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2022 Annual Meeting This Saturday: Restoring Faith in Our Democracy
Democracy has had a very bad few years, and it's tempting to take a break from working toward a more perfect union. For our annual meeting, Irene Caudillo, president and CEO of El Centro, will discuss why we need to stay in the fight and narrow the gap between voters and elected officials.
Agenda:
- 9 a.m. Welcome/announcements
- 9:05 a.m. Keynote address by Irene Caudillo
- 9:45 a.m. Business portion of the annual meeting will begin.
Members will vote on the proposed budget and the board/officer nominations. Details on the agenda and votable items are included in the digital Annual Report , which was sent to members in mid-February.
Open to the public. All are welcome. Advanced registration required.
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Topic: The Assault on Reproductive Freedom
Reproductive freedom is, once again, under attack in Kansas. Join us for a robust discussion about the importance of defeating the August 2022 ballot measure to amend the Kansas Constitution. Learn how you can protect the right to control personal decisions about reproductive health and abortion care.
Free and open to the public. All are welcome. Advance registration required.
Register in Advance
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
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Amber Stenger
President
913-620-5172 | jocoleague@gmail.com
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LWVJoCo Year in Review
We Make a Difference
In many ways, 2022 felt like a continuation of 2021. But despite COVID-19, our deeply divided world and several other obstacles, members of the League of Women Voters of Johnson County persevered in their mission to educate and engage voters.
At the end of our fiscal year, I wanted to provide a snapshot of all of the voters we connected with this year:
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1,040 people attended 16 candidate forums hosted with 11 partner groups.
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More than 1,100 people attended or watched our 10 educational programs on important policy issues.
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30,000+ people reached through our social media channels.
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500+ people encouraged to register to vote, despite in-person voter registration events being suspended in July 2020.
Other efforts worth celebrating
In addition to our bread-and-butter work of educating and engaging voters, the board, committee chairs, volunteers and other leaders focused on making a difference in several other ways. Here are the highlights of what we accomplished:
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Secured our 501(c)(3) designation.
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Created a five-year strategic plan to guide future leaders.
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Continued our mission to make our organization more diverse and inclusive.
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Tried new ways to reach less engaged voters in apartment complexes.
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Fought for fair maps by building awareness of the redistricting process and through advocacy efforts with our state elected officials.
This only skims the surface of the many, many accomplishments of our unflappable members and outstanding board: Janet Milkovich, vice president; Jerry Gilson, treasurer; Tinna Hung, secretary; Eileen Manza and Victoria Smith, membership; Robyn Hart and Deb Scott, voter registration; Marie Hernandez, voter information; Mitchell Krasnopoler, communications; Jeannine Linnane, DEI; and Ellen Miller, Development. Special thanks to Debbie Kitchin, Mary Lou Jaramillo and Kay Heley for their contributions as well.
It has been an honor to serve you–such vibrant, committed, smart, creative and passionate voting rights advocates–as your president this year. Thank you for the countless ways you’ve supported me and the organization throughout the year. I’m confident you have the right people, with Janet Milkovich at the helm, to make a difference for our voters and community in 2022-2023.
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Check Out These Voter Information Opportunities
Here are two great opportunities to work closely with other League members and potential elected officials. The Voter Information Committee is searching for leads (or co-leads) for Voter to Voter (The Voter Network) and Vote411. The Voter Information chair actively supports the team and the team leaders.
Voter to Voter launched in 2018 and the voters we connected with turned out at a stunning 25% higher rate than the general public. In last year’s elections, it happened again. Now, we are gearing up for 2022 and we want you to be a part of the movement. Information about the Voter to Voter online tool can be found here.
Our team lead (or co-leads) would work with the Mainstream Coalition and our league team to recruit, train, and support additional voting ambassadors.
Vote411, since its inception in 2006, has provided 36 million voters the information they need before Election Day. Information about the The Vote411 tool can be found here.
Our team lead (or co-leads) would work with a small team of volunteers and the state League to identify local candidates for each election, to provide that information to the state Vote411 team, and to remind the candidates to respond.
If you want to volunteer or have additional questions contact Marie Hernandez at lwvjocovi@gmail.com. |  | Our Course Is Set
Board Approves 2022-2027 LWVJoCo Strategic Plan
It’s official! We have a road map for the next five years after the board approved the 2022-20227 LWVJoCo Strategic Plan.
This plan reflects the forethought and creativity of LWVJoCo leaders and members. The goals and strategies are the direct result of a community partner survey, board-level workshops and the January member planning meeting. The plan is specific enough to guide us but flexible enough to allow leaders to respond to unforeseen issues and challenges that may arise.
The timelines reflect our best guidance of spreading the work over the five years. As we all know, it’s important to have one person overseeing our progress–holding us accountable–on each of these strategies. That’s where the champions come in.
But the champion in most cases is not the person or people doing the work. We fully expect the champion to recruit and engage other members to head these efforts and to figure out the best ways to accomplish the strategies. The idea is to empower additional members, spread the work and create more leadership and volunteer opportunities.
If you would like to discuss the strategic plan in more detail, please email us at contactus@lwvjoco.org. We are happy to host a workshop to answer questions or gather more ideas.
Thank you to Elevate Agency for guiding us through the process, the board and other leaders for their dedication and hard work, and to members for your creativity and continued support.
