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Annual Meeting

League of Women Voters - Whitewater Area

May 6, 2023

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Welcome and Call to Order

Mary Beth Byrne

Co-President

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Respectful Communications Guidelines

Adopted by the LWV Whitewater Area Board October 2022

Mary Beth Byrne and Ellen Penwell

Co-Presidents

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Agenda

Topic

Presenter(s)

  1. Welcome and Call to Order

Mary Beth Byrne

  1. Reading of the Respectful Communications Guidelines

Co-Presidents

3. Review Meeting Agenda

Ellen Penwell

4. Acceptance of Minutes from May 5, 2022 Annual Meeting

Ellen Penwell

5. Recognition of 2022-23 Board Members

Mary Beth Byrne

6. Treasurer’s Annual Report and Proposed Budget for FY 2023-24*

Etty Wilberding

7. Membership Report

Kathy Brimmer

8. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Committee Report

Ellen Penwell

9. Website Report

Anne Hartwick

10. Social Media Report

Mary Beth Byrne for Michelle Whisner

*The items you are being asked to vote on are bolded in the agenda.

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Agenda

Topic

Presenter(s)

10. Media Relations Report

Ellen Penwell for Briahna LeFave

11. Voter Services Reports

    • Voter Registration Assistance and Education
    • VOTE411.org

EP for Julia Ross

Anne Hartwick

12. Nomination Committee Report & Elections, including introduction of

nominees*

Nominating Committee

13. Review of 2022-23 Programs and Activities

Co-Presidents

14. Local Program Focus for 2023-24*

Ellen Penwell

15. Announcements

Mary Beth Byrne

16. Adjourn

*The items you are being asked to vote on are bolded in the agenda.

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Ellen Penwell

Co-President

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Recognition of 2022-23 Board Members

Mary Beth Byrne

Co-President

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Recognition of 2022-23 Board Members

OFFICERS

  • Mary Beth Byrne � Co-President
  • Ellen Penwell � Co-President
  • Etty Wilberding� Treasurer
  • Midge Gill� Secretary

DIRECTORS

  • Julia Ross,* Voter Services Chair
  • Anne Hartwick,* Website Mistress, Newsletter Editor
  • Kathy Brimmer, Membership Chair
  • Briahna LeFave, Media Relations Chair
  • Michelle Whisner, Social Media Chair

* Stepping off the Board.

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Treasurer’s Report

Etty Wilberding

Treasurer

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COMPARISON BUDGET LWV WHITEWATER AREA 2022 TO 2024

2022-2023 Budget

2022-2023

2023-2024

Budget

Draft Actuals

Proposed Budget

INCOME

Membership Dues

$3,500

$3,500

$3,500

Fundraising

$1,000

$1,710

$0

Cash Donations

$575

$315

$350

Election Night Reporting

$0

$170

$170

MDW Award Reception

$0

$0

$0

Miscellaneous

$50

$350

$150

TOTAL INCOME

$5,125

$6,045

$4,170

Carry Over From Previous Year

$3,578

$5,000

$4,500

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EXPENDITURES

2022-2023 Budget

2022-2023

2023-2024

Financial Support/Dues:

National LWV PMP

$1,536

$1,536

$1,648

Wisconsin LWV PMA

$1,440

$1,440

$1,545

ILO Interleague Organizations

$70

$65

$70

MyLo (Website)

$400

$400

$400

Vote 411

$75

$75

$75

Newsletter

$25

$0

$25

Technology

$400

$226

$400

Postage and Printing

$450

$194

$250

LWV WI Annual Meeting

$300

$0

$300

Publicity

$100

$85

$0

Program Expenses

$250

$0

$250

Spanish Translation Services

$100

$0

$100

MDW Award Reception

$275

$87

$250

Insurance

$0

$0

$500

Miscellaneous

$250

$0

$250

TOTAL EXPENDITURES

$5,671

$4,108

$6,063

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OTHER ASSETS

2022-2023 Budget

2022-2023

2023-2024

1. CD Redeemable 9/2023

$1,045

$1,042

$1,045

2. CD Redeemable 9/2023

$585

$584

$585

Respectfully submitted by Etty Wilberding May 6, 2023

for membership approval at the annual meeting

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Membership Report

Kathy Brimmer

Board Director, Membership Chair

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MEMBERSHIP

Membership Report

81 members =

50 household

28 individual

1 student

2 life members

PayPal Options

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee Report

DEI Committee

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League Book Club

Deb Gamble, Dwight Watson

Book Club Coordinators

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Book Group Report

The History of Central America book group culminated on April 25, 2023

Seven members were in attendance at Deb Gamble’s home.

