Whoever said that time flies was sure living through my summer. Here we are at August 22 and looking at just a few short days until the registrations for the Fall Board meeting are due.  Have you registered yet?  I sure hope so; the deadline is SEPTEMBER 15, 2005.

Recently each local president was mailed a package with registration materials for all of the board meetings and convention.  Please share these with your members.  Remember it is acceptable to use local funds to support this activity for your members.  Especially your local president should be supported to attend these meetings.

 We are fortunate to have the ability to do some golfing at the course at the Holiday Inn in Big Rapids.  Dawnetta Montague has been working on this for us and we will have additional information soon.

In addition, as a reminder we will be having a second Strategic Planning Meeting on Friday evening beginning at 7:00 pm.  We’ll order dinner in. Everyone is welcome to participate - if you are willing to stretch and come in with new ideas.

It will be a very important meeting as we begin to look at a major re-working of our Federation By-laws.  The executive committee and by-laws committee, especially chair Lisa Brook and her committee, have been very busy.  Please be prepared to address these issues at the business meeting.  We are looking at new and workable structure for Michigan.

What does BPW mean to me?

Have you ever sat and thought about what BPW means to you?  I have done this many times in the last few years as we have struggled as an organization.  It means an opportunity for me to excel in an area that personally I am very uncomfortable with sometimes.  That is sticking up for what are my values and beliefs.  I know that we all differ in those values, but BPW has given me the opportunity to hear both sides of a discussion and accept the views of others.

I would be remiss if I did not talk about the friendships I have formed through BPW.  After being a member since 1990, I still look to the good friends I met my first year in BPW, those that made a difference when I relocated to the Lower Peninsula and had a name to contact.  We are all still friends.  When sometimes I struggle with the thought of going to a meeting after a long day of work, I always remember how refreshed I feel afterward.

I especially get joy out of the things we do for other women in our communities, from participating on boards, to being PTA moms or coaching little league; we all have a place and a purpose.  That purpose is preparing the way for the generations behind us.  I work with several young women, who for the most part, have not seen or even heard of the struggles women had in the past.  They have not seen the glass ceiling or been criticized because they are the primary care giver in the family.  These are all still issues that we must continue to fight for and support.

Just recently in the BPW/USA newsletter it talked about proposed changes to the Family Medical Leave Act.  Take some time and keep informed.

As you know not all states have ratified the ERA.  ERAMichigan is having a celebration on April 27^th.   Wouldn’t it be great if BPW had a great showing to hear the guest speaker from Illinois (a non-ratified ERA state)?

As we move into the 85^th anniversary of the 19^th amendment granting women the right to vote, do our young people know what sacrifice was given for this privilege? See the link below for more information on Women’s Equality Day.

August 26th is Women's Equality Day, a day to recognize and celebrate the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote.  As you know, this year marks the 85th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment! BPW/USA has created an 85th Anniversary proclamation which you can view and use by going to: http://www.bpwusa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4560. 

And finally to end my Monday Minute, I would like to take a moment to thank those members of the Executive Committee for the wonderful job they are doing for us as an organization.  They need our support to continue the good work of this organization.

And remember…………..GET YOUR REGISTRATIONS IN - the early registration DEADLINE is SEPTEMBER 15, 2005. 

As always my best to all, please share this with the members of your local organization.

 Mary Macqueen

PSP

Site Coordinator