Iron Mountain/Kingsford branch of American Association of University Women celebrates 100 years.

KINGSFORD, Mich. (WLUC) -The Iron Mountain -Kingsford branch of American Association of University Women is celebrating 100 years of helping the next generation of leaders.

“The American Association of University Women is an organization that their mission is to advance equity for women and girls, through research, education and advocacy,” said Jan Van Gasse, the Michigan AAUW president.

She says there are 32 branches of the group in the state, but the Iron Mountain/Kingsford the oldest branch in the U.P..

“It’s very exciting that we’ve been able to sustain ourselves as a branch for that amount of time.”

The branch president Dr. Lisa Pangrazzi says she joined this group for the community.

“I went for a few years really searching for a group of women who were like-minded, who has a mission of helping other women,” she said.

And that is what she found.

Throughout the years the group has given many scholarships to young women, to further their education. As well as host a candidates’ forum, and equal pay day.

Dr. Pangrazzi says just in the past year, the group has gone from in-person activities, to all virtual, but they know they can sustain another century.

“This has all been done before, and obviously we’ve got archives we can look back and see how they went through different challenges, in terms of recruiting new members and keeping up with a changing world,” said Dr. Pangrazzi.

The group will have a virtual celebration on Tuesday, and is always looking for more and younger members.

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