Forum deals with women’s issues
Every woman should have a will, according to an attorney who specializes in estate planning. “There’s no nice place to talk about money and dying,’ said Rosalie P. Wisotzki. “If you don’t select a power of attorney before something critical happens, the court will appoint a legal guardian for you.’
Jokingly, she added, “You don’t want it to be your son who is married to a witch that’s getting all your money. You want it to be your daughter who you know will do what is in your best interest.”
Wisotzki was one of many women to speak at a forum Saturday sponsored by the Uniontown Chapter of the Business and Professional Women’s Club and District 12 of the BPW, which includes clubs in Brownsville, Connellsville and Masontown. It was held in honor of the 75th anniversary of National Business Women’s Week.
A number of women spoke on a variety of topics, ranging from preparing wills to juggling busy schedules.
Wisotzki said if a woman is worth more than $1 million, everything she has will be taxed between 37 and 49 percent when she dies.
“You may not think you are worth $1 million, but your assets add up fast. Your house, your land, it’s all included. When you put your will together, you want to give the most taxable income to charity and the least taxable income to your kids,” Wisotzki explained.
Joetta L. Britvich, assistant superintendent in the California Area School District, spoke about the hard times facing working mothers.
“A drawback for working mothers is that we have to do it all. We’re juggling more and more. We’re working longer hours and have increased responsibility, increased stress and less time for stress busters, but we have to make time,” Britvich said.
A way of making that time is by lessening the workload, and Britvich shared pointers with the group on how to accomplish that feat.
“Make cleaning a game and include the kids. Set up a schedule with small tasks. Ask for help and compromise by being honest with yourself. You don’t really have to get everything done, and discuss the big picture with your significant other,” she said.
Britvich also spoke of education reform issues and recent federal legislation.
“In this area we are saturated with quality teachers, and we are fortunate to have great schools that produce such great teachers.
“But we’ve found that children don’t learn the way we’ve been teaching them in the last 10 years, and we’re working together to make things better for them,” she said.
She ended her speech with statistics on the increasing number of women in the work force and the growing popularity of professional women in the world. The discussion tied in greatly with the premise on which the BPW was founded in 1919: to promote equity for all women in the workplace through advocacy, education and information.
The BPW has 1,500 organizations across the country and members in every congressional district and is the leading advocate for millions of working women.
Other key speakers at the forum were newly elected Fayette County Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink; Pohla Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports writer; Fayette County attorney Sheryl Heid; Carrie Lenardo, HSTV feature reporter; and Dawn DePasquale, a motivational speaker.
Anyone interested in membership to the BPW can call Ruth Walters at 724-628-7186.