Dear Members and Friends,

October was a very busy month for League. Besides the committees hard at work with studies and plans for coming events and long-term strategy, several general meetings were held.

The update on Redistricting/Reapportionment and the Florida Election Law was extremely interesting and informative. Among comments I received was "one of the best meetings ever." A big thank you to our speakers: Rep. Mack Bernard, Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher, and our own Pam Goodman, speaking as Redistricting Chair for LWV Florida.

The National Education Study committee held their presentation and consensus meeting on a Saturday. Kudos to Chair Rita Wachs and the entire committee: Jean Edelman, Jackie Elkin, Marcia Halpern, Anne Jiovanazzo, Emily Rosen, and Eileen Shevach. Karn Hill served as recorder. And an extra thank you to Anne and Jim Jiovanazzo for hosting the meeting. This study had a short timeline from the release of the background material to national's due date for consensus. They had a lot of material to wade through and understand. The presentation was clear and members of the audience, many of whom are or were teachers, contributed to the discussion. A consensus was reached, which will be submitted to national. When LWVUS releases the new position based on consensus from all local leagues, we will be able to advocate for our position as Congress debates upcoming changes to the education laws.

Back row: Karn Hill, Jackie Elkin, Rita Wachs Front row: Emily Rosen, Eileen Shevach, Anne Jiovanazzo, Marcia Halpern, Jean Edelman

As of this writing, the County Charter study committee has yet to complete its two consensus meetings - more about that in the next VOTER. This is a local study, which means that if a consensus is reached, we can immediately accept it as our local position.

Also in October, we participated in the Lake Worth candidates' forum for their November election.

LWV Florida has announced an exciting program: BE READY TO VOTE. This is to help those people who need to change their name or address, check if they are registered, ask for Vote By Mail forms (in response to the changes to Florida election law), by using a special new Microsoft Tag for use with smart phones. (It's made me wish I had one!) For details on this new program, go to the Be Ready to Vote, article, later in this VOTER.

Coming up in November: A forum on the 2^nd, at 7:00PM at Lynn University sponsored by the Sun Sentinel, Lynn University, LWVPBC and LWV Broward. The topic is the election law. Speakers are Dr. Brenda Snipes, Broward County Supervisor of Elections; Susan Bucher, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections; Dr. Robert Watson of Lynn University; and Pam Goodman. Bring a friend.

The Transportation Study presentation is November 16 at COMPASS. And, SAVE THE DATE: December 10, 2-4 PM for our Holiday Party.

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays.

In League,

Joan Karp

Back to top 

Due to the busy holiday season and the lack of League activity in December, there will be no VOTER next month. Come to the LWVPBC Holiday Party and enjoy your holidays with family and friends. See you in January.

 Back to top 

Politicos in Paradise

Support the advocacy efforts of the League of Women Voters of Florida well as our League. Join LWVF leaders and state representatives for Politicos in Paradise.

Back to top 

The League's voter service campaign, "Be Ready to Vote," launched on Wednesday, October 19 with a press conference in Orlando. Supervisors of Elections and press outlets from throughout the state were in attendance, and the League of Women Voters Florida Education Fund (LWVFEF) was overwhelmed with positive feedback!

Through its "Be Ready to Vote" campaign, LWVFEF hopes to reach out and inspire as many voters as possible! Since there are several months between now and Election Day, this is the perfect time for voters to update their voter records and for the League to get its "Be Ready to Vote" message out.

There are 67 in counties in Florida, and the League is starting with the largest counties and then moving down to the smaller ones. The goal is to get enough momentum with the major Supervisors so that the rest will come to LWVFEF looking to be part of the new Tag program (see below). Susan Bucher, Palm Beach County Supervisor has signed on.

Tag Program

The "Be Ready to Vote" Tag program is a national first! Through the League's partnership with Microsoft, the state of Florida will be a test market for facilitating citizens' access to voting information via their smartphones. The purpose of the Tag program is to connect voters directly with their local Supervisor of Elections. The goal is to reach out to youth voters (under 30) as well as minority voters and the general public.

This is a print campaign! The universal Tag that connects users to their Supervisor of Elections can be photographed off a television or PC screen. Think of newspapers, posters, and/or flyers; all these items can be easily scanned. The directions on how to use this program come directly when the app is downloaded.

For more on the Be Ready to Vote Campaign and the Microsoft Tag program, click here www.bereadytovote.org 

The October VOTER introduced you to LWVPBC's proposed three-year Strategic Plan. This article presented our proposed Vision statement:

By 2014, the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County will expand its recognition as a leading non-partisan, political organization in Palm Beach County, by:

• Providing reliable information on elections and public policy issues to a more diverse PBC population through innovative educational approaches, and
• Motivating people to become actively engaged at all levels of government and in the League of Women Voters

To help us reach our Vision in the next three years, the Board and Leadership Team developed five specific goals. This article describes Goals 1 and 2.

