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The Voter is back! | | |
The Massachusetts League Board is bringing back an emailed newsletter for all LWVMA members. The Mass. League Voter will be distributed quarterly to update you on what your state League is working on and what we have accomplished. We hope you enjoy it!
If someone in your League is not receiving this newsletter, ask them to send their email address to lwvma@lwvma.org and we'll put them on the list. |
LWVMA Plans Three Environmental Forums in Spring 2012 | | | To reinforce the LWV's strong positions on environmental issues, the state League is planning to sponsor three regional forums across Massachusetts this spring, each focusing on a topic of major interest to the region. Our specialists on environmental legislation are in the process of developing topic areas and will then be contacting potential speakers. The forums, similar to the two on women's health issues we sponsored last spring, will be held on weekend dates in the eastern, central and western regions of Massachusetts. Local Leagues in the regions will be asked to play a significant role in the planning and implementation of these forums. |
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League in Action on Beacon Hill | | |
Our legislative specialists are hard at work as the State Senate and House conduct their fall legislative session. Below are some of the bills we will be presenting testimony on this fall, and you can help by contacting your state senator and representative.
- SB304 An act relative to disclosure of political spending
- SB305 An act relative to accountability for corporate political spending
- HB1106 An act to establish election day registration
Our specialists have also recently presented testimony supporting HB890 and SB1650, which seek to expand the bottle bill to include deposits on water, tea and other non-carbonated beverage bottles, and on SB185 to develop programs to reduce the high-school dropout rate.
LWVMA continues to strongly oppose legislation that would legalize casino gambling and slots parlors in Massachusetts.
If you would like to be kept up to date on legislation the League is working on, sign up for the Action Alerts LWVMA distributes when votes on these bills are coming up. Join the Action Alert email list by contacting lwvma@lwvma.org. You can also find more detailed information on the legislation we are following on our website, www.lwvma.org. |
Consider an Early Donation to the Fall Fundraiser and Help Your Local League | | |
The LWVMA annual Fall Funding Appeal and Phonathon is about to begin. All members will receive an email or letter asking for a donation in early October. This appeal is our largest fundraiser, and it is a major source of financing for our state operations and programs. When you get your letter, please consider donating.
This year, 15% of donations greater than $100 and 10% of donations less than $100 which are received prior to October 21 will be given to your local League. And, if your donation is received before October 21, we'll take you off the Phonathon call list. So an early and generous donation will be a win-win! Starting November 1, local Leagues will call potential donors, and those Leagues who participate will receive 10% of the donations received via those telephone calls. |
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Meet the new LWVMA Board | | |
Eva Valentine was elected president of the Massachusetts League for the 2011-2013 term at the state convention in May, along with eight directors for that term.
Eva was treasurer of the state League and was a founder and first president of the Greater Haverhill League. She has worked for a number of major corporations. She currently heads her own financial advisory service firm and raises chickens and organic herbs. She is our first president of Hispanic ancestry, lived in Madrid for several years, and has a son and a daughter.
Anne Borg is first vice president. Anne is co-president of the Newton League and has
held many other positions there. She is a coach in the state's membership recruitment program. She recently retired as administrator from a large medical specialty practice. Anne has served on the Newton School Committee. She has two adult sons.
Karen Price serves as second vice president. She is also president of the Needham League. Karen is director of scientific administration for the international breast cancer study group at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She has been on the Needham School Committee and other town committees and has a son in graduate school. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa in the 1970s.
Carole Pelchat is third vice president and has been chair of the state Program and Action Committee since 2007. She was a founder of the Greater Haverhill League after years with the Andover/North Andover League. She is retired from administrative positions in the medical field, most recently as an investigations manager for the Department of Mental Health. She has three sons and four grandchildren.
Sanford Ostroy serves as fourth vice-president. He has been co-chair of the Brookline League committee on education and was on the LWVUS committee that developed the national study on education. Sandy is an emeritus professor of biological sciences at Purdue University, and he and his wife moved to Brookline when he retired in 2005.
Muriel Zaginailoff is secretary. She was a charter member of the Beverly League and served as its president and in most other board positions. She has also been a member of the state League governance and voter service committees. A native of England, Muriel became a U.S. citizen in 1968. She is retired from the banking industry and is active in programming for Beverly's local cable television station.
Joan Boyer is treasurer. She has been president, treasurer, steering committee member and webmaster for the Falmouth League and was treasurer of the Southbridge League before moving to Falmouth. She recently retired as a hospital medical librarian and manager of a physician continuing medical education program. Joan has three daughters and five grandchildren.
