Volume 82, Issue    3

Co-President’s Message

Dear Arlington Branch Members,
It has gotten quite chilly these past few weeks and the snow predictions are already starting. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and is looking forward to the holiday season. My husband and I are off to Spain and Italy in December – it’s the trip we planned for April 2020 but had to postpone because of the pandemic. Isn’t it great that we can be out and about again!

I hope everyone has a lovely time at our holiday luncheon on December 6 at Mylos Grill. Don’t forget to bring a book to donate to the Women’s Detention Center. I want to thank everyone again for their generosity last year in making donations to our scholarship and awards fund last year. Your donations enabled us to award academic scholarships, a teacher’s award, and gift cards to science fair winners.

Don’t forget that you can bring your scholarship donation with you to the luncheon. Best wishes for a joyful holiday season and a great 2026!
Terry Bratt, Co-President

Co-President’s Message

Candace Lilyquist, Co-President

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Holiday Luncheon

Saturday, December 6 at Mylo’s Grill

We have a new location for our Holiday Luncheon this December! Mark your calendars for December 6 from 12-2 PM at Mylo’S Grill, 6238 Old Dominion Drive, McLean. Parking is readily available at the restaurant.

Trudy Marietta from AARP will be our speaker and will discuss how we can protect ourselves from fraud!

The menu is shown below. The $30 per person cost includes non-alcoholic beverages. Tax and tip are extra. Alcoholic beverages will be available at a cash bar.

Please let Jeanine Brundage know by December 2 what your menu selection will be. Our room in the restaurant will hold only 25-30 persons. Please let Jeanine know you are coming and how many guests you will bring as soon as you can. Don’t miss out on this wonderful annual event for our branch.

MENU

• APPETIZER: Pita Tzaziki
• ENTREE SELECTIONS:
• MYLO’S SIGNATURE CHICKEN KABOBS, marinated to perfection, served on a bed of rice and vegetables with onions, peppers and Parmesan grilled Roma tomatoes
• PASTITSIO, homemade Greek style lasagna made with ground beef, ziti noodles, fresh herbs and spices topped with bechamel sauce, served with Greek salad
• GRILLED ATLANTIC SALMON, topped with olive oil and lemon butter sauce, served with vegetables, rice and salsa Fresca
• PASTA PRIMAVERA, Linguini and zucchini squash, onions and peppers tossed with your choice of marinara, Alfredo , or oil and wine sauce served with garlic toast
• DESSERT: GALATOPOUREKO

Do You Have a New or Gently Used Book in Need of a New Home?

We are once again collecting new or gently used books for the Women’s Detention Center like we did last year. The women like all kinds of books, especially mysteries and thrillers. You can bring your books to the holiday luncheon on December 6 at Mylos Grill at noon.

Jeanine Brundage, VP Programs

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It’s Time to Make a Donation to our Scholarship/Award Fund!

Every year the Arlington AAUW Branch joins AAUW member branches across the United States in awarding local academic scholarships. You should have recently received a letter from me with information on how to make a donation this year to our scholarship/award fund.

We can be so proud of our awardees. Our 2025 scholarship recipients are attending Columbia University in New York City, Harvard University, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In April 2025, once again because of the generosity of members, we were able also to give APS Science Fair winners gift certificates to a local bookstore. Nominations come from APS administrators and teachers, and the awardees are named after a nomination committee reviews the candidates.

Since our Branch elected years ago not to engage in fundraising, our ability to award these scholarships depends on the generosity of our membership in making donations to the scholarship/award fund. We ask you to consider donating today to the Arlington AAUW Scholarship/Award Fund by sending your donation to our treasurer, Teri Doxsee, or bringing your check with you to our December 6 holiday luncheon. Your generosity makes a difference!

Terry Bratt, Co-President

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Let’s Talk About Books

On Tuesday, December 16 at 2 pm the book club will meet at the home of Kathy Scruggs to discuss Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Stout. Please let the hostess know if you are coming.

Our January meeting is scheduled for January 27 at 2 PM at the home of Barbara Gallagher.  Our book selection is Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter.

If you would like to host any of the other meetings, please contact Barbara Gallagher.

Barbara A Gallagher, Let’s Talk About Books Chair

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Membership Renewal 

Good bright morning, fellow AAUW members, this is Susan Senn, your membership chairwoman for the next two years. I have been in touch with some of you lately regarding dues. There is a new way National is using now to renew (the timing mainly). I will be notifying you on a rolling basis according to what date your current membership is recorded in the National roster (how you paid – online or by check). This applies to yearly and Lifetime members who pay state and local dues.

My most important plea to you is to go into your AAUW account to make sure your contact information is up-to-date including address, cell/home phone numbers, and email address. This is so critically important to maintain communication with you and all of us. If you are unsure how to do this, I am perfectly willing to come to you individually to take care of this task. One-to-one would be quite nice.

 As you know, a dwindling membership is our most serious threat. We have 55 current members, down from over 120 in the last 10 years. The Gen X’s and Gen Z’s just don’t do membership in the old way. They are more likely to participate in spontaneous events. And, there is much greater competition for our time spent on the  important, current state of affairs. In March, we will need to elect a new President and a new Treasurer, two very important roles in our AAUW.

Also, we have had some very excellent meetings this year for a painfully small number of attendees, even after making our meetings more accessible by conducting the meetings  on Saturday mornings at Lubber Run Community Center where it is very easy to park despite being underground. So, I ask you to think and write, call or text me if you have any ideas about how we can encourage more of you to attend every month.