Debriefed the panel discussion

Discussed future plans of action

Discussed the summer read possibility:

Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story - A Memoir by Jacob Tobia

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Website Report�

lwvwhitewater.org

Anne Hartwick

Board Director, Webmistress

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60% open rate!

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Social Media Report

Michelle Whisner

Board Director, Social Media Chair

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Social Media - Year in Review - Facebook

Page Reach 6.5K people +6.6% over LY

Audience 312 likes +19.2% over LY

Content:

May 2022 - May 2023 Insight

Post Reach - 1.7k

Video Reach - +2,153% vs. other videos

175+ created graphics

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Social Media - Year in Review - Instagram

Account Reach 736 +20.2% over LY

Followers 123 +7.8% over LY

A Social Media Ad Hoc Committee was formed to create protocols and/or policies related to the League’s use of social media. Our objectives within are: educating, engaging with, and growing the League’s membership via our interactive platforms, facilitating conversations among League and non-League members, and to advance the League’s mission to empower voters and defend democracy. Our goals therein are: create a set of guidelines for interacting with the League’s social media accounts, engagement with League and non-League content within the scope of social media, suggested direction for handling partisan, non-League, and or content shared that goes against forthcoming policies and protocols, foster, encourage, and support a vibrant, responsible, and professional culture of social media within the League, and identify trusted media and/or platform contacts.

May 2022 - May 2023 Insight

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Media Relations Report

Briahna LeFave

Board Director, Media Relations Chair

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Media Relations-

Year in Review

PR Goals for 2022-2023

  • Expand League visibility by increasing number of contacts, with a special focus on smaller villages/towns.

  • Increase intersectionality in PR by creating tabling signage displaying our DEI policy and our commitment to inclusivity.

  • Begin to think about ways in which PR can be translated in order to deliver press announcements in both Spanish and English.

  • Increase UW-Whitewater student awareness of League.

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The purpose of this signage was to acknowledge our privilege, and be empathetic toward individuals that might feel hesitant to approach the League with voting and political queries.

We placed these signs at tabling events to make clear the League’s stance on diversity, equity and inclusion in order to be able to effectively do the work we love: informing, educating and advocating.

DEI Signage

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Translated PR

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UW-Whitewater Student Organization Inclusion

In recognizing what an important role the UWW students play in the Whitewater community, integrating student orgs into our contact list was integral in creating a consistent presence on campus and fostering a trusted relationship between the League and UWW students.

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Engaged with UWW student org The Royal Purple, UW-Whitewater’s campus newspaper, in order to highlight to readers the importance of active participation in government.

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Voter Services Reports

Voter Registration Assistance and Education

Julia Ross

Board Member, Voter Services Chair

VOTE411

Anne Hartwick

Board Director

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VOTER REGISTRATION ASSISTANCE AND EDUCATION

  • 45 events from July 2022 - June 2023
  • Involving 97 volunteers (many participating multiple times)
  • Totaling 208 combined volunteer hours
  • Resulting in 562 interactions with voters

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Training Workshop Sept 2022

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VOTER REGISTRATION ASSISTANCE AND EDUCATION

  • Involving 9 Partnerships!

