CALENDAR
Saturday, February 16 Deadline to submit Local League Ballot Question Study consensus response form
Tuesday, February 26 Ranked Choice Voting Webinar, 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 7 Deadline to submit State Program Planning recommendation form
Friday, March 8 Deadline to submit video contest entries
Friday, March 8 LWVMA Board Meeting (location TBD)
Saturday, April 6 - Sunday, April 7 New England Regional Leadership Development Conference
Friday, June 7 - Saturday, June 8
 LWVMA 2019 Convention
HAPPENING NOW
Video Contest: The Climate Change Challenge
 
For its sixth annual student video contest, LWVMA invites high school  students to create 30-second videos to raise public awareness of climate change and suggest a course of action to help save the planet. 
 
The contest,  The Climate Change Challenge, is open to all high school students in Massachusetts. Entries must be submitted online by March 8.  Judging will take place in April, and winners will be announced in May.  Official rules and further details are available here.

If you are interested in helping to judge the entries, done on your own computer, email Taylor Grenga in the LWVMA office.

Please help publicize the video contest at high schools in your area. Your League can send a letter to the editor about the contest and post information on your website and Facebook page. The information you need and a flyer to download is on our website here.  
Framingham Achieves Full League Status!

The LWVMA board has recognized the Framingham League as a full-fledged local League. We salute Stephanie Deeley, president, Mary Kate Feeney, vice president, and their team for their work creating our newest League. The Framingham League held candidates' nights and public forums as Framingham made the transition from a town to a city, and it produces a cable television program, Informed Framingham. The next step is to seek recognition from the LWVUS board.
Plan Now to Attend Our June Convention
 
Please encourage members of your League to attend the LWVMA biennial state convention Friday and Saturday, June 7-8, at the Westford Regency Inn in Westford. We'd like 100% of our Leagues to be represented.
 
Each League or Unit is entitled to at least two voting delegates at convention. Local Leagues with more than 50 members are entitled to one additional delegate for each additional 25 voting members or fraction thereof. The number of members is determined by membership count report submitted to LWVUS at the end of January. Additional League members are encouraged to co me to hear inspiring, informative speakers, meet League members from across the State, and learn about the work LWVMA and local Leagues are doing.
 
Noted environmentalist Bill McKibben will be the keynote speaker at Friday night's banquet. Convention information is available on our website, which will be updated as more details are available.
 
The first call to convention and registration information will be sent to all League members in March.
Questions about Ranked Choice Voting?
 
LWVMA will host a webinar about ranked choice voting (RCV) in Massachusetts on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m.
 
Adam Friedman, executive director of Voter Choice Massachusetts, will explain how RCV works and discuss the legislation to bring RCV to our state, then answer questions. Voter Choice Massachusetts is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization formed to champion RCV in Massachusetts after Maine passed the first statewide RCV law in November 2016.
 
Please sign up  here and you will receive the link to use to join the webinar.
State Program Planning through March 7

LWVMA encourages local Leagues, Units, and Members-at-Large (MALs) to propose action priorities and possible new studies for the next biennium through state program planning, the period of time when local Leagues, Units, and MALs submit recommendations to LWVMA. The LWVMA board considers these recommendations and drafts a recommended program, and the membership votes on a state program at Convention in June.
 
For the complete timeline and materials, see the program planning webpage , including the Guide, Recommendation Form, and links to positions. A webinar and PowerPoint presentation about the program planning process is on the program planning webpage . Local Leagues are asked to submit Program Planning Recommendation Forms by March 7.
Ballot Question Consensus Reports Due Feb. 16
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The deadline to submit your League's Ballot Question Consensus Report is Saturday, Feb. 16. The link to submit your results online is at the top of the study webpage. If your League's consensus report will be late, please contact bqstudy@lwvma.org.
 
After all of the reports are received, a committee will review the submitted answers and comments to develop the new LWVMA position on the ballot question process in Massachusetts. That position will be voted on at the June Convention.
 
Special thanks to the Hamilton-Wenham League, which welcomed three observers from LWV-Maine to its consensus meeting. LWVME is also studying citizen-initiated ballot questions in their state. Great cross-state cooperation!
LWVMA Webinar Library Available

If you missed the recent webinars on climate change (with Professor Michael Oppenheimer),  program planning, or  how the legislature works, you can find them in the   webinar library on our website and watch them whenever it's convenient.
 
All of the webinars we have produced since we acquired that technology last spring are posted, and we will add webinars as we offer them. Please let your members know the webinars are available.
Advancing Civility in a Diverse New England

Register now for the League's 13th annual New England Regional Leadership Development Conference! League members from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont are invited. The conference will be at York County Community College in Wells, Maine on April 6-7. Details are here.
 
Highlights include:
  • Keynote Speaker: Nancy Thomas, Tufts University, will speak about voting behaviors, patterns, and reasons for political inactivity.
  • Workshop: Susan Clark, author of Slow Democracy: Rediscovering Community, Bringing Decision Making Back Home, will conduct a training session on how to communicate across the divide.
  • Panel presentation: What does 'diversity' look like in New England? We know gender/race/ethnic/generational differences influence our democracy. We will take an in-depth look at three other factors: economic inequality, rural/urban, and education and literacy, followed by break out discussions.
  • State by state discussion: What can we do to cross the divide? How does this shape leadership for the League moving forward?
  • Getting Ready for the 100th Anniversary of the LWV and Women's Suffrage
THE TO-DO LIST
Add Your Reason to the List

As part of LWVMA's 100th Anniversary celebration, Massachusetts League members are urged to add to the #100 Reasons campaign and submit a short video that completes the statement: "I joined the League of Women Voters because...."
 
The deadline for submitting your video to  100Reasons@lwvma.org  has been extended to Friday, March 1. Here are the simple instructions  for creating your 15-second video, sample videos, and instructions for sending it to us.
Guide to LWVUS Services

LWVUS has produced a comprehensive guide  to the services the national office provides for Leagues .  The guide is a collaboration of all departments and staff at the LWVUS office. It will serve as a roadmap for Leagues seeking help from the national office and an explanation of all the things LWVUS does.
The  League Leader Update is  distributed to local  League  board members and LWVMA  leaders . Anyone can request the  Update  by  clicking here . Please review this  Update  for articles of interest to your  League  and include them in your local Bulletin.
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