Location
Please join League members from around the state as we forge our future at LWVSC's 2025 biennial convention in Greenville on May 16-17. We're planning 1 1/2 days of speakers, workshops, business, and awards at Greenville Tech's Center for Manufacturing Innovation.
Convention details
When
4 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Registration Timeline: February 14 - April 16.
Registration is now closed. If you have questions about your registration, please contact Anita Baker at lwvsc.assistant [at] gmail.com. (Reminder: Registration cancellations/changes can be accommodated no later than April 25, 2025.)
Registration Options
- Two-day registration: $170
- Friday-only registration: $60 (4 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.)
- Saturday-only registration: $120 (8 a.m. - 4: p.m.)
Registration fees include a Friday reception and dinner, and Saturday continental breakfast and lunch. Lodging is separate. Note: Registration cancellations/changes can be accommodated no later than April 25, 2025.
Who's invited?
Any local League member or member-at-large from South Carolina is welcome to attend Convention.
What's it about?
Pre-convention ZOOM sessions, 7-8 p.m.
- Monday, May 12, 7 p.m. - Convention 101 and Proposed Bylaws Changes
- Tuesday, May 13, 7 p.m. - Meet the Candidates
- Wednesday, May 14, 7 p.m. - Proposed Program
- Thursday, May 15, 7 p.m. - Proposed Budget
Overnight accommodations
- Direct link to Hilton Garden Inn LWVSC rates
- If calling the front direct desk directly (864-284-0111), provide the code SCLOWV.
- The cut-off date for hotel registration is April 16.
Featured guests
Friday Dinner & Keynote Speaker: “Defending Democracy in Times of Crisis: LWV, Past and Present;” Dr. Kimberly Hamlin, LWVUS Board of Directors
Kimberly A. Hamlin, member of the LWVUS Board of Directors since 2022, is currently the Chamberlin Family Professor of History and the Chair of the History Department, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Dr. Hamlin is an award-winning historian, author, and professor specializing in the histories of women’s rights, women’s political activism, and the cultural construction of ideas about gender and sex.
A regular contributor to The Washington Post, NPR, CBC radio, and other media, Hamlin speaks to audiences across the country about women’s and gender history. She is a member of the Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer Bureau.
Saturday: "Preserving Our Past, Forging Our Future: Women’s Suffrage in South Carolina;" Dr. Courtney Tollison, Furman Public Historian & Scholar
Courtney Tollison is the Distinguished University Public Historian and Scholar at Furman University. She has been a Fulbright Scholar (Ukraine), a fellow in Columbia University’s Oral History Research Office, and a Mellon Grant recipient for ASIANetwork’s Faculty Enhancement Program (India).
Tollison is the author of four books and several dozen articles written for local media. She has also curated seven museum exhibits, worked on several documentaries, conducted over 100 oral histories, and served as historian for markers and memorials throughout South Carolina. She is currently state chairperson for the National Votes for Women Trail.
Saturday panel discussion: "Democracy and the Decline of Local News"
Moderator Mary McCarthy, former News Director, Greenville WYFF TV; former News Director, New Orleans WDSU TV; and former Communications Manager, Greenville County Museum of Art. Current writer and editor, Square Pegs Communications.
Panelist Mary Bullard, current Assistant News Director, FOX Carolina; former News Director, Charleston WCSC-TV Live 5 News; and former News Producer, Columbia WLTX-TV 19.
Panelist Matthew Hensley is editor for The Post and Courier Spartanburg. He came to Spartanburg from the Aiken Standard, where he spent nine months as digital editor. Before that, he was managing editor of the Index-Journal newspaper in Greenwood, S.C. During his eight-year stint in Greenwood, he led the newsroom to more than 200 awards and four President's Awards for Excellence from the South Carolina Press Association.
Breakout sessions
"Remembering the Three R's: How to Recruit and Retain League of Women Voters Members"
"Threats to Public Education: Misinformation, Misrepresentation, Obfuscation"
Launching LWV’s Moonshot Goal in SC: Electoral College Training
"Climate Change and Resiliency: Is South Carolina Ready?"
The effects of climate change are more widespread, frequent and significant. Communities are bearing the largest economic and public health burden of more frequent severe weather events such as Hurricane Helene, flooding, uncontrolled fires, extreme heat and changes to the biota. Featured speakers will share perspectives on readiness in South Carolina and share their insights on climate advocacy. Interactive discussion will follow to present strategies for decision-makers and others for workable solutions to address climate change impacts and promote climate readiness.
