Late June/July 2016 Newsletter
PRESIDENT'S LETTER

Dear Falls Church Leaguers,

Our activities are taking a summer break, but be assured that your new leadership team and committee chairs are not!  A meeting is scheduled for mid-July to receive input from board members on the calendar of events for the coming year.  The past year was unusually busy with two LWVUS studies and consensus meetings in addition to election and local interest forums and two fundraisers.  We'll be bringing you excellent programs and information throughout the year, so watch for your Reminder Post Card in late summer.

The LWVUS convention took place in Washington June 16-19.  Our two delegates were Martha Cooper and Linda Garvelink.  Thanks to both of them for representing us.  An interesting diary of their experiences can be accessed here.   LWVNCA ( National Capitol Area) hosted the convention and 108 volunteers from area leagues helped things to run smoothly.  We were well represented by Sandy Tarpinian, Bob Crowe, Johannah Barry,  Virginia Long, Kathy Thompson (who was a committee chair), Judy Parente, and myself.  We went early and stayed late and were delighted to be part of the event.

The leadership team is now in place and started officially on July 1.  Martha Cooper, Wendy Frieman, and Judy Parente will be at the helm, with Linda Garvelink acting as facilitator and liaison to all levels of the league.  This is a new concept and a work in progress but we have already seen the benefits of sharing responsibilities.  As the retiring president, I feel very confident of the leadership abilities of this team and look forward to another successful year for the LWV Falls Church.

This chart will give you a visual representation of the new leadership structure.

Thanks to those who attended the annual meeting and provided donations for The Tahirih Justice Center.  A gracious thank you note from the Center can be found here.

Thanks to all of you for being part of our dynamic organization.  We've got our work cut out for us, so don't hesitate to volunteer contact any committee chair person to get involved.

As always, as League members, we urge you to stay abreast of local, regional, state and national affairs.  There's so much going on, but we need to remain informed voters!  

Enjoy the summer,

Ellen


OUR NEWEST MEMBERS...

Barbara Lipsky and Partrick Herbst
Nancy Delew and Steve Schmidt
Theresa Sullivan Twiford
Amy Hjerstedt


 
Congratulations  to Neil Johnston, our webmaster, on his graduation from George Mason High School. Neil will be attending  the Rochester Institute of Technology in the fall.  We're very appreciative of the work he did to keep us up to date and informed.

INTERESTED IN OUR POSITIONS ON DEVELOPMENT?

At the Annual Meeting, we decided to further examine our positions on Planning, Zoning, Business Development, and Land Use.  

A committee will be working on this project over the summer.  If you are interested in this and are willing to delve into how the League positions reflect current reality, contact Judy Parente at jfparent@hotmail.com.  This is an excellent example of how the League educates us individually and as a league.

OPPORTUNITY TO ASSIST IMMIGRANTS IN OBTAINING CITIZENSHIP

CASA Virginia is an organization that supports immigrants in their efforts to gain citizenship and serves the immigrant community with help getting registered to vote, citizenship classes, ESL classes, and job training among other things.

Sandy Tarpinian is getting in on the tail end of helping with the citizenship classes that CASA conducts in Falls Church. They try to prepare eligible people for the citizenship test and interview that is part of the process to becoming a citizen. On their last class this session they will conduct "mock" interviews for practice. The teacher would love some "interviewers" to help so that the students get a more realistic idea of what the interview would be like with a complete stranger. The class is on Friday, July 8, from 6 - 8 p.m. and would require volunteers to meet with individual students and ask them 10 questions from a prepared list of 100 questions that they could be asked in the real interview. 

 Who knows, you might even learn something about civics or U.S. History in the process!! The location is in Falls Church at Winter Hill. If you are interested to help that evening, please contact Sandy Tarpinian by email at shoptarp@gmail.com.



In This Issue:

 

2016-2017 LWVFC Board and Off-Board Members 

 

Management Team

 Martha Cooper

Wendy Frieman

Linda Garvelink

Judy Parente

 

 

Programs Co-Chairs

Robert Crowe

 Johannah Barry

 

Local Affairs Chair

Wendy Frieman

 

Secretary

 Jody Acosta

 

Treasurer

Ruth Rodgers

 

Voter Service Co-Chairs 

Membership Co-Chairs

 

Liaison to NCA 

Ellen Gross

 

Administrative Team

Ellen Salsbury

Edith Holmes Snyder

Edith Snyder 

Special Projects

Madalyn Cafruny

Genie Flahie

Bunny Jarrett

Marty Meserve

Jane Scully

 

 

Communications

 

Webmaster

 TBD

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Voter Registration Event

WHAT:  Voter Registration for individuals who now qualify under Gov. McAuliffe's executive order of restoration of voting rights

WHERE:  Macedonia Baptist Church, 3412 S. 22nd St., Arlington, VA.

WHEN:    July 23, 2016, 1:00 to 5:00 PM

WHO:  Co-sponsored by LWV Arlington, The National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice and Macedonia Baptist Church


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Help Us Build A Broader Audience

The mission of the League can be greatly enhanced by leveraging social media to get out information on our programs and positions.

Building an audience on Facebook starts with inviting people you already know to like our Page -- especially non-members.  So, go through your email list and send the link below to those you think might be interested in the League's programs and news. So far, we have 70 people who "follow" us - meaning they see our posts as part of their Facebook newsfeed.


In addition to inviting people to like our page, when you see our posts -  LIKE them!  Also, 
SHARE our posts with your Facebook friends.  If your friends engage with our posts, their Facebook friends will also see our content and create even more new audience exposures.

UPDATED LWVFC VIDEO ARCHIVE AVAILABLE ON WEBSITE

Even though our program year is over, you can always view (or share) our recent programs from the videos housed on our website:

 

Either use the link above or, from the Home Page, select "Positions, News, Videos" from the left side menu, then select "Past Program Videos."   

About Us

The League of Women Voters Falls Church is a non-partisan organization that serves the citizens of Falls Church City through encouraging informed and active participation in government, working to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influencing public policy through education and advocacy.

A Voice for Citizens and a Force for Change in the United States.