Below are the registration fees:

* Due to lack of staff, we are primarily focused on offering Council as an in-person event. We will do our best to create a virtual experience for those who are unable to attend in person, but it will not be a comparable interactive experience. We will offer a voting process for virtual delegates and will stream the plenary and workshop sessions via Zoom, but we will not necessarily have the ability to include virtual participants in Q&A sessions. It will be up to individual caucus organizers to figure out how to make their sessions available to virtual attendees.

The in-person registration fee will cover lunch, happy hour, and buffet dinner on Saturday, as well as a continental breakfast on Sunday. Coffee, tea, water, and other beverages will also be provided. We suggest that attendees bring their own coffee cups.

Delegates and observers will use the same registration process. Local Leagues will submit their list of approved delegates to Amy no later than May 19.

***Tentative*** Schedule

Friday

4–5:30pm  |  Walking Tour of the Capitol Campus

6–7:30pm  |  No-Host Dinner at Local Restaurant or Dine-Arounds

7:30–9pm  |  Caucuses in Individual Hotel Rooms

Saturday

8am–5pm  |  Registration

8am–6pm  |  Exhibit Room Open

10–10:30am  |  Welcome

10:30–11:30am  |  Plenary Session I

11:30am–12:30pm  |  Presentations

12:30–1:30pm  |  Lunch

1:30–2:20pm  |  Workshops

2:30–3:20pm  |  Workshops

3:30–4:20pm  |  Workshops

5–6pm  |  Happy Hour with complimentary wine and snacks

6–7:30pm  |  Dinner (catered by Nineveh Assyrian), followed by the LWVWA Civics Bowl Competition

7:30–9pm  |  Caucuses

Sunday

8am–12pm  |  Exhibit Room Open

10am–12pm  |  Plenary Session II and Presentation

There are two hotels within an easy 6-minute walk from the Council venue:

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lacey

We have a block of 15 rooms with 2 queen beds each reserved for a group price of $149 (plus 11.5% tax and a $2.00 nightly flat occupancy tax) for Friday and Saturday nights. This price includes a hot buffet breakfast. If more than two people share a room, the hotel may add an additional fee. This block will be available until they are gone or May 17, whichever comes first. If there is a lot of demand, we may be able to get more rooms at this rate, so book early!

Check-in time is 3pm; check-out time is 11am. If you arrive before check-in, the hotel can store your luggage for you. You may also leave your luggage in the Display Table room at the Council venue, but LWVWA will not be able to guarantee its security.

Instructions:

1. Click Booking Link.
2. Once the link is clicked and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites webpage is open, click “SEE WHAT’S AVAILABLE” in the top right corner.
3. Enter the dates you wish to stay.
4. Select number of room and guests.
5. Leave “Rate Preference” as is and select “Search”.
6. Complete booking as usual.

League of Women Voters Booking Link

Candlewood Suites Olympia/Lacey

We have not reserved a block of rooms at the Candlewood Suites, but if you prefer to prepare your own meals, this may be a better choice for you since their rooms feature fully furnished in-room kitchens.

Homestays

There are a limited number of homestays available. Priority will be given to those with financial need. Contact Darlene Hein at dwhein68@comcast.net for more information.

• Nominating Committee Report
• Standing Rules—Coming Soon
• Delegate Count
• Proposed Agenda for Business Meeting—Available by April 22

We invite local Leagues, committees, and other groups to set up (and staff) display tables for attendees to learn more about their work. (Potential display table ideas include sharing a program that you are proud of, recruiting for a project, or selling items from your League.) Table setup begins Saturday at 8am, and breakdown must be completed by 2pm on Sunday. Use this form to submit an application for your own display table. Deadline for submissions is May 1, 2024.

Request a Display Table

There will be 3 sessions of 3 simultaneous workshops held on Saturday. We plan to record them and post them on our website for anyone who is unable to attend.

The “ME” in MELD—Membership & Engagement

Explore your role in the League and gain insight into best practices for welcoming and encouraging involvement. We'll put special emphasis on engaging with younger voters and communities other than our own.

