Chair Notes
The 54th Biennial National Convention was held virtually on June 25-27. Each League sends delegates to the national convention depending on their membership numbers: Charlevoix-Emmet Unit vice-chair Penny Crim attended as a delegate.
Not going to Washington D.C. in person was a bit of a disappointment, however, LWVUS put on an excellent and exciting virtual convention. I attended several caucuses leading up to the actual convention. The topics covered How to Hold a Successful Forum, Voting Rights Across the Lifespan, Rebuilding Trust, The Voter Girl Project, Climate Emergency Mobilization, and Youth Registration. I have notes and links available to those who are interested.
Our new national president is Dr. Deborah Turner, a gynecologic-oncologist for 35 years. She has served in many capacities in the LWV at the state and national levels. The adopted National Program for 2021-2022 includes a League-wide Campaign for Making Democracy Work: Voting Rights, Improving Elections, Campaign Finance/Money in Politics and Redistricting. We will also continue to work on the urgent issues of Climate Change, the ERA, Health Care, Gun Safety, and Immigration.
LWVLC Annual Retreat
The LWVLC Board of Directors held their annual planning meeting outdoors at the Leo Creek Preserve in Suttons Bay to review highlights of the National Convention and develop the schedule of programs for the year. Robin Jordan and Penny Crim attended to participate and to learn how to implement this planning process within the Charlevoix-Emmet Unit. The pre-planning by the executive board and committee chairs facilitated a very productive meeting. Despite being masked and socially distanced, it was wonderful to gather together “mask-to-mask” as a group after so many months! The annual retreat is usually a day-long meeting with a social in the evening, and hopefully we can return to our prior format in 2021.
New Committees Formed
We now have two new committees formally organized!
The Membership Committee is charged with keeping membership records, disseminating membership materials, and promoting membership development. Ethel Larson and Betty Palm are co-chairs of this committee. If you have an interest in membership development and recruitment (think social events, generating ideas to reach out to potential members), have a small amount of time to spare, please consider joining these efforts and contact Ethel larseneu@gmail.com or Betty bjpetoskey@gmail.com.
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee is modeled after the very active environment focused committee within the Leelanau LWV. Marcia Meyer and Anne Scott are co-chairing this new committee. The abundant natural resources are the backbone of our local economy and quality of life, and growth in this group is anticipated once we are done with the current elections and related projects.
A bit of history about the LWV and environmental activism:
The LWV first became involved in environmental issues as far back as the 1920s and 1930s when the League undertook a study of flood control, erosion and the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Here are just a few of the numerous environmental legislative efforts the LWV has undertaken since then:
Pushed for landmark Clean Water Act in the early 1970s
Helped to pass the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to reduce acid rain & air pollution
Aided in the creation of the Superfund to clean toxics waste sites in the US
Fighting to protect the Clean Air Act since the 1980’s to the present
Launched the Clean Air Promise Campaign in 2011 to raise awareness of the health dangers of harmful airborne industrial pollutants
Promoted the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and New Source Pollution Standard
Lobbies vigorously for comprehensive legislation to control global climate change
Continues to push for the full rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline
Water is our states most precious resource. Water issues, from groundwater protection to agricultural runoff, solid and hazardous waste issues and recycling, has energized the LWV for decades and is the focus of strong state and local action. Our LWV Unit has the opportunity to effect local change through initiatives and partnerships to advocate for environmental health. If you have an interest in joining this newly formed group, please contact Marcia marciakmeyer@gmail.com or Ann cibley@hotmail.com.
Meet Our Webmaster
Thank you to Jessica Shaw-Nolff for creating our Charlevoix-Emmet Unit website! Our new website is our link to the community at large. She will also function as our webmaster, responsible for posting press updates, newsletters and recordings of the meetings to our member’s page. Jessica owns and operates Big Splash Studio, Ltd.
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Suffrage and the League of Women Voters
The LWV was officially founded in Chicago in 1920, just six months before the 19th amendment was ratified and women won the right to vote. Leagues all over the country are celebrating these historic milestones, and our Unit is no exception! We have 3 events planned to celebrate:
Under the leadership of Sally Smith, our Unit planned a 100-person float entry for the Petoskey 4th of July Parade, complete with period costumes and “Votes for Women” sashes. Pandemic safety measures necessitated the cancellation of the parade and our entry. Save your costumes and sashes, we plan to march in the 2021 Petoskey 4th of July Parade!
