Our best wishes for a prosperous, peaceful and productive 2003 to all of you! It should prove an exciting year for Florida AAUW!

We are simultaneously working on plans for our 2003 convention at the Renaissance Hotel in Orlando and our 75th Anniversary convention in 2004. This multi-tasking is a bit daunting, but never dull.

Our priorities remain focused on community action and coalition building. We have invited Girls, Inc. to speak at Convention 2003 about Title IX; the Girl Scouts of Sarasota received a Community Action Grant this year from the Foundation; we will once again share Lobby Days with the Florida Women’s Consortium; and branches across the state continue their on-going collaboration with the PACE Center for Girls. These are just a few examples of the kind of community networking we need to be doing.

In addition, we have set a goal to make every college and university in Florida an institutional member of AAUW. Please check the article in the up-coming FloriVision to see how you can help to make this happen. There is no more natural partnership than AAUW and higher education, and we fear that we’ve been lax in this area in the past.

Thanks to the following wonderfully supportive branches and members who generously sent contributions to establish our 75th Anniversary Research and Projects Grant Fund before the end of 2002. Alphabetically they were: Sally Bailey, Irma Daniels, Connie Davis, Beverly Fraser, Marlene Gardner, Leslie Henderson, Barbara O’Connor, Joan Rinaldi, Pat Stamm, Jennifer Walker, quite a number of members who contributed less than $50, and the New Smyrna Beach, Northern Palm Beach County, and Orlando/Winter Park branches. In a very short time we raised $3,841!

Finally, Leslie is working on the FL AAUW state/ branch history book, which will be available at Convention 2004. Please continue to check the Members Corner for a list of branch contributions … which branches are up-to-date with their histories and which have pieces missing.

As always, thank you so much for all your passion and work for AAUW.

Leslie and Sally