June is here! LWV is hot! Look in this update for:
Read on to learn more! |  |
President's Message
Dear Members,
In May, we held our Annual Meeting, where we conducted League business. During this meeting, we adopted the 2024-2025 budget, set program priorities for the next year, and elected new officers. We also bid farewell to some departing board members. A heartfelt thank you to Debbi Voss, our outgoing Director of Development, and Karen Nicholson, our outgoing Director of Advocacy. Special thanks also goes to Mari Robinson, who completed her term as Past President after previously serving 2 years as President. Mari has been an invaluable mentor to me. I am deeply appreciative of Mari, Debbi, and Karen’s contributions.
What's next?
Although summer usually means a slowdown in League activities, we're not there yet! Join us at the Brewtorium on June 6th for a chance to mingle with fellow League members. Check out the details below. Additionally, we will hold our annual board retreat, where we will plan our Get Out The Vote activities for the fall and work on improving our policies and procedures.
Thank you all for your continued support and membership. We will need your energy and enthusiasm as we approach the fall and the General Election.
Jessica
Jessica Foreman, LWVAA President
Return to top |  | Come to the LWVAA Mixer on June 6!
We're getting together for an informal evening to socialize and get to know each other better. Let's charge our batteries for the election season ahead!
Not for members only - bring your friends, neighbors, and significant others!
Date: Thursday, June 6
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Place: The Brewtorium, 6015 Dillard Circle, Suite A | Austin, TX 78752
Registration isn't required, but your RSVP will help us plan.
| Austin's Climate Equity Plan
LWV Austin Area wholeheartedly applauds Mayor Watson and the City Council for moving forward on setting priorities and determining options (Environmental Investment Plan) to finance Austin’s Climate Equity Plan.
Learn more - The Austin Monitor "Watson focuses on how to finance city's environmental goals"
Sit in the Inner Sanctums!
If you’d like to help interview top local elected officials about their issues, learn about their reflections on and priorities for the Austin area, and find out how the League can partner with them on good governance, please sign up! We are concentrating on AISD, the Austin City Council, and the Travis County Commission - but we also want to expand our reach. We have a suggested list of questions to begin the conversation, ask for only a half-hour of their time, and of course take more if they want to talk with us longer!!! It’s a real upper to sit with these folks and hear their perspectives.
Education
We are planning a panel discussion in late August around the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. A two-part panel is envisioned: Part 1 will cover the student experience then and now, and Part 2 will focus on the educator experience then and now. We are also collaborating with the Affordable Child Care Now coalition to host a panel discussion in the fall around the Travis County affordable childcare measure that will be on the November ballot.
| Communications & Technology
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Empowering Voters
LWVAA and LWVTX Board members heard a presentation by UT students from Texas 180 Degrees Consulting. The students presented the results of their semester-long research on empowering inconsistent voters in Travis County. We are excited to leverage their recommendations to maximize voter turnout in the upcoming election. Our Communications team is busy creating voter education graphics and videos and we are gathering social media influencers to promote voting in the General Election. Contact Grace Chimene to join our team!
Communications News
- CapMetro awarded a grant to LWVAA to promote our Voters Guide with an advertisement on three buses and placards inside 50 buses!
- Photo albums from LWVAA events are now available for view on our website! You'll find a link to the Photo Album page in the "Events & News" dropdown menu.
- LWVAA's "Do you have your sticker?" Instagram Reel was viewed almost 1000 times for the Primary Runoff Election.
LWVAA Sponsored KUT's Civics 101 Events
We had a great time at KUT Civics 101's "The Price is Right?" presented by Amy Stansbury with the The Austin Common and the "What is Your Civic Duty?" panel hosted by 1A's Jenn White.
Supporting Local News Supports Democracy
My father was a journalism professor at the University of Texas. I'm super excited to vote in support of the proposed LWVUS national concurrence position on local News and democracy. I support my local news and local reporters by signing up for their newsletters and sharing their articles on social media. How do you support your local news?
| | Charles Voss wins a prize at KUT's Civics 101 event! |
LWVAA Gift Memberships for Dads & Grads!
Father’s Day is June 16, and an LWVAA gift membership is a great gift for Dad – or for the father figure in your life. And it isn’t too late to start the new graduate off on the right foot by giving them the gift of League membership!
Choose from three gift amounts:
- $60 will cover an Individual Membership
- $90 will cover a Household Membership (2 members in the same household)
- $5 will cover a Student Membership
LWVAA will send your gift recipient an email on the day of your choosing, along with redemption instructions. The gift amount can be applied toward a new membership or membership renewal at any membership level.
Dad doesn’t live in the Austin area? Graduate headed out of state? Consider a donation to the League in their honor!
| Voter Registration & Turnout |  | | Chris Womack, Volunteer of the Year! |  | Amy Stansbury (The Austin Common) &
Claudia Torres-Yanez (LWVAA) | | |
Empowering Voters by Registering Voters
At the Annual Meeting in May, Chris Womack was recognized as Volunteer of the Year for his dedication and service to the League by registering voters. Congratulations, Chris!
