Inside this issue...
- A Nonpartisan, Nonprofit Organization
- Joint Statement from LWVMC & AAUW on SCOTUS Overturning Roe v. Wade
- LWVMC Presented with Social Justice Award
- Equality Event Picnic in Waukesha
- Empowering the Disability Vote Public Forum
- Bucks Team Up with LWVMC for High School Outreach
- Members Gather for Annual League Kickoff
- Treasurer Update
- Mary Poppins Raises Funds for LWVMC
- Support for the City-Climate Economic Equity Plan
- Welcome New Members & New Member Orientation Details
- National Voter Registration Day in Review
- In Loving Memory of Beverly Jean Katter“
- Dangerous Women,” Effective Changemakers
- Calendars, Events, and Announcements
| President's Message
With just a few weeks to go before the Nov. 8 election, we have the daunting task of encouraging more people to vote … while a sizable portion of the citizenry believes that elections aren’t legitimate or don’t matter. That’s a change in public opinion since the 2018 midterm election. This conundrum makes our work to empower voters and defend democracy all the more important.
Our Voter Services teams are in full swing at registration events while also supporting numerous community organizations. On National Voter Registration Day, Sept. 20, our members were at events at four city libraries, at Sherman Phoenix, and at UW–Waukesha (see more below). I’m convinced our citizen engagement efforts have an exponential impact, as people tell their friends and family they’ve just registered to vote. On the advocacy side of LWVMC, here are recent and upcoming public issues programming: Sept. 15 public issues forum titled, “Empowering the Disability Vote”(more below), which was packed with helpful information for voters, especially in light of the confusion over the rules regarding returning absentee ballots; “Dangerous Women” panel discussion and film, an in-person event at UWM on Oct. 18 (below); and a Natural Resources forum on Climate Change at Summit Place on Nov. 16. Recordings of these and the monthly Lunch & Learn presentations are made available on our website.
The League is also very engaged in promoting election integrity and security. The state League is coordinating volunteers to combat mis- and disinformation on social media. On Sept. 20, I spoke at a press conference in favor of a resolution just passed by the Milwaukee Common Council in support of nonpartisan election administrators and the poll workers who conduct our elections. And here’s a wonderful resources by the Wisconsin Election Commission that League members can share to bolster public confidence in Wisconsin elections and support our election workers. Spread the word!
In League,
Peggy Creer, LWVMC President | League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County... A Nonpartisan, Nonprofit Organization
By Mary Voelker
With the general election coming up in a few weeks, now is a good time to review the Nonpartisan Policy of the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County. As we pursue civic engagement activities, it is important to be aware of the nonpartisanship required as members of the League of Women Voters.The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit political organization that:
- Encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government
- Works to increase understanding of major public policy issues
- Influences public policy through education and advocacy
The League sponsors civic engagement activities that are nonpartisan including:
- Conducting and promoting voter registration
- Educating voters on the voting process
- Facilitating candidate forums
- Distributing nonpartisan Voter Guides, e.g. Vote411.org
- Encouraging people to vote
The League does not support or oppose candidates for public office in any election, nor does it take a stand for or against a political party. It may take action on a variety of government issues after member study and agreement. We take action on public policy positions established through member study and agreement. The League encourages us, as INDIVIDUALS, to be active in the political parties, in finding and supporting candidates for public office, and to seek election to public office. The League encourages us, as INDIVIDUALS, to attend and participate in meetings of governmental bodies. However, only those members named as representatives of the League by the board or the president may participate in the name of the League.
When we volunteer for the League, we represent the League of Women Voters. When doing Voter Service and Voter Registration activities in the schools, at the Federal Courthouse and in the community, we as volunteers, represent the League of Women Voters. We must reflect the League’s nonpartisanship at all times when in public.
