Branch Meetings of the PVB
*The Branching Out newsletter always has the latest information on branch meetings. Please watch this page for the latest on this year’s (2023-24) programs.
Programs – 2022-23
Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Time: 7:00 pm ZOOM
Program: Improving Women’s Literacy – Improving Women’s LIves
Speaker: Mary Taylor, Eexcutive Director of Literacy Volunteers of Bangor
Date: Wednesday. December 7, 2022
Time: 7:00 pm ZOOM
Program: Welcoming Immigrant Neighbors
Speaker: Sondra Siegel
Sondra has been on the faculty of Physical Therapy at Husson University and currently serves as the volunteer coordinator for the WIN organization which entails pairing support teams with immigrant families as well as providing training for support teams. She has worked closely with two immigrant families from Guatemala.
Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Time: 7:00 pm. Z00M
Program: Our Legacy for our Grandchildren
Speaker: Cloe Chunn
Cloe Chunn is a co-founder of the Maine Master Naturalist Program and the Penobscot River Paddling Trail. She helped start the Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition, and continues to work through it as the founder of its Natural Literacy Initiative and co-organizer of the Penobscot Bay Stewards Program. She is a Registered Maine Guide and author of Fifty Hikes in the Maine Mountains (W.W. Norton), a standard hiking guide for over 30 years. She enjoys exploring wild places, sharing them with others, and helping people understand our connection to the earth.
Susan Mehdi, author of the “The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering” was told by a respected Native American prophet that men have carried the world as far as they could, and it is up to women now.
Triad: Joanne Boynton, Janet Givens, Fran Haines
Past Programs – (2021-22)
Date: October 22021 (postponed)
Program: Diversity in Maine
Date: Saturday, January 29, 2022
Time: 10 AM to 12 Noon. Zoom
Place: Susan D’Angelo will email members the Zoom link to this meeting.
Program: Please join us for an update on the status of Roe v. Wade, possible Supreme Court outcomes and what we can do to support Choice now and in the future. Our presenter is Aspen Ruhlin, Client and Community Advocate at the Mabel Wadsworth Center. In their role, they often focus on trans healthcare, abortion access and the intersection of the two. Aspen’s presentation will be followed by a question and answer period. See you soon!
Susan Wishkoski, Moderator
Date: Saturday, April 2, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM. Zoom
Program: The Legislative Lowdown: Wins, Losses, and Next Steps for Gender Justice
Speakers: Destie Hohman Sprague, Executive Director, Maine Women’s Lobby, State Representative Laurie Osher, Orono
Place: ZOOM (Susan D’Angelo will send the Zoom link.)
Thank you to Mary Cathcart and Susan Landry for organizing this meeting.
Date: Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 10:00 AM. Annual Meeting – Zoom
Program: Joanne Boyton introduced our Nontraditional Women’s Scholarship recipients, Kelley Grindle, Leslie Tibbetts, and Heidi Toner and we heard of their backgrounds, challenges and career goals. During the following business meeting, Joanne Boynton was honored as a new 50 year branch member, and members voted for the Leadership Team for next year.
Janet Givens and Fran Haines, co-hosts