Herland Sister Resources

Our Annual Pride Picnic, the Saturday before the Pride Parade, took a road trip last year to the park at 36th & Classen. It was fun, but people encouraged us to return it to Herland, and so this year, we’re coming home to Herland’s backyard. From 5 pm until about 8, we will grill hamburgers and hotdogs, and shamburgers and notdogs for our vegetarian friends. And of course baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, chips, as well as all the fixin’s for the dogs and burgers. Also included in one low donation of $5: soft drinks, the ever popular bottled water, and great music!

Oklahoma’s own (ok, Georgia claims her too) Peggy Johnson will sing for us and emcee. Our lineup is still fluid as we go to press, but we have a marvelous supply of good musicians in Oklahoma, and we’ll get a lot of them here to entertain you. Update: Read the flyer.

So come early, stay late, bring the kids and have a good old family picnic with Herland. On Saturday, June 26th, 5 - 8 pm. Call 521-9696 with any questions.

Our Spring Retreat at Roman Nose last month was one of our best ever. IRIS was great, giving us a Saturday night concert under the stars and singing with the rest of us around the Friday and Saturday campfires. The weather has never been more perfect — 70’s, sunny, no wind.

We learned how to give better massages to our partners and friends, (the woman who lucked into the job of practice dummy still has a silly grin on her face) and learned a lot more about our personality types and how that affects our relationships. That workshop was conducted by an IRIS harmonica player and was very well attended, outdoors under the trees. Only one person fell out of her chair in apparent amazement that she had not ONE alpha-type personality trait. The birdwatchers saw a ton of Painted Buntings, an Indigo Bunting, and two Road Runners, Everyone pitched in and did their part, and we all had a wonderful time. It was just a great group of wimmin.

Next Retreat: September 10 - 12, at Robbers Cave, one of the most beautiful and fun of our state parks. Robbers Cave is closer to Texas and Arkansas than Roman Nose, and we hope some of you Arkansas folks will come over, and that our great new Texas friends will come back. As soon as we know who our entertainment will be we?ll let you know. Meanwhile, save the date, and thanks again to all of the great people who made Roman Nose retreat so much fun.

There are many ways to donate to Herland. We have a large donor base of wonderful folks who send money from time to time, and/or bring us great gifts — couches, rugs, microwaves, lily bulbs, artwork, and of course, books. It is also possible to leave Herland bequests in your will, and via your retirement accounts.

Many people do not know that when retirement plans such as pension funds, 401(k)s, and IRAs are left to an individual other than a spouse, they can be subject to income taxes and estate taxes. The two taxes combined could erode up to 80% of the remaining benefits.

If bequeathed to a 501(c)3, as Herland is, these funds would escape income and estate taxes, thereby reducing the size of your total taxable estate. Herland would receive 100% of the remaining benefit in your retirement plan, and the assets in the plan would be removed from your taxable estate. If you are planning to include Herland in your estate plans, the most effective way to do so is to leave all or part of your retirement plan to Herland, setting aside other assets for partners, family and friends. Naming HSR as beneficiary of your retirement plan is easy: you need only to contact the administrator of your retirement or insurance plan and inform them that you wish to give all or part of the remainder to Herland Sister Resources, Inc., 2312 NW 39th Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112.

Source: New York Public Library

It’s that time of year again when the college basketball season has ended, and the WNBA season is about to begin. The college players entering the WNBA make it an exciting league, and more equal all the time. Sure, the LA Sparks are still pretty dominant in the west, but after their loss last year in the championship to Detroit, it?s no longer a given that they will win it all.

I saw an article this morning where Val Ackerman, president of the league, announced that the WNBA will be a profitable league by 2007. She said a few teams have been profitable from the beginning, but this pronouncement is surprising since three teams folded last year. She also said there are plans to add a 14th team to the league within the next year or two but did not announce the city.

The league is now entering what some journalists are calling “the Taurasi era” in reference to Diana Taurasi, Connecticut?s wonder girl who was the first draft pick this year, picked up by the Phoenix Mercury. It will be interesting to see how she does, and what effect she will have on one of the league’s least successful teams in number of wins. She will probably experience more than triple the number of losses in her first year with Phoenix than she did in four years at Connecticut. But she?s really an awesome player and will be a lot of fun to watch.

The fourth pick in the draft, Lindsey Whalen, was picked by the Connecticut Sun. Whalen was the most prolific scorer in Minnesota history, and the darling of the NCAA tournament, particularly after Minnesota surprisingly knocked off Duke in the semi-finals. My favorite memory of Whalen is from that game against Duke when driving to the basket, she did a beautiful spin move and left Alana Beard in the dust and made the bucket. People don’t leave Alana Beard behind very often. She’s usually the one leaving everyone else behind. Speaking of Beard, she was the 2nd pick, drafted by the Washington Mystics, where former OU player Stacy Dales-Schuman plays. She will add a really strong presence to a team that desperately needs help.

One interesting twist to this year’s season is the Olympics, and the WNBA is taking a break from August 2nd to August 31st, while some of their biggest stars play for the USA. The other options were to shorten their season, or continue playing without players like Sheryl Swoopes, Diana Taurasi, Tina Thompson and Lisa Leslie. Yawn.

Television coverage has expanded this year with more networks broadcasting games. ABC, ESPN2, Oxygen, and Telemundo will show more than 60 games this season. Check www.wnba.com for the complete schedule.

The WNBA is getting more talented players all the time, and fewer teams will continue their dominance. That?s good for the league, and the players, and should make for some close games and rivalries this year.

About a dozen women met at the Bricktown Brewery and had supper prior to the Melissa Etheridge concert May 19, which they report was a blast. They arranged it through the Herland listserv. If you are not a member, consider joining. Click here to sign up.