By Beth Pellicciotti, Civic Education Portfolio Chair, LWVWA Board 

Council 2022 offered me a number of firsts, and some happened before I arrived in Everett. I had never been to the Moses Lake Museum, I had never eaten lunch in Cle Elum, and I had never been in commuting traffic north of Seattle to Everett (I was a passenger for this trip, and I sincerely thank the driver, Lunell Haught, for her navigation).  

If getting to Council 2022 was an adventure, being there was a joy. Seeing League members in person after years of viewing them as talking heads on Zoom was a treat. We greeted each other with “You’re so tall!  You’re so short!”   

We were greeted by Snohomish and Skagit League members upon our arrival and were registered without a hitch. Because of these Leagues’ work with the hotel staff, we enjoyed some of the best vegetarian food I have ever eaten during these three days.   

For me, the best part of Council 2022 was meeting League members at their tables. Tabling is a simple yet profound concept. We spread our ideas and League work over long tables on either side of a hallway leading to the hotel’s meeting rooms. We met each other coming and going, taking every opportunity to talk about League work.   

Karen Verrill (Thurston County), project manager for the League’s textbook, The State We’re In: Washington, sold civics textbooks and posters at her table  (see The State We're In: Washington web page to order or read online). The poster, “What Does It Take to Be a Good Citizen in a Democratic Society?” is now in Spanish, thanks to the LWVWA Education Fund and the Snohomish League.  

Bonnie Bless-Boenish (Clallam County) showed League members how to engage children in civics and voting by displaying her homemade civics games—Match the Signatures (mail-in ballot concept), put a chip on pictures of Things Paid for by Taxes (understanding government work), or Vote for Shelter Funding for Dogs or Cats (voting for things important to you).   

Mary Coltrane (Seattle-King County) stood behind large piles of brochures and swag intended for use by local Leagues—5,500 brochures on restoring voting rights for returning citizens, hundreds of Your Vote tabloids, and bags full of “Be A Voter” pins. And all of this was just in my corner of the hallway. 

Many of us left with heads full of new ideas and bags full of handouts for summer voter registration tables. A lucky few won door prizes and silent auction items. I thank the Snohomish and Skagit Leagues for these and for their unwavering hospitality throughout the council. 

A final big thank-you to those working continuously on this event planning: LWVWA Administrative Director Amy Peloff, LWVWA President Lunell Haught, and LWVWA Board members Linda Benson, Jayne Freitag, and Dee Ann Kline. We were hoping for 60 attendees and had over 100. It was an adventure getting to Everett, a joy being there, and like road trips of old, it was fun looking at pictures when returning home.   

This postcard is a rather subtle promotion for Moses Lake, where I really enjoyed the museum and the art show.(All photos by Beth Pellicciotti.) 

 

Tables! Spokane League member Ann Murphy displayed Civics Bowl information. The PBS KSPS Civics Bowl and Mary Coltrane’s Be a Voter Campaign are both finalists for the LWVUS national awards. 

 

Civics games for children. 

 

Bonnie Bless-Boenish (Clallam County) explaining the civics games to League members who are retired teachers. Note Bonnie’s special mask, which allowed those who lip-read to better understand the conversations.   

 

The door prize I won! The door prize was from the Skagit County League, with the plant holder knitted by Harriet Custer, assisted by Debbie Prestmo.