The Annual Meeting for the League of Women Voters of New Castle County held on Monday, June 12, 2023 at the Newark Free Library was well attended... with between 30 to 40 members present. Sandwiches, cookies and side dishes were served buffet-style and a social time was enjoyed prior to the presentation and meeting.
Carole Walsh and Judy Taggart Honored
Carole Walsh and Judy Taggart, who had served as co-chairs of the LWVNCC Candidate Forums committee for many years, were honored at the annual meeting. Representative Paul Baumbach gave anecdotes about his personal experience with candidate forums and read a statement from the General Assembly honoring the pair. Marj Johnson presented small gifts from the LWVNCC Board.
Keynote Given on Environmental Issues in Delaware
Dustyn Thompson, Director of the Sierra Club Delaware Chapter, gave an overview of climate change threats in low-lying Delaware and how we can minimize the damage with attention to emissions of polluting gases. He explained progress that has been made in DE and upcoming initiatives, including multiple bills before the General Assembly this year.
Dustyn Thompson delivers the Keynote Address
League Business was Conducted
Immediately after President Dick Johnson called the meeting to order, Vice President Marj Johnson spoke in memory of longtime League member and advocate Joann Hasse, who died in March of 2023. Joann was a mentor and inspiration to many.
Long-time League advocate Joann Hasse was an inspiration and mentor to many
Marj also encouraged everyone to have a slice of "Joann's famous pear cake," which she baked and brought for the dessert table.
As is usual at annual meetings, budgets for the next two years were reviewed and approved. LWVNCC membership dues remain unchanged at $60 for indivuals, $30 for additional household members, and free membership for students or lifetime members. There were no changes to LWVNCC action program for 2023 to 2025.
Board Directors and Officers were elected following the recommendations of the nominating committee. Dick Johnson and Ron McKinney retain their roles as President and Treasurer, respectively. Ann Lopez moves up to Vice President and Marj Johnson will serve as Secretary. LWVNCC welcomes Amy Hughes as a new Board Director. Carole Walsh and Letty Diswood will join Linda Barnett on the nominating committee this year. The new candidate forum co-chairs for LWVNCC are Joyce Ford and Chuck Gebhart.
President Dick Johnson reviewed League activities and accomplishments this year, which included a membership survey to determine our current demographics, fundraising efforts spearheaded by Lorraine Botticelli, formulation of a new "elevator pitch" to explain the League and its work, and plans for a college scholarship to be created in honor of Joann Hasse. The scholarship committee, led by Carol Holt and Chuck Gebhart, is working on the scholarship parameters and application form and hopes to make a formal announcement of the program very soon. With successful fundraising, the initial-year $2,500 scholarship could become an annual award to a deserving student who submits the winning essay on Citizenship.
The new state-level LWV President, our own Tiffany Geyer Lydon, gave a report on the recent LWVDE Convention which was held in Dover in May. The state League has a goal to do more collaborative statewide events this year, and to re-emphasize the League's non-partisan approach in local cases where that has come into question.
Directions to the new Board included a plea to consider a PR Chair as a priority rather than an afterthought, and there room for at least one more Director on the Board... so we still need new volunteers to step up for these roles! A focus on reaching out to a younger population was also recommended, as the demographic survey revealed (to no one's surprise) that our membership skews heavily to older age brackets.