Our Unit is planting a tree with a commemorative plaque on the grounds of the Little Traverse Bay Historical Museum to mark the LWV centennial and honor the Petoskey suffragists. Anne Srigley has worked with Hoffman landscaping to secure a tree donation and with city officials to secure the planting site. The dedication ceremony originally slated for August has been delayed until August 2021 due to pandemic safety concerns. The tree planting will occur this summer with the media and several LWV representatives on hand to photo document the event.
A weekly series featuring twenty known Petoskey suffragists is currently running on our FaceBook page and based on the number of “likes”, it is proving to be very popular! Sally Smith has meticulously researched information on each of these women, reaching out to their descendants for details on their lives and obtaining pictures for a number of them. She has written vignettes about each one highlighting their roles within the community, family relationships, roles in the Suffragist organization, and even where they lived in town. A big thank you to Sally for creating such a comprehensive compilation of these truly remarkable women leaders from Petoskey’s past!
Clerk Engagement Project
Our Clerk Engagement Project headed by Susan VanDeventer began as a way of introducing our new LWV Unit to the clerks of Emmet and Charlevoix counties. Meeting our clerks in person can help establish our presence in the area and communicate our desire to support their efforts. We are also gathering information about how each clerk deals with ballot security, the impact of Proposal 3 on their workload and processes, and what needs they may have for election workers.
So far, we have had successful interviews with 10 (of 21) clerks in Emmet County and expect to do several more in the next few weeks. The information our team has gathered is very interesting and also very reassuring about the integrity of the AVB (Absentee Voter Ballot) or mail-in voting. The data we have gathered so far indicates that the clerks are scrupulous about checking the veracity of each and every ballot, and using every tool available to prevent fraud. They are all hard working and diligent in the performance of their duties. Our LWV Unit published a letter to the editor in the Petoskey News Review on July 7th to this effect.
To date, we have had only 1 interview (of 19) with a clerk in Charlevoix County. This is in part because we need more team members from Charlevoix County, and some of the clerks have not responded to requests for a meeting. We will persist in making these connections to build a favorable working relationship as we continue this project into the future.
Our team members have enjoyed making these contacts and clerks have expressed their gratitude that we are interested and willing to help. Please join us! Contact Sue VanDeventer at susan.vandeventer@gmail.com
High School Voter Registration Project
The COVID19 pandemic caused us to cancel our planned voter registration activates, however that only pushed us to become more creative! In April, Penny Crim and Marcia Meyer edited a Power Point Presentation shared by the LWV League that taught junior and senior high school students the importance of voting and how to register to vote. Penny then sent the presentation to all area high school civics and government teachers to use in their on-line class. Several teachers wrote back to express their thanks and provided positive feedback on the lesson
Get Your Yard Sign!
Thanks to Nancy Dwan and Jessica Shaw-Nolff, our yard sign project promoting mail-in voting is a success! Five other Leagues from Marquette to Lansing have requested the graphics to duplicate the sign and our mentor League bought 30 of them. We still have 25 yard signs that need a home. Please contact Nancy Dwan to pick up your yard sign in Petoskey gold-dwan@outlook.com. If you would like a yard sign delivered to you, please email info@lwvcharem.org. Per the LWV nonpartisan policy, please note that if you have a LWV yard sign, partisan signs are not to be in the same yard.
Call for Poll Workers
Suzanne Kanine, Emmet County Clerk, has twice requested the assistance of our Unit in finding poll workers, and our members have stepped up!
A big thank you to everyone who has volunteered for this training and for working the polls. Filling these slots has gone a long way in establishing our community reputation and in partnering with community leaders. We are hoping to have a number of workers in our membership ready to work the polls, please consider training opportunities as they come along.
Did You Know?
After World War II, the League carried out a nationwide public support campaign, at the request of President Franklin Roosevelt, to establish the United Nations and to ensure U.S. participation. Following the campaign, President Harry Truman invited the League to serve as a consultant to the U.S. delegation at the United Nations Charter Conference. One of the first organizations officially recognized by the UN as a non-governmental organization (NGO), the League still maintains official observer status today!
