Hello League members and friends!

This has been a big summer for the League of Women Voters of Knoxville and Knox County – and we’re ready for an even bigger year.

I had the pleasure this summer to attend the League’s National Convention in Washington, DC. You can see the highlights from the convention below, but for me the biggest highlight was seeing our own Kim Lauth, former President of our own League and former 2nd Vice President for LWVTN nominated and elected as a director on the national board. Congratulations again to Kim! I know we’ll all benefit from her leadership.

Of course, the action didn’t stop when I got back to Knoxville. For our most recent local election, the League’s Voter Services committee put on three forums in less than two weeks. You can read more about those below as well. We owe a big thanks to them for their hard work.

And on July 31st, our local board met for our annual strategic planning retreat. We identified three important priorities for this year, and I hope you’ll come alongside us in our effort to achieve them.

I believe we’re living in a time where it is incredibly important to be an informed and active citizen. This is your League and this is an important year, so make sure to be part of it!

In League,
Rynn Dupes, President
League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County

The League hosted three forums in July to showcase contested races for County Commission and State Representative for District 18. We had excellent volunteer and media support and are very grateful for the moderators and candidates who took time to participate. The audiences could be bigger but we realize that we are still proving ourselves as THE place to be for voters to meet and hear candidates face-to- face.

We handed out three pages of information, also made available on our website, that simplified some of the voting information such as “What is on the ballot? Who is on the ballot? and early voting information.” I don’t like to hear about low voter turnout. We are determined to make a difference in Knoxville!

Voter Services plans to have forums in October for contested candidates and races before the November election. We continue to monitor the Knox County Election Commission, make voting information available and accessible via handouts and social media, and show up at events such as “We Love District 1 Day” and the HOLA festival to reach as many people as possible. If you have an idea how we can better reach more people, please let me know.

Ann Strange
strangersrus@gmail.com
865-607-4251

It shouldn't be any surprise that a lot happened in two and a half days at this year's LWV Convention.

Q: Why is League convention only 2.5 days?

A: Well, how many days in a row would you get up in time for 7:15 AM break-out sessions, meet in business sessions all day, then go to more break-out sessions until 9:30 PM?

We did get a lot accomplished in 2 and a half days. We have new positions on redistricting and behavioral health, we readopted all our existing public policy positions, we have a budget for 2 years, we have a new board (which includes our own Kim Lauth), and we tweaked the bylaws. Now, anyone at least 16 years old can be a voting member of the League. We heard from a number of speakers, some interesting and some inspirational. We laughed at the Capitol Steps. We stood in long lines to buy a ticket for an over-priced glass of wine.

Through it all, we enjoyed each other’s company, we learned from each other, and we got some great ideas from other Leagues, especially on voter service. Convention in 2018 will be in Chicago. I encourage you to think about going. - Judy Poulson

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