Currents Spring 2020 (Vol. 36, No. 1) | Page 4
We Can Be
20 Annual
General
20 Meeting: Proud!
The flurry of activity that proceeds our Annual Gen-
eral Meeting (AGM) is always noteworthy. Whether
it is preparing the agenda, getting the PowerPoint©
presentation to work, finding photos of the activi-
ties, checking who has paid their dues, balancing the
budget, making sure there is coffee and sugar, or so-
liciting items for the Silent Auction—there is always
much to do. But then it happens. And it’s always im-
pressive.
On Janury 26th, our 2019 president, Carol S., opened
the meeting by welcoming the 42 attending mem-
bers. She reviewed the many administrative activi-
ties that the 2019 board had carried out, including
updating the AWCH archive, reviewing our insurance
policies and activity guidelines, and initiating steps
toward improving our internal and external com-
munications—the final step of which will be a new
website. After a short review of our different groups
and our board-appointed positions, Carol S. warmly
thanked our members for their unwavering commit-
ment and support in keeping the club diverse and
strong.
The strengths of our club were reflected over and
over again in the presentations given by the board
members. One aspect we can certainly be proud of
is the broad and extensive platform of activities we
host, which allows our members to connect and get
involved. Activity Chair Anne-Marie S. reported that,
in addition to the over 100 regular meet-ups and ac-
tivities organized by the individual special-interest
groups, AWCH offered close to 50 events in 2019. This
included our annual holiday events, (e.g., Fourth of
July, Thanksgiving) but also a number of special walk-
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AWCH News & Events
ing tours (e.g., Little Jerusalem, Ohlsdorf Cemetery),
art exhibitions (e.g., Generation Wealth, Street Art),
and fund-raising events (e.g., Dumpling-making, Si-
lent Auction). Another highlight was the panel dis-
cussion “Visionary Women” hosted together with
the Amerikazentrum for Women’s History Month.
We also tried something new: our Club-O-Rama, or-
ganized by Membership Chair Holly T., was a unique
platform for new and potential members to explore
the social, cultural, and educational opportunities
that our various groups offer. In her 2019 budget
report Treasurer Tracy M. emphasized that a large
proportion of the membership dues goes toward
supporting the annual events. This year we were
also able to add three new groups (Women’s Circle,
Theater Group, and Get Up & Move), revive an older
group (German Conversation), and saw the tentative
start-up of several others (Environmentally Mindful,
Mahjong, and Choir).
Our second strength is our philanthropic arm, en-
abling our members to “make a difference.” The
Philanthropic Collective was introduced in 2019 to
coordinate and strengthen our fundraising events
and activities. Treasurer Tracy M. reported that over
€3,770 was raised last year for various philanthropic
projects. At the AGM in 2018 we chose the Fifth Ham-
burg Women’s Shelter to be our local charity. This
has been quite rewarding, as our members donated
clothes (from “Sip and Swap”), participated in the
Laufen Gegen Gewalt run (and not just by running!),
and bought raffle tickets to raise that “extra” money
for the shelter, much appreciated during the holiday
season. Our FAWCO Rep. Christine R. reported that