the cowboy hat, which was being auctioned as part of a basket!)
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Our first program of the year was a huge success with over 125 people in attendance. Pardeep Sing Kaleka, co-author of the book “The Gift of our Wounds: a Sikh and a Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate”, spoke to us in an interview format with moderator Craig Warmbold (pictured below with Pardeep on the right).
AAUW/DEI Committee Members who partnered with the Beaver Dam Dam Community Library, the Beaver Dam Area Community Foundation, and the Beaver Dam Area Community Theater are shown below, left to right: Margaret Furdek, Annette Kamps, Andrea Utrie, Ellen Sushak.
Photos courtesy of Anita Streich, Beaver Dam Community Library.
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Despite the heat alert, a good time was had by all! We met INSIDE at Ooga Brewery to socialize with old friends and meet our new members, complete with snacks and drinks! Here’s to a great 2023/24 season!
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The Beaver Dam branch of American Association for University Women (AAUW) received a $1,000 check from the Beaver Dam Area Community Foundation.
The money will support the AAUW’s public presentation in September by Pardeep Sing Kaleka, co-author of the book The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and a Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate. Kaleka, whose father was killed in the mass shooting at the Oak Creek temple in Milwaukee, will share how he and co-author Arno Michaelis, a former originator of the skinhead movement, miraculously forged an alliance to overcome hate.
Below, receiving the check from Tom Heffron of the Foundation are Andrea Utrie and Annette Kamps, both AAUW members on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
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We ended our 2022/23 season with our annual meeting and brunch at First Lutheran Church. About 23 members and guests enjoyed good food and company! We were treated to a beautiful song by Beaver Dam High School senior Justine (Jay) Orvik, accompanied by Paul Kennedy on the piano. We also heard from Kathy Rechner, Annual Giving Manager from the Moraine Park Foundation, who talked to us about the appreciation and importance of our scholarships to the returning students at Moraine Park Technical College.
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What a night! On April 26, 2023, our branch was awarded the Beaver Dam Unified School District’s 2022 Wall of Fame Award from the Friends of Education. The Friend of Education award recognizes individuals and an organization who have given distinguished service to the district and its students. Many members joined the reception and celebration while Chapter President, Bobbi Marck, accepted the donation during a ceremony. In her acceptance speech, she said “Since our first local meeting in 1933 we have given scholarships to graduating high school seniors. In the last ten years alone we’ve given over $60,000 in scholarships.” In addition, the Beaver Dam chapter of AAUW has made donations to the elementary school libraries to support literacy, sponsored “Project Girl” curriculum at the Middle School, and numerous other programs and opportunities to make a difference in the lives of young women and girls. Photos below include Bobbi accepting the award from the Beaver Dam Unified School Superintendent Mark DeStefano; and the members who joined the celebration.
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In April, we partnered with the Beaver Dam Community Library and hosted Meteorologist Dana Fulton who was a former meteorologist for Channel 3 news in Madison until she took a job last year as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Public Affairs Manager. Dana talked to us about weather and her path to becoming a meteorologist. She also shared some insight into her current job. The library provided a light dinner. This program was open to the public, so we had about 40 people in attendance with half being AAUW members. Pictured below is Anita Streich from the library; Diane Kitchen, AAUW member and program coordinator for this event; Dana Fulton; and Bobbi Marck, Beaver Dam AAUW president.
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In March, we met at the Beaver Dam High School, which was remodeled in recent years. First, high school staff member Melissa DeVries led us on a tour. Next, we met in the library and listened to Rob Meyer, Director of Teaching and Learning, tell us about the recent trends in the District.
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We had delicious coffee and scones when we met for our February program, while hearing from Josiah Vilmin, pictured below. Josiah is the owner of Nunatak Coffee Roasters in downtown Beaver Dam. He talked to us about their business, including the roasting process and what makes their coffee so special.
