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REPORT:  LWVUS National Convention Held June 11-15, 2010, Atlanta GA

COMPILED BY:  Nancy Glowacki, Pres., Lee Luebbe, VP, Joe Glowacki, Board, and Barbara Garrison, LWV of Henderson County
DATE:  June 24, 2010

OVERVIEW (Nancy Glowacki)
In the two huge, cavernous Marriott-Marquis Atlanta main floors, from 7:30am-10 pm daily, we immersed ourselves in 5 days of caucuses, workshops, and plenary sessions of motions, debates, voting, wonderful speakers, plus of course, some late night hours of sharing wine, cheese and talk. We four mapped out our day schedules so that we could cover different meetings as well as work the 'market'. The 'market' room was a scene of many creative products, handouts, ideas and enthusiastic Leaguers. We ourselves sold almost $1000 worth of buttons, greeting cards, and Immigration CDs. Throughout it all, the League mission and central tasks were made very clear repeatedly. . . and two very memorable, entertaining experiences were captured on video that we are trying our best to bring home to Henderson County! Dine outs with other NC Leaguers, meet-and-greet cocktail sessions, a rousing final Banquet . . . and much good humor shared throughout all the 'seriousness' resulted in a totally meaningful event.

We were given badges as tickets to enter and to eat . . . very important! We had "vote cards" to use in plenary sessions after we were given delegate credentials. Each day, as we entered a plenary session, we were given the minutes and actions taken the day before. A credential report was given daily as to how many were in attendance from how many states and how many were voting delegates. Out of 830 Leagues across the US, 252 Leagues were present; 45 states and DC were represented with 701 present and 551 voting delegates.

Friday was a little confusing getting our 'bearings' and we were thrust right into programs and into setting up our 'wares' in the market and creating a schedule for ourselves to share the sales job. We had already discovered that cabs were expensive, having left the car at our lovely 100 year old historic hotel 1½ miles away and were determined to learn how to ride the Marta two stops back and forth each day! Very funny stories there. We were yet to discover how to walk into the next building/hotel to a food court for less expensive food . . . great discovery! About 7 or us at the Georgian Terrace bonded for late night wine, cheese and chat and shared rides on the Marta!

Delegates were told on Friday that the purpose of convention was (1) to make program choices (2) to elect officers and adopt a budget, (3) to develop grassroots power, and (4) to give guidance to the Board.

Saturday morning’s opening plenary session produced an inspirational speech from Representative John Lewis, known as the "conscience of the US Congress". "I don’t know what our country would be without the League of Women Voters," he said. "Continue to get in the way . . . the vote is the most powerful non-violent tool there is…every vote must be counted . . . the Electoral College is obsolete." He encouraged us to make "this US piece of real estate cleaner, greener and more peaceful and to create a multi-racial model society."

Mary Klenz, North Carolina US Board member, in her welcome to convention, offered a suggestion that the "LWV voice needs to be heard . . . we need to "kick in some doors!"
A powerful letter from President Obama was presented visually . . . His acknowledgement of League was thoughtful and appreciative and he encouraged us to "take on discrimination and open our government". Outgoing President Mary Wilson gave a "State of the League" address, saying, "Our work has never been more important than it is now."  She said we work for the common good, not for a select few, that we are to shape a more perfect union to make the US a good citizen of the world.
 
A highlight of Saturday was Pitt County’s Walter Shur honoring his wife Ruth Shur with the establishment of the Shur Fellows with a million dollar endowment to create the Membership Recruitment Initiative (MRI) Program and Leadership Training Program (3 of our members will attend a session in Charlotte August 28). His story of Ruth was a visual blessing and a verbal love story of Ruth’s no-nonsense, powerful and humorous nature. She said, "There are 3 kinds of people, those who watch things happen, those who make things happen, and those who don’t know what’s happening."  A recording of a song she had written about League, Pride and the Passion, was a sing-a-long delight and we’re trying to get a copy for our parade march!

THE LWVUS IS US!

A highlight of plenary sessions was learning the process of working with such a large body . . . making motions, voting, debating, voting again and coming to agreement about important issues.  Parliamentarian procedure was 'king' and moved the process along quickly under Mary Wilson’s guidance.  Passions ran high at times . . . The pro and con mikes were kept busy until debate was suspended and the final vote taken on an issue. We passed a budget, voted for two National studies rather than just the one, raised the PMP for 2011 and 2012 to a total of $30, among other hot debates.

A Memorable Sunday Highlight

A panel of former LWVUS Presidents entertained us with verbal and visual stories of each of their reigns in eras gone by…the important milestones in which they played an important part and the Presidents with whom they worked. This is the 90-minute recording of the presentation. We have our bid in to retrieve the video of this presentation to use here in Henderson County . . . It was wonderful! And so inspiring! It would be a great recruiting too!

