Convention 2004: engaging members.More than 800 members (including 745 voting delegates) from 48 states, the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). and the Virgin Islands, came to the LWVUS LWVUS League of Women Voters of the United States 46th Biennial Convention in Washington, DC. From June 11 through June 15, League members filled the Washington Hilton with excitement and activity. Two former LWVUS presidents, Susan Lederman and Nancy Neuman, and a number of former national Board members were among those celebrating the League's accomplishments and discussing important policy issues. The hotel bustled with League activities from early morning to late at night--daily plenaries where official League business was transacted, training sessions/workshops, forums, caucuses that ran late into the night, social gatherings and the Wares Market, not to mention exploration of the city. Special events included visits to the Africare House and the Chinese Embassy, the riotous performance by the Capitol Steps (joined by LWVUS President Kay J. Maxwell) and veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas's superb banquet speech sharing stories from her nine-administration tenure. On June 11, LWVUS staff members were on site early and by mid-afternoon, a leadership development training was in session, followed by the opening of the Wares Market, a reception, a panel on HAVA implementation and a number of caucuses--all this the day before the official opening of Convention 2004! DAY ONE The day opened with the presentation of colors by the Armed Forces Color Guard and the national anthem sung by Caroline Spruill of Falls Church Falls Church, independent city (1990 pop. 9,578), NE Va., a residential suburb of Washington, D.C.; inc. as a town 1875, as a city 1948. There is diverse light manufacturing, including telecommunications equipment. , VA, a student at the Levine School of Music who had sung for Lance Armstrong's Tour of Hope last fall. Board member Shelia Martin, LWVUS Convention Planning Chair, and Frances Gemmill, President of the LWV LWV abbr. League of Women Voters of Washington, DC, welcomed the delegates who then quickly adopted both the amended Convention Rules and the Order of Business. President Kay J. Maxwell's state of the League message addressed the accomplishments of the past two years and the challenges ahead. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Apropos of apropos of prep. With reference to; speaking of: a funny story apropos of politics. the Convention's theme, "Engaging the Nation," Alma Powell Alma Powell, born Alma Vivian Johnson in Birmingham, Alabama, is an audiologist and the wife of military and political figure Colin Powell, whom she married in 1962. She is the mother of former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Michael Powell. , chair of the National Advisory Board of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, presented the prestigious Pew Partnership 2004 Civic Change Award to the League, the first organization to receive this honor. "The League of Women Voters League of Women Voters, voluntary public service organization of U.S. citizens. Organized in 1920 in Chicago as an outgrowth of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, it had as its original nucleus the leaders of the latter organization. has made this country better for more than eight decades ... Its voice of wisdom and reason has raised the level of our civic conversations and given future generations the tools to create a better America," she noted. 2002-2004 LWVUS Nominating Committee A nominating committee is a group formed usually from inside the membership of an organization for the purpose of nominating candidates for office within the organization. It works similarly to an electoral college, the main difference being that the available candidates, either Chair Connie Ferguson presented her report. There were three nominations from the floor for LWVUS Board of Directors. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LWVUS Program Planning Chair Xandra Kayden presented the proposed 2004-2006 Program. On this first day of the three-day Program adoption process, delegates gave notice of their intent to move not-recommended items to the floor for consideration on the second day. Notices included a concurrence CONCURRENCE, French law. The equality of rights, or privilege which several persons-have over the same thing; as, for example, the right which two judgment creditors, Whose judgments were rendered at the same time, have to be paid out of the proceeds of real estate bound by them. Dict. de Jur. h.t. on abolition of the death penalty, a study on election systems and resolutions on voting systems, No Child Left Behind and civil liberties. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Energetic debate and discussion continued over the next two days before adoption of an amended 2004-06 Program. Two resolutions amending the Program were passed: 1. Instead of taking a stand on types of voting technology, the League takes a stand on the goals or principles any particular voting technology must fulfill. The LWVUS interpretation of the position on "Citizens Right to Vote" now reads: "In order to ensure integrity and voter confidence in elections, the LWVUS supports the implementation of voting systems and procedures that are secure; accurate; recountable; and accessible." Since these criteria are not code words for any particular voting technology, the League neither supports nor opposes any type of technology per se, such as Direct Recording Electronic voting Electronic voting (also known as e-voting) is a term encompassing several different types of voting, embracing both electronic means of casting a vote and electronic means of counting votes. machines (DREs), Voter Verified Paper Trails (VVPT VVPT Voter-Verified Paper Trail (electronic voting machines) ), or optical scan. 2. A resolution to reinforce civil liberties as a League priority in this biennium bi·en·ni·um n. pl. bi·en·ni·ums or bi·en·ni·a A two-year period. [Latin : bi-, two; see bi-1 + annus, year; see at- . DAY TWO On the second day, LWVUS Treasurer Shirley Eberly presented her report and briefed the delegates on the League's improved financial status. Linda Lalley, LWVUS Budget Committee chair, presented the proposed FY 2004-2005 LWVUS budget. Delegates listened and asked questions during the plenaries and the Q & A sessions. On the final day, delegates adopted a PMP See point-to-multipoint and portable media player. PMP - Portable Media Player rate of $23.80 for FY 2004-2005 and FY 2005-2006 as well as the proposed FY 2004-2005 LWVUS budget. During the course of the day, LWVUS Executive Director Nancy Tate presented her report on the functions filled by the LWVUS/LWVEF 25-member staff: membership and League support, advocacy, the Education Fund, communications, and management and infrastructure. She presented an overview of the biennium's past and ongoing activities in all these areas. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Doris Schapira, LWVUS United Nations Observer, reported on the League's activities at the United Nations, and urged members to arrange for visits in advance when they plan to be in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . A lively panel on "Balancing Civil Liberties and Homeland Security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States in a Post-September 11th Age," featuring representatives from the 9/11 Commission, Georgetown University Law Center Also attended