 My goal is to see more of all of you for whatever reason re: AAUW. I do think it is critically important in this day and time to continue to support all of the ideals that formed AAUW in the first place 140 years ago.

Susan Senn, VP Membership

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Lunch Bunch

We were pleased to welcome seventeen young women from The Arlington Community High School to our first “Get to Know You” gathering on October 22. Terry Bratt, Mary Beth Pelosky and Meg Tuccillo welcomed them with pizza and cookies and shared our appreciation for Patricia Sanguinetti, the School Counselor and our Spanish language translator. We asked the young women about their dreams for the future and introduced ourselves. They had very interesting goals for themselves, including having a career as an independent business owner, careers focused on communications, dog grooming, fashion design, law — and my favorite — acting! A very diverse range of goals!!

Our November meeting has Karen Vallejos, Executive Director of the Dream Project, coming to share her journey coming from Bolivia as a young child and becoming a lawyer and executive director. We plan to have other women come to share their journeys as well and provide support for our lunch bunchers. We will have speakers on financial planning, how to start a business, and scholarship opportunities.

Mary Beth Pelosky and Meg Tuccillo, chairs

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Mark your Calendar for future Branch Meetings

• February 21, 2026 10:30 am – Field Trip to the Arlington Black History Museum
• March 21, 2026 10:30 am– Annual Meeting with a speaker on Women’s Health
• April 18, 2026 10:30 am – STEM Science speaker
• May 16, 2026 10:30 am – Scholarship Awards

 

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Arlington AAUW Branch November 15 Program on Banned Books

 

Did you know that Judy Blume is still the most banned author in the United States? That the Warren County, VA, Board of Supervisors voted to withhold funds from the Samuels Library starting July 1, 2025? During her very interesting and informative presentation at our November 15 Branch meeting, Arlington County Libraries Director Diane Kresh gave members a brief history of public libraries in the United States and spoke about how public libraries play a major role in being beacons for free speech. Book banning is alive and well in some areas in the United States but not in Arlington.

The Arlington Public Library is an official book sanctuary. On September 26, 2023, then County Board Chair Christian
Dorsey issued the following resolution that was adopted unanimously by the County Board, “Arlington County Libraries as book sanctuaries, committed to protecting banned and challenged books and the right of residents to read the books they choose without fear of suppression.”

In her wide ranging presentation, Ms. Kresh also talked about the history of the Carnegie libraries in the United States. Andrew Carnegie, an immigrant from Scotland, was an industrialist and philanthropist who made a fortune in the steel industry. Recognizing the importance of education, he provided the funds for 1,795 public libraries in the United States from 1883 to 1929. Ms. Kresh also described the
role of the Library of Congress today, established in 1800 when John Adams was president, as a law library, and how Thomas Jefferson’s personal library became the foundation for the library’s collection in 1815 after British forces burned the Capitol in 1814.

We had a lively discussion about our own early memories of getting our first library cards, how important libraries were and are in our lives, and the first books we remember reading as children. We also recommended a book that our Let’s Talk about Books group read last year, Lulu Dean’s Little
Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller. It’s a very funny book about a very serious issue.

Theresa Bratt, Co-President

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AAUW-Arlington Branch Supported the LWV’s Candidate Forum in October

The League of Women Voters of Arlington and Alexandria City hosted their annual Arlington County Candidate Forum on October 14, 2025, at the Walter Reed  Community Center. Terry Bratt, Meg Tuccillo, and Barbara Smith of the AAUW-Arlington Branch displayed information about the Branch’s activities and participated in the discussions with the candidates.

The forum used a “candidating” format: candidates sat at designated tables while small groups of voters rotated among the tables for 10-15 minutes each. This provided voters with direct contact with candidates. This year Arlington residents had the opportunity to vote in the following races: House of Delegates for the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Districts; one County Board seat; and one School Board seat.

All candidates were invited. The candidates attending included Jeramy Olmack and Audrey Clement who were running for the County Board seat; Wendy Sigley who was running for the House of Delegates in District 2, and Patrick Hope, who won the House of Delegates election in District 1.

Although attendance was affected by the fact it was a holiday weekend, the voters who participated in the Candidating event were very engaged in discussions with the candidates who attended.

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AAUW VA State Conference 2026

The 101st AAUW-VA 2026 state conference will be held April 18, 2026, at the Drury Plaza Hotel Richmond, 11049 West Broad Street, Glen Allen VA 23060. Join us for afternoon tours and evening entertainment on Friday, April 17. Then on April 18, we will spend the day together with:

• Interesting speakers,
• Informative panels,
• Catered lunch, and
• Irresistible raffle baskets to support AAUW Greatest Needs Fund

Hotel amenities include free parking, complimentary hot breakfast, complimentary evening drinks and snacks, complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, business center, fitness center and pool.

Reservations may be made by visiting the following link:

https://www.druryhotels.com/bookandstay/newreservation/?group no=10150185

Or you may call 1-800-325-0720 and reference your group number, 10150185, to make your reservation.

To get the group rate, be sure to reserve your room by Sunday, March 15, 2026. Reservations made after this date will be subject to prevailing rates and availability.

Terry Bratt, Arlington AAUW Branch Co-President

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Note from the Editor – February/March 2026 Newsletter