Kathy & Allison's first conference together: Arizona's State Conference, April 7-9, 2006

Although this was a state conference, not a national one, it was the first time my 23 yr. old daughter (soon to have her B.S. in "Women's Studies"...) and I (her mother) had a chance to be a part of a state conference for NOW. We were VERY excited to meet Kim Gandy and have the chance not only to listen to her two speeches, but to get to shake her hand, give her a hug, and reaffirm why we are part of such an important organization. We have loved the organization for several years, and my daughter has attended the March for Women's Lives a couple years ago, but other than filling out forms and signatures (mostly to representatives and senators - ugh at McCain & Kyl here in AZ) we were never really at a gathering of such soul-searching and reinforcement of reason to be in such a group!

Kim did NOT disappoint, and in a very straightforward and warm way, she guided the discussions to just how important it is to be an ongoing part of a women's movement in this country. There are SUCH a wide variety of reasons to be a member. Legislative, of course, but support, information, encouragment and an activist stance is needed not only for present members, but women and children around the country...and the world.

Just as important as reaching the legislators, though, is the drive for membership. We need to get out there at university campuses and community campuses to drum up the enthusiasm we had in the 70's! We can't let the precious rights we gained for ALL women back then slip through our hands as our membership grows older. When talking to young American women, you'll find they are educated but not informed. They still listen to the males in their lives way too much. We are still letting others in our lives influence us when we're standing at the polls, and with the number of single moms out there raising families on their own, it's time we speak up for ourselves and gain that respect in our private lives, careers and with family & friends.

I did learn you can't do this by sitting back and hoping someone else will take these issues on. You have to push yourself because no one else will, and yes, just one voice CAN make a difference!

I looked around in our conference room and felt the power of this group....the belief they continue to have in women and their rights, and I let their enthusiasm seep into my soul.

Skip's first conference: Philadelphia, 1975

My first NOW Conference: Philadelphia 1975! What a rush! Huge numbers of wonderful, strong, brilliant, amazing, independent women. I had never been in the same room with so much estrogen power before!

I remember waiting in line all night to vote. I remember getting another woman to hold my place in line so I could go change my tampon! I remember a diabetic woman passing out in the voting line and the call going out "Is there a doctor in the house?" And several *women* doctors materialized.

At that point in my life, I had scarcely become aware that there *was* such a thing as a woman doctor. I was obviously very new to The Women's Movement. Thirty-one years later, any professional I go to is a woman. The world has changed (though not enough); and I have changed and am still changing, thanks to the National Organization for Women.

Then there was the 1985 conference in New Orleans. We voted, and then went out into the French Quarter to party. We were sitting in The Court of Two Sisters, scarfing up a Banannas Foster, when the next thing we knew, several NOW members appeared and told us we had to go back and vote again!

I don't remember exactly what had happened—something to do with the voting books—and yes, they managed to round up all the partying NOW folks in the Quarter and get us to vote again. Isn't it amazing what we can accomplish against all odds? That's what gives me hope in this very tough time for women's rights.

Of course the Big Mamma Memory of all conference memories was the one in 1983 in our nation's capital. After a long day of workshops and plenaries, and a joyful night of enthusiastic dancing, we were all hot and tired. The idea of a midnight swim was irresistably appealing.

Quietly we slipped down to the outdoor hotel pool, which was unlighted and quite dark, and just as quietly slipped out of our sweaty clothing. I'm a certified Red Cross Life Guard, and was prepared to vouch for everyone's safety (the practical side of NOW).

So in we went! I can't tell you how refreshing that skinny dip was. We were having so much fun that we didn't even notice that hotel guests were beginning to appear on the balconies of our high-rise hotel. When we looked up, it seemed that the entire high-rise might tip over from the weight of the on-lookers on their balconies!

Then it happened ... a male security guard appeared and barked orders to one of us, "Get those ladies out of the pool!" I don't remember who it was that responded (Rita? Christine? Me?); I just remember the response she gave, "There are no *ladies* in the pool!"

Thus ended the saga. We got out, he went away, and the guests went back to bed. The show was over.

I love NOW conferences!!

Jodi's most memorable conference: Washington, D.C., 1978

Well, it wasn't my first conference but definitely the most memorable—it was 1978 and i was about 25, already a staunch radical feminist. I was the youngest in my family, and the only girl—had been an avid barbie collector, collector of all things pink, even sang that awful song in voice lessons (i'm a music lover so won't say what it was out of respect to composer!) and loved every minute, while in the midst of it all—but even more, I was to learn, I loved the ability and RIGHT to make my own choices and decisions. Anyway, my little cousin was looking into colleges and the now conference was in D.C., so my mom, my aunt, my cousin and I got ourselves (I can't imagine now that we drove from N.Y.—maybe we just flew), met my sister-in-law who lived in North Carolina at the time, and went to visit GW and then to the NOW conference. My cousin, sister-in-law and I felt totally at "home" when we got our hands on the conference program, but couldn't imagine what my mom and aunt were going to do with their time—both very bright and talented women, each married, in very loving, solid relationships. Needless to say, us "young ones" learned more from the feedback and insight we got from my aunt and mom from the workshops they went to (all kinds)—it was so incredible! At night their was a dance, and when a woman asked my little cousin to dance, I thought that would do it—no, they were respectful, as they should be, open and just had a blast.

Coming out to the family many years later wasn't as easy, but I do believe that the way we shared the conference, and everything else in life, is what makes us the family we are.

Allendra's favorite conference memory: Nashville, 2004

While I have enjoyed every NOW conference I have attended (both state and National), what I love most about them is their unpredictability. No NOW conference is ever the same. By 2005, I had felt that I had gotten a good sense of what to expect at a NOW conference and where I needed to be when. But that was the year that the National NOW conference coincided with not only the 4th of July, but also the resignation of former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Not only was I surrounded by motivated and energized feminists, but I was told, literally 20 minutes before the big march and rally, that I would be speaking at said rally! To say that I was nervous would be an understatement, but through my anxiety, one thing became crystal clear. The National Organization for Women is just that; an organization for women, nationally. We come from almost unbelievably diverse backgrounds and have hugely different life experiences, but the point is that we've come together. We energize each other, we motivate each other, but most importantly, we support each other. That feeling of support and safety lasted throughout that march and rally and the rest of the conference. And that is my favorite conference memory.

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