For some of us, it will be difficult but required to maintain nonpartisan behavior during these coming weeks leading up to the election. In our actions and even our personal conversations when we are representing the LWV to the public, we must refrain from making any comments about political parties, elected officials and pending legislation that could be construed by a passerby to be an official partisan comment. | “Dangerous Women,” Effective Changemakers Public Forum Oct. 18 |  | Women changemakers have been often labeled “dangerous,” but their voices and actions have been essential in creating positive change and remain so today. A public forum, centered around the pilot episode of a documentary series on this topic and sponsored by the LWVMC and UWM Women’s & Gender Studies, features a diverse panel of younger “dangerous women” changemakers. The free in-person event is Tuesday, Oct. 18, 6-8 p.m. at UWM’s Mitchell Hall, 3203 N. Downer Ave., Room 191.
The event is spearheaded by LWVMC members; Janet Fitch, film producer/director of the "Most Dangerous Women" documentary series; Merry Wiesner-Hanks, Distinguished Professor of History and Women’s & Gender Studies Emerita at UW-Milwaukee. Other members working on this public issues forum are Lorna Grade, Nikita Werner, Nancy Maloney.
Panelists include: Lauren Feaster, the CEO of Professional Dimensions, the leading women’s professional association in the Milwaukee area; Arvina Martin, the first Native person ever elected to Madison’s Common Council, and now the Executive Director of Emerge Wisconsin, which recruits and trains women to run for public office; Marcelia Nicholson, the first Black woman and Latina elected as Chairwoman of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, recently re-elected for her second term. An audience Q&A will follow the panel, along with refreshments and the opportunity for informal interaction with the panelists.
The "Most Dangerous Women" series of documentary shorts is a project of Milwaukee-based New Moon Productions. It presents the stories of women changemakers, and invites viewers to discover and document women in their own families, communities, and regions working towards a more just and equitable world. The pilot episode begins in1869, when Wyoming becomes the only territory in the world to specifically recognize women’s right to vote and to hold elected office, a full 50 years before passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.
The Forum will be recorded for future viewing.
About The "Most Dangerous Women" Documentary Series:
Historically and today, women rise to confront the critical issues of their time and place. "Most Dangerous Women" places a focus on women’s personal journeys to becoming assured and visible change makers, and aims to inspire mass audiences to also locate and reclaim these untold stories. The MDW classroom and community education series of (30 min) documentary shorts, invites viewers to consider foundational ways women in leadership and influencer roles as grass roots activists, organizers, mentors and role models in daily life, shape their families and communities over time.
Historic women who were once labeled “dangerous” often shine heroic today. In the 1920s, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover characterized Jane Addams as "the most dangerous woman in America." As Louise W Knight writes in, "Citizen Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy", “Dangerous because of her pacifism, her challenges to the status quo, her refusal to be a partisan.” Across generations, women such as Mary McLeod Bethune, Jeannette Rankin, Coretta King, Shirley Chisholm, and thousands of others, unknown or missing in history, lifted their voices and acted valiantly to create a more just and equitable world. Their efforts underpin and support contemporary women, who frequently still code as dangerous in today’s polarized public sphere as they address key issues in the ongoing journey towards equality, social justice and peace. "Most Dangerous Women" begins in the American West - future episodes will be centered across the U.S. and perhaps globally. | Joint Statement from LWVMC & AAUW on SCOTUS Overturning Roe v. Wade
The League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women, each founded more than 100 years ago, are devoted to empowering women to chart their life course. Central to this fundamental freedom is the right to decide if and when to parent – decisions that profoundly impact all aspects of life: physical and mental health, family stability and well-being, and economic and educational opportunity and destiny.
The SCOTUS decision is an assault on longstanding, hard-won reproductive rights. It will have far-reaching repercussions for all Americans. The 1849 state law – passed 71 years before women had the right to vote! – does not even have exceptions for rape or incest. This comes at a time when the U.S., compared to other developed countries, is a nation with high maternal and infant mortality rates, a high child poverty rate, no guaranteed access to health care or child care, no guaranteed paid maternity leave, and where two-thirds of minimum-wage workers are women. The right to a safe abortion is also a matter of racial and economic justice, as limits on access to reproductive health services disproportionately impact Black, Brown, and low-income communities.
