Make
your reservation for our Annual Champagne Brunch/Meeting/Silent
Auction on January 24th at 11:30 a.m.
 Jane
Roberts is our keynote speaker. She is known worldwide for her
tireless efforts in the field of international family planning,
Roberts, co-founder in 2002 of the 24 million friends of the
United Nations Population Fund, She has been the recipient of
many awards and was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize in 2005.
 The OC chapter always throws a great party for its members in
January, and 2010 will be no exception! Enjoy an excellent
buffet at the Hacienda Restaurant, an outstanding speaker, the
always enjoyable silent auction (ethnic artifacts or other
donations welcomed - call 714- 997-6845) . One of our student
interns will come by and pick up your donations at your
convenience. This has been one of the chapter's most enjoyable
fund raisers. A very brief meeting for business will include the
presentation of a slate of officers for 2010, followed by
nominations from the floor, and the vote.
Reservation Form.
More information is available in the
December 2009
Newsletter.
Officer
Nominations for 2010 President: Geraldine McNenny, V/P Programs,
Gaye Christoffersen; V/P Membership, Opal Richardson; Treasurer,
Carl Mariz; and Secretary, Virginia Bernal. Committees are being
formed and this is an excellent time for you to learn more about
how you can be more involved in the work of the chapter.
Recent
Chapter Activities
November
7th -Southern California Division Annual Meeting
 GEORGE
WILSON HONORED AT ANNUAL SO. CAL DIVISION TRIBUTE LUNCHEON
Dr. George Wilson was selected as the recipient of this
year’s Orange County Chapter Ttribute for his long and
distinguished service to the UNA-USA. George, his wife Jean, and
chapter members Therese Lynn, Virginia and Juan Bernal, Carl
Mariz and Rani Aggarwal attended the annual luncheon held on
November 7 in Pasadena.
Marilyn Scaff Hempel, Publisher of the Population Press, was the
Keynote Speaker and she addressed “Population Impacts On The
Millennium Development Goals.”
October
24th -International Day of Climate Change on UN Day
On 24 October,
United Nations Day, 20 members of the Orange County UNA-USA
participated in a community event with over 300 individuals to
take part in the International Day of Climate Action. People in
181 countries. came together for the most widespread day of
environmental action in the planet's history. At over 5200
events around the world, people gathered to call for strong
action and bold leadership on the climate crisis. To view some
of the 15,000 photos received, go to
www.350.org.
The number represents 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide
emissions in the atmosphere that some scientists say is the safe
upper limit. The atmosphere currently reaches about 390 parts
per million, according to research by NASA climate scientist
James Hanse cited by 350.org.
For 2 weeks,
beginning December 7th, 5,000 officials, advisors, diplomats,
campaigners and journalists from 191 countries met in Copenhagen
for the United Nations Climate Conference to thrash out a
successor to the Kyoto protocol. The talks were the latest in an
annual series of UN meetings that trace their origins to the
1992 Earth Summit in Rio, which aimed at coordinating
international action against climate change. Go to
http://en.cop15.dk/ to follow the results of these talks.
Blimp photo of Orange County
participants forming the number 350
UNA-USA/OC Chapter 5K event to
celebrate UN Day and 350.org
September 21st - International Day of Peace
Virginia Bernal and Susan Eaton
represented the UNA-USA/OC in joining with other local agencies
committed to peace and nonviolence at the at Golden West
Community College. It was a pleasure to see the next generation
of peace builders at work. The event was organized by the Peace
Studies Program at the college.
July 26th - Coffee Talk with Jeff Laurenti
 Jeff Laurenti, International security expert and
senior advisor to the United Nations Foundation spoke
on the topic of American
Foreign Policy in the Age of Obama: More Hope Than Change?
In
an enjoyable country garden setting on Sunday afternoon, July
20th in Long Beach, Jeff Laurenti, international security expert
and senior advisor to the United Nations Foundation, stimulated
the thinking of the 20-30 of us in attendance. He reminded us of
the unexpected positive and negative foreign policy outcomes
during the administrations of both Republican and Democratic
presidents during the last 30 years. Change doesn’t come
without hope. We co-sponsored this event with the Long
Beach/South Bay Chapter so made some new friends as well.
June
17th
 Rick
Steves, host of the PBS-TV travel series, spoke on June 17th
about how thoughtful travel expands our world view and shapes
how we address the challenges confronting our nation
politically. Steves feels that travel helps us “challenge
truths we were raised to think were self-evident and God-given.”
He shared how the other 96 percent of humanity sees our nation
and explored how his social activism has grown naturally out of
his travel experiences (including a TV production trip to Iran).
Susan Eaton and Adele Brown are shown here with Steves.
UNAUSA Orange
County Chapter members and friends were invited to the 43rd
Annual Conference of the Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast
(ASPAC) held at Soka University June 19th - 21st. ASPAC is
dedicated to promoting a better understanding of Asia.
 May 2nd -
International Fair, Soka University
Board members,
Barbara Tye, Deirdre LaPera, and Bri Carlson took a
shift staffing the UNA-USA/OC table.
April 15th
– 2009 UNAUSA/OC Coffee Talk #2 in recognition of Earth Day
 The
state of the world's oceans:
Why sharks are in danger
... and why we should care
Jenny
Miller Garmendia
Director, Project AWARE
Project AWARE Foundation
Ms. Garmendia
spoke on international fishing disputes, marine policy, and
international law and aquatic environment issues at
international conferences.
March 9th
– 2009 UNAUSA/OC Coffee Talk #1 in recognition of International
Women’s Day
Sandie Morgan, Administrator of the Orange County Human
Trafficking Task Force, gave the first UNA critical issues
presentation of 2009 on March 9 at Soka University, in Aliso
Viejo, to an interested group of UNA members and supporters from
other local NGOs. This presentation was given in recognition of
International Women’s Day. More information about the OC Task
Force:
www.ochumantrafficking.org. More background: UN Office of
Drugs and Crime - Global Report on Trafficking in Persons -
Actress Mira Sorvino named UN Goodwill Ambassador to combat
human trafficking |
