Commentaries

To Grace Welch, President Emerita,  Gail Segui, Treasurer,  Lois Byalick, Secretary, Officers and Board/Committee Members and NOW Mid-Suffolk Chapter Members

 

 November 29, 2012

 

 Dear NOW Mid-Suffolk Members,

I am sorry to have to inform you that I am resigning from my position as President of NOW Mid-Suffolk on December 26, 2012.

I appreciate the opportunities I have been given during my time with your organization, as well as your professional guidance and support.

 Thank you for the opportunity to finish designing and updating the NOW Mid-Suffolk website http://www.midsuffolknow.org/ and designing and initiating the current NOW Mid-Suffolk Blog http://midsuffolknow.blogspot.com/, in addition to restructuring the By-Laws of the chapter.

 I will post blog updates as needed until December 26, 2012. After December 26, 2012, Michelle Reynolds at Raytech Solutions can address your website and blog needs in the future.

Her contact info is Phone 516-804-8839, Website http://www.reytechsolutions.com/, Email address info@reytechsolutions.com

I have greatly enjoyed working with you all. I wish you all and the organization the best of success in the future.

Kind regards,
Karen R. Ratchford

 

 

 

NOW NATIONAL CONFERENCE REPORT

FROM GRACE WELCH, PRES. EMERITA

June 29 – July 1, 2012

Conference focus was on bringing NOW up to speed for the millennium century – NOW is still structured in 1970’s language and format – time to get with the program of computerization, internet, blogging, twittering, Facebook, etc.  Many workshops were devoted to this topic, and much hope was based on the younger NOW members to lead the way.

      The Conference fireworks started with EVE ENSLER, whom most of you know because of her mind-blowing, Tony award-winning VAGINA MONOLOGUES which has been published in 48 languages and performed in over 140 countries.  Ensler’s newest work is “I Am An Emotional Creature:  The Secret Life Of Girls Around The World.

   EVE ENSLER is the founder of V-DAY, the global movement to end violence against women and girls, which has raised over $85 million dollars.  Her next V-DAY titled:  ONE BILLION RISING – WORLD-WIDE, is scheduled for JULY 2013.  Her rousing talk was topped by her coming down off the dais and whooping up a dance party with all the women and men in the Plenary!

Sign up:  onebillionrising.org  twitter:  @VDay;#/Billionrising Text Billion to 50555

 

While the Conference had 18 speakers, I want to report on two of special note:

SANDRA FLUKE – the Woman who Rush Limbaugh called a SLUT AND PROSTITUTE because she lobbied for women’s health coverage to include contraception was awarded the WOMAN OF COURAGE Award.  In May Ms. Fluke graduated from Georgetown University Law Center; she is devoted to advocating for gender equity in all sectors of society.  Fluke created and led the Program Evaluation Initiative for Sanctuary for Families in New York City, ensuring high quality services to victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. 

Fluke earned her B.S. in 2003 from Cornell University, majoring in Policy Analysis and Management, as well as Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

KRYSTAL BALL – is an MSNBC contributor, political writer, activist and former congressional candidate.  As a passionate advocate for women, she has been combating media misogyny and the first to call for a boycott of Rush Limbaugh’s advertisers following his three day smear of law student Sandra Fluke (see above).

Other speakers:

ELLIE SMEAL,  former National NOW President, founder and president of FEMINIST MAJORITY; publisher of Ms. Magazine –she spoke passionately about the absolute necessity of re-electing Pres. Barack Obama.  She noted that a Mitt Romney presidency would bode ill for judicial appointments, as Romney, should he win,  has chosen Robert Bork to head his Judicial Selection Committee.  Many of us remember Bork’s background, and none of it beneficial to women’s rights. Smeal celebrated 40 years of Title IX, and it’s tremendous impact on women’s educational opportunities and sports.  (SerenaWilliams just won her 5^th WIMBLETON SINGLES!)

 To expand NOW’s reach Smeal  encouraged chapters to partner with like-minded, progressive organizations to further our cause.  National NOW has partnered with AAUW.

