United We Rise: the 2011 Pennsylvania NOW Convention

UNITED WE RISE!  We must and will rise to fight the War on Women that is currently being waged against women in the US and here in PA. A war that includes:

1. Women continuing to earn only 78% of men’s salaries;
2. Congress and the PA General Assembly’s attempts to take away our reproductive rights; 
3. Threats to public education; etc.

Join us at our biennial convention October 1, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Philadelphia Bucks County, 4700 Street Road, Trevose, PA 19053 (215-364-2000).  We will be focusing on this war on women and how, United, we can fight back.

The deadline for reduced cost for lodging has passed, but rooms may still be available.  The hotel's phone number is 215-364-2000. 

This all-day conference starts with breakfast  and is followed by a day of speakers and workshops.  The workshops will focus on:

• reproductive rights attacks,
• school vouchers,
• single-payer healthcare,
• maternity care, and caregiving, 
• working in coalitions,
• voting rights, and
• election work to make sure our united voice is heard.

In addition, we will be electing new officers, holding a luncheon PAC fundraiser, voting on the proposed by-laws change, and hosting a cocktail reception in the early evening.  Breakfast and the reception are included in the Convention Registration Fee.

Featured Speakers

There will be two featured speakers at the convention and luncheon 

PA PAC Fundraiser

The featured speaker at the PAC luncheon will be Siobhan “Sam” Bennett, President and CEO, Women’s Campaign Forum (WCF). The WCF, founded in 1974, is the only national, non-partisan political organization supporting women at all levels of office, during the earliest stages of their public life, when that support is needed most.  The luncheon will also present current and past NOW PAC-endorsed candidates to the attendees.

Siobhan “Sam” Bennett has served as the President and CEO of the Women’s Campaign Fund (WCF), The She Should Run Foundation, and WCF PAC since March 2009. Under Sam’s leadership, WCF's and She Should Run's combined budget has more than doubled and the organization’s programmatic reach has expanded to every state in the country and been featured in national syndications, including USA Today and over 200 AP newspapers. Sam has lent her unique perspective as a candidate at the local and federal levels to broaden WCF’s impact on women leaders at all levels of government who support reproductive choices and options, and women who may run for office in the future. 

This fundraiser will help get out our Voters’ Guide and to also support our endorsed candidates.  Cost is a minimum $50.00/person. Deadline for registering for the PAC luncheon is Tuesday, September 27 at noon.

Convention Keynote

The featured speaker during our afternoon session is Terry O'Neill, National President of the National Organization for Women. Terry is a feminist attorney, former professor and activist for social justice; she was elected president of NOW in June 2009.  She is also president of the NOW Foundation and chair of the NOW Political Action Committees, and serves as the principal spokesperson for all three entities. O'Neill oversees NOW's multi-issue agenda, which includes: advancing reproductive freedom, promoting diversity and ending racism, stopping violence against women, winning lesbian rights, ensuring economic justice, ending sex discrimination and achieving constitutional equality for women.   

Registration Fees

NOW member registration fee is $50.00. Non-member registration, including a one-year membership is $70.00. Current members can register and attend the convention on a sliding scale down to $0.00.

The PAC luncheon is a separate event with a separate registration fee. Since it is a fundraiser, the minimum cost for lunch is $50.00.

If you will be paying by credit card, use this site to both register and pay for both events.

If you will be paying by check, go to http://pennsylvanianow.blogspot.com/2011/09/pennsylvania-now-convention-just-3.html, download and complete the registration form, and email it to pmacfish@aol.com. Then bring your payment(s) to the convention on October 1.

Thank you for your interest in the PA NOW Convention and for pre-registering.

See you on October 1!  UNITED WE RISE!