In May, we had volunteers out in the community registering voters and empowering them with the information they needed to know about the May 4 local and May 28 Primary Runoff elections.
- We have continued to register voters at Austin area Alamo Drafthouse locations every Friday and Saturday night.
- Additionally this month, we were invited to register voters at a couple of professional conferences, including the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Wellness Fair.
- Two other fun events - both in East Austin - included Travis County’s For the Love of Parks event at Richard Moya Park and a Cinco de Mayo celebration event hosted at Parque Zaragoza.
- We closed out the month with voter registration tables at KUT’s Civics 101 events, which were co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters Austin Area.
- Click the link below to see photos of LWVAA volunteers in action!
Voter Registration and Voter Turnout is a year-around effort! We always have requests to help register voters at new and exciting community events. VDRs interested in volunteering to register voters are encouraged to visit our volunteer opportunities page to sign up for one or more of the many voter registration events that are happening around our area, and we update the list regularly. Please consider joining us if you are a VDR.
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Congratulations, Graduates!
First Vote! volunteers were busy in May providing one more opportunity for high school seniors to register to vote. We will provide a final count for the school year in the next newsletter, but so far we have registered 1,131 high school seniors and collected 656 reminder cards. Lots of new voters!
Summertime!
During the summer we will focus on training and planning for the fall. If you are interested in helping reviewing presentation materials, ideas for interactive activities, and other planning tasks, please let me know.
We plan to book as many schools as possible between September 5th and October 4th, to ensure that all seniors eligible to vote in the November 2024 election will have a chance to register to vote and learn how to get ready. If you want to be part of it, keep your calendar clear!
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Register Voters Across the Austin Area
Help needed! There are lots of opportunities to register voters!
Contact: Claudia Torres-Yanez, Director of Voter Registration and Turnout
Sign up for City of Austin Board or Commission
Provide your perspective and provide a public service.
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Her dedication and service to our organization were truly remarkable:
- President: 1982-1984, 1992-1995, 2008-2011
- Bylaws Chair: 2007-2008
- Member of the Independent Citizen’s Redistricting Commission: 2012
- Nominating Committee Chair: 2014
- Voters Guide Editor: 2015-2018
- Advocacy Chair: 2014-2018
A celebration of Frances's life will be held in July. If you would like to send a condolence card, please email Jessica Foreman.
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June 26: Texas Tribune Event - Public Access to Government
In this conversation, part of The Texas Tribune’s "We the Texans" project looking at the state of democracy in Texas, panelists will talk about the challenges with the implementation of the Texas Public Information Act, how it’s affecting Texans, and what solutions are available.
The in-person event will be live streamed for virtual attendees and will be available to watch on demand here.
Date: Wednesday, June 26
Time: Doors at 8:30 a.m. / Event begins at 9:00 a.m.
Location: 919 Congress Avenue, Sixth Floor, Austin, 78701 OR online
Education
The Austin Area Urban League will host an Equity and Excellence Project Dinner to provide an in-depth exploration of how 504 accommodations, school vouchers, and standardized testing intersect and influence the landscape of education.
Date: Tuesday June, 18,
Time: 6:30 - 8:30
Location: 8011A Cameron Road, Building A-100 Austin, TX 78754
Juneteenth
June 19th is Juneteenth, a day to commemorate the emancipation of the last remaining enslaved people in the United States. However, the fight for Black liberation was not resolved with the end of slavery and the US Civil War, and this day reminds us of the injustice and brutality in our nation's history. Discover many events celebrating Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated remembrance of the ending of slavery in the United States.
Date: June 19th
Pride Parade
June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transexual, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual/Allies+ (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, however Austin's Pride Parade is in August. Make your plan to celebrate. Democracy includes everyone, and that's exactly what Pride is all about.
Date: August 10th
| LWVUS
This is your last chance to sign up to attend The LWVUS 2024 National Convention on June 27 - June 30, in person at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC or online. In-person and virtual delegates will have the opportunity to participate in the Convention Plenary and vote on the League's 2024 - 2026 Program; the 2024 - 2026 budget; the 2024 - 2026 LWVUS Board of Directors and Nominating Committee; and submitted bylaws amendments.
Action Alerts
| Welcome to Our Newest Members!
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Kennedy Bailey
Cheril Brown*
Beth Buyse*
Sherry Elmer |
| Patty Goforth*
Jackie Hardee*
Melissa Miller
Kate Reitman |
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| Patricia Riley
Elizabeth Wong
Lydia Zaidman |
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Sandra Bone
Daniel Caldwell
Pat DiSanza
Beth Grantham
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Judy Leake
Vilma Luna*
Anna Maciel
Jenna Martin* |
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| Katrina Meredith*
Patricia Ritcherson*
Adele Tversky*
Carolina Yanez* |
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* Indicates a Sustaining Member
| Thank You to Our Sustaining and Renewing Members!
When you join LWV Austin Area, you automatically become a member of the National and Texas Leagues.
| | The League shall not support or oppose any political party or candidates. It may take action on governmental measures and policies in the public interest after significant study and consensus is reached. | |