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It's hard to believe Labor Day is just around the corner. I hope everyone has enjoyed the gifts of summer and are eager to begin their chapter and regional activities renewed and refreshed. The Executive Committee has been very busy since June. The Leadership Directory is 99% complete and was posted to the website in record time. The membership database hs been updated with dues renewal notices going out with complete dues information. Second Vice President Colleen Ostiguy is working up a member benefits package and that is just a smidgen of what your organizational leaders have been doing this summer.

At State Conference we extended NYS Women in Business Week to Women in Business Month.  This may seem like a small change but given the importance of women in business, why limit ourselves to one week of recognition.  For those who are new to our organization, Women in Business Month is held in the month of October annually.

Congress has only a few more days to finish VAWA. We need to tell our legislators to do their job. For nearly two months, since the passage of the Senate version of VAWA and a House version of VAWA, Congress has done NOTHING to finish the job and get VAWA to the President to be signed.

There are times in an assembly when the proceedings need to be immediately interrupted to deal with a problem. This can happen when someone else has the floor. Examples are “members can’t hear the speaker”, “members in the back of the room cannot see the power point  presentation”.  These examples involve several members and therefore a member may rise to “a question of privilege. “ Once stated, the chair must immediately respond to the issue being raised.

The Capital Region Women’s Network (CRWN) partnered with the Troy Boys and Girls Club in Troy, NY to offer The Reality Store Program on June 8, 2012. About 10 teenage girls got a taste of what it is like to manage finances in the adult world during this simulation event. The young women had an opportunity to allocate a month’s salary among typical expenses such as housing, food, transportation, and clothing. After selecting a career, the girls were given an appropriate after-tax monthly income, and had to draw chances to discover their marital and parental status. Then they proceeded to one of about a dozen stations to make spending decisions, with the goal of not spending more than they earned in a month.

The Reality Store, which is trademarked by BPW Indiana, is a financial simulation allowing high school students (ages 15-18) to choose their future careers and make decisions about their lifestyles based on their financial savvy.   The Career Development Opportunities Inc, 501 C (3) members have been sponsoring the New York State Women Inc Youth Leadership Conference for the last several years by presenting the Reality Store to high school students.

Theme - “Empowering Women”. This meeting will be held in Niagara Falls NY. Oct 12th - 14th. Some of the scheduled workshops are "Reality Store" Train the Trainer, Motivational Speaker Claire Knowles, Making the Most of Your Membership, and Nuts and Bolts of Organizational Leadership. Register online

Women’s Day at the Great New York State Fair will be held this year on Wednesday, August 29^th. The morning will begin in the New Times Theatre with coffee and networking followed by presentation “Battling the Silent Killers of Women” by the Combat Divas, Freida Weeks and Leisha Tedford at 11:00am. The annual Women’s Day Luncheon will be held in the Empire Room at noon.  Once again, the event will be hosted by Mistress of Ceremonies, WCNY’s Liz Ayers.  Joining Liz this year as keynote speaker will be Deborah Cabral aka “The DeClutter Coach”. Ms. Cabral will be addressing “DeClutter and Simplify Your Life”.  The Women’s Day Luncheon reservation form can be downloaded from Fair website under the Women’s Day listing at www.nysfair.org.

We are pleased to announce that new bills were introduced in the Senate and Assembly S7638/A10264 on June 8^th.  These bills are the result of a joint effort between the Senate, Assembly and Governor Cuomo.  While these bills are not specifically named Jilly’s Law, they have incorporated the specifics of Jilly’s Law into one bill along with other much-needed legal protection for victims of domestic violence. Hopefully we have done our part to make New York State a much safer place for victims of domestic violence.

Here are a few articles on domestic violence legislation coming up on the state level -

1. Albany aims to curb abusers’ funeral rights 
2. New York's repeat domestic violence offenders to face five-year prison sentence