National Convention Prep Meeting

Delegates are preparing to go to the LWVUS Convention. This will be an opportunity to touch bases with others who are planning to attend—either virtually or in-person. Meet your fellow delegates and plan for caucuses at convention.

Leadership Is a Balancing Act

League leadership is an ongoing challenge. Succession, roles and responsibilities and leadership models are all important to leadership of the future. Panelists will talk about alternative leadership models and how they have worked for their League.

Studies and Civic Education Project Coming to Local Leagues Soon

Hear about what's happening with the immigration and elder caregiving studies and the education project focused on multi-member districts. These Programs were approved by delegates at the 2023 LWVWA Convention and later this year, local Leagues will be asked to read the study reports and respond to consensus questions. Learn how you can be involved with these Programs now and be prepared for the consensus process.

Local League Brainstorming: Communicating More Effectively with Diverse Entities

The recent LWVWA research report provides findings about which local Leagues could share ideas for how to address them. These include:

• The public and stakeholders were not familiar with the League mission and range of activities;
• Some conservatives perceive the League as highly partisan;
• Younger voters, Tribes, communities of color and underserved communities do not perceive the League as an organization they would be comfortable in joining; and
• Libraries and educators do not perceive the League as effective.

Join this interactive group to brainstorm and prioritize actions local Leagues can take to address these community perceptions.

Understanding the Lobby Team: Talk to Issue Chairs and Ask Questions

Many League members have questions about what the Lobby Team is and how it works. The Lobby Team also has questions for League members about how communication could be more effective. Join this interactive group to learn from each other in a Q&A format.

Nuts and Bolts of Candidate Events

Every year, local Leagues educate voters by holding forums, debates and other kinds of events to learn about candidates. Hear from some veteran League members about best practices, and pitfalls to watch for. We will cover the basics, with emphasis on moderating events, holding successful virtual events, nudging candidates, and how to handle unexpected "surprises" when they happen.

Speaking with One Voice

A panel of local League leaders will talk about communication issues. Topics include: How does your League ensure speaking with one voice when leadership is shared? What comes to a League board for decision-making. What are some conflict resolution ideas.

Tabling with a Purpose

League Voter Services leaders from across the state have been meeting to talk about Get Out the Vote. Come to this Voter Services workshop to learn about pop-up tables, selecting material for different events, the use of messaging in reaching out to voters, and how to create fun voting games to draw in families and children.

Do you want to hold a caucus on a particular topic? Caucuses are informal gatherings outside of the regular business meeting times (after the evening program).  They may be on:

• Information about topics of general interest where you would like to see a task force created, a committee convened, or a toolkit developed.
• Sharing of resources/knowledge—for example, technology, voter service outreach, civic education projects
• Brainstorming/problem-solving sessions
• Or anything you want to discuss with your League colleagues!

An early request will mean that your Caucus can be listed in the Convention Workbook—otherwise, the information will be announced and posted on the Information Board at Convention.

We have blocked out time on Friday and Saturday evenings for caucuses. You will need to provide your own technical expertise. We will have the ability to schedule some caucuses on the LWVWA Zoom account, but you may need to provide your own Zoom account if we have too many requests for simultaneous caucuses. These will NOT be recorded by LWVWA.

Friday caucuses will have to be held in personal hotel rooms because we will not have access to the venue space until Saturday morning. Saturday evening caucuses may be held in one of the three classrooms we have reserved at South Puget Sound Community College, at a table in the main meeting room, or in individual hotel rooms. The classrooms have projectors, cameras, whiteboards, and screens. If you would like to show a PowerPoint presentation, you may either bring a USB drive to plug into the built-in computer in the podium, or connect a personal laptop to the HDMI cable at the podium. If you do NOT have an HDMI port on your laptop, you will need to bring your own adapter ("dongle").

Caucus requests received before May 30 will be included in the Workbook. Requests that come in after that date will only be listed on the Convention website.

Submit a Caucus