2012 Pink Tea at the Governor's Mansion

The Nevada Women’s History Project held the annual Pink Tea at the Governor’s Mansion on June 23rd from:00 to 4:00 p.m. It was in honor of the Sarah Winnemucca book titled It Can Be Done, The State of Nevada’s Presents the Statue of Sarah Winnemucca to the People of the United States. Our current Chair, Mona Reno, wrote the delightful book about Sarah’s life.

Once again, Governor Brian Sandoval and his wife Kathleen graciously made the beautiful mansion available to the Nevada Women’s History Project for their annual fund raiser. Tea and refreshments were served while guests mingled inside the living area as well as on the wraparound porch. Many guests wore vintage costumes and colorful hats.

Event chairwoman Mary Anne Convis introduced our special guest former First Lady Dema Guinn. Mrs. Guinn introduced us to the booklet which she wrote about the mansion and gave copies to the participants. Governor and Mrs. Guinn were very helpful in raising funds for the statue project.

Chair Mona Reno introduced Dianna DeBorges who gave a Chautauqua presentation of Sarah Winnemucca. Sarah’s many accomplishments include being an interpreter and guide for the US Army, author, teacher and more. She is honored with a statue at our Nation’s Capital. Dianna ended her presentation with a stirring rendition of our national. The first Pink Tea at the Governor’s Mansion, eleven years ago, was so successful that it became an annual tradition for the Nevada Women’s History Project. It is dedicated to the suffragists who worked diligently to get women the right to vote. Holding political planning sessions disguised as “Pink Teas” was one of their popular strategies. Men who planned to disrupt women’s political meetings were hesitant to attend an event called, a “Pink Tea”. anthem.

Women gained the right to vote nationally and obtained full participation in our political process in 1920, 73 years after the first women’s suffrage convention was organized in order to achieve equality. Nevada men were much more advanced and granted women the right to vote in 1914. 2014 will be the 100th anniversary of that momentous occasion and will be celebrated at that year’s Pink Tea.

Isabel Espinoza