Goal 1 ─ Have a viable and active membership.

We are very proud of our League. We have about 300 members and are engaged in a full spectrum of League activities throughout Palm Beach County. Our membership goal is to grow and enrich our organization even further. We are reaching out to new members from all walks of life and looking for ways to involve our existing members in the multiple tasks that make our organization great. The focus of our membership goal is to:

• Have members who support our goals and vision.
• Grow, recruit and retain a diversified membership reflective of the demographics of Palm Beach County.
• Attract and motivate members to be active on our Leadership Teams, committees and the Board.
• Recognize that support comes in many flavors, from leading a team, to assisting on one initiative, to making a monetary contribution. All are integral to our success.

If you would like to help with our membership goal, in some fashion, please contact Karen Wilkerson, our Membership Lead at info@lwvpbc.org.

In addition to our Membership team, we also have many activities planned through our Education/Advocacy, Finance/Fundraising and Communications teams. If any of these areas interest you, contact Karen Wilkerson. You can support an event, be part of a study group, or assist with legislative relations. There are so many ways to be involved. For the details, contact Karen.

Goal 2 ─ Be a Financially Sound Organization

Another key component to attaining our vision is our ability to establish sound fiscal policies. That includes:

• Being on top of the cost of every program, project and task we want to implement to help us deliver on the LWVPBC vision and goals.
• Properly preparing budgets that meet the basic needs of each year's operating expenses.
• Developing a fundraising strategy and goals that increase funding and funding sources and improve our financial health.

In 2010, we were very fortunate receive a generous gift from the legacy of a past member, Roslyn Novak. We want to determine best practices for the use of Education Fund bequests, such as the Roslyn's, that enhance our ability to rollout sustainable multi-year educational programs for the benefit of our local community.

If you are interested in donating to our League or participating in some aspect of the Finance Team, please contact Anne Jiovanazzo at treasurer@lwvpbc.org .

Tell us what you think!

We want to hear from you. In a few weeks, you will receive information on our other goals. With a Vision that tells us the type of organization we want to be and five clearly stated goals that give us the plans on how to get there over the next three years, we believe that the future of the LWVPBC is stronger than ever.

Please tell us what you think about our proposed Vision and two of the five goals in our Strategic Plan. Send your comments to Barbara Eriv at info@lwvpbc.org.

When:    Monday, November 21, 2011 - 2:00 to 4:00 PM

Where:   "505" Teen Center, 505 SE 5^th Avenue, Delray Beach

Topic:     MAKING SENSE OF MULTICULTURALISM

Global governance and international cooperation subjects political leaders to an ongoing test of values. Leaders must balance their national needs with a commitment to building a durable international order. For example, natural disasters can cause a nation to change its policies for humanitarian reasons. Also, safeguarding human rights during times such as the Arab Spring can change national policies.

David Shorr, a program officer at the Stanley Foundation in Muscatine, Iowa, wrote an in depth article on "Making Sense of Multiculturalism" for the Great Decisions 2011 book. Mr. Shorr also recently co-authored "Powers and Principles: International Leadership in a Shrinking World." The book addresses many of the same topics that will be presented and discussed at the November 21^st meeting.

Alice Finst will present the many aspects of "Making Sense of Multiculturalism." As always, this presentation will be an extension and update of the information presented in the Great Decisions 2011 book.

Some questions to consider are:

1.  How has an increasingly interconnected and shrinking world affected the viability of existing agreements and institutions?

2.  What economic, social, political and security concerns are currently on the agendas of intergovernmental bodies?

3.  What role will the United Sates play in the future?

Future Meeting Dates:

Monday, December 19^th, "Our Near Neighbors"

Presenters: Sally Robinson and the Gang of Six

Great Decisions 2012 meeting dates will be listed in the next VOTER. Expect an interesting international Great Decisions 2012!

Back to top 

SAVE THE DATE:

LWVPBC HOLIDAY PARTY

SATURDAY

DECEMBER 10, 2011

2:00 - 4:00 P.M.

An exciting new venue:

Lois Brezinski Artworks

527 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach

Lois Brzezinski, former President of the Delray Beach Preservation Trust and a resident of Delray Beach is an international artist whose artwork can be found in corporate offices in Europe, the Caribbean and the US. Lois Brzezinski's most recent commission is with the Ritz Carlton of the Cayman Islands.

RSVP to Rosemarie Russo at 561-276-4898. Leave a message if she doesn't answer.

Back to top 

Donations

Thank you to:

Gerda and Ted Shay

Anna Ridolfo

Alma Eckert

Back to top