August 2018

BPW Connection | August 2018

You don't want to miss the August luncheon!   Our speaker is State Representative (and BPW Member!)  Holly Raschein Please note the slight time change - Registration starts at 11:15 AM and the program will begin promptly at 11:45 AM.  Thanks for your cooperation. Reserve your space in advance: CLICK HERE  Interested in Solar? Finance with FKEC! Click here to learn more. Ilja Chapman, President Greetings, Earlier this month, I attended the Marathon BPW dinner meeting and I was pleased to see they welcomed five new members. We discussed the greater BPW mission we have as local BPW organizations. They inspired me to remind you to be proud that we are all part of the Business & Professional Women/ Florida. Our goal is to achieve equity for all women in the workplace through advocacy, education and information. In August, children are going back to school and most parents are looking forward to a structured life again. But for BPW, Sunday, Aug. 26 is significant as we celebrate Women’s Equality Day. The United States finally began allowing women to vote on that day in 1920, after the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Did you know that New Zealand was the first country to allow women to vote in 1893, while the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia granted women the right to vote only seven years ago, in 2011? The statewide primary elections are held Aug. 28, and it is important for all of us to be educated about the local issues and vote! Educating our members politically is one of BPW’s missions. We are working diligently to produce the upcoming Political Forum when we will ask the candidates the tough questions. Save the date for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 17th. We are very happy to see so many new and renewing members this month; our BPW community is still growing! We encourage you to talk to any of our board members and get actively involved with our organization as your input will help support our members and the community. Looking forward to seeing you all on Wednesday at the luncheon! Ilja Chapman

bpw|CALENDAR August 15: Luncheon 11:30 am-1:00 pm. Holiday Inn-Key Largo, African Queen/Casa.  Speaker: State Representative Holly Raschein. September 19: TBA - Lunch or Evening? Which do you prefer? October 17: Political Forum, Evening Event. Location TBA. 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM

The Upper Keys BPW meets once a month, on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. We alternate between luncheons and evening networking events, and would love for you to join us! Click the button to see our full event schedule and register for an upcoming event.  SPONSOR AN EVENT! If you or your business would be interested in sponsoring one or more of our lunches or evening events, let us know!  More information on sponsorship cost and benefits can be found below. Help us fund our Adult Scholarship program, and promote your business.

SPONSOR AN UPPER KEYS BPW EVENT! The cost to sponsor an event is $250. With the sponsorship you receive the following benefits and opportunities: Logo/branding: Event E-vite emailed three times to a database of 500 people Monthly BPW member Newsletter emailed a few days prior to event Mention at Upper Keys BPW social media One Free dedicated business E-Blast to our membership with a message your business likes to share Display table and/or hand outs to all attendees Banner display at the luncheon Two FREE entrees to the luncheon 5 minute speaking time at the luncheon directed to all attendees     bpw|member SPOTLIGHT Meet Tina Wyatt Tina Wyatt, Account Manager, is a Florida licensed health and life insurance agent. Tina has worked with DeMoss Financial, Inc. for the last 18 years. She also has more than 30 years of experience in the medical profession, and uses this experience to assist her clients with many insurance related matters. Through her experiences and training, Tina understands complicated insurance matters and is able to assist her clients with difficult claims and authorizations. She strives to help clients understand issues and maneuver through the maze of the health insurance industry. Tina works with employers of all sizes to help streamline their employee benefits. She helps employers find health insurance, dental and vision insurance, supplemental insurance like Aflac, and more. Each employer has different needs and Tina helps find the plans that fit those needs. Tina has lived in the Florida Keys since 1978. She raised her two grown children here in the Florida Keys. Over the years she was involved in her children’s school and in her church. She has been very active in her community by volunteering for various organizations. She was a member of Florida Keys SHRM and is a member of the Upper Keys Century Business and Professional Women's organization.