A pregnant person is not a mere vessel. The course of every pregnancy is unpredictable and carries risks to health and life. Dangerous complications can occur suddenly, when medical decisions must be made quickly. Government has no place in a person’s reproductive decisions, other than to ensure access to affordable, quality health care, including birth control and the privacy to make reproductive choices. | LWVMC Presented With Social Justice Award | | The Social Justice Committee of Unitarian Church North, Mequon, selected LWVMC as the recipient of their annual Social Justice Award. Members of the church committee presented a $1,000 check to the LWVMC board of directors at its August meeting. The League was nominated by president (and church member) Peggy Creer. | Equality Day Picnic in Waukesha
By Vicki Aro-Schackmuth |  | Waukesha Branch Equality Day Picnic on Aug. 26, 2022.
Photos left to right: Abby Engstrand, Marge Schweitzer, and Joanne Platke; Helen Zealy, Julie Nanke, and Vicki Aro-Schackmuth; and Sharon Johnson, Kathy Randall, and Abby Engstrand
On Aug. 26, 2022 the LWVMC-Waukesha County Branch members gathered for a picnic at City Beach in Oconomowoc to celebrate Women’s Equality Day. This day marks the day women finally won the right to vote with the certification of the 19th Amendment in 1920! During the final push to certify the 19th Amendment, Carrie Chapman Catt, leader of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, founded the League of Women Voters to “finish the fight,” and educate millions of women about the power of their votes. Yet in 2022, women have fewer rights than they've had in decades. To recognize this, we acknowledged Women's Inequality Day, uniting to demand that lawmakers restore and protect our rights by:
The fight for universal voting rights continues today, so as we mark this historic anniversary, we are reminded how valuable our right to vote remains. | Empowering the Disability Vote Public Forum Held Sept. 15 | LWVMC and LWVWI co-sponsored an informative presentation on Zoom on Sept. 15 with a panel of experts on voting and civil rights. The presentation, titled, “Empowering the Disability Vote: civic engagement for the disability community and their allies,” was moderated by LWVMC president Peggy Creer.
Featured speakers were:
- Barbara Beckert, Director of External Advocacy, Disability Rights Wisconsin
- Denise Jess, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired
- Scott Thompson, Staff Counsel, Law Forward
- Dorothy Dean, Founder & CEO, Disability Justice
The panelists discussed the barriers, historical and new, to civic engagement, and current challenges to voting. A recording of the event is here. | Bucks Team Up with LWVMC For High School Outreach | The Milwaukee Bucks Foundation supported the League’s High School Voter Education and Registration Program (HSVERP) with a $5,000 grant awarded in March. The HSVERP is led by Leigh Ann Tidey, who along with volunteers Sue Schneidler, Joey Walsh, and Patti Mitchell, worked with high schools.
The League has contacts with about 70 high schools through a program created in 2015 in partnership with the Milwaukee Election Commission and Milwaukee Public Schools. The HSVERP also works with some suburban and Waukesha schools.
“Our basic approach is to involve students as much as possible in organizing and holding voter registration events,” Leigh Ann said. “This involvement is a positive experience for the students who participate. It also results in more student registrations compared to setting up a table in a school hallway and asking students to register. These student-led events often involve participation of 10-30 students of various ages, giving them an introduction to the registration process as well as the importance placed on voter registration shown by a supportive school administration and staff.”
The funds we received from the Bucks allowed some new initiatives at schools, including:
- Co-branded t-shirts and “ Bucks Vote” buttons, which were very popular, for all of the students who participated in registration events
- Co-branded voter information “Phone Cards”, which were given to all students who registered to vote and were included in packets provided to seniors in schools where in-person registration events were not possible
- More than 1,000 voting information packets given to each senior at five high schools
- Formation of a five-member Youth Social Media Team to create messaging and posts for various social media sites to be used in the run-up to the August 9th and November 8th elections. The theme they selected is “Our Time is Now”
The HSVERP volunteers supported voter registration for about 500 seniors at 18 in-school events between January and May. | Members Gather in August for Annual Milwaukee County League Kickoff
By Ann Batiza, VP for Organization |  | LWVMC members gather for the August annual kickoff dinner.
It was such a pleasure to greet our fellow League members at our annual Kickoff dinner on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 25, at Summit Place.
After the cocktail hour, members enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner, festooned with Mary Kae Nelson’s traditional tablecloths, place settings, and beautiful hydrangeas. Thank you, Mary Kae!