Charlevoix/Emmet Unit Leader Team
The overall responsibility of the leader team is to promote the development of the Charlevoix-Emmet Unit in accordance with the LWV mission and policies, and to facilitate the process of becoming a freestanding League. This requires learning the policies of the LWV, the various structures within the national, state and local organization and how each functions in order to apply those policies and structure to our own Unit. Your leader team attends monthly mentoring meeting, monthly LWVLC BOD meetings, and bi-weekly leader team meetings. As progress towards becoming a freestanding League continues, the leader team will continue to expand with an elected Board of Directors and Committee Chairs.
Meet Your Leader Team
Robin Jordan was voted Charlevoix Emmet Unit Chair by the LWVLC BOD in February. She is a nurse midwife and holds a Master of Science in Nursing and a PhD in Health Science Research. She is a long-time resident of Petoskey and began a midwifery service at Northern Michigan Hospitals (now McLaren) in 1983 that was in operation for 25 years. She most recently taught Nursing at North Central Michigan College and Midwifery at Georgetown University. Robin is on the BOD of the LWVLC representing the Charlevoix-Emmet Unit. She is also on the BOD of the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan and a member of the Hestia Women’s Giving Circle. “I’m drawn to the LWV’s nonpartisan stance that advocates for policies that work to empower all citizens rather than select groups. I also really enjoy getting to know and working with so many remarkable women and men in our community”.
Paige (Penny) Crim was voted Charlevoix Emmet Unit Vice-Chair by the LWVLC BOD in February. Penny has lived in Petoskey since 1984. She was an educator for 30 years and holds master’s degrees in Teaching Students with Specific Learning Disabilities and Educational Leadership. She worked for Char/Em ISD for the last 15 years of her career as a special education teacher consultant. Since retirement, Penny has volunteered at Crooked Tree Art Center and at Boyne City Elementary School. She is on the BOD of the Little Traverse Historical Society and Char/Em United Way. Penny is very excited to be a part of the League. “We have so much work to do to ensure safe elections for all”.
Susan VanDeventer joined the leader team in March. Sue moved with her family to Petoskey 34 years ago. With a life-long interest in government and politics, Sue has been active politically since high school and earned her teaching degree from Michigan State University. She spent several years as an adjunct government instructor at NCMC before accepting a full-time teaching position at Petoskey Middle School. In addition to teaching 7th grade social studies, Sue co-sponsored both the middle and high school Michigan Youth in Government programs which gives students hands-on experience in a mock legislature. Now retired from teaching, Sue is drawn to the League of Women voters because of their commitment to the goal of universal suffrage and voter education. “I believe voting is the most important duty we have as citizens of the United States. And one of my very favorite quotes on voting is from none other than Susan B. Anthony: ‘Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.’”.
LWV Leelanau County Mentors Message
Congratulations, Char-Em! You have grown from a small group of interested women who, in 2018, began to plan for a League of Women Voters presence in Charlevoix and Emmet Counties, to a vibrant Unit of the LWV Leelanau County (familiarly called “Char-Em”) of 76 members in the summer of 2020.
Despite the pandemic, you have continued to grow and to serve your counties by working on voter registration, meeting with county and township clerks, developing and distributing Vote-By-Mail yard signs – to name only a few of your many accomplishments. I love driving around Leelanau County and seeing your Vote-By-Mail signs in yards. Your good work stretches beyond your two counties.
It has been a privilege to serve with Joan Hunault as mentors to your Unit as we all strive together to Make Democracy Work.
Nancy Duck, LWVLC
Voter Services: The Big Picture
The Voter Services Committee is the backbone of the LWV. This committee handles primary tasks such as:
Public Education –The LWV hosts events and/or programs every year to educate voters about candidates in federal, state and local races, as well as distribute educational materials about state and local elections. Topics pertinent to voting like money in politics, redistricting, expanding voter access and fighting voter suppression are important issues for public education.
Voter registration – The LWV works year-round to make sure all eligible Americans—especially first-time voters, non-college youth, new citizens, communities of color, and low-income Americans—have the opportunity to register and vote.
Each League has a Vote 411 website – This is a one-stop-shop for election-related information provides nonpartisan info to the public, register to vote, find candidate information, & much more.
To date, we have had small groups take on voter registration projects, educational forums on voting and signage to promote absentee voting. Other members are looking into establishing candidate forums processes. The Voter Services committee is typically the largest one in any League or Unit and many hands make anything possible.
