FLORENCE SCHNEIDER
Florence Schneider was a legendary member of the Ashland Branch who was a generous citizen of the Ashland community. The Schneider Museum of Art was made possible by a gift from Florence and her husband, Bill. Florence received her PhD from Bryn Mawr and was a lifetime member of AAUW. She was an active recruiter and mentor for new members, pushing them to take on leadership roles and to extend themselves beyond what seemed comfortable. She passionately believed that AAUW should be an important part of every educated woman’s life. The Ashland Branch established the Florence Schneider Award in 2000 after her death in 1999. NYT obituary The Award is given to a member in recognition of her:
- Longstanding service to and loyal member of AAUW
- Commitment to AAUW’s goals of lifelong education, equity for women and girls, and positive societal change
- Serving as a strong mentor for strong women
- Sharing personal talents in a thoughtful and deliberate manner.
2025 Florence Schneider Award Recipient
At the April Branch meeting, Regina Ayars received the 2025 Florence Schneider Award. Regina was honored with a certificate, a plant, and a membership to the Schneider Museum.
Award presented to Regina Ayars by Pam Shay & Catherine Lutes
Florence Schneider Award Recipients
2024 Wanda Chin
2023 Catherine Lutes
2022 Pam Shay
2021 Gretchen King
2020 Elaine Hamlin
2019 Sandy Theis
2018 Chris Donchin
2017 Mimi Pippel
2016 Bessie Azari
2015 Elaine Sweet
2014 Carryl Breon
2013 Sherri Morgan
2012 Pat Brewer
2011 Nancy McLaughlin
2010 Diana Quirk
2009 Suzanne Duncan
2008 Jean Conger
2007 Eleanor Perkins
2006 Jan Waitt
2005 Claire Carroll
2004 Bettie Henry
2003 Laura Patton
2002 Treva Tumbleson
2001 Helen Seiber
2000 Norma Curtis, Betty Lou Dunlop
Named Honorees 2024-25
Named Honorees are identified each April by the AAUW Ashland Board in recognition of meritorious service to the branch during that AAUW year. The Named Honoree program is administered by Oregon State AAUW. Each branch is entitled to one Named Honoree for every $500 contributed by the branch and all its members.
Fran Adams – Fran is recognized for her leadership of the fundraising team. The team conducted the campaign to fund our scholarships to SOU and RCC. Fran conceived the idea for our Art for Scholars fundraisers. Our own members displayed and sold their beautiful art and crafts to donate to our scholarships.
Shirley Malcolm – Shirley has come early to branch meetings to set up our coffee and tea and breakfast sweets for 2 years. Our refreshment table is always decked with a tablecloth and flowers. Thank you to Elaine Sweet who partnered with Shirley.
Barbara Cervone – Barbara, our program chair this year, has brought A-list speakers on mission related topics to our branch meetings. Barbara brought us SOU Honors College students, Betty LaDuke, a panel on Modern Feminism, the Dean of the OHSU Nursing program, and others. Her introductions were inspiring tributes to the contributions our guests made to the lives of women and girls in our community.
Regina Ayars – Regina is recognized for serving as our President for her third year. This year, she guided our branch to again co-sponsor the Big Ideas Program and candidate forums. She took the position as branch web master and cleaned house on our website! With Regina leading, we are more visible in our community serving our mission.
Karen Spence – Karen has been serving in a new position as Directory Coordinator. She sends accurate and correctly formatted directory entries and updates to the Web master, she requests photo submissions from new members, and submits directory news to the Vision Editor, among others duties.
Bessie Azari — Bessie has co-led the book sale and other fundraisers for the Ashland High School Scholarship. She has worked recently to fill leadership positions for next year. She is recognized for her cheerleader energy and dedication to the branch.