By Mary Coltrane, LWVWA President

Your LWVWA Board of Directors, with the able assistance of Administrative Director Amy Peloff, is hard at work finalizing details for our bi-annual Council. The League of Women Voters of Thurston County is kindly hosting the event, which will be May 31 (optional), June 1, and June 2 at South Puget Sound Community College. Please see the accompanying article, "Get Ready for the LWVWA's 2024 Council!," for more important details.

You may have heard: 2024 is a critical year for democracy. The League is on board to support democracy in every way we can, and Council can help with that. Our agenda is packed with speakers, workshops and caucuses. There will also be a plenary session where the work of the Nominating Committee, the 2024-2026 Board Nominees, will be voted on.

Here's what's expected for the workshops:

Summertime is Voter Services time in the League. Voter registration tables and candidate forums are important ways League members connect with the public so voters can cast an informed ballot. Workshops to hone member skills in these areas include Nuts and Bolts of Candidate Forums and Tabling with a Purpose. New or newly-active members will find a great way to plug in to League with these events. If you are an old hand, you will learn tips to engage new members.

Other workshops span the gamut of the League's mission-driven work. From the LWVWA Lobby Team to Program to how to use the information garnered from our recent Research Study conducted by Washington State University, your League will learn what's coming down the pike. There are three initiatives to the people on the ballot this year. What is the League's position and why? The Lobby Team will share information about this and other topics.  

In the League's work, Program precedes action. First a study, then member consensus, finally a position. Delegates to the state convention adopted two studies and a civic education project at our 2023 Convention: Caregiving; Welcoming Immigrants, and Multi-Member Districts. Where are they in the planning year and when will the studies come to local Leagues for discussion and member consensus? When will the Multi-Member Districts project be available for local League programming? The Program Workshop will cover this.  

It takes a lot to keeping League going. Council delegates will get a chance to take advantage of the Research Project findings and brainstorm how local Leagues can communicate more effectively with diverse entities.

Finally, there will be three workshops devoted to leadership and membership engagement. Our Membership, Engagement, Leadership and Development (MELD) folks are putting together a workshop to help build membership and engage members. A workshop on speaking with one voice (when there are many), and a workshop on leadership as a balancing act will round out leadership development skills.

More information about workshops, and other aspects of Council will be available on our Council website, especially as we get closer to the time.

I look forward to seeing many folks in Lacey in June. It will be fun!