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We kicked off 2023 with a January meeting at the Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore facility. Laura Goral, manager, spoke to us about the resale store, the playground movement program, the Food is Free program, and other inspiring activities and initiatives that she has orchestrated with the help of the community. Pictured below left, Laura Goral, in front of the food pantry. AAUW members are serving as food pantry monitors one day a week. Below right are Beaver Dam AAUW members and the donations that they contributed at the program.
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November’s meeting consisted of a conversation with Beaver Dam’s new City Administrator Nathan Thiel and Mayor Becky Glewen, both pictured below. The mayor position just recently moved from a full time one to part-time, although Becky continues to be very actively involved. About 25 people, members and public, attended this very informative evening.
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We returned for our first Scholarship Gift Basket Auction since the pandemic. After a two-year hiatus, the 2022 auction was a huge success despite lower attendance and less baskets! We had 54 attendees who bid on 13 silent auction items and 21 live auction baskets. We also had a table of books, donated by members, which generated an extra $186 for our mission! Our auctioneer, Nathan Weyenberg from Appleton, WI, returned for a 5th year. Overall, we raised over $5,640 for scholarships! Thank you to all the members who created baskets or made a donation and to everyone who helped support our mission!
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Our September program was a huge success! Over 75 people attended our program of a Community Dialogue About Racism and Cultural Prejudice, organized by our AAUW Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Program Committee Lori Degner, Margaret Furkek, Annette Kamps, Ellen Sushak, and Andrea Utrie.
The book, below, was used as a springboard for the discussion.
The panelists included, below left to right: Elisha Barudin, Racial Justice Group; Aryana Barudin, a recent Marquette University graduate in Social Anthropology; Leslie Laster, Moraine Park Technical College Director for Diversity, Accessibility and Support Services; John Kreuziger, Beaver Dam Chief of Police; Rob Meyer, Director of Teaching and Learning, Beaver Dam Unified School District; Betsy Ramsdale, Bilingual Family Liaison, Beaver Dam Unified School District; Danette Machmueller, Racial Justice Group; Laura Goral, Habitat for Humanity Restore/BD Playground Movement; and facilitator Craig Warmbold, News and Operations Director with Good Karma Brand’s WBEV 95.3FM, Daily Dodge and 1430 ESPN Beaver Dam.
Our Beaver Dam Branch President Bobbi Marck addressing the group, below. The event was open to the public and included 27 of our own members plus 4 members from the State AAUW Board.
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We kicked off our new year of 2022/23 with a gathering at Ooga Brewery. We enjoyed good food, good drinks, and good company on their patio on a beautiful summer evening.
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We may have had a small gathering for the 2022 brunch, held at First Lutheran Church, but we definitely had yummy food, good conversation and great entertainment by our very own (comedian) Heidi Freeby.
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We met at the Riverfront Wine Bar in downtown Beaver Dam for the May program. Raymond Budnick treated us with a great presentation about wine from the Wente Family vineyards. We tasted red and white wines, along with a sparkling wine.
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April’s program was an in-person one and also open to the public. The featured speaker was Dr. Laura Mathis and her associates who spoke on “The Unity Project”, a Fort Atkinson project focused on community inclusion. She talked about their commitment of bringing everyone together through cultural experience and understanding and promotion of greater opportunities for inclusiveness and tolerance. The program was very well attended and included several groups in Beaver Dam who are working on this same issue. Pictured below on the right is Dr. Mathis with Whitney Townsend, co-chair of the Unity Project’s School Partnership Committee.
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In March, we met at the newly renovated Dodge County Historical Society to see all of their improvements, which they were able to accomplish when they were closed due to Covid. Much needed work on the walls/ceiling, along with cleaning and organizing the exhibits was accomplished, resulting in a much nicer museum to tour. Our hosts were Board Member Patrick Lutz, below left, and Museum Curator Kurt Sampson, right.
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The February program, which was our first hybrid meeting (both zoom and in-person), featured talented seamstress Lois Levenhagen from Beaver Dam. Her sewing passion started as a child, but her notoriety started in 1991 when she met Mike Leckrone, the University of Wisconsin Madison Band Director. For the next 27 years, Lois handcrafted each of his annual costumes for the spring concert. Lois brought a sampling of her items for us to admire! Below left, Lois at the program with some of her work and right, with Mike Leckrone at one of his final band concerts.
