May 9 Board Meeting
May 19 Annual Dinner and Meeting
Hello everyone!
As we start the month of May and are winding down the League year, I can’t help but feel very lucky. This past week was an especially wonderful week to be the President of the League of Women Voters of Knoxville and Knox County (almost all weeks are).
There’s almost nothing the League does better than host thoughtful conversations or provide information about voting and voter turnout – so this past week we did both! For those of you who were able to join us, I hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did. Read more about this meeting below.
I was also fortunate enough to be able to attend the anniversary of our sister League in Oak Ridge that was celebrating its 70th anniversary. It was an absolutely beautiful event, and it was inspiring to see the dedication of their members. Both state League President Marian Ott and national League President Elizabeth McNamara, pictured here, were in attendance.
What a pleasure that was! I look forward to being surrounded by the same League spirit at our annual dinner in just a few weeks. I hope to see each and every one of you there!
In League, Rynn Dupes, President League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County
Nashville Community Organizer to Speak at Annual Meeting
Mike Hodge is the lead organizer for Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH), an interfaith, multi-racial organization that unites fifty-two congregations, labor unions, and associations throughout Greater Nashville.
Originally from Savannah, GA, Mike graduated from Nashville’s Scarritt College with an MS in Church and Community Ministry and has served the city for thirty-four years, helping inner-city residents create neighborhood organizations to take action on problems in their communities. NOAH evolved to address issues beyond the scope of one neighborhood–better jobs, more affordable housing, and changes in the criminal justice system.
NOAH engages ordinary people in the political and economic decisions affecting their lives, acting as a unified voice for the faith and justice community to act on its values in the public arena.
ANNUAL DINNER —TWO WEEKS AND COUNTING!
LWVKKC members and guests will experience refreshing innovations at this year’s Annual Dinner on Thursday, May 19. Special Events Chair Linda Maccabe has scheduled the dinner and business meeting at The Foundry (747 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville 37902).
Reservations for dinner, which will include two tickets for wine, beer or soft drinks, must be received via PayPal at www.lwvknoxville.org or by check to LWVKKC, P. O. Box 31825, Knoxville, TN 37930-1825 by Sunday, May 15. Member price is $35; non-members, $40.00. A vegetarian option is available.
Registration and a social hour will begin at 5:30, followed by dinner at 6:30 and the address by our guest speaker at 7:00. The Annual Membership Meeting begins at 7:30. Members who wish to attend the business meeting only should arrive at 7:30. Non-members may attend but may not vote. The business of the meeting will include a review of the past year, election of officers and directors, a vote on the annual budget and discussion of the program.
April Meeting: Community Discussion on Voter Turnout
For the final regular member meeting before our annual dinner, the League hosted a panel and community discussion at the Duncan School of Law on increasing voter turnout. The panel was moderated by Georgiana Vines and included:
Cameron Brooks, Chair, Knox County Democratic Party
Buddy Burkhardt, Chairman, Knox County Republican Party
Chris Davis, Assistant Administrator of Elections, Knox County Election Commission
De'Ossie Dingus, Sr., President and Executive Director, Alliance House Community of Knoxville
Ann Strange, Voter Services Chair, League of Women Voters of Knoxville and Knox County
Allan Wilford, PhD Candidate, University of Tennessee, Political Science
Panelists Allan Wilford, Chris Davis, De'Ossie Dingus,Sr., Buddy Burkhardt, Cameron Brooks, Ann Strange and Moderator Georgiana Vines.
So many ideas came from this meeting, including new places where the League could be effective with voter registration! In the coming months, this will be a huge focus of our organization. If you’re interested in being involved – whether that means registering voters at a single event or joining a committee focused on getting the vote out, please email Rynn Dupes at cadupes@gmail.com. We need creative ideas!
This was a very important conversation – the first of many! Thanks to all of our members and friends who joined us for the wonderful discussion. We hope to go put these thoughts into action very soon.
Follow Up on March Membership Priority Setting Meeting
We on the board are always looking for member feedback! To that end, we hosted our traditional membership priority-setting meeting in March. We wanted to share some of the areas of interest and suggestions that arose from that meeting.
Problematic primaries were a big area of interest. This conversation included the disenfranchisement caused by the party divide in local elections. It was also suggested that the League do a better job at including voting tips in our communications. We also heard that we need to come up with a system to make volunteering more accessible to members. We will certainly get to work on that!
Possible future studies for the League included geriatric/psychiatric care, civic space needs, metro government, and the process by which the school system determines where to build new schools. Some suggested areas of focus included racism and classcism as well as taking a look at unde-served populations, for example our Hispanic population. If you have any interest in any of these areas please let us know!
Those of you who asked for more information on the safety center back at our member meeting in September will be pleased to hear an exciting new announcement at the annual dinner on May 19th! We can’t wait to see you there, and hopefully hear more ideas from you.
LWVKKC Board of Directors
President, Rynn Dupes First Vice President, Judy Barnette Second Vice President, Lance McCold Secretary, Candice Gilreath Treasurer, Joyce Feld
Directors: Maggie Carini, Jamey Dobbs, Mary English, Linda Maccabe, Ginna Mashburn, Judy Poulson, Ann Strange