Zane Grey Lounge in July Did you make it to the July evening event?  We had a fabulous time at the Zane Grey Lounge at Islamorada Fish Company!  We appreciate their generosity and hospitality.  Thanks also to Ilja Chapman/Cruise Planners for sponsoring the event, and hosting the Round the World game.  Raffles and door prizes completed the enjoyment, and we made a lot of money for our Professional Development Fund.   Atta Girl BPW Member Pam Feeser! Congratulations to Pam Feeser of Living Springs Counseling on her successful Desserts, Desserts, Desserts! event. We hope she raised lots of money; she definitely made a lot of taste buds happy! Great job, Pam, and thanks for the treats! Atta Girl (Atta Boy!) BPW Member Bob Thomas! Shout out to Bob Thomas for his Hemingway Look-a-Like contest in Key West during the Hemingway Days Celebration. Unfortunately, Bob didn't take home the prize, but we are proud of him, and think he looked amazing! Way to go, Bob! Atta Girl BPW Board Member Suzi Youngberg!  Congratulations to Suzi Youngberg on her successful kickoff party for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk!    It was a great turnout.  We wish Suzi luck getting lots of teams signed up throughout the Keys. The walk will be on October 13, at the Truman Amphitheater Park in Key West. Congrats Suzi! IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW DESERVES AN ATTA GIRL, PLEASE SEND US THE INFORMATION AND WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU/THEY ARE RECOGNIZED!   bpwupperkeys@gmail.com NEW AUGUST MEMBERS Please help us welcome new and renewing members! NEW MEMBERS: Danya Herzberg, First State Bank of the Florida Keys-Manager Kristi Mitchell, Key Largo Massage-Owner Ashley Lowman Arrabal, Florida Keys Electric Coop-Supervisor of General Accounting RENEWING MEMBERS: Diana Platt, Card Sound Golf Club Club-Manager Laura Lietaert, Key Largo School-Principal Lauretta Reeves, Islamorada Investment Management-Portfolio Manager Lisa Feliciano, Center State Bank-Residential Loan Officer Ask us about the benefits of being a member! Become a member of the Upper Keys Business & Professional Women (BPW) Click the button, or go to upperkeysbpw.org for registration and information. You can also join us at one of our luncheons or evening events, held on the third Wednesday of every month.        Women’s Equality Day celebrates the 19th Amendment The holiday is about the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The amendment is deceptively simple. It reads: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Suffragettes lobbied for a woman’s right to vote Before the 19th Amendment was passed, no woman had the right to vote. Women’s suffrage—or the political fight to enfranchise women—is widely considered to have begun with the Seneca Fall convention, as chronicled by this U.S. House’s Office of the Historian. During this gathering, which was held in Seneca Falls, N.Y. in 1848, organizers drafted a “Declaration of Sentiments, Grievances, and Resolutions” that echoed the preamble of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.” From there, several women—including, at various times, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, and Carrie Chapman Catt—led the charge in lobbying Congress and the White House on behalf of American women. The tipping point came in 1917, when President Wilson made the decision to enter World War I. Suffragettes argued that the effort to “make the world safe for democracy” (Wilson’s words) ought to begin at home by extending the franchise. Moreover, they insisted, the failure to extend the vote to women might hinder their participation in the war effort—which was direly needed. After a lengthy legal process (changing the Constitution is no small feat!), the Amendment was ratified on Aug. 26, 1920. In 1971, Congress passed a resolution designating Aug. 26 as Women’s Equality Day, in "commemoration of that day in 1920 on which the women in American were first guaranteed the right to vote.” Ninety-eight years later, women are voting more than men but hold political office in much smaller numbers. While women have outstripped men in voting booths since 1980, women still make up just about 20-25% of elected officials at the state and federal level. As of July 2018, out of 535 possible seats, 107 women serve in the U.S. Congress.  Twenty-three women serve in the Senate, out of 100, and 84 women in the House, out of 435.  73 women hold statewide elective executive offices across the country; 23.4% of the 312 available positions. And, among the 100 largest cities in the U.S., only 21 have women mayors. The proportion of women in state legislatures is 25.4 percent. But there is good news!  It's Official: Record Number Of Women Nominated For House Seats In 2018!  With the August 8th primaries, women have hit another milestone in this record-breaking political year, setting a new record for the number of women who have secured a major party nomination for the U.S. House. Democrats and Republicans have nominated 185 women to run for the House in November, as of Wednesday morning, according to the Center for Women and Politics at Rutgers University. The figure breaks the prior record of 167 nominees set in 2016. The total could still tick upwards in the coming days, as three more women are candidates in House primaries that remain too close to call after Tuesday's voting. Many states have yet to hold their primaries, and one still will hold a runoff, meaning the total number of women nominees could easily jump substantially by Election Day, further shattering that 2016 record. AUGUST DEADLINE EXTENDED!!   