Many thanks also to Barbara Rasmussen and the Membership Committee, whose attention to detail ensured such a delightful evening; and to our President, Peggy Creer; and to all those who spoke on behalf of their interest groups for advocacy and action within the League:Waukesha Director, Vicki Aro-Schackmuth; VP for Program, Lorna Grade; Membership co-chairs, Pat McFarland (also Lunch and Learn chair) and Liddie Collins-Siegrist; Membership Committee member and new member greeter, Annemarie Adsen; Natural Resources Committee co-chair, Carol Diggelman and previous co-chair, Louise Petering; Director and DEI member, Liz Harris-Hodge; MET member, Judy Winn; Police Accountability and Community Safety Committee Chair, Molly Collins; Development Chair, Mary Voelker; and Director and Voter Services Chair, Peg Schrader.
We look forward to an exciting year with the many interests and initiatives represented here! | Treasurer Update
By Mary Sussman, Treasurer
As of the close of the 21/22 FY, on June 30, 2022, revenues and expenses were more or less in balance, with expenses exceeding revenues by about $1,200.
The spring donation drive brought in almost $15,000 (an all-time high for the spring campaign), which raised the total donations for the FY to nearly $30,000, exceeding budget revenue expectations by $8,000. In addition, revenues from grants in FY 21/22 totaled almost $9,000, exceeding budget expectations by slightly more than $5,000. The robust revenues from donations and grants more than compensated for membership revenues which lagged budget expectations by $2,600 and also helped to offset some overages on the expense side. These include overages of about $4,000 in the general administration category, along with $8,000 in the affiliate dues and memberships category. The overages in these categories occurred because of the transition to the Club Express membership management system. They were partially offset by nearly $6,000 in the conferences and convention category. The budgeted amount for conferences and conventions went largely unspent because LWVMC members attended the conference virtually, thus significantly lower expenses were incurred than originally anticipated.
Because our annual meeting was in late May, we were unable at that time to report on the many generous donations we received in June. Likewise, the LWVUS annual meeting took place in mid-June and the expenses were not accounted for until late June.
LWVMC relies heavily on member donations to support our operations and programming. You will receive a donation solicitation letter in November. Your generosity is always deeply appreciated and allows LWVMC to fulfill its mission of empowering voters and defending democracy. | Mary Poppins Raises Funds for LWVMC
The Greendale Community Theater held a fundraiser for the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County in conjunction with its performance of “Mary Poppins.” The audience was asked to contribute to LWVMC (remember the “Votes for women!” scene in the movie?). The six performances in July and August yielded over $1,200 in donations from the civically engaged – and talented! – Greendale community. League volunteers at the events enjoyed a wonderful performance and the opportunity to talk with patrons who visited the League table in the lobby. Volunteers were: Peg Schrader, Dave Schrader, Donna Spars, Christine Weber-Sponnick, Barbara Eisenberg, Jerry Burdick, Jane Glodoski, Peggy Tennessen, Rene Smith, Peggy Creer. The Greendale Community Theater is committed to community support and has raised nearly $60,000 for various community organizations. | | Natural Resources Committee | Natural Resources Action Opportunity
By Louise Petering
The LWVMC board has voted to support the concept of the City-County Climate and Economic Equity Plan. As citizens, voice your support at the Monday, Oct. 3 and Friday, Oct. 14 City budget hearings. Watch our LWVMC Updates for opportunities to join other League members as we support the Plan (see here) and its proposals to:
- Reduce community-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45% by the year 2030 and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner
- Reduce racial and income inequality by assuring that greenhouse gas reduction investments and policies will create the maximum number of permanent living-wage green jobs for people who live in Milwaukee’s most impoverished neighborhoods and experience limited economic opportunity
Based on our adopted Natural Resources and Social Policy positions, the League of Women Voters has long advocated for healthy, thriving communities and environments. This comprehensive Plan meshes with those as it proposes to equitably address multiple, interrelated issues in our City and County. | Welcome New Members
By Shirley Halloran, Membership Committee
We are pleased to welcome new members to LWVMC!
