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The Voter
League of Women Voters of the Midland Area
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May 19-21, 2017
State Convention
Lansing, MI
May 24, 6 p.m.
Annual meeting
Holiday Inn
Midland County Sheriff Scott Stephenson is the speaker.
June 1
NO BOARD MEETING
June 14
"Just for Fun" adventure
Details to come
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Educational booklet for new voters
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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
Barbara Glines
Mark McPherson
Bay County Unit
Gloria Woods
Leslie Myles-Sanders
Our total membership is 95!
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Board of Directors
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President
VP Membership
VP Program
Secretary
Treasurer
Directors
Fran Hamburg - Director at Large
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President's Letter
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On May 4 we wrapped up our board meetings for the year with working out details for our new Bay County Unit (see below) and finalizing items regarding Convention, to be held May 19-21 at Kellogg Center in East Lansing. We have five delegates attending convention. Judy McDowell will also serve as a Delegate, in her role as Secretary for the LWVMI. We will be well represented. We look forward to reports of state League business, workshops, news from other Local Leagues, and highlights of speakers.
Don't forget to send in your reservation for the Annual Meeting on May 24 - it's a great opportunity to socialize with other League members, learn about an important County service, and participate in a brief business meeting.
Watch for our midsummer VOTER for updates on end-of-year activities and plans for 2017-2018.
Sue McCollister
President
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MIDLAND AREA LWV 48th ANNUAL MEETING
May 24, 6:00 pm
Holiday Inn of Midland
810 Cinema Drive
Speaker -- SCOTT STEPHENSON
Midland County Sheriff
6:00 p.m. Social Meet & Greet, Cash Bar
6:30 p.m. Dinner
7:30 p.m. Speaker
Scott Stephenson
8:15 p.m. Business Meeting
Reservations due May 15
If you did not receive an information packet in the mail, contact Sue McCollister
[email protected]
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Bay County LWV
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We're pleased to have the Bay County Unit under our mentorship. It has been officially named:
League of Women Voters of Bay County
a unit of the Midland Area
Pam Saddler, leader of the Bay County unit, was appointed to our Board as a Director at Large.
They are growing their membership as word gets around.
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Electing LWV-Midland Area Board Members
You will vote during the business meeting at the Annual Meeting on May 24.
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The following names will be placed in nomination at the Annual Meeting for election to the Board of Directors for 2017 - 2018:
President (2 year term) Katherine Redwine
VP Membership (2 year term) Judy McDowell
Secretary (2 year term) Julie Schmidt
Director (2 year term) Cathy Heng
Director (2 year term) Kim Steinke
Director (2 year term) Sue McCollister
Director (2 year term) Carole Swinehart
Director (1 year term) Terry Townley
Remaining officers and directors Program co-chair Judy Donahue, Fran Hamburg, Treasurer Karen Sherwood, and Program VP Sharron Such are not up for election this year and will continue to serve their terms.
For election to Nominating Committee for 2017-2018:
Connie Glave (Chairperson)
Judith Frock
David Wirth
Submitted by the 2016-2017 Nominating Committee:
Connie Glave (Chairperson)
Judy McDowell
Katherine Redwine
Carol Weaver
David Wirth
In further business, the Board elected to take advantage of a policy in our bylaws that allows the Board to appoint up to seven Directors-at-Large for one-year terms. The Board voted to appoint
Al Bailey, Sandy Collinson, Sandy Haughton and Carol McPherson. The appointments are effective at the May 24 Annual Meeting. We are enthusiastic to have these folks on board and are looking forward to their input in Board matters.
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"Democracy At Risk"
JUDY KARANDJEFF, LWVMI PRESIDENT
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| Carole Swinehart and Judy Karandjeff |
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On April 26, at the United Church of Christ in Midland, we were honored to host Judy Karandjeff, LWVMI president, speaking about the Democracy Agenda, specifically voting rights, campaign finances, redistricting, and the role of the LWV.
About 85 attendees heard her presentation and participated in Q&A.
As a reminder, this is the current position of the LWVMI regarding redistricting reform:
"The League of Woman Voters supports an Independent Commission as a solution to the problems with Michigan's current redistricting process. LWVMI is aware that other groups are thinking about a ballot proposal campaign. At this time, the League has not endorsed a ballot proposal or joined a coalition to do so. The LWVMI Board will evaluate the possibility of joining a ballot campaign based on the proposal and the probability of the campaign's success" (see LWVMI.org).
Many thanks to Carole Swinehart, Judy Donahue and Kim Steinke for making all the arrangements.
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Audience at Democracy at Risk program |
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| Judy Karandjeff speaks about Democracy at Risk |
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The last year for Radio Days was 2016. Our Board members felt a huge challenge to come up with some other way of raising money within our community to continue the program activities of our League. Eventually we decided to sell advertising space on our web page and in our newsletters.
In April we began selling business card sized ads to businesses that had purchased ads for Radio Days. We sold these ads for $100.00 to be run for a full year (July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018) on both our web page and in our newsletters. Our newsletters reach all of our members each month, and web page hits have increased to over 15,000 during the month of January.
For the most part, our offer has been well received. As of our May 4 meeting, our sales had totaled $1,275.00. We are still waiting for answers from eight potential advertisers.
Here's what we want from our members: Please consider these advertisers and supporters first when you're shopping for goods and services. When you visit one of these places of business, tell the owner, a clerk, a sales representative, etc.:
"I am a member of the League of Women Voters of the Midland Area. Thank you for supporting our League."
Here's the current list. We will add to the list as it grows:
Dan Dan the Mattress Man
Everett Carpet Company
LaPelle's Flowers and Gifts
Midland Ford Lincoln
Nonviolent Peaceforce
Shier's Deli & Catering Company
Southworth Jewelry
Stryker's Marina
Village Green
Wilson Miller Funeral Home
Ware Smith Woolever Funeral Directors
These businesses have also given us financial support:
Glovers Rexall
Quick Reliable Printing
School Days
Watch for a final report in our summer edition of the VOTER.
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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS STATE CONVENTION
May 19-21
Kellogg Center, East Lansing
Details above
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MIDLAND AREA LWV 48th ANNUAL MEETING
May 24, 6:00 pm
Holiday Inn of Midland
810 Cinema Drive
Speaker -- SCOTT STEPHENSON
Midland County Sheriff
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Winding up with Fun!
June 14, 2017 at 5:00 p.m.
A "Just for Fun" adventure -- a pontoon ride on Sanford Lake with dinner at the Sanford Lake Bar and Grill.
In case of rain, we will car pool to the restaurant.
For anyone not taking part in the pontoon ride, you can go straight to Sanford Lake Bar and Grill around 6:00.
Additional details regarding directions, contact information, etc. will be coming via email.
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Membership
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If you are interested in joining, please fill out the form below, and send it in. If you have questions, please email Judy McDowell, VP Membership.
mail to: LWV - Midland Area
P.O. Box 1203
Midland, MI 48641-1203
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