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In January, we heard from Michelle Ovans about the joys and challenges of operating a peony farm. We chose to have the program via Zoom. Michelle’s first peony farm was started in Merrill Wisconsin in 2009 but she relocated to Beaver Dam in 2019 where she has
planted over 1,000 peonies with around 82 different varieties.
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For the second year in a row, we cancelled the traditional basket auction and held another direct fundraiser, asking our members and the community for money towards our scholarships. Our goal was $5,000 and I’m happy to report that we raised $6,500, which included donations in memory of Phyllis Nagler and Jeanne Young, both long time members who passed away this year. As a result, we will be able to provide the same scholarships as in the recent past! Thank you to all the members and community partners who donated!
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We had an enlightening meeting with Angelia Foster who is the Chief Administrative Officer for Marshfield Medical Center, pictured below, for our November 2021 program. About 23 members attended the program via Zoom.
We learned about her personal journey and why she changed careers to go into healthcare. We also learned about women’s role in health care. Angelia is the first female Chief Administrative Officer for Marshfield. She gave us some insight as to where Marshfield Medical Center is headed. She also addressed questions about Dean Health Insurance and the conflict with Marshfield. She sincerely and honestly answered questions although it wasn’t always the answer we wanted. We are grateful for her time and expertise to update us on the future of our community’s medical center._____________________________________________________________________________________________________
We added an extra program in October due to the cancellation of our basket auction for the second year in a row. Via Zoom, we had about 15 members and 2 guests join us as we heard about a prominent and relatively unknown suffragist and woman doctor who lived in Beaver Dam. Sheila K. Harris, author of the book “Audacious Legacy, The Life of Dr. F. (Fidelia) Rachel Harris Reid.” Dr. Harris Reid, pictured below, was one of the first female physicians in Beaver Dam and a suffragette. Local historian Roger Noll, who is related to Sheila Harris and is familiar with Dr. Harris Reid also joined us. For some background on this amazing woman, click the links below.
Beaver Dam Daily Citizen article: Dr. F Rachel Harris Reid
Localeben article: Trailblazing Woman
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Our September program was a talk and walk at the floating boardwalk at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, presented by member Diane Kitchen who is retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We had about 20 members for the program, including some of our new members, as well as a couple guests. Below in the red is member Margaret Furdek demonstrating the chipmunk tail!
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We kicked off the new year of 2021/22 with a gathering on the patio of Ooga Brewery. Several of our members brought friends who were interested in AAUW. About 17 members and 9 guests attended. We had lots of good food, drinks, and conversation. It was definitely a warm evening but everyone had fun!
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We had a wonderful time at our end of the year June picnic, which replaced the annual brunch that we have traditionally had in the past. Pictured below are our group of members, including guests from the Madison/Monona AAUW Branch. Also pictured are Madame Rose & Professor Lazlo, performing in The Deluxe Magic Show, with Marge Theis as part of the act. Below is outgoing president Diane Kitchen passing the “Prez” crown to incoming president Bobbi Marck.
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We enjoyed a May evening of socializing at Ooga Brewery in Beaver Dam. It was a beautiful evening to be outside and be with everyone.
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We finally met in person for our April 2021 program, after a year of virtual gatherings, so that was exciting in itself! Mary Vogl-Rauscher, Community Development Manager for Beaver Dam (left), and Tracy Propst, Executive Director of the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce, talked to us about upcoming Beaver Dam events and the new businesses that are coming to downtown Beaver Dam. We also took a walk downtown to see the changes. Beaver Dam is going to be the place to visit!