Pam Holland continues as a director and as chair of the state membership and training committee. She has been president and is currently treasurer of the Westford League. She is a state coach in the LWVUS Membership Recruitment Initiative. Her first career was in computer programming, and her second is in genealogy. Pam has participated in the Pan-Mass Challenge bicycle ride for the past five years. She has two children.
Nancy Brumback is a director. She has been co-president and bulletin editor for the Sudbury League and is currently voter service chair. She has worked on candidates' forums for the Fifth Congressional District, U.S. Senate and Governor/Lt. Governor races. She is a free-lance journalist and has two adult daughters.
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And Meet Our New Office Manager
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 The cheerful voice you hear when you call the state League's office belongs to Natalie Kassabian, who joined LWVMA as office manager in January. Natalie's family moved from Massachusetts to Texas when she was 12, and she decided to come back to this area, where she still has family, a couple of years after she graduated from the University of Texas in Austin.
Natalie does everything from answering the phone to updating our Facebook page to keeping track of donations to planning events to getting out our publications, including this newsletter.
"Every day I do something different and the people I work with are very friendly. Plus the work of the League is something I really believe in," she said.
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LWVMA's May Convention Roundup | | |
At its biennial state convention in Sturbridge in May, the Massachusetts League adopted a Strategic Plan to be implemented over the next three years and to guide its actions going forward.
The key provisions of the Strategic Plan are outlined in the next article. Terry Yoffie was chair of the Strategic Plan committee, and members were Jo-Ann Berry, Anne Borg, Jean Childs, Ellen Grody, Elizabeth Handler, Marcia Hirshberg, Carin Kale, David LeBouef, Carole Pelchat, Marilyn Peterson, Karen Price, Stefani Traina, and Eva Valentine, with professional assistance from Tammany Hobbs Miracky and Amy Yoffie.
Reacting to the LWVUS Clean Air television ads criticizing Senator Scott Brown's vote, the convention adopted a resolution calling on the Massachusetts Board to draft a written policy governing its own advocacy efforts. The convention also passed resolutions calling on the national League to disclose the funding sources of advocacy ads when the ads appear and to provide state and local Leagues with a plan for public relations and media communications prior to conducting media campaigns in states.
In response to those resolutions and ones submitted by other states at the U.S. Council meeting in June, LWVUS adopted new guidelines for major LWVUS media campaigns in states. You can read those guidelines on LWVUS' website or in the LWVMA League Leaders Update for August.
The convention also approved a budget for the next two years and elected a new president, Eva Valentine, and Board. |
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Strategic Plan Sets Path for Future | | |
A Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by Terry Yoffie, studied and identified current trends and referenced our traditions, initiatives and activities to advise our members about future planning for the LWVMA. Beginning in October 2010, the Committee sought input from our members, our leaders, and external sources. The Strategic Plan was presented, discussed and voted at the LWVMA Convention in May 2011.
The Committee identified the following broad goals for the next three years:
- Create strong connections between LWVMA and local Leagues through communications and leadership development
- Create Presidents' Council to network League leaders
- Implement LWVUS Membership and Leadership Development program
- Focus Program and Action and Voter Service activities
- Change the funding model and expand revenue sources, while limiting expenditures
- Shift LWVMA Board structure and operations to implement strategic priorities
Since the Convention, the LWVMA Board has approved an implementation plan and is making progress toward these goals. LWVMA thanks Terry Yoffie and the Committee for a job well done!
Click here to read the full Executive Summary for the Strategic Plan |
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Your League Needs YOU! | | |
LWVMA has a number of ways you can get involved at the state level. Here are some of the current possibilities. Please consider lending your talents and time!
- Good Governance Specialist. Follow state legislation on topics such as campaign finance reform and open meeting laws, recommend LWVMA action. Contact Carole Pelchat
- Advocacy Policy Committee. Short-term committee to develop policy for state advocacy campaigns in response to convention resolution. Contact Nancy Brumback
- Phonathon Committee. Help with the annual Phonathon fund-raising drive preparing mailings, etc., October through early December. Contact Karen Price
- Membership and Training Committee members. Work with local Leagues to support their membership recruitment and retention activities and help with leadership development. Plan the biennial Convention and Council. Contact Pam Holland
- Finance Committee Members.Review and update LWVMA's financial policies and procedures. Meets by email and conference call. Contact Elizabeth Handler
For the latest information on local League events and your state League's activities, check out the website www.lwvma.org or visit us on Facebook!
133 Portland Street, Boston, MA 02114 Tel: 617-523-2999 Fax: 617-248-0881
Email: lwvma@lwvma.org Website: www.lwvma.org |
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