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DAY THREE On Monday, U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opened the plenary with a thought-provoking speech. He gave the delegates an assessment of current U.S. foreign policy and the fight against terrorism while sharing anecdotes from his travels abroad. Later that day, LWVUS Outreach Chair Rosie Stephens presented League awards. The LWV of Vermont received special recognition for its innovative membership and strategic plan for more than doubling its membership from 150 to 350 within the next three years. Program award winners, chosen by an independent panel of judges Panel of Judges is an indie pop band from Melbourne, Australia. Members
* the LWV of Massachusetts, the Voter Award for enhancing voter participation through their "Vote! 2004" campaign; * the LWV of Northwest Maricopa County, AZ, the Citizen Award for reconnecting citizens with government through their model for conducting balanced, community-wide forums on public policy issues; * the LWV of Minnesota, the Diversity Award for including all voices in civic life through a multipronged mul·ti·pronged adj. 1. Having many prongs. 2. Involving several different directions, aspects, or elements: a multipronged attack; a multipronged tax bill. approach of partnering with other community organizations and leaders; and * the LWV of Tallahassee, FL, the Reform Award for strengthening democratic processes through reform, namely through forming a political action committee with the goal of amending the city charter and achieving brilliant results--their ballot measure passed with a record 90 percent of the vote. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DAY FOUR On the final day, delegates elected Kay J. Maxwell to her second term as president as well as the rest of the nominated 2004-06 slate of LWVUS officers, directors and nominating committee members. In accepting, Kay Maxwell returned to the convention theme, "We must ... energize en·er·gize v. en·er·gized, en·er·giz·ing, en·er·giz·es v.tr. 1. To give energy to; activate or invigorate: "His childhood the nation's citizens ... to get out and vote--and we must engage the nation. But, we cannot hope to engage the nation if we are not a strong, vibrant organization of members ... And so, while we go about our work this election year, let us not forget that we owe it to our founders to build the membership of this organization so that it can finish the fight." Outgoing LWVUS Board members--Janis Hirohama, CA; Shelia Martin, MA; Rosie Stephens, OR; and Carol Woodward Scott, OK--were recognized for their service to the League. Outgoing Board member Joan Paik, MD, was unable to be in attendance. Closing the 2004 convention with an enticing video, the entire Minnesota delegation filled the stage to invite everyone to the 2006 LWVUS Convention in Minneapolis, MN, on June 10-13, 2006. Determined to use every minute before leaving the city on Tuesday afternoon, many delegates, together with the LWVUS Lobby Corps, headed to Capitol Hill (for details, see Advocacy report on p. 15). Complete reports of convention action are available in the member's section of the Web site at http://interactive.lwv.org/Convention/Convention List.cfm?c=99. RELATED ARTICLE: DELEGATE COMMENTS First Convention: "I really enjoyed Convention ... I was very impressed with the work that is done by the National League and by the many interesting women that I met. I am filled with ideas for new things we can do." "Wonderful convention ... The process is exceptional. Great speakers, especially Richard Lugar and Helen Thomas." RELATED ARTICLE: ROLL CALL The Roll Call of States gave each state a moment in the spotlight. We heard about Maryland's new League with 59 new members, Indiana's new office, Pennsylvania's "Kids Around Town" civic education project, Mississippi's 39th annual citizen's guide calendar, New York's Citizen Action Toolkit, Washington's "The State We're in" book, Colorado's "Taxpayer Bill of Rights A federal or state law that gives taxpayers procedural and substantive protection when dealing with a revenue department concerning a tax collection dispute. Perceived abuses by the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during tax audits led to the enactment of the ," Arkansas's 50th Anniversary, Minnesota's work on immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. and diversity, Massachusett's "Voter Bill of Rights," and much more. The Leagues are definitely making a difference in their communities and engaging the nation! RELATED ARTICLE: DELEGATE COMMENTS Third Convention: "One got the feeling that the League in convention was greater than the sum of its parts, and it was very stimulating and exciting to be part of it." "This was a terrific Convention. League can sometimes wear me out. This was a marvelous rejuvenation Rejuvenation Aeson in extreme old age, restored to youth by Medea. [Rom. Myth.: LLEI, I: 322] apples of perpetual youth by tasting the golden apples kept by Idhunn, the gods preserved their youth. [Scand. Myth. ." RELATED ARTICLE: DELEGATE COMMENTS 5th Convention: "Excellent Convention, as usual! Top-notch speakers!" 8th plus Convention: "Excellent convention!" RELATED ARTICLE: NEW LEAGUES Congratulations to these new Leagues: the LWV of Upper Arkansas Valley, CO; the LWV of Rabun County, GA; the LWV of Queen Anne's County, MD; the LWV of Mississippi Gulf Coast The Mississippi Gulf Coast refers to the three Mississippi counties which lie on the Gulf of Mexico: Hancock County, Mississippi, Harrison County, Mississippi, and Jackson County, Mississippi. , MS; the LWV of the Greater Capital Area, NH; the LWV of New York City, NY; the LWV of Fluvanna County, VA; and the LWV of Central Vermont, VT. |
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