The report of new memberships will take a different form in this and future issues of The Voter. In the past, names of new members and their municipalities were listed. While the Milwaukee League collects data (street address, phone number, email address, etc.) for individuals, we carefully guard that information. The Membership Directory is available only to other Milwaukee League members electronically. Because The Voter is available to anyone who accesses the lwvmilwaukee.org website, we will no longer list new member names with municipality.
The following indicates information on new memberships from June 10 through Sept. 19, 2022:
New individual memberships: 37
New household memberships: 3
Municipalities of new members: Bayside: 2; Brookfield: 1; Cudahy: 2; Elm Grove: 1; Greendale: 1; Greenfield: 1; Milwaukee: 17; Pewaukee: 2; Racine: 2; Shorewood: 2; Waterford: 1; Waukesha: 1; Wauwatosa: 4; Whitefish Bay: 3.
| | Be sure to join us for New Member Orientation from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6, at Summit Place, 6737 West Washington Street in West Allis.
What can you expect at New Member Orientation?
While the League has no secret handshakes, we do speak with one voice. Come find out what that is, along with lots of other important League-related information.
The League is a volunteer organization, and New Member Orientation is a chance to learn about opportunities to enrich your membership experience.
Most of all, we are anxious to learn the new faces that go with names. Please let us welcome you! | | | | Voter Services in the Community | National Voter Registration Day in Review
By Peg Schrader, Voter Services Chair
Voter registration events were abundant on Sept. 20 for National Voter Registration Day! We had voter registration events at four of the Milwaukee Public Branch Libraries, at the Deer District, Sherman Phoenix Market Place, at UW Waukesha, in Racine and Kenosha and there was a student voter advocate training going on at Milwaukee School of Languages! | | | We registered over 30 people and had 28 League volunteers involved with registering people to vote, checking registrations, providing information about the early voting locations, requesting absentee ballots and asking those that stopped to text three of their friends about the importance of voting.
Another benefit of the day was the connections we made with other local organizations also included in voter registration. We are distributing thousands of pieces of literature to these organizations to boost their efforts. |  | In Loving Memory of Beverly Jean Katter
By Ann Batiza, VP for Organization
It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of our League’s beloved, longtime member, Beverly Jean Katter (née Groteboer, May 21, 1933.) She died on July 30, 2022, in the company of her sons, Vincent and Eric.
Perhaps you knew Beverly as the person who called to welcome you to the League. Beware that Beverly subsequently described your personality and accomplishments in glowing terms and amazingly could recall those details even years later!
For those of us who worked closely with her, her lyrical texts prodded us as we planned League events, after which she often sent beautiful notes of appreciation. For some, Beverly became the dearest friend, who besides bringing her remarkable intellect to bear on frequent discussions of world affairs, shared her delight in her far-flung family - clearly besotted with her great-granddaughters, Galia, Jade, and Gloria.
In the recent Journal Sentinel obituary, one of Beverly’s grandchildren characterized her as an example of “persistent kindness” to all she met, while at the recent Kickoff, members invariably noted Beverly’s “graciousness” as we raised our glasses to her. Hear, hear!
We miss you, Beverly, and feel so fortunate to have had you in our midst. | In Memory
By Annemarie Adsen
It was roughly a year ago, that I received an email from The League of Women Voters. As I understood it, I was being invited to a meeting for the membership. I had two thoughts. The first was a question, “How did they get my email? I’m not a member.” The second thought was of my Aunt Noreen. My father’s sister was brilliant, witty, politically astute and a long-time member of the LWV. I have always had a great respect for my aunt and for voting. As a kid, I had no idea what the LWV actually did, but her membership in the organization was awe inspiring to me. I circled back to my question. Just how had they gotten my name? I looked at the names on the email. One stuck out, Patricia McFarland. Isn’t she in Interfaith? I cross referenced a recent email from The Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee. There she was again, BINGO. This must have been her doing. I was relatively new on the Interfaith cabinet, but I knew who she was. I thought to myself, “She’s that UU who organizes the Lunch and Learn program. I respected her willingness to serve and her easy smile. I decided to go this LWV meeting.
