From Rayma's Desk ...

April has turned out a bumper crop of women candidates. At the April meeting we heard from three women running for local office – the only hitch being two are running for the same office. Dare we hope the days when no women are running are becoming a thing of the past? We can do more than hope – we can solicit, train and support women in their quests for position of leadership. And then there are the nominations for Justice Stephens’ seat on the U.S. Supreme Court! How exciting is it that the first “short list” contained only women? And, if my internet sources are to be believed, pro-choice women at that!

It has been eighty years since the passage of the Woman Suffrage Amendment. A monumental achievement that should have gotten us to this point sooner but, nevertheless something to celebrate and for which we are thankful. Thursday, August 26 -- just four months away – is our annual Women’s Equality Day Celebration. It is time to start getting sponsors and rolling up our sleeves to make sure we have a banner event to match this most auspicious year. We need your ideas, contacts, sponsors and time. We need to do Bella Abzug proud!

** We look forward to seeing you at our May 4th General Membership Meeting where Kathy Omachi will be our guest speaker. She will share her long time passion for a revitalized Chinatown. This treasure just West of downtown Fresno may be something of a mystery to many of us but not to Kathy - who will give us some history, tell of her efforts for revitalization and what we can expect in the future.