Bhutan – Land of the Thunder Dragon

Tuesday, December 10, 2024, Social time 6:30 PM, Program 7:00 PM

Trinity Lutheran Church Gathering Room

High up in the Himalayan mountains is the tiny country of Bhutan.  Bhutan is a stunningly beautiful country.  A country of contrasts.  It appears to have one foot in this century and one foot firmly entrenched in the past.  Owatonna Branch members Eileen Newhouse and Linda Boorman look forward to sharing their experiences traveling in Bhutan.

Eileen Newhouse is a world traveler, lifelong learner and retired corporate attorney.  She began her legal career at Mayer Brown, a global law firm headquartered in Chicago, and then spent 25 years at Ameriprise Financial Services in Minneapolis, specializing in the laws governing mutual funds.

Linda Boorman is blessed to have found another world traveler, Eileen, as a companion on adventures.  Linda spent 26 years as an educator in the United States.  She also taught for a semester in Hangzhou Foreign Languages School in Hangzhou, China.  After retirement from education, she served as a licensed local pastor in the United Methodist Church for five years.

As is our tradition at our December meetings, members will be invited to contribute to a charitable gift to be given by the branch.  More details to come.

Bring a friend and join the social time starting at 6:30!

It’s time to pay our dues!

Dues for the coming year are:
$72 Association + $9 State + $10 Branch = $91 total.  Please send a check for $91 to Linda Boorman, 1250 Edgewood Place, Owatonna, MN 55060. Check payable to AAUW Owatonna Branch.  (deadline is June 30, 2024)

For the coming year $82 of your annual dues will be tax deductible.

Membership voting concluded and did NOT pass on AAUW Bylaws Change to open eligibility to remove degree requirements for membership.  Thanks to all who took the time to vote.  Per the AAUW Election page:

• The open membership initiative did not pass. Changes to AAUW’s bylaws require 2/3 majority (66.6%) to pass. AAUW members voted 65.1% to approve the measure, just shy of passing.

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Our officers for 2024-2025:
President:  Mary Schwanke
Co-Program VPs:  Mären DeLaitsch & Alana Bunkers
Membership VP:  Mary Overlee Olson
Secretary:  Sandi Tobin
Treasurer:  Linda Boorman
Co-AAUW Funds:  Trudy Severson & Shelly Rockman
Finance:  Eileen Newhouse
Visibility: Nancy Vaillancourt
Webmaster:  Linda Hoffman
Fundraising (Taste):  Mary Cronin & Linda Hoffman

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Dues for the coming year are:
$72 Association + $9 State + $10 Branch = $91 total.  Please send a check for $91 to Linda Boorman, 1250 Edgewood Place, Owatonna, MN 55060. Check payable to AAUW Owatonna Branch.  (deadline is June 30, 2024)

For the coming year $79 of your annual dues will be tax deductible.

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Here are the vendors who supported our 2024 Taste event.  

Be sure to thank them for their support – and support them!

• • Basilleo’s Pizza
  • Candullo’s Coffee
  • Confections by Karen
  • Costas
  • Mizuki Fusion
  • Old Town Bagels & Café
  • Owatonna Eagle’s
  • Owatonna Elk’s
  • Spare Time Entertainment
  • Steve’s Meat Market
  • Torey’s

Thanks to Thrivent Financial for supporting some of our Taste-related expenses in 2024.

Attendees gather at the Owatonna Eagles for Taste of Steele County, sampling a wide array of offerings from local businesses. (Josh LaFollette/southernminn.com)

Rachel Lee, of Steve’s Meat Market in Ellendale, serves up snacks at Taste of Steele County, an AAUW Owatonna fundraiser that supports scholarships for local women and girls. (Josh LaFollette/southernminn.com)

Jennifer Candullo, of Candullo’s Coffee, hands out samples at Taste of Steele County. Candullo’s Coffee was one of the new vendors at this year’s event. (Josh LaFollette/southernminn.com)

Cottage baker Karen Peterson shows off a tray of her cookies. Peterson, of Confections by Karen, also treated attendees to her candied jalapeños. (Josh LaFollette/southernminn.com)

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