(Submitted by University Women of BGSU)
The University Women of Bowling Green State University will open their 2018-2019 year with the annual Fall Membership Brunch. The event will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25, at 10 a.m. at the Simpson Building in Simpson Garden Park, 1291 Conneaut Ave. It is open to the public, with area women interested in joining the organization invited to come as guests.
Current members each bring a dish for the potluck brunch.
To open the program, BGSU President Dr. Rodney Rogers will update members and guests on new events and developments at BGSU.
The morning’s featured speaker will be Tom Walton, retired editor of the Toledo Blade. He currently writes a humor column for the paper and also produces a weekly radio commentary for WGTE Public Radio called “Life As We Know It.” Walton will offer his personal insights into the world around us.
Also during Saturday’s brunch the organization will hold its annual raffle and silent auction to support scholarships for nontraditional female students at BGSU. Members are invited to bring one or more items to donate. Funding for the scholarships was also raised during a recent successful tour of private Bowling Green gardens, hosted by University Women in June.
UW’s two $2,000 scholarship winners for this year will be introduced at the brunch. They are Bonnie Bailey, a senior and Bowling Green resident who is majoring in human development and family studies, and Courtney Hunt, a senior from Swanton, who seeks a degree in middle childhood education. Bailey, a wife and mother, is a mentor for the Peer Advisors for Veteran Education (PAVE) program and plans to enroll in BGSU’s College Student Personnel master’s degree program after completing her undergraduate degree in 2019. Hunt is employed as a teaching assistant at Imagination Station and hopes to teach in lower-income schools upon graduation.
During the brunch, members will also be signing up for year-long interest groups, which are the backbone of University Women. Among these are monthly groups devoted to gourmet dining and travel, gardening, book groups, docent-led Toledo Museum of Art tours, antiques, bridge, and community service. Added to the list last year were a movie discussion group and a choral group directed by Jo Ascunce, both of which are returning for 2018.
Looking ahead, UW will continue its tradition of an annual holiday party for members, spouses and partners on Dec.14 at the home of Barbara and Roger Sanchez.
Prospective new members may download an application form and find out more about UW on the website at universitywomenofbgsu.com Leading the organization this year is President Suzanne Fahrer.