Below are various reports (not in chronological order) from Nancy Glowacki, Barbara Garrison, Lee Luebbe and Joe Glowacki from the caucuses, workshops and plenary sessions attended.  We can only touch lightly on the sessions we attended . . . but there will be ideas and recommendations that will surface more as we go through our year together.

Criminal Justice:  Sentencing Reform (Barbara Garrison)
The United States has the world’s highest prison population, with overcrowded prisons  and jails at an unaffordable cost. This caucus discussed sentencing reform along with alternatives to promote safety and justice as well as alternatives to offences such as drug and mental health courts and drug treatment instead of prisons. Discussion of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, which was introduced by Senator Jim Webb of Virginia with 37 co-sponsors, was discussed with the hope that the League will establish a national position so we could have a voice in the discussion. Several states have adopted positions and copies of these were given as handouts.

Address by Leslie Sanchez, Columnist, Commentator and Author of You’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe  (Barbara Garrison)
Sanchez addressed what she sees in the future as a landscape changed drastically for women the world over. Debunking the cultural and political myths surrounding women and looking at the wide range of reactions that Palin, Obama and Clinton provoked from small town America to the world at large was discussed. She addressed what the future holds for women and what leaders might emerge in 2012 and beyond.

Fundraising, Development—What is the difference and why and how my League should get involved and writing fundraising and membership letters for impact (Barbara Garrison)
These two workshops were very informative and emphasized the need for Leagues to get involved in fundraising beyond membership dues as well as the need to raise funds from members in addition to the required dues. They addressed the need for Leagues to become more visible in the work they do and to publicize the forums, etc in which they are involved. Letters should detail what the League intends to do in the coming year and why funds are needed to achieve those goals. Emphasis was given to acknowledging donations after receiving them along with examples of thank you letters. Various examples of letters were given as handouts

Wares/Market  (Lee Luebbe) 
Our members took turns staffing the table of wares whenever the Marketplace was open. Moore County and LWVNC shared the space.

• LWVNC agreed to pay $125.00 for the space in the Marketplace.
• Successful sales grossed $929.00. All 50 CDs at $10.00 each were sold; 384 buttons including five giveaways netted $379.00, and beautiful note cards sold for $60.

Caucus on Safe Drilling and Mining (Lee Luebbe)

• Famous quote of Native Americans, "When you make an environmental decision, think of the next 7 generations."
• Example of "split resources", i.e., one owns only the surface; someone else owns the minerals and gas wells.
• In parts of West VA, there are bubbles of gas coming to the surface that can be lit.  Benzene is found in concentrations of 40 times the level approved for safety.
• Hydrofracking is a drilling process for natural gas, which, since the early 1990s has enabled natural gas producers to access a vast quantity of this fuel contained in shale rock formations buried up to 10,000 feet under more than 30 states. Major concerns with the process are: the amount of water used from our irreplaceable water supplies, chemicals used to drill, lack of federal regulations to ensure safe practices and making full disclosure of information.

LWVUS Bylaws Amendments (Lee Luebbe) 
50-year members will be referenced as "life members" – not "honorary life members". Rhode Island and Connecticut wanted to change the bylaws to give local and state Leagues permission to act on national positions as long as the League’s national position was maintained and that permission had been granted by the National.
This debate related to the aftermath of The Affordable Health Care Act.  Motion was defeated. (The root of this proposed change was the single payer health care position, which League lobbyists at one point had supported, but when the lobbyists realized that bill would not pass, League came on board as an incremental step to improve health care with the Affordable Health Care Act. League is hopeful to eventually reach the single payer system.)

Southeastern Regional Caucus on Environmental Issues (Lee Luebbe)

• Thirteen states from Texas to the coast were invited to be a part of this caucus. 
• The desire to find three major issues was the purpose of the caucus and to invite all the residents of those counties to make contact with their legislators.
• Great quote: "Think about energy to support life, not to support our lifestyle".
• Mountain-top removal energy was discussed frequently – It destroys natural beauty.
• About 10% of our fuel comes from biomass.  Attendees believed that more of the biomass should be available for homeowners.

Election Integrity:  Seeking Transparency  (Lee Luebbe)

• Focus was arranging for a post-election audit, assuring poll watchers are trained as well as election judges
• Some Diebold voting machines have low memory – end result is the count starts over when the capacity is reached. Check to make sure you have adequate memory. Optical scan and Touch Screen are used on Die bold machines.  Henderson County has the Touch Screen type, which I am told has a paper trail and each vote is verifiable.

Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services  (Lee Luebbe)
Sebelius spoke on Health Care conditions prior to the passage of The Affordable Health Care Act.

• Women are paying 50% more than men 
• One-half of the women in this country do not have access to health care.

After July 1, 2010, the following changed will be made:

• No longer can companies lock you out if you have pre-existing conditions
• No longer can companies drop you if you get sick.
• Transparency polices need to be constantly updated.