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The March program featured Wisconsin children’s author Kathleen Waldvogel via Zoom. Kathleen did a presentation on her research and her writing journey of her most recent book for middle schoolers, Spies, Soldiers, Couriers, and Saboteurs: Women of the American Revolution. Kathleen spent six years researching and writing this book and says that “this book reveals the heroic acts of little-known women who helped our country gain its independence. Some women spied on the British, some fought in battles, but each woman risked her freedom and her life”. She also adds, “each woman’s story is unique. Each woman’s story deserves to be told.” Photos courtesy of Kathleen Waldvogel
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We heard from Kris Schumacher-Rasmussen (pictured) for our February program, via Zoom, about opening her business in downtown Beaver Dam called The Studio/Art on the Town. Kris is an art teacher in the Beaver Dam Unified School District but always dreamed of opening her own business.
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Our January 2021 Zoom program featured everything you wanted to know about honeybees, presented by local beekeeper Scott Hankes.
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We had another excellent Zoom presentation for our November program. Archan Sramkek, a passionate environmentalist (pictured below), talked to us about Climate Change. Her power point had vivid photos and interesting facts which made for a fascinating program for the 24 participants! She suggested that one important and easy step that we can all take right now is to enroll in the electric company’s Second Nature Renewable Energy Program.
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Our September 2020 program to Ooga Brewery was cancelled once again (which had been rescheduled from the spring) due to Covid concerns. Because we really want to have this program in person, we will re-schedule when safe to do so.
Also, instead of the traditional basket auction, we held a direct fundraiser asking for money towards our scholarships. Our goal was $5,000 and I’m happy to report that we raised $6,000, so we will be able to provide the same scholarships as in the recent past! Thank you to all the members and community partners who donated!
Because we didn’t have the basket auction in October, we decided to host another program. Our first Zoom program was a very interesting program by Kathy Barnett on the Haunted History of Beaver Dam. Kathy has been involved with the annual October cemetery tours where she finds local actors to portray historical figures. We had about 17 people on our Zoom call, with lots of great questions!
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Unfortunately, our year did not end the way we had planned. We had two missed programs: the Ooga Brewery and the Climate Change talk but we hope to re-schedule both in 2020/21. In addition, we all missed seeing each other at the traditional May Brunch. But the most important thing is that we all stayed safe. And our book club members learned Zoom! 🙂
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The February 19 program, “Women Who Run for Office”, was very educational and informative. The panel consisted of (left to right) Lisa Derr, who is currently on the Dodge County Board; Betsy Ramsdale, who was a former candidate for the Beaver Dam City Council; Jaclyn Shelton, who is currently on the Beaver Dam City Council; and Becky Glewen, who is the Beaver Dam Mayor and is currently running for a second term. Also pictured addressing the group in the second photo is Christine Snow, who is running for Circuit Court Judge.
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Our traditional game night was a great way to start out 2020. This year the fun night was held on January 15 at Chapel of the Archangels (the former St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Beaver Dam), which is a venue for weddings and other celebrations. One of the owners, Jim, gave us a history of the place and a tour. We finished the night with several games, including Tsuro and Phase 10.
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Our November 20 program was held at the new building at 130 West Maple Avenue of the Dodge County Center for the Arts. Chris Frinak of the Center shared a historical timeline of the Center and told us about their upcoming events. Jan Richardson then led us through a fun drawing project, using an outline of a pair of scissors as our template. Plus, we were treated to early shopping in their Christmas gift gallery.
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The 2019 Scholarship Gift Basket Auction was a huge success! We had 60 attendees who bid on 9 silent auction items and 27 live auction baskets. We also had a table of books, donated by members, which generated an extra $248 for our mission! Our auctioneer, Nathan Weyenberg from Appleton, WI, returned for a 4th year. Overall, we raised over $5,000 for scholarships! Thank you to all the members who created baskets or made a donation and to everyone who helped support our mission!
