ONEONTA LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS WINS TWO STATE AWARDS AND
SETS NEXT GATHERING
The League of Women Voters of the Oneonta Area received two awards at the League of Women Voters of New York State’s 60th Biennial Convention on Saturday, June 3, in Albany, New York. The Oneonta League shared the prestigious “Lighting the Way Award” with the League of Women Voters of the Cooperstown Area. The award recognized the effort to revitalize the Oneonta League with assistance from the Cooperstown League. The second award is the Audrey Price Memorial Membership Award for outstanding growth in small Leagues. There were five members of the LWV Oneonta in 2022; today there are 24.
The Lighting the Way Award recognizes the partnership between the LWV Oneonta and the Cooperstown League. For several years, the leadership of the Oneonta League had been struggling in the face of a decreasing membership. Cooperstown League members, recognizing the importance of having a dynamic League in the Oneonta area, agreed to a several-year partnership project to assist and support the Oneonta League until the group was strong enough to stand on its own.
“LWV Oneonta is please to accept these awards,” said LWV Cooperstown member Stephanie Bauer who is heading the revitalization for the LWV Oneonta. “We are working diligently to fulfill the League goals of empowering voters and defending democracy while we build friendships with each other and partnerships with the Oneonta community.”
This partnership, in fact, mirrors the early 1970s, when the Cooperstown League was first formed, and the older, well-established Oneonta League was a valuable source of support.
“The state League is so proud of the two local Leagues: LWV of Cooperstown for stepping up and helping another League maintain its viability, and LWV of Oneonta for working hard to grow and strengthen. These local leagues are a model of collaboration which can strengthen, empower, and educate more voters in their communities,” noted Laura Ladd Bierman, Executive Director, LWV New York State.
The relatively urban city of Oneonta, with its two colleges and a variety of small industries, is a more racially diverse community. In granting the award, the LWVNY recognized that an active League in Oneonta strengthens the League’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion.
In the past year, the Oneonta League, sometimes in collaboration with the Cooperstown League, has:
- held multiple voter registration drives on the Hartwick College campus. The largest coincided with National Voter Registration Day;
- organized shuttles from Hartwick College to the Foothills voting site on Election Day;
- set up Vote411 signs and conducting voter registrations at the Oneonta Farmers Market, the Grand and Glorious Fall Fair, and the NAACP Fair;
- organized a candidates debate in Oneonta for candidates for the 122nd Assembly District;
- implemented a moderator training event, for all Leagues in the region in May.
The LWV Oneonta will hold an all-member picnic on July 12 at the Bill Martin small pavilion at Wilber Park from 6 to 8 pm. Members are invited to bring a dish to pass and a friend who might be interested in joining the League. For additional information about this event, emailstephanie.bauer93 [at] gmail.com ( Stephanie Bauer) or call.
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The League of Women Voters of the Oneonta Area is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The League of Women Voters does not support or oppose candidates or political parties. Membership is open to all and provides the opportunity to be active and involved in local, state, and national issues.