Immigration Presentation at Caucus held by Henderson County, NC (that’s us!) (Joe Glowacki)
Our presentation on immigration, given by Lee Luebbe and Joe Glowacki, was held from 7:30 – 8:45 am.
Barbara Garrison was the "tech" person and her husband Bill (a new LWVHC member) greeted and gave handouts at the door.  Nancy Glowacki sold all the CDs we had!  The audience of approximately 60-70 people (a few coming and going) peppered us with excellent questions at the mike for the last a half hour.  As people left they told us they thought this presentation was one of the top two at the convention. We were pleased with the feedback and their eagerness to purchase the CD as an educational tool others could put to use.

The Role of the Federal Government in Public Education (Joe Glowacki)
The LWVUS recommended the motion to have this topic as a study for the 2010-2012 biennium. It is to focus on several areas including common standards, governance relationships among all levels of the government, accountability, assessments, testing unfunded mandates, teacher training, standards and compensation, etc. Seventy-one Leagues supported the study at their program planning sessions. During the caucus, the effort was placed on brainstorming present concerns of attendees covering No Child Left Behind, increased charter schools, unions, textbooks, and increasing knowledge of the public.  Approximately 75 people were in attendance for the caucus.  (The study was voted in at a plenary to be a study for the next 2 years.)

Is the Quest for a More Diverse Judiciary Important? (Joe Glowacki)
This workshop arose from the League's educational campaign that focused on promoting diversity at all levels of the State Judiciary to enhance the legitimacy of our system of justice in the eye of an increasingly diverse public. The key speaker was Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein of Georgia.  She stated a strong need for greater diversity. Several Leagues are developing and implementing strategies for education and advocacy such as forums, town hall meetings, and events at local law schools. In addition, presentations were made by Ciara Torres-Spelliscy (Counsel, The Brennan Center for Justice), and Zuraya Tapia-Alfaro (Executive Director, Hispanic National Bar Association). They provided insight into 27 State Supreme Courts that showed they are all-white and two are all-male. They indicated that merit selection produces slightly more diversity than other methods such as judicial elections. However, the short-term trends are going in the wrong direction.  In 2007, of over one million employed lawyers in the US, only 32.6% were women. It was also stated that judicial salaries will need to be brought into line with salaries of corporate lawyers to attract greater diversity.

The Department of Peace – a caucus (Nancy Glowacki)
This caucus consisted of a rather lackluster presentation unfortunately. A Missouri League proposed that the LWVUS adopt a study on the establishment of a cabinet level Dept. of Peace. It would help reduce domestic violence, violence in schools, advocate a proactive approach to preventing eruption of conflict internationally (including arms control and international cooperation). There would be a strong advocate for violence reduction and peaceful conflict resolution within the Cabinet and in high-level discussions of problems, and finally a creation of a Peace Academy where graduates will serve 5 years in the US or elsewhere in conflict situations. Carrie Chapman Catt advocated a Dept. of Peace at the founding of the LWVUS. (HR 808 to establish a Department of Peace is presently in Congress.) League did not adopt the study, but there was interest and debate and, it would appear, more debate in the future.

Nancy Glowacki attended a number of workshops collecting ideas, handouts and contacts for further information in various areas (all areas where we would benefit from more exploration and discussion in our League).

Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy and Citizen Participation in the Digital Age. The Knight Commission report on information needs of communities in a democracy and civic participation in our democracy. Handouts and contacts available.

Promoting Productive Public Discourse Online: tools to help Leagues become more effective community advocates and educators; online organizing will enhance the hands-on work we are already doing.

Other caucuses included:

• VOTE411’s New Online voters’ Guide System
• League Easy Web (LEW) Writing Fundraising and Membership Letters for Impact
• Redistricting: what you Need to Know to be effective in 2011
• Fundraising? Development? What’s the difference and why and How Should My League get Involved?
• The United Nations in 2010
• The Fair elections Now Act

For a complete list of events and caucuses, see the 2010 Convention Caucus & Event Schedule.

The Monday Night Banquet

After another busy day of accomplishment, the sense of celebrating and 'wrapping it up' prevailed. The banquet highlights were many, including the completion of the 'parade of states'. Each state had 3 minutes to do a video/verbal presentation by its President about their accomplishments, etc. . . . very enlightening, inspiring, and fun!
The beautiful video and verbal presentation by Robert Cooney was amazing.  He has compiled a 500-page book on the history of women complete with photographs rarely seen or known to be in existence. And he wove it into an awesome event for us at the banquet!

On Tuesday morning, we were all packed and ready to go. As we gathered for the last plenary session, we were privileged to hear Kathleen Sebelius, US Sec. of Health and Human Services. We then elected our new officers, passed the budget and PMP, heard our new President Elisabeth MacNamara speak and started to anticipate going to Washington DC for the 2012 convention!  Let’s GO!

DISCLAIMER: We hope this report has helped you feel a part of National. As you can see, this was a busy learning time and this report reflects a superficial overview at best. We shall continue to bring forth materials and integrate them into our needs and program . . . so bear with us! It was overwhelming! 
Nancy