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River Dog Book Company and our branch hosted a special author event with Jennifer Chiaverini who wrote “Resistance Women”, a historical fiction piece that features Mildred Fish Harnack, a woman from Wisconsin who was involved with a resistance group in Germany during World War II. We were also fortunate to have Milwaukee attorney Art Heitzer who was instrumental in passing the 1986 Wisconsin law designating Harnack’s September birthday as a Special Observance Day in the state’s schools. The event was well attended by both AAUW members and the public. Shown below is the cake featuring Jennifer Chiaverini’s latest books, and our panel of Art Heitzer, left, Jennifer Chiaverini and Broche Aroe Fabian from River Dog Book Company who led the discussion.
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Our first program of the 2019/20 season on September 18 was a huge success with 26 members in attendance. Doug and Theresa Paust own and operate Green Acres CBD in Beaver Dam. Doug, who has a background in retail pharmacy with degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, told us all about cannabinoids and the benefits of using CBD. Their motto is “helping people help themselves”.
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AAUW presented a check to the Dodge County Humane Society on June 4. Some of the money collected was from AAUW members and some from the President’s Legacy Award for a total of $623. As a result, the Beaver Dam Chapter of AAUW will be recognized with a paver that will be placed in their dog park. Shown below, left to right, is Co-president Heidi Freeby, Shelter Lead for the Humane Society, Dawn Purser, and Co-president Diane Kitchen.
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The 2019 May Brunch was a huge success with great attendance, camaraderie and delicious food!
Shown above at the head of the line is longtime member Shirley Buxton, who joined in 1956! Below, several of our brunch committee members Crystal Boling, Kathy McMichael, Christa Slinger, and Nancy Small-Palm
Above left, Co-presidents Heidi Jones-Freeby and Diane Kitchen address the group. Above right, we were entertained by Flautist Fran Puleo who played us some beautiful tunes on both the flute and the penny whistle.
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Co-president Heidi Jones-Freeby and Board member Mary Kahler attended the 2019 AAUW State Convention at the end of April. They were pleased to accept an award for our branch!
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Co-presidents Heidi Jones-Freeby (pictured) and Diane Kitchen staffed a booth at the Focus on Women Resource Fair in Juneau, WI on April 25, 2019.
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For a second year, Gail White, marathon runner, presented us with an interesting and inspirational program for our April gathering. This time, she shared her experience at the 2019 Boston Marathon.
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We were treated to a very informative and fascinating program on Effigy Mounds by Kurt Sampson, an archaeologist and museum curator, at the Dodge County Historical Museum. Kurt has had lifelong passion for effigy mounds and it was evident in his passionate delivery of the material.
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Even after a snowy February day, we had a nice turnout for Ellen Sushak’s presentation. Ellen has been a member of AAUW since the 1970’s and after a rewarding career as an Educator, she returned to school when she retired at age 55 to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition. As a registered Dietitian, she had several jobs in hospitals, clinics, food service and long term care, but now teaches classes for fun. We were fortunate to have Ellen make three healthy dishes for us: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili, Walnut Red Pepper Dip, and Chocolate Dipped Apricots. All the dishes were delicious and these recipes are definitely going to be “keepers” in my house!
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We had a great gathering for our Crafty Game Night in January 2019! Good weather always helps! A couple members brought their craft to work on while engaging in good conversation. Others enjoyed playing games. An added bonus was that we met in the newly built Beaver Dam Area Community Theater Fine Arts Center, so we were treated with a tour of the building including all the behind-the-scenes rooms!
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We had an excellent program entitled “Immigrant Perspectives” for the November 2018 meeting. Several members of our Hispanic community in Beaver Dam shared their stories, along with the reasons why they wanted to come to the United States (opportunity, opportunity, opportunity!). Through tears, they shared the negative aspects of living in America, including discrimination, language barriers, and lack of respect. We also talked about the myths that many people have about the Hispanic culture.
Below, flanked by AAUW member/program chair Mary Kahler, left, and English Language Learner Betsy Ramsdale, far right, members of our Hispanic community shared their stories.