Since this is an election year, we are asking every member to be a member-at-large.
Your role can consist of just one of these tasks:
Donate to a project
Distribute informational pamphlets
Help develop our Vote 411 information (once that’s done, it’s done for 2 years)
Plan projects to help promote an informed community
Our LWV Leelanau mentors are available for consultation, and guidelines, resources, and developed plans are available to committee members. This is why we have a LWV in our area, become involved! Contact info@lwvcharem.org with your ideas on getting out the vote and promoting an informed electorate and/or to join the Voter Services team.
LWV Meetings and COVID-19
As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to affect more and more communities across the country, our Unit will not hold in-person meetings throughout 2020. All gatherings will be held via Zoom online. If you are unfamiliar with the Zoom platform, we provide individual instructional tutorials over the phone to guide new users; contact info@lwvcharem.org to schedule a session.
Please stay safe!
Wash your hands often, and use hand sanitizer if you don’t have access to a sink
Don’t touch your face
Keep physical distance — at least 6 feet — from people you don’t live with
Wear a mask when out of the house, especially when you’re closer than 6 feet to other people
Avoid shared surfaces
Avoid crowded settings
Avoid being around others who are not masked
If you’re 65 or older or have chronic health conditions, all of this advice is taken more seriously
First Annual Campaign Drive
We have just concluded our very first fundraising drive as the Charlevoix-Emmet Unit. It was a letter campaign that ran through June 30 as is done in all local Leagues. We had nineteen donors for a total of $845.
A big thanks to all who gave! These monies will allow us to fund group projects for items such as printing written materials, pay for our website and email services. In the future, we hope to have other events that raise funds to do League work, therefore, we need a small group willing to consider fundraising ideas. Please. Our money is handled by our mentors until we are a freestanding League.
LWV Dues and Membership
The LWV fiscal calendar is determined by the LWVUS by-laws and is from July to July.
Dues remain at $60 individual, $90 family, $5 student, and are payable by October 2020.
Any member who joined AFTER December 31st of 2019 will not need to renew until the following year.
Because we are a Unit, dues are payable to LWVLC. When we become a Member at Large (the next step in becoming a freestanding League) dues will be payable to our Charlevoix-Emmet League.
The membership committee will be sending out the annual dues notice early in the fall.
Charlevoix/Emmet 2020-2021 Calendar
September –Election Action Meeting All Aboard!
October – Voter Services Committee -Debunking Absentee Voting Myths
November - Indigenous Peoples Month - Speaker
December – Election Recap, Annual Holiday Event & Member Book-Read Selection
January – LWV Mission and Goals- Member Training
February – Environment and Natural Resources Committee
March – Women’s History Month – Equal Rights Advocacy Committee
April – Action Meeting All Aboard!
May - Annual Meeting LWVLC; LWVMI Convention
June - Environment and Natural Resources Committee; Annual Planning Retreat
July and August – Enjoy Northern Michigan Summer!
Important Election Dates
July 20th: Last day to register in any manner other than in-person with local clerk for the August primary
July 21: Candidate filing deadline for most races for the November 3 general election.
July 21st through August 4 – In-person registration with local clerk with proof of residency
August 4: Primary election.
August 11: Proposal language approval deadline for general election.
October 19th: Last day to register in any manner other than in-person with local clerk for the November general election
October 20th through November 3rd: In-person registration with local clerk with proof of residency.
November 3rd: General election
Resources
HAVE A CONCERN? WANT TO SAY THANKS? WANT TO EXPRESS YOUR APPRECIATION? CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
President Trump (R)
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
US Senator Gary Peters (D)
269 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6221
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D)
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan 48909
Phone: 517-373-3400
Phone: 517-335-7858 (Constituent Services)
Michigan House of Representatives, District 105
Triston Cole (R)
House Office Building
P.O. Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: (517) 373-0829
US Senator Debbie Stabenow (D)
702 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4822
senator@stabenow.senate.gov
US Representative Jack Bergman (R)
414 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-4735
State Senator Wayne Schmidt (R)
820 Farnum Bldg
Post Office Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
Phone: 517-373-2413
senwschmidt@senate.michigan.gov
Michigan House of Representatives, District 107
Lee Chatfield (R)
House Office Building
P.O. Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: 517-373-2629