THE AUGUST 15TH DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO AUGUST 31! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GOING BACK TO SCHOOL OR CONTINUING YOUR EDUCATION, APPLY FOR OUR ADULT SCHOLARSHIP TODAY! APPLY FOR AN UPPER KEYS BPW ADULT SCHOLARSHIP The Upper Keys's BPW Adult Scholarship program is about women helping women!  Apply for the Upper Keys BPW Adult Scholarship and the new UKBPW-Holly GivenMemorial Scholarship. The specifications and applications can be found on our website. Applications are accepted all year round, and are reviewed on March 15th and August 15th annually.  Scholarships may be used for certifications, training classes, or classes and required materials for higher educational degrees.   For more information, or to download the application, click the button below.    Sending an E-Blast to Upper Keys BPW email recipients is a great way to get your message out. Members and non-members alike are invited to use this forum for events, specials, sales and general advertising. Let the Upper Keys BPW help you spread the word about your business! Our E-Blast prices are as follows: $15.00  -  Members $30.00  -  Non-Members $50.00  -  Political Ads Proceeds from E-Blasts go toward our Adult Scholarship Fund. Simply send us your message, along with your name, business name and billing information to:        BPWupperkeys@gmail.com Connecting our Upper Keys Chapter to BPW Florida BPW/FL Florida Federation of Business & Professional Women's Club Inc. Advocacy America was founded on the principal of equality for all and derives its strength from individuals working together for a common good. This public policy platform is BPW/FL’s blueprint for our work in respect, justice, and equality for working women. Women should have the opportunity to be well educated, healthy, economically strong, secure, and their families should be able to live and work in communities that are environmentally clean. This public policy platform represents a vision based on supporting and defending American values as they specifically relate to working women’s hopes and dreams for the future. We will work with elected officials and activists to achieve this vision in government and in our communities. CLICK to read the official BPW/FL 2018-2019 Public Policy Platform. Member Resources On the BPW Florida website you can find wealth of information about our organization and we now encourage all members to take advantage of the resources. The members-only login section has been improved and we ask you, the member, what you would like to see in this section for your benefit. Log in athttps://bpwfl.org/members-only-documents/ BPWInsider Congratulations BPW/FL on their new E-Newsletter, BPWInsider. There is a lot of good information and the first issue gave a shout out to the Upper Keys BPW as their Highlighted Local Organization!  We thank them for their recognition and their leadership!  To read the article CLICK HERE. Do You Ever Feel Like the Lone Ranger? Let's help each other  It's easy to feel like the Lone Ranger in the Keys, away from big cities and traditional paths to professional growth. Last month, Upper Keys BPW announced a mentoring program for women that can help. To make it successful, we are asking for your assistance in one or more of the following ways.  Serve on the committee. We've got a great start on the research. Now we need people to help us build a program that works for us, our members and our community.   Be a mentor. Mentors share knowledge and experience, and contribute to others' personal and professional growth.    Be a mentee. If you want to learn about new opportunities, develop leadership skills, learn new skills, move up the ladder, pump up your business, or something else, mentoring can help.  If you want to get involved in this mentorship program, or have questions, contact Upper Keys BPW VP of Development Jackie Harder by email – jackie@key-dynamics.com. Got questions? We'll do our best to answer them! Submit your questions for the candidates! Our Political Forum is coming up on October 17th, and we need your help. The Upper Keys BPW's political forum has a reputation for the most relevant questions and topics, and that is thanks to our members!  Please submit your questions for specific candidates running for office in November.  Stay tuned for a list of exactly which candidates will attend the forum, but you can still submit your questions to: bpwupperkeys@gmail.com, subject: POLITICAL FORUM QUESTIONS.            Board of Directors 2018-2019 President Ilja Chapman305-998-8348 Ilja.chapman@gmail.com Vice Presidents Miriam Lazcos, Membership 305-926-3125 mlazcos@gmail.com Suzi Youngberg, Hospitality 305-393-6830 suziyoungberg@gmail.com Jackie Harder, Development 305-451-9295 jackie@key-dynamics.com Treasurer Theresa Sutter786-361-5404 theresasutter@gmail.com Secretary Wendy Coffman 305-896-4451 wcoffman@centerstatebank.com Directors Pam Martin305-393-4643  pmflkeys@aol.com Laura Maupin 305-360-5645 keystoyouth@gmail.com Shawna Simcic 724-664-4120 shawna.simcic@gmail.com Contact your Upper Keys BPW Chapter: bpwupperkeys@gmail.com   or   info@upperkeysbpw.org P. O. Box 231, Tavernier, FL  33070 Facebook • Twitter • LinkedIn Unsubscribe