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The 2018 Scholarship Gift Basket Auction was a huge success! We had 77 attendees who bid on 12 silent auction items and 27 live auction baskets. We also had a table of Jean Militello’s books, donated from her husband Joe. Jean was a member who died this past year. Her books generated an extra $170 for our mission! Our auctioneer, Nathan Weyenberg from Appleton, WI, returned for a 3rd year. Overall, we raised over $6,000 for scholarships! Thank you to all the members who created baskets or made a donation and to everyone who helped support our mission!
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Our first program of the 2018 year on Cyber Security was well attended (unfortunately my pictures of the crowd did not turn out). Pictured below is Co-president Diane Kitchen, right, with Jean Steiner of Interquest in Beaver Dam, who explained the dangers that exist in today’s digital world and how to prevent the “bad guys” from stealing our identity and information.
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Co-presidents Heidi Jones-Freeby, left, and Diane Kitchen, right of the Beaver Dam Branch of American Association of University Women (AAUW) present a check to Amber Rincon of the Dodge County Humane Society, which was the non-profit organization that AAUW sponsored this past year.
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Fun times at the May 2018 Brunch
Shown above, Judy Goodnight (left) and Joan Schneider from the Appleton, WI Branch spoke to the group at the brunch and shared many good ideas. Right, Joan and Judy with co-presidents of the Beaver Dam branch, Heidi Jones-Freeby and Diane Kitchen.
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April’s program was a very informative power point presentation from the Beaver Dam representatives for 5-Stones, a non-profit organization focused on the prevention of sex trafficking through awareness. Pictures is 5-Stones representative Tracy Scheffler, left and 5-Stones representative and AAUW member Christel Boeck.
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We enjoyed an awesome power point presentation last night for the March 2018 program by Gail White, a marathon runner, who has run a marathon in all 7 continents. She highlighted two of her marathons – the hottest one in Africa and the coldest one in Antarctica. She shared beautiful shots of wildlife on both continents as well. Gail ran her first marathon at age 55 and hasn’t slowed down since! Shown here with Gail White, on the left, is our program chair for the evening, AAUW member Margaret Furdek.
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We had a small group for January’s program due to a snowstorm, but we appreciated everyone who braved the weather to hear a demonstration by Beaver Dam High School’s Mock Trial Team at the municipal court. Pictured below: Assistant Mock Trial Team Coach Bobbi Marck, Coach Attorney Randy Doyle, Mock Trial Team Coach Matt Ziebarth, student John Freeby, and student Joceline Helmbreck (pictured in bottom photo on left, student Rebecca Hose).
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We heard from Beaver Dam’s new Mayor, Becky Glewen, at the November 2017 program. Shown below is program chair Jan Sutter and Mayor Becky Glewen.
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The 2017 Scholarship Gift Basket Auction was a huge success! We had 86 attendees who bid on 16 silent auction items and 28 live auction baskets. Our auctioneer, Nathan Weyenberg from Appleton, WI, returned for a 2nd year. We raised over $6,000 for scholarships! Thank you to all the members who created baskets or made a donation and to everyone who helped support our mission!
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Our first program meeting in September 2017 was a huge success! We learned all about Cuba through the eyes of a few of our members who have recently visited there, pictured below, Carmen Hanson, Kathy McMichael, and Andrea Utrie. We even had Cuban snacks!
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The 2017 Scholarship Gift Basket Auction committee: bottom left, Crystal Boling, Nancy Boucher, Heidi Jones-Freeby; top left, Ellen Sushak, Diane Kitchen, Andrea Utrie, and Kathy McMichael. Missing from photo: Nancy Small Palm and Bonnie Kieffer
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Following a Beaver Dam AAUW tradition, outgoing presidents choose a local organization for a legacy gift. Retiring co-presidents Bonnie Kieffer (on left) and Margaret Furdek (on right) chose to award their legacy gift to PAVE. Accepting the check (middle) is Teresa Nienow, executive director of PAVE.
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Outgoing co-presidents, Bonnie Kieffer, far left, and Margaret Furdek, far right; and current co-presidents, Heidi Jones-Freeby, middle left, and Diane Kitchen, middle right.
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Fun times at the 2017 May Brunch.