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2023 Annual Members Meeting Recap

R. Sipos | Published on 7/5/2023

June 2023 Annual Meeting Highlights

Annual Meeting


Keynote Speakers

Guest speaker Professor Emeritus Robert Spitzer, author of the book The Gun Dilemma spoke. His speech was well received.

“I thought Dr. Spitzer gave an eye-opening account of gun laws,” member Ellen Peters said. “He showed that the historical record on the subject is much more complex and nuanced than many people (including some Supreme Court justices) are willing to admit.”

His speech was followed by a presentation by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Speaker Ruth Winters discussed their Be SMART program.

“The BE SMART campaign is a common sense, very logical approach to reducing child and teen gun deaths in the home,” member Pat Black-Evers said. “It offers concrete steps that we can all take. Sadly, I know a family that lost a son to suicide because the father’s gun wasn’t secured.”

The Moms group had a table of materials for members to take. They hope to present their program to as many school and community groups as possible.


Social Media Campaign

In her opening remarks at the meeting, President Susan Bivins explained our new social media campaign while other members distributed our newly designed postcards for members to share with friends and family to encourage people to follow us.

Member Harry Chancey explained more about the social media campaign:

“’Defending Democracy’ and ‘Empowering Voters’ are tall orders, but the League of Women Voters is up to the challenge,” he said. “That’s why every single step toward these goals counts.

“Social media is one of them. Since we launched on Twitter, Mastodon, Post.News and Facebook, we have been recruiting new voters to register, providing information about Supreme Court battles for voting rights, and promoting hot-button public policy positions like a woman’s right to reproductive choice to working on behalf of previously incarcerated felons who have been illegally disenfranchised.  

Always…always, we are promoting every citizen’s right to vote in free and fair and democratic elections. Toward that we put our unyielding energies.”

“You can help,” Harry said. “Social media is a tool toward League goals. We have launched a social media engagement campaign. We want to grow our platforms, especially among younger citizens who might be more inclined to follow us. If you have kids or grandkids or younger friends, encourage them to check out our posts. Just click on these links to see and then share them with your loved ones:

“Sometimes democracy requires a bullhorn. No one is going to give one to us. That’s why we picked ours up to start a civil social media conversation.”


Business Portion of the Meeting

Following the keynote presentations, the business portion of the meeting began.

With more than a quorum attending, the LWV-Williamsburg area elected to the board two officers, Laura Tripp (as VP), Lonnie Mattes (as Treasurer); and two directors, Jacque Meriam (Membership) and Mary Ann Simpson (Voter Services). Also elected were three members to the Nominating Committee: De Fehrenbach, Anne Brennan, and Conny Graft.

The membership also passed a new budget, amended our bylaws, and approved a program for FY2024.

The meeting ended with delicious refreshments and lots of conversation among attendees.

  

Annual Members Meeting 2023

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