 HON. CAROLYN MALONEY – New York’s 14^th Congressional District, accepted NOW’s WOMAN OF IMPACT Award. L She was the first woman to give birth during her term on NYC Council’s 7^th District.  Congresswoman Maloney re-introduces the ERA – Equal Rights Amendment at the beginning of every House session.

Briefly --  to streamline NOW’s structure and efficiency –

• Eliminate Regional Conferences
• Use WEBINARS to meet and to vote for leadership positions.

NEXT YEAR’S NATIONAL NOW CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD IN CHICAGO!

Grace Ripa Welch

President Emerita

NOW Mid-Suffolk

631-234-4747

Special Note:  I was the Yoga Teacher for the National NOW Conference – my 9^th year!

ANY READER WANTING TO GET INVOLVED IN FOSTERING POSITIVE CHANGE FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS CONTACT NOW MID-SUFFOLK!

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Commentary: Grace Welch said... "WHERE ARE THEY NOW?"

SEEKING WOMEN WHO WERE ACTIVE IN THE SOUTH SHORE CHAPTER OF NOW, LONG ISLAND, DURING YEARS 1974 - 1976 -- SUCH AS: DIANE OHLMILLER, PATRICIA CHENERY, BARBARA LABRADOR, IRENE MORRIS AND GLORIA ROSENBLUM, AND OUR FIRST CHAPTER PRESIDENT, IRENE WOLF.
PLEASE RESPOND IF YOU ARE OUT THERE!

GRACE WELCH
PRESIDENT EMERITA, NOW MID-SUFFOLK



Commentary: NOW NEW YORK STATE CONFERENCE, SUNY PURCHASE CAMPUS

October 1st, 2011 the New York State NOW Conference was held on the SUNY Purchase campus, which I attended with Ann Jawin, Founder and Chair of the Center for the Women of New York. Featured speakers were: Liz Abzug, President and Founder of the Bella Abzug Leadership Institute; Zenaida Mendez, Executive Director of the National Dominican Women's Caucus; and Terry O'Neill, President, National NOW. Ms Abzug reported on the status of CEDAW, which her mother, Bella, championed, and was signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, a treaty establishing equal rights for women all over the world, and which the United States has yet to ratify.

All speakers dealt with the Job Crisis in this country, which needs a federal fix. On the political scene, O'Neill stated that Unmarried Women DID NOT VOTE in the 2010 election, which has resulted in a Congress that is blocking legislation for funding of Planned Parenthood. O'Neill also spoke of the SLUTWALK actions that are being held all over the country. Members of our chapter took part in the Manhattan Slutwalk end of September, a phenomenon taking place because of the remark a police officer made to a woman "If you women didn't dress like sluts, you wouldn't get raped." Also covered was the economics of discrimination in the workplace -- a woman loses over $400,000 over a lifetime of work because she is paid less than a man doing the same work. Look up Lilly Ledbetter.

The afternoon session facilitated by N.Jerin Arifa (Young Feminists Task Force) and Arielle Cohen, a 22-year old student from Texas who stated that the Tea Party is out to destroy Obama and Women. Rachelle Suissa, Vice Pres. for Brookly/Queens NOW uses Facebook to promote women's issues and has 1,306 followers. She urged us all to use Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogging to get our message across and to increase our membership. Michelle Kinsey Bruns, who is an Abortion Clinic Escort reported on how to use technology to end public sexual harassment -- she asked for us to share our stories and to visit http://nyc.ihollaback.org/.

The last speaker was Jane LaTour, author of Sisters in the Brotherhood: Working Women Organizing for Equality in New York, which I bought and had her sign. LaTour spoke of the good-paying union jobs in the trades that are availalble to women, if they would think outside of the usual work channels. If we ever get our Mid-Suffolk NOW Book Club off the ground, this could be the second book we read and report on, after Meryl Hoffman's "Intimate Wars: The Life and Times of the Woman Who Brought Abortion from the Back Alley to the Boardroom". Ann Jawin made a motion to have NOW, the National Organization for Women team up with OCCUPY WALL STREET actions.

Grace Ripa Welch
President Emerita
NOW Mid-Suffolk Chapter