It took me a while at the meeting to determine that rather than a meeting for the entire membership of the LWV, this was actually a meeting of the Membership Committee of the LWV. Pat McFarland was leading the meeting. She mentioned that she was the new chair of the committee. I thought, “Hmmm, no wonder she’s soliciting new members.” The committee was very focused on an upcoming event that they were to be hosting. They called it the Kickoff. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I liked the women. They seemed so supportive of one another. I volunteered to help set up. I thought, “I don’t know what they’re kicking off, but I’m going to help them kick.”
The other thing that I remember about that meeting was the frequent mention of Beverly Katter. Beverly was not present, but apparently, she was a member of this committee. Peppered throughout the meeting were statements from various members of the committee such as, “Oh, I wish Beverly was here. She would know all about that.” And “Beverly always does (fill in the blank.)” And “No one does that better than Beverly.” They spoke with such admiration, almost reverence. I wondered to myself, “Who is this exulted Beverly?” Not long afterward, into the Zoom meeting popped The Lady Herself. I looked at her closely. From outward appearances, she seemed rather human like.
A few days after that meeting, I received an email from this very Beverly. She told me that she spoke with all new members of the LWV. She wanted to welcome to The League. In the email, she included her telephone number. I was delighted, “Yay, she’s Old School!” I have nothing against technology, but I am a touchy-feely, face-to-face kind of person. If I have the choice of typing to you or talking with you, I will take talking every time. I called her. I wanted to clarify her facts. Yes, I had agreed to help kick it off, whatever that meant, but I was not actually a member.
I recall two things from that conversation. The first was that she was trying her best to pass on the baton. She floated the idea of me making new member calls at least three times. This was rather intimidating. I myself was not yet a member. I knew little more about the LWV, than I had when I was a kid. She shrugged these comments off. She kept saying things like, “You have the personality for it” and, “You would do a great job.” The other thing that I remember, was I fell in love with her. She was so easy to talk to. While I don’t recall what we spoke about, I do remember that the conversation flowed easily. She made me feel like I had known her my whole life. We talked and laughed together for an hour and a half. She was delight. I didn’t want to hang up. I informed her that since I was not yet a member of the LWV, this conversation didn’t count. If I joined, she would still need to make her new member call to me. It was a trap. I pretty much knew that I was going to join. I just wanted to talk with her again. She agreed, “This one doesn’t count. When you join, I’ll give you a call.” Obviously, she wasn’t fooled. She knew that I was to be a member.
At the Kickoff, I spoke with Pat McFarland. I recommended that in the future, she not put people on emails without having first talked with them. She told me that she had included me on the email by mistake. My name was in her computer because of Interfaith. Personally, I don’t believe in coincidences. I was looking for ways to give back. It appeared that God thought that I could do that through League work. I officially became a member at the Kickoff. I looked for Beverly, but she wasn’t there.
I continued to go the Membership Committee meetings. I liked the women and the way that they worked together. At all those meetings, I looked for Beverly. Once or twice, she joined. I remember one time she asked that previous month’s minutes be corrected. She had not been at the meeting, but she had not simply been absent. She wanted the minutes to state that she had been excused. I could tell that she took her commitment to the LWV seriously. At the end of the meeting, I wanted to tease her, “Hey Beverly, I’m still waiting for my new member call.” Zoom, however, isn’t the best format for chit chat. I didn’t want to interrupt the meeting with my joking. I regret that today. How many times do I have to learn the same lesson? Do it today, you may not have the chance tomorrow.
When I received the email recently informing us that she had died, I was deeply shocked and saddened. I hadn’t known that she was sick. Long term members of the LWV have said the same. Obviously, that is how she wanted it. She didn’t want to focus on her disease. She wanted to continue to give of herself in any way that she was able. The New Member Orientation event was held on July 10 and hosted by the Membership Committee. This was less than two weeks before she died. She sent cookies. Her life of service to others is an outward sign of the love she had in her heart.
I had so much that I had wanted to talk with her about; her life, her passions, her hobbies and her day-to-day joys. Regarding her work with the LWV, she had really wanted me to commit to making the calls to new members. Looking back at our conversation of year ago, she likely knew that she would not be making those calls much longer. Why hadn’t I thought to call her? I just thought that she must be busy and that she would get around to it. “What is it, Beverly, that you spoke with the newcomers about?” I feel cheated. I had but one conversation with her. In that one connection, she managed to enter deep into my heart.