Dwight Foster Library, Fort Atkinson

MATC, Fort Atkinson

Aram Public Library, Delevan

The Community Space, Whitewater

Irvin L Young Memorial Library, Whitewater

UW-Whitewater University Center, Aspiring Educators

Sponsorship

UW-Whitewater Engagement Center

UW-Whitewater Latinos Unidos

Whitewater City Market

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  • April Election Voter Guide contested races only
  • 21 communities, 66 candidates, 28 races, 8 measures, 38% response rate
  • 1st Time Spanish Language Option - 6 candidates responded in Spanish: 5 from Whitewater, 1 from Lake Geneva

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Slate of Nominees

Anne Hartwick, Ellen Penwell, Kelly Davis

Nominating Committee

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Submitted by the Nominating Committee

Position Term Nominee Current Occupant

Co-President 2023-2025 Mary Beth Byrne

Vice President 2022-2024 Mary Beth Byrne Vacant

Treasurer 2023-2025 Etty Wilberding Etty Wilberding

Director 2023-2025 Lynn Binnie Anne Hartwick

Director 2022-2024 Kelly Davis Karl Brown

Director 2022-2024 Dwight Watson Julia Ross

Director 2023-2025 Michelle Whisner Michelle Whisner

Director 2023-2025 Briahna LeFave Briahna LeFave

Continuing in their Terms:

Co-President 2022-2024 Ellen Penwell

Secretary 2022-2024 Midge Gill

Director 2022-2024 Kathy Brimmer

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Review of 2022-23 Programs and Activities

Mary Beth Byrne and Ellen Penwell

Co-Presidents

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AUG Garage Sale Raised $1,710.26. Thank you Sue and Bill Chandler for the use of your home and to all League members who volunteered for this event!

SEPT/OCT Three cancelled candidate forums Wisconsin Senate District 11 , Wisconsin Assembly District 31, Wisconsin Assembly District 33. Prompting letter to the editor from League.

OCT screening of the documentary Suppressed and Sabotaged: The Fight to Vote Q&A with UWW student Grace Burke.

16 Replay Views

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NOV LWVWI Program on Implicit Bias & Microaggressions

DEC Reception and Presentation of MDW Award to Lynn

Binnie and Patrick Singer

JAN Pre-Primary Candidate Forum for School Board

322 Replay Views

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FEB Program on Nicaraguan History with Dr. Claudia Rueda

205 Replay Views

FEB 14 Day of Action. Celebrating 103 Years Defending Democracy.

Birthday Video: https://tinyurl.com/2p8tkryh

MAR School Board Candidate Forum #2. 426 Replay Views Whitewater Municipal Court Candidate Forum with WHS Am Government Students

44 Replay Views

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APR Community Forum: Supporting and Addressing Needs of Nicaraguan Families. Panelists followed by Q&A.

MAR rebroadcast of LWVWI webinar Understanding the Importance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court

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Local Program Focus for 2023-24

Ellen Penwell

Co-President

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Every year at Annual Meeting, membership votes on programming topics of local interest to guide program planning. The board recommends topics and members may also add their own. �

The topics given the highest number of votes will guide local programming in FY 2023-24.

Intro

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Women’s Rights (11)

Contributions of Local

LatinX Community (10)

Voter Suppression (8)

Climate Change (7)

Fair Courts Wisconsin (7)

Civic Engagement (5)

Diversity, Equity and

Inclusion (4)

Immigration (3)

Link to Worksheet

Last year’s programming topics prioritized based on membership rank voting at 2023 Annual Meeting

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Inequality in Wages &

Housing (3)

School Curriculum (2)

Technology Gap (2)

Media Impact on Elections &

Misinformation (1)

Infrastructure (1)

Post Pandemic (1)

Gun Law (0)

Public Safety (0)

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Announcements

Ellen Penwell

Co-President

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June 9/10, LWVWI Annual Meeting

Funds available (first come, first serve) to support registration cost!

IN PERSON 2-Day Attendee Friday/Saturday, $135

IN PERSON STUDENT 2-Day Attendee Friday/Saturday, $65

VIRTUAL 2-Day Attendee Friday/Saturday, $55

VIRTUAL STUDENT 2-Day Attendee Friday/Saturday, $40

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Adjournment

THANK YOU!

Mary Beth Byrne and Ellen Penwell

Co-Presidents