AAUW
The American Association of University Women – Bradford Branch met on Saturday at the Church of the Nazarene.
Madeline Miles, vice president of programs, introduced the speaker, Richard J. Marcott. Marcott was born and raised in Bradford.
Upon his graduation from high school, he attended the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. His Coast Guard career spanned 28 years with commands at sea and ashore while serving on both coasts. Marcott served in Coast Guard Headquarters as the director of training and education before retiring with the rank of captain as the commanding officer of the training center in Petaluma, Calif.
He returned to Bradford, where he has served in leadership positions with the Kiwanis Club of Bradford and many other community boards and organizations. Marcott has served on the board of Bradford Little Theatre, and has appeared in and directed numerous main stage productions.
A natural storyteller, Marcott never thought about a career in writing until he was 76 and was encouraged by Professor Nancy McCabe to take a writing class at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The classroom experience, along with six years of self-study, opened the door to the possibility of becoming an author.
At the age of 81, Marcott published his first book, “The View From the Rigging: Memoirs of a Coast Guard Career,” which received critical acclaim from the Military Writers of America. His book is filled with life-changing experiences, including boarding Russian ships in the Bering Sea and a chance encounter with author Ernest Hemingway.
After his first book, he moved into the genre of women’s literature. In 2019, he published “It’s My Turn,” a story full of heart, about a woman who didn’t know her own strength until she transitioned through a trouble-filled marriage to self-confidence and independence.
Marcott said he found that his background in theater helped him when he was researching and building the appearances, personalities, backgrounds of the characters in this novel. Throughout his talk, Marcott stressed that life is filled with unexpected possibilities and we all need to be open to what lies ahead regardless of age.
After the presentation, President Holly Spittler opened the business meeting by acknowledging the work of the hospitality committee, which included Nancy Dryden, Patricia Stromberg and Spittler. Highlights of the business meeting included the formation of the Nominating Committee, which will include Susan Hughes, Miles and Stromberg.
Also, members voted to join the Zonta Club of Bradford in its 16 Days of Activism Initiative that begins on Nov. 25 with The International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women and ends Dec. 10, with Human Rights Day. Cheryl Lutz, the point person in the chapter’s service activities with the Bradford YWCA, will coordinate the club’s giving efforts for the initiative.
Legislative Chairperson Dr. Anita Herbert read the mission of AAUW and commented that as a group members should keep abreast of the current status of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Corresponding Secretary Dryden noted with sadness the passing of longtime AAUW member Eleanor Leslie in October.
Spittler was notified by the Office of Institutional Advancement at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford that since 2010, 11 students have received scholarships through the American Association of University Women – Bradford Branch Endowed Scholarship. Spittler thanked members for bringing in items and donating cash to support the Bradford YWCA. The mission of AAUW is to advance gender equity for women and girls through research, education and advocacy The Bradford Branch of AAUW was founded on April 16, 1921.
