‌
THE VOTER
January 2020
Message from the Leadership Team
The Texas primary elections are now less than two months away. That means lots of work for League members in a relatively short amount of time. Prep work for Vote411 needs to be accomplished immediately, and Voter Guides will need to be distributed; voter registration opportunities at area schools must be arranged and staffed; and candidate forums need to be coordinated, just to name a few. Please scroll down and review the list of activities that Voters Service Chair Jeannette Ruark needs your help with. Lots of us will have to pitch in to get the work done, but as always, we'll have lots of fun doing it!

We hope you will consider bringing a friend to our January 16th meeting to hear Richard Castanon speak about the 2020 Census. Complete details are below.

And remember to renew your membership this month. We need all of you!
Inside this issue...
  • General membership meeting, January 16
  • Membership Renewal Reminder
  • Voters Service - Immediate Volunteer Needs
  • LWV Texas State Convention, April 17-19
General Membership Meeting, Thursday, January 16
Our next general membership meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 16, at 6:00pm at Riverhill Country Club in the Grill Room. Please feel free to bring a guest. The meeting is open to the public.

An appetizer buffet of pulled pork sliders, jalapeno poppers, 7-layer dip with chips, and hot and crunchy zucchini will be served. The cost is $20 per person, payable at the door by check or cash. A cash bar will be available. Please make reservations with Bunny Bond by email to [email protected] or phone at 830-895-1880 by Thursday, January 9th. To attend the meeting only, please let Bunny know so sufficient seating will be available.

Richard Castanon, M.A., a Partnership Specialist for the United States Census Bureau - Denver Region, will speak about the 2020 census. Richard is responsible for developing partnerships with county and local governments as well as higher education institutions.
  
Richard has over 25 years of experience as a public engagement professional specializing in government relations, community affairs, grassroots and grasstops outreach, and issue advocacy working in community, government, international, and public affairs.  He has strong leadership, bilingual communication, and project management credentials in diverse sectors including government, media, political communications, community organizing, citizen engagement and visibility, and marketing campaigns.
 
Richard served as a paratrooper and field radio communications specialist in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, and is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War I of 1991.  He is also a graduate of the United States International University - San Diego, (now Alliant International University) where he earned his Bachelor and Master Degrees in International Relations. 
Membership Renewal Reminder
Membership in the League of Women Voters of Hill Country Texas expired December 31, 2019, so now is the time to renew. If you can, please renew prior to January 31st. Membership forms are available on our website at   lwvhillcountry.org ,  and will also be available at the January meeting. Forms should be completed even if you are just renewing, so we can be sure to have accurate contact information. Anyone over the age of 16, male or female, is welcome. Annual dues for individuals are $60, for households, $85, and for students, $5.

Click here for the membership form.

Checks should be made payable to LWV-HC and mailed with the form to Treasurer, LWV-HC, P.O. Box 290303, Kerrville, TX 78029.
Voters Service - Immediate Volunteers Needs
With the primary elections right around the corner, Jeannette Ruark, Voters Service Chair, has a list of tasks she needs volunteers for.  Please review the items below and let her know how you can help. 

1.     Vote411 and Voter Guides:  One or more volunteers are needed to coordinate sending and receiving candidate invitations. Volunteers will also need to follow up with candidates to encourage them to meet the scheduled deadlines. This needs to be accomplished as soon as possible.  

2.     Candidate forums:  Volunteers are needed to assist with coordination of forums and also to attend forums. (We have been advised that the Kerr County Republican Party plans to host forums for the Republican constable and sheriff candidates. There are also two candidates, both Republican, for Kerr County Tax Assessor so we will attempt to conduct a forum for them.) Dates have not yet been selected since we must first obtain venues, invite the candidates, and make sure the dates for the forums do not conflict with other events.

3.     Voter Information tables: Volunteers are needed to staff voter information tables at the River Hills Mall in Kerrville. Dates are yet to be determined pending approval from the mall manager, but we are requesting two Saturdays a month until the March 3rd election.

4.     Voter registration at Cailloux Theater parking lot: The last day to register to vote in the primary elections is Monday, February 3rd. Volunteers are needed to help organize registration day at the Cailloux Theater parking lot in Kerrville on that date.  Coordinators for this project are Diane Bamerick and Trish Butler.  

