Future Of Annual Women's Conference Uncertain
LONG BEACH (CBS) — California's annual Women's Conference may become a thing of the past.
California First Lady Anne Brown says she wants to focus on the state's financial difficulties before determining whether the event will continue.
The California Governor & First Lady's Conference on Women, the nonprofit group created during Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration to run the annual Long Beach event, will be disbanded given the transition of power to Brown.
"I have shared with the outgoing conference board that I will focus my immediate energies on the challenges before our state and won't try to recreate the conference that Maria put on in Long Beach," Brown said. "The conference, started by Mrs. (Gloria) Deukmejian, has taken many forms and I will work with my husband to figure out what shape it will take next."
Over the past seven years, the conference distributed more than $5.5 million to various nonprofit organizations, according to the conference. It distributed its final round of grants, totaling $700,000, today to more than 35 groups serving women.
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