League of Women Voters of Connecticut Convention
At the Graduate Club
New Haven, Connecticut
June 6, 2015



This year the featured speaker at Convention was the former three-term President of the League of Women Voters of Florida, Deirdre Macnab.  The LWVCT representatives at the most recent LWVUS Convention were so impressed that they invited her to our Convention to inspire us!  And she did!

Increasing membership in the Florida LWV, making it the third largest League in the country, caught my eye!  As indicated in the Convention press release, Deirdre Macnab embodies everything a League leader could hope to aspire to:  Growing the membership by 30%, raising money so that the budget could increase 100% (these achievements, we think, are connected), and championing positions on many "initiative and referendum" campaigns, that are permitted in the Florida Constitution!

The LWV of Weston videotaped her presentation, including the subsequent question and answer session.  The 81 minute video is presented below, preceded by a separate 29 minute video presenting selected excerpts of the Convention's plenary session.

"Picture Story" below!







 





 
CO-PRESIDENT (R) RUNS THE MEETING.
Opening the event - getting everyone ready for the business at hand...



THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
How did the Nominating Committee make out?  Broadening the base, still missing some traditional roles/positions.


  
BUDGET
This is one of the parts we didn't record for the "picture story" - not because it wasn't good news!  Delegates were given a real tutorial about how our LWVCT budget must be prepared and a report on where things have changed and why - many questions from those who got a chance to ask some basic questions that would help them at the local league level!


REGIONAL LWV's
And other related "League Services" provided by LWVCT!  How can we help, the Board members asked?


LWV OF FLORIDA FORMER PRESIDENT ARRIVES...
At the brief break during the business session, our guest speaker arrived.


     
REPORTS FROM DIRECTORS
LWVCT is enormously active and tends to burn through "directors" who must cover all areas and go through all the traditional procedures always undertaken in the past...just at warp speed thanks to technology.  This leads to board burnout...not a unique occurance in volunteer organizations everywhere.

    
AWARDS TO LOCAL LEAGUES
Not all awards shown here - how to gain members, how to raise funds - is anything new?  YES!  LWVCT provides funding for small must do/fast track creative ideas.  An example being a grant received by Redding to buy "vote today" lawn signs, bearing the League logo, for members to put out when votes are conducted for regular elections and other events such as Special Town Meetings.  The only proviso being that if you use the LWV "vote today" sign, you can't also put out signs supporting candidates or specific positions.  The Registrars of Voters expressed the feeling that that increased the numbers voting at the Town budget meeting.


CONNECTICUT LWV DOING THIS!
LWV of California developed a good method for do it yourself website development.

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