April 2022 Branch Meeting Recap
Authors Day Scholarship Fundraiser

Another Stellar Authors Day and Scholarship Fundraiser Is in the Books…thanks to our Generous Members!

On April 30, 2022, 75 AAUW members and guests gathered at the beautiful and historic Peel House to have breakfast together, enjoy talks from three outstanding Pikes Peak Region authors, purchase their books, and shop the silent auction! What a great day!

Presenting authors included:

Local author Susan Fletcher, an historian, writer, and a visual artist who studied under local legend, Floyd Tunson. A graduate of Palmer High School and Oklahoma Baptist University where she studied history, museum practice and anthropology, Susan is the resident historian and archivist for Glen Eyrie Castle and the Navigators. Her books include Exploring the History of American Childhood Through 50 Historic Treasures which examines the material culture of play through some of Americas’ favorite toys and games, and most recently, The Glen Eyrie Story, which through text and photographs reveals the story of the famous castle, the family who lived there and well as its lesser-known post-Palmer history and restoration.

Lynne Bryant may be a local resident of Manitou Springs, but she grew up in the heart of the deep South-rural Mississippi, and it’s this background and sensibility that she brings to her novels, Catfish Alley, and Alligator Lake. From author Lalita Tademy: “In the tradition of The Help, Lynne Bryant’s Catfish Alley tackles the racial divide of both 1920s and

current-day Mississippi in a page-turning narrative that has at its heart, the search for personal connections as the path to both survival and understanding.”  Lynne has a PhD from the University of Colorado where she teaches nursing. She writes that “she continues to be inspired by the generative power of women.”

Margaret Mizushima is the author of the award-winning and internationally published Timber Creek K-9 mysteries set in the beautiful Colorado Rockies. Whether you’re a fan of the mountains, the mystery genre, or dogs (and one of those should just tick a box for almost all of us), you’ll find something to love in this series of now, seven books, with the 2021 publication of Striking Range. Mizushima lives in Colorado on a small ranch with her veterinarian husband where they raised two daughters and a multitude of animals, so she just a bit about the subject at hand. In 2019, she was named Writer of the Year by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.

The Silent Auction held in conjunction with Authors Day was a smashing success!  Thanks to the generosity of our members (those present as well as those who were unable to attend), we raised a total of $7,845.30 for our scholarship fund, after expenses! Here’s the breakdown:

Registrations                    $2,840.00 (net of Expenses)
+ Silent Auction               $3,627.95 (+ $67.26 receivable)
+ Donations*                   $2,477.09 (net of Expenses)
– Less Expense                 $1,167.00 (includes caterer, venue, auction expenses)
NET TOTAL RECEIVED =  $7,845.30!

*Donations include cash/check/credit card donations from: individuals, IGs in lieu of an auction item, and IGs in addition to donation of auction item.

CONGRATULATIONS ALL!