I will allow myself to grief because her death is a loss. Losses hurt. I am also going to try to turn around the narrative in my head. Instead of feeling sorry for myself because I had just one conversation with her, I will thank God that I was given the opportunity to get to know her in some small way. A woman like Beverly would not want her legacy to be a tear-stained cheek. She would want me to pick up the phone and start calling newcomers. So, I will make that commitment to her and the LWV. I won’t have her guidance. No matter how many conversations I might have had with her, I would not have been Beverly anyway. We are all different. We all have our gifts. I will simply be myself and extend the hand of the LWV out to genuinely welcome the newbies. Beverly believed in me. That gives me courage. With God’s guidance, I will try to make her proud. | Amanda Gorman's Reading of Her Poem “8 Reasons to Stand Up Against Abortion Bans”
"Women are a big part of it, but at the heart of it are freedom over how fast our families grow goes farther and larger than any one of us. It's about every single one of us."— Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate.
Watch Amanda’s reading of her poem “8 Reasons to Stand Up Against Abortion Bans” here. | Standing Committees
LWVMC Board Meeting
2nd Wednesday, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m
Contact: Peggy Creer
p.creer@lwvmilwaukee.org
Membership Committee
3rd Monday 12:30 - 2 p.m.
Contact: Patricia McFarland
mcfarlap@icloud.com
Waukesha Branch Meeting
3rd Tuesday alternates between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Contact: Vicki Aro-Shackmuth
v.aroshackmuth@lwvmilwaukee.org
Natural Resources Committee
3rd Wednesday 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Contact: Ann Batiza
annwisc@gmail.com
For information about the above committees, please send email to league@lwvmilwaukee.org. We also have many working ad hoc committees. If you are interested in joining a committee contact the Member Engagement Team (MET) at volunteer@lwvmilwaukee.org. | Lunch & Learn
LWVMC sponsors a free, virtual gathering on the third Tuesday of each month. We build friendships, inspire action to work together to influence public policy and meet basic needs. Invite and join your friends and LWV members to Lunch and Learn. We listen and follow the lead of Black and Brown Women.
Oct. 10, 2022
Noon
Meet with Latish Reed
“Dr. Latish Reed is a highly sought-after leader with a demonstrated track record of embracing the complexities within organizations from practical and research perspectives. She leverages strong theoretical knowledge, written and oral communication, and relationship-building to develop the capacity of organizations to address the cultural and social factors that impact them. Dr. Reed is a resourceful problem-solver who can navigate organizational challenges and barriers to improved outcomes for marginalized populations. Dr. Reed is regarded as a creative and high-energy educator delivering instruction aligned with a personal and professional brand of integrity, compassion, and dignity that mirrors a philosophy of hope.”
Meeting ID: 963 9818 8822
Passcode: league | League Café
Mary Sussman, League Café Facilitator
League Café meets monthly and welcomes League members new and old, as well as community members. In a small group setting, we get to know each other better, share knowledge and have interesting conversations. Rotating on a monthly basis, we meet as a general discussion group, then in opposite months, convene to discuss noteworthy books on racial equity, immigration and/or voting. Our gatherings rang in size from 8-20 people. We have a core group of "regulars" but new people are especially welcome.
Oct. 28
9:30 a.m.
Focusing on Chapters 17, "Progress" & Chapter 18, "Justice"
Virtually, join the discussion here.
| | | International Relations Committee - Great Decisions Members
Meets the second Tuesday of each month at the Wauwatosa Library at 10 a.m.
| Upcoming Events
Find the LWVMC calendar for the most up-to-date events and details. | Notice
The LWVMC Board will continue to follow CDC guidelines with regard to exposure to COVID-19. Based on the most recent recommendations, we are beginning to hold a mixture of virtual and in-person meetings. Members may participate in in-person events and activities as they feel comfortable. | Voter Editor: Melissa Kelley
m.kelley@lwvmilwaukee.org
League of Women voters Milwaukee County
league@lwvmilwaukee.org
(414) 273-8683
6737 W Washington St., Ste. 2218
Milwaukee, WI 53214
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