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Say Their Names
This DEI Moment focusing on reproductive rights recognizes the contributions of black women to science. Many know Henrietta Lacks, a poor black woman whose cervical cells were taken without her consent (informed consent was not codified until the 1974 National Research Act). These cells were used to reproduce DNA. Mrs. Lacks passed away in 1951, but her HeLa cells were most recently used to help develop the COVID-19 vaccines. Despite her remarkable contribution to science, Mrs. Lack's family never received monetary compensation and recognition did not come for many years.
Fewer know the "Mothers of Gynecology," among them Anarcha, Lucy and Betsey. They were three of 11 enslaved women purchased by J. Marion Sims for the sole purpose of conducting gynecological experiments. These were done without consent and without anesthesia. In 2021 artist Michelle Browder created a monument to the three women using discarded metal objects to represent the treatment of black women.
Now more than ever we need to stand up and protect the reproductive health of all women.
Learn More
Books:
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot
“Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans From Colonial Times to the Present” by Harriet A.Washington
“Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology” by Deirdre Cooper Owens
Articles:
History.com
Mothers of Gynecology #1
Mothers of Gynecology #2
Submitted by Amanda Vega-Mavec
|  | HISTORY ON TAP PRESENTS
"AFTER WINNING THE VOTE: A CONVERSATION WITH SUFFRAGISTS"
A Shawnee Town Museum Event Featuring LWVJoCo
Join us for a special History on Tap featuring an appearance by two women suffragists! After their victory in securing the 19th Amendment in 1920, how did the women advocates continue their work? We'll get to hear from the iconic Ida Wells-Barnett and a founding member of the League of Women Voters about their different pahs in the 1920s, as Wells-Barnett continues her fight for African-American civil rights and the League of Women Voters worked to advocate for women's issues and other causes. We're also thrilled to welcome back the modern-day League of Women Voters of Johnson County, who will share information on the history of their organization and the work they do today.
Tickets for the program are $5.00, and includes a complimentary beverage from our evening's featured brewery! Visitors will also get the chance to tour 1920 automobiles, displayed courtesy of our friends at the Plain Ole A's Model A Ford Club. Space is limited, please visit the link below or call (913) 248-2360 to reserve your seats.
March 23, 2022, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Shawnee Town Hall, 11600 Johnson Dr., Shawnee, Kansas 66203
Check the Shawnee Town calendar for the ticket link - COMING SOON!
A virtual link to view the program though the museum website or Facebook will also be added soon. |
Legislative Coffees Continue in March
Legislative Coffee - Online at JoCo Library
Saturday, March 12, 10-11 a.m.
Discover what’s percolating in the Kansas Legislature. Representatives and senators with constituents in Johnson County will discuss the new legislative session, followed by Q&A. You bring the questions!
To register to attend, visit jocolibrary.org/events and enter “Legislative Coffee” in the search bar. These programs will be hosted using the meeting software Zoom. A Johnson County Library staff member will contact registrants via the email you registered with to provide more information about the program and instructions on how to access the Zoom meetings. You do not need to download any software or create an account.
| Wyandotte County Legislative Coffee
Saturday, March 26, 2022, 9:00 AM
This program will be co-hosted by the Bonner Springs Public Library and Bonner NAACP. We will use the meeting software Zoom. Registrants will be emailed instructions on how to access the Zoom meeting. You do not need to download any software or create an account.
All Bonner Springs state legislators were invited to participate in this Legislative Coffee.
Register in advance for this free virtual forum. After registering, you will receive an email containing information about joining the meeting.
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Amber Adams
Kathleen Higgins
Carolyn Hogan
Dawn Rattan
| Member Spotlight: Jeannine Linnane
The League helps continue a lifelong passion for serving voters. Learn more about Jeannine. | Observer Corps Reports
Catch up on the actions, decisions and proposals of our local public officials.
- What county department was formed 60 years ago with help from LWVJoCo?
- Backyard chickens in Overland Park
- Substitute teachers needed!
Read the latest summaries by League members who attend several public meetings in our area.
| Board and Committee Briefs
👧🏽 Volunteers needed: Want to cultivate a passion for our democracy among future voters? Take part in The Voter Girl event on April 9 at the K-State Olathe campus. We are partnering with the Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri to offer civic badges for elementary-school-age students. We need more volunteers. If you are interested, please contact lwvjocovi@gmail.com.
🗳️ Reproductive rights: During the August 2022 primary, Kansans will vote on an amendment that would remove our constitutional right to have an abortion. Visit Kansans for Constitutional Freedom to learn about the bipartisan coalition the League has joined committed to defeating the amendment, and sign up here for updates and volunteer opportunities. You can also visit our updated Reproductive Rights page to learn more about the amendment and actions you can take.
🔆Juvenile Justice Consensus Meeting: Thank you to Jennifer Day for leading LWVJoCo’s consensus meeting on the proposed update to the state League’s juvenile justice position. About 20 members attended and expressed support for the changes. Members will vote on the update at the state council meeting on April 23.
⏩Sponsored memberships: In an effort to be more inclusive of people of all economic backgrounds, LWVJoCo offers four complimentary memberships. Students can now join for free as well. If you are interested in learning more about sponsored memberships, please email our Membership co-chairs Eileen Manza or Victoria Smith.
💡 LWVUS 55th Annual Convention: LWV’s next national convention will be a hybrid event in Denver, Colo. from June 23-26, 2022. Several LWVJoCo members typically serve as delegates, and our League helps pay for delegates’ expenses. Find out more about the convention here and email contactus@lwvjoco.org if you think you might be interested in serving as a delegate
📰 Stay current: Read about latest work of Leagues throughout the state in the latest issue of LWVK’s VOTER Notes newsletter.
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