5.     Voter registration at area schools: We are committed to offering voter registration at the area high schools sometime during the last two weeks of January.  We have volunteers for Tivy High School, but we need volunteers for Ingram Tom Moore and other high schools in our four county area. Volunteers are also needed to help with voter registration at Schreiner University.

You may receive notification about other opportunities as plans emerge. (It is an exciting time, and enthusiastic League members are brainstorming all the time.)

Jeanette can be reached at  [email protected]  or 830-377-8639.
LWV-Texas Biennial Convention - April 17-19
Every two years in the spring of even-numbered years, LWV-Texas convenes a state convention for the purpose of celebrating our accomplishments over the last two years, adopting a program of study and action for the next two years, electing new leaders, adopting a budget, and addressing other matters as needed. In addition, interesting and informative workshops covering topics relevant to League members everywhere will be offered.

The 2020 Convention will be held on April 17,18,19 in Austin, and all League members are invited to attend. Please save the dates and watch for details in coming issues of The Voter .
Mark Your Calendars
Thursday, January 16 - LWV-Hill Country general membership meeting
Monday, February 3 - Last day to register to vote in March 3rd primary elections
T uesday, February 18 - First day of early voting
Friday, February 28 - Last day of early voting
Tuesday, March 3 - Primary election day
Thursday, March 19 - LWV-Hill Country general membership meeting
April 17-19, 2020 - LWVTX Convention in Austin
May 21, 2020 - Annual membership meeting
Join Us!
Be a member of the League; we invite you to join us!  A membership form can be found on our website or you may contact Julie Sentell, Membership Coordinator, at [email protected].  

Our League’s annual dues are $60 for an individual or $85 for two in a household, and $5 for student memberships.  Dues are prorated from January. Please include your name(s), address, email address, and phone number. Make your check payable to LWV-Hill Country Texas and mail to LWV-HC, PO Box 290303, Kerrville, TX 78029-0303.  Join the League and help make democracy work.
 
And consider giving a membership to a student, as they need only be 16 years of age to join.
League of Women Voters-Hill Country Texas
Leadership Team
Treasurer : Mary Ellen Summerlin
Membership Coordinator: Julie Sentell
Voters Service:  Jeanette Ruark
Webmaster : Cathy Learoyd
Members-at-large : Bunny Bond, Alicia Boyett, Maggie Megee, Kat Walker
President’s email ([email protected]) : Cathy Learoyd
Facebook Administrator: Kat Walker
Stay Connected

The LWV-Hill Country welcomes your questions! Post to our Facebook page or submit questions via e-mail to  [email protected]
About the League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is a local, state, and national nonpartisan organization.  

Please visit the LWV-Texas state website,  my.lwv.org/texa s .  There you will find more voter information and the League positions on a variety of issues.  The League develops its positions after study and consensus.

The LWV-Texas position on the issue of human trafficking in Texas: The League of Women Voters of Texas is opposed to all forms of domestic and international human trafficking of adults and children, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking.  We consider human trafficking to be a form of modern-day slavery and support measures to prevent the use of force, fraud or coercion to exploit a person for sexual or labor purposes, to prosecute traffickers and to protect victims. 
 
For a free, four-hour TEA continuing education credit course on issues of human trafficking, go https://lwvedu.expertlearning.net . Teachers, take note of this!   This is the online course for which we received the state award.

 The national League, LWVUS,  lwv.org ,  is actively working to influence public policy through education and advocacy.  Go to this website and see the range of issues from voter rights, voter turnout, reforming money in politics, and defending the environment.
Please Consider . . .
  • Helping fund our State League, LWV-Texas.
  • Do you purchase from Amazon? Please donate 0.5% of your purchase to LWV-Texas.  Instructions can be found on the State League's web site, www.lwvtexas.org. Scroll down - it's way down there.
Or just save these instructions:
  •  On your Amazon account:
  •  Search out Amazon Smile; select League of Women Voters of Texas Education Fund as your charity.
  •  Thereafter, for your purchase to count for the donation, log into http://smile.amazon.com
  •  The program will send you an email to install buttons into your browser to make this step easier.
League of Women Voters - Hill Country Texas
www.lwvhillcountrytexas.org