“On February 16, 1929,
eleven inspired Maui women organized a club of business
and professional women ‘to promote, protect and further
the interests of women on Maui, to encourage women to
greater efforts in developing efficiency in the more
important activities of community living, to unite women
in a thinking group for community service, to stimulate
women to combined action, and to gather and distribute
information with respect to vocational opportunities for
women living on Maui,’ writes Maui BPW Charter Member Alta
D. Craft in her history of the club through 1951.”
The founders of the club
were:
Clare Pulis, School
Principal
Alice Morrow, Newspaper Woman
Judy Davis, Head Librarian, Maui County Library
Charlotta Hoskins, Children's Librarian
Mary MacMillan, Nurse in Charge, Paia Hospital
Elaine Dent, Maternal & Child Hygiene Nurse
Dora Ross, Girls’ Probation Officer
Frances Wadsworth, Girl Scout Director
Alice Claire Beckwith, Home Economics Teacher
Edith Sinclair, Court Reporter
Although records of the
club have been lost and little data was available until
1939, the organization flourished. By 1940, the membership
had grown to 60 women. Their projects included helping the
Salvation Army with clothes and magazines, as well as
“sight conservation” - securing eyeglasses for needy
children.
When the Japanese bombed
Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, club activity was
suspended until May of 1942. When the club reconvened,
serious consideration was put forward to become affiliated
with the National Federation of Business & Professional
Women’s Clubs.
On July 1, 1943, Charter
Number 2828 of the National Federation of Business &
Professional Women’s Clubs was signed, making the Maui
Business & Professional Women’s Club the second local
organization in the Territory of Hawaii. In that year the
club also sponsored projects to stimulate War Bond and
Stamp Sales (selling a record $1,664.85 worth) and helping
in other war-related activities like baking pastries for
Army outposts and creating 1,000 personal effects bags for
Marines. Although women came and went, the group continued
to be 60 members strong.
In 1948, Puunene resident
and BPW Member Ann Upshaw attended the Biennial Convention
in Fort Worth, Texas. She made the Texas newspapers when
it was reported that each day during the convention she
received a fresh carnation lei courtesy of the Maui club.
At that convention the delegates unanimously approved an
“equal rights” resolution that read:
“That we must make the
enactment of an equal rights amendment a must in our
program in every state, so that it may pass early in the
next session of Congress and be ratified by the respective
states in their first legislatures that follow.”
The 1993-94 legislative
platform of the Hawaii Federation, as adopted by
convention action on May 2, 1993, still includes the
“equal rights” provision as “first, foremost and above all
other items...until equal, legal rights for women and men
become guaranteed in the United States Constitution.” The
work goes on.
Today the Maui Club
continues to be an active and vital organization. In the
past 60 years, Maui BPW has awarded over $100,000 in
scholarships to women pursuing higher education locally or
on the mainland. That scholarship fund, which today is
supported by the annual Scholarship Fashion Show Luncheon,
was started in 1947 with the proceeds from rummage sales.
The first recipient was Florence Ayres of St. Anthony High
School. In 1949 she received $200 for nurses training.
Current scholarship recipients include high school
graduates and working single mothers studying everything
from nursing to e-commerce and medical technology.
Maui BPW has always
supported charitable contributions. In 1966 the Penny
Project was started for donations to Meals For Millions
Foundation. Club members brought pennies to lunch and by
the end of the year had subsidized 700 meals. The group
has had a long history of donations to the Salvation Army,
Easter Seals, Hale Makua, The Maui Farm, and the Girl
Scouts, among others. Each February, Maui BPW sponsors a
Foundation Tea with all proceeds going to the National
Scholarship Foundation.
Finally, Maui BPW has been
on the cutting edge of initiating valuable programs for
the community. In 1980 the Maui & Wai-Kahu BPW Clubs
joined with Maui Community College and the Committee on
the Status of Women to create the first Maui County
Women’s Conference. That initial conference drew over 450
women and men to the MCC campus. In later years, Maui BPW
hosted candidates forums to provide Maui County residents
the opportunity to meet and hear their candidates for
public office.
Annually Maui BPW sponsors
local nominees to the “Business of the Year,” “Woman of
the Year” and “Young Careerist” programs of the state and
national organizations. Business of the Year honors
employers who demonstrate a concentrated effort to meet
equality of women in the workplace. Statewide recipients
from Maui include 1991 Kaanapali Beach Hotel and 1990 Maui
Land & Pineapple Company.
Woman of the Year
recognizes contributions to the community through
professional excellence, volunteer commitment and
achievement. 1993 BPW/Hawaii Woman of the Year, Alice
Fraser, ‘82-83 past president of the Maui club, was
director of the human resources for the Maui
Inter-Continental Hotel Wailea.
The Young Careerist
competition spotlights young professionals who pursue
excellence through business, community and personal
standards. 1993 BPW/Hawaii Young Careerist, Pamela Tumpap,
was assistant manager of the Maui Research & Technology
Center in Kihei when she represented Hawaii at the BPW/USA
National Convention in Reno, Nevada, and went on to become
president of Maui United Way.
As BPW/USA continues to be
the leading advocate for working women on a national
level, BPW/Maui has been fortunate to have state and
national leaders grow from the ranks of the club. Most
recently, Leslie Wilkins served as BPW/USA National
President from 2001-2002, representing Maui and working
women everywhere in Washington, D.C.
The National Federation of
Business & Professional Women grew out of a World War I
Project to organize women in business and the professions
for war service. Today, BPW/USA represents 100,000 women
with 3,000 local organizations, one in each congressional
district, comprising 53 federations.
Maui BPW members continue
their legacy of commitment to the women of Maui. In
November 2002, Maui BPW partnered with the Maui Chamber of
Commerce for the Annual Scholarship Fashion Show and
awarded over $3,000 in scholarships to Maui students
pursuing higher education. In January 2003, a unique
partnership was established with the Hula Bowl Maui
Association to help promote the Hula Bowl by sponsoring “A
Football Seminar - For Women Only.”
