Congratulations
to all the Women Elected on November 3rd in Oakland County!
We list all your names, starting with our own members, here.
to all the Women Elected on November 3rd in Oakland County!
We list all your names, starting with our own members, here.
WONder Woman SPOTLIGHT
Geri Rinschler
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This month we are highlighting our dear friend and WONF board member, WONder Woman Geri Rinschler. We turn our spotlight onto Geri for her continuing work to support and help woman of all ages. In October, she helped the Girl Scouts from a troop in Royal Oak learn all about suffragettes and the 19th Amendment as they worked on a "Future Voter Badge." Teaching woman about how they gained the right to vote and encouraging them to use that right is one of Geri’s many ways of leading. Geri spent 21 years as a Birmingham School Board Trustee while working as a food columnist and culinary consultant. She was the President of the League of Women Voters Oakland Area (LWVOA) from 2017—2019 and currently serves as that organization’s Vice President of Programs & Marketing. Geri is also serving as the WON Foundation Vice President Programs and as a member of the Oakland County Safe, Healthy and Secure Elections Advisory Council, an advisory board established by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners this summer to study and advise on all issue related to the 2020 election in the pandemic year. In March, the Birmingham Education Foundation presented Geri their highest honor, the BEF Legacy Award. Geri is having a very busy year! We take great pride in highlighting her this month as our WONder Woman in the Spotlight! Thank you, Geri. |
Click here for additional information about Geri Rinschler from her LinkedIn page.
A Special Message about the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment
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August 26,2020, marks the day which commemorates the adoption of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution one hundred years ago. This amendment ended the denial of voting rights to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex.
As we celebrate this historic event,we would be remiss as a women’s leadership organization supporting women if we did not recognize the courageous Suffragists who fought for this right for over 70 years. Women black and white mobilized for our political freedom. The defining moment of their decades long battle was that they were able to overturn a centuries old law which altered civil rights in our country’s history. Sadly, its passage left behind many women of color until August 6, 1965 when the Voting Rights Act became law. We are so grateful to the trailblazing women who fought for our political freedom paving the way for so many of us. There are quite a number of suffragist who are seldom recognized for their dedication from cities across our state. Lilian Ascough and Betsey Reyneau were from Detroit, Sojourner Truth from Battle Creek and Clara Bryant Ford and Charlotte Berry Sherrard from Dearborn. All of them working in their own way, finding common ground in support of one another. As we begin to plan our WONF breakfast networking meetings for 2020-21, we are going to start off the fall with a theme which member Beth Talbert introduced us to, “Showing Up for Each Other” which certainly is as appropriate now as it was 100 years ago. There are many challenges facing women in leadership in 2020, some not very different from a century ago. Let’s talk about them together. We will also provide additional network time for members and those who are running for office to introduce themselves and ask ‘how we can show up for them.’ There will also be enough time on the agenda for other introductions. Be sure that your membership is up to date for our September 18, 7:30 a.m. virtual breakfast meeting, details about which are here. We hope you will join us throughout the year in our temporary, virtual meeting place. We look forward to sharing coffee, muffins and conversation with you in person when it’s safe to do so. Women Officials' Network Foundation, trustees |