Jesse Daniel Ames Chapter
1923 Mrs. Jesse Daniel Ames and nine other women faculty members at Southwestern University, the oldest institution of higher learning in Texas, organized the Georgetown Branch of AAUW. She served as president and was instrumental in establishing the Texas AAUW board.
1931 Our AAUW branch disbanded during the Depression but was reorganized in 1944, actively serving the community ever since then.
1958-59 Children’s Theater Association plays were sponsored by our AAUW branch as a cultural contribution to the community.
1971-74 Southwestern University and our AAUW branch co-sponsored a children’s theater program to enhance children’s experience of live theater and to introduce to them the concept of college, also raising funds for scholarships.
1974 Led by our AAUW branch, community groups collaborated with the Williamson County Commissioners Court to establish a Child Welfare Board for abused and neglected children.
1975 Members of our AAUW branch supported sponsorship of the Travis County Medical Society Blood Bank, which ran for many years.
1988 Our AAUW branch started a summer school supply project for low-income families at GISD elementary schools. Our members obtained supplies, sorted and sacked items for each grade level at each school. Although the Caring Place began to administer this project in 1994, our AAUW branch members continued to fill sacks through summer 2001. We have had an AAUW representative on TCP’s board since 1992.
1999 Our AAUW branch sponsored a spring public forum at the Williamson County Courthouse for local city electoral candidates. Georgetown’s first woman mayor was elected, and she joined Austin officials in welcoming delegates to the 2001 AAUW national convention held in Austin. A public forum was repeated in 2002, and our branch representative presented a break-out workshop at the 2003 AAUW national convention in El Paso on how to organize public forums.
2001 Our branch members assisted the Austin Branch in planning and hosting the national convention in Austin, in June.
2003 Our college scholarship program for an outstanding girl graduate at Georgetown High School made its first recent award. The annual scholarship program has continued into the present with the exception of 2010.
2010-11 Donations to the Wilco Museum in Georgetown underwrote a new “traveling trunk” on the Civil War, part of the hands-on educational outreach program to area elementary schools.
2011-12 Our membership expanded dramatically, infusing our programs and activities with new interests and enthusiasm for our mission.
2012 Our branch members assisted the Austin Branch in planning and hosting the state convention in Austin, April 13-15.