July-August 2010

Prez Sez:
Gwen Elliott, Chapter President

“The lazy days of late spring and early summer have not started out as very relaxed for the local LWV! At least 16 dedicated members helped with pricing on June 4 th and the garage sale on June 5 th , two of the hottest and most humid days of the year to date. They were not rewarded with much cash. Our take looks to be about $257.00, almost $100 short of last year's $345, but we did have a great time, bought one another's treasures, gave some super deals to our customers, and took three (count them, THREE) pickup loads of merchandise to the Rescue Mission and Salvation Army. Thanks so much to all of you who helped and to those of you who donated such nice items! We definitely have assisted the community, if not ourselves, through this project!

On June 11 th , Carol Yoho and Gwen Elliott will join Ann Zimmerman, President of the Salina League, on a flight to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the 49 th National Convention of the League of Women Voters. We hope to bring back much knowledge and enthusiasm when we return on June 15 th . While we are in Atlanta, we will meet with our national contacts, David Ward and Zaida Arguedas, as well as members of other Kansas Leagues, regarding the judicial diversity project. Please see our web site and the Kansas League site ( LWVTSC and LWVK) for more information on that topic. We also hope to be present to see our former State League president (now LWVUS Board member and chair of the LWVUS Health Care
Education Task Force), Janis McMillen, introduce our very own Kathleen Sebelious, a former Topeka/ Shawnee County League member, to the national audience!

Many thanks to Liz Post for stepping up to chair the new local City/County Finance Study. We are looking for members to serve on that committee. Please let Liz or any other board member know if you are interested!

Anita Epps has announced that our League has been invited to register voters at the Back-to-School Fair to be held in early August and that we will have a table there. Please watch for additional details.

It is not too early to be thinking ahead to our membership event and auction to be held in late September or October. Nancy Shaughnessy will be chairing the membership drive, and Betsy Rohleder will head up the auction. While we pulled some of the choice items from the garage sale to save for our auction, Betsy is also collecting rare and special donations to sell. She will take them early (right now!), so please do not be shy about contacting her with your offerings. This is also the perfect time to remind members that it takes us ALL to keep up our membership numbers, so please start now to think of a friend whom you can invite to this fun event!

Please note that the July Tuesday Topics will be held at the YWCA again this month, and that NO FOOD will be served. You are welcome to bring in your own sack lunch.

[See photos from our annual meeting.]

Return to top of page

June President's Report:

Having missed last week’s Tuesday Topics, I feel somewhat out of touch, and hope you will fill me in on what Mr. Langford had to say about City finances. Marge will bring us up-to-date on July and August potential speakers at the board meeting.

I would like to initiate a small change in our board procedure by adding a “roll call” to the beginning of the meeting to give each officer a chance to make a short comment, ask a question, or give a short report on her individual portfolio. People may “pass” if they wish, but this should give us all an opportunity to speak briefly.

Carol Yoho and I will be attending National Convention in Atlanta with Ann Zimmerman, president of the Salina LWV and are looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about Leagues in other states and League in general. We will also meet with David Ward, Zaida, and representatives of other Kansas Leagues regarding the judicial diversity project while we are at the Convention. (I gave a brief talk to my fellow TPS school social workers and distributed 33 blue bags and judicial diversity materials to them at our last meeting of the school year on May 20, 2010. Carol has posted the pictures from that meeting on our web site. I hope to repeat that with the school counselors in the fall.)

Thanks to Liz Post for stepping up to chair the new local City/County finance study. We need to place an ad in our next Voter to recruit members who are willing to serve on that study committee.

Despite the hard work of many board and League members and wonderful donations, our garage sale, held June 5that 3469 SE Crestwater Dr., was not as successful as in past years. Several factors may have played a part. The weather was extremely hot and humid. Location may have been less visible than many past years; there were many other garage sales and events taking place all over the city; and perhaps, people are not spending due to the economy. Our total take will be only around $250, about one hundred dollars less than last year’s total of $345. Sue Gaither collected the money and will give us a final tally. We gave our customers some excellent bargains, and took three pickup loads of useful merchandise to helping agencies (Topeka Rescue Mission and Salvation Army) after the sale. The board may wish to discuss the merits of continuing the garage sale (or not) next year. Thanks to all who worked so hard for the sale!

Nickie Stein happened to call during the garage sale to thank us for the 50-year pin and to urge us to keep up the good work.

The next major focus for our League will be the membership event/auction to be held in the fall. Nancy Shaughnessy and Betsy Rohleder have begun working on the plans and a date. Nancy may be able to give us more details at the board meeting. Board members, please come prepared to volunteer to help on the committee (or to find others who can) for this important event. We may also need to have more membership brochures printed before the membership drive.

We continue to seek to hold a televised forum on the judicial diversity project with KTWU, and it is also time to schedule a meeting with Professor Jackson regarding research questions. We will discuss both of these efforts again at the board meeting.

The July Tuesday Topics meeting will be at the YWCA with a speaker to be announced. --Gwen