Lynn Vogel of Kent received the Women in Public Service Award from the League of Women Voters of Kent at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Presenting the award is LWV Kent President Debbie Barber.
Time to pay dues!
2022-2023 League of Women Voters of Kent dues are due July 1, 2022. Dues may be paid by check, payable to LWV Kent and mailed to Gail Pytel, Treasurer, 4578 Creekside Drive, Kent, OH 44240 or on-line at Membership | MyLO (lwv.org). LWV Kent is a 501(c)(3); membership dues and contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Dues are: $60 for individual members. $90 for two household members; $5 for students. LWV Kent also has a "pay what you can" option. Read more at the Membership page.
President’s Message

We are sharing LWV Kent President Debbie Barber’s message to members at the 2022 Annual Meeting.

I would like to take a couple minutes to share a few of our many accomplishments of the past year. Despite the fact that most of our activities this past year have not been in person, our accomplishments are, indeed, impressive. A huge thank you to everyone who was involved in our success!

You may have heard about the ongoing campaign for Fair Districts in Ohio. We put forth several efforts to contribute to this seemingly elusive goal:

  • League member Bill Peck created a button that we used to campaign for Fair Districts. These were shared with community members, the Northern Portage LWV and the Portage County NAACP.
  • Eleven of our members participated in a Fair Districts rally in Columbus in October and met with our representatives, Gail Pavliga and Jerry Cirino.
  • We held two community-mapping training sessions at the Kent Free Library.
  • Three League members submitted a map in the community map competition, including one of our newest members, Jenn Mapes. 
  • 50 people participated in our Face2Face candidate forum in April.
  • 75 new voters were registered at local events, including KSU Blast Off, Art in the Park and Octoberfest.
  • We continued to publish Vote 411, an invaluable source for voting and candidate information.

Thanks to the Voter Services Committee and Anne Reid and Barb Hipsman Springer, we are sending observers to meetings of several local government entities so they can provide summaries of the proceedings. These entities include Portage County Board of Elections, Kent City Council, Kent City Schools Board of Education, Brimfield Township Board of Trustees, Franklin Township Board of Trustees, Field Local Schools Board of Education, Ravenna Board of Education, Rootstown Board of Education and, in collaboration with the Northern Portage League, the Streetsboro, Aurora and Crestwood boards of education.

The Voter Girl Project returned this year with 110 girls from all over Northeast Ohio participating. Our Education Committee, under the leadership of Deborah Austin Sanders, conducted in-depth studies in four areas of education and were able to present the findings to Kent City Schools Superintendent George Joseph. The study areas were diversity, equity and inclusion; teacher training and professional development; racial disparities and outcomes; and Covid-19 and Kent Schools.
 
I hope you were able to watch several of the Real Talk programs on Zoom. These were co-sponsored by the Greater Cleveland, Akron, Hudson and Kent Leagues. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, led by Sally Saltzman, was very involved in this work. The discussion topics to date have been health equity; school board races; diversity, equity and inclusion in education; education funding; fair housing; honesty in education; redistricting; and criminal justice. 

Our League Board completed a member survey, which provided us with good information about programming and its delivery. After three years of discussion and consideration, we are finally able to provide mess kits for sale. These are intended to be used for events where table service would be necessary, in order to help reduce waste and be more environmentally responsible. The bags were made by the Socially Responsible Sweat Shop in Kent.

Approximately 50 members joined us for the December Holiday Brunch. Members served as election monitors, and we sent four delegates to LWV Ohio Convention.

Our League’s reputation and success are due to the dedication of our members who act with intelligence, skill, grace and humor to accomplish so much. I sincerely thank each of you for all of your efforts this year.

In League and Unity,
Debbie
2022 Annual Meeting: Members, guests gather in person for food, fun, business, award presentation
The LWV Kent Annual Meeting was a celebratory event, seeing so many new members and longer-term members come together at Pierson Hall of the Kent United Methodist Church on June 4. Clockwise, Jane Preston Rose and Jan Rusnack; pins to take; the new mess kits are here; speaker Lynn Vogel with one of her original tees; Edie Grund and Jackie Peck; presentation of the Women in Public Service Award to Vogel by LWV Kent President Debbie Barber; and digging in to the yummiest brunch.
During the business meeting portion, there was discussion and voting on the League's local positions. The following positions were retained:

  • Intergovernmental Cooperation and Regional Tax-Base Revenue Sharing 
  • Kent City Charter
  • Kent City Finances
  • Kent City Schools
  • Portage County Justice System
  • Land Use and Zoning

The League’s position on Parks and Recreation underwent an update in 2021. Members at the Annual Meeting voted to continue the update with attention given to underserved communities and access by public transportation. To see the full text of the positions and the 2023 budget that was passed, click here (see page 5 for the positions and page 3 for the budget).

Next up was leadership elections. Here are the results:

Reelected Officers: Vice President Janice Hutchison, Treasurer Gail Pytel
New Members of Board of Directors: Kim Gurenwald, Bill Wilen
Reelected Members of Board of Directors: Amie Cajka, Renee Ruchotzke
Elected to Nominating Committee: Chris Schjeldahl, Jennifer Kinney, Mary Myers
Continuing Officers and Directors: President Debbie Barber, Vice President Penny Graves, Secretary Jackie Peck, Jill Hazelton, Deborah Austin Sanders, Sherry Rose

To kick off the meeting there was the talk by Portage County Soil and Water Conservation Stormwater Educator Lynn Vogel. She was then presentated with the LWV Kent's Women in Public Service Award.

Looking for the tire burners . . .

Annual Meeting speaker Lynn Vogel shared her insights on environmental education in Portage County, Ohio, in 2022. Audio only already in progress. No video available.
Special Voter Services Training on July 19,
6 p.m., at Kent Social Services
Thinking you might want to help register voters? Has it been a long time since you registered voters, and you want to do it again but feel a little rusty? Come early to the July All Member Meeting for training. Cant’ make it? Email Jill or Stacy for a PowerPoint presentation to review at home before deciding to sign up (or click on the link below for a training PowerPoint presentation). The training will take the place of the monthly new member orientation at 6 p.m. 

Click here to view PowerPoint voter registration training slides prepared by the Voter Services Committee if you can’t make it to the training but are ready to help with registration events. See below for two upcoming registration events.
Kent Farmers' Market,
2nd and 4th Saturdays

Voter registration at the Kent Farmers’ Market must be done outside the entrance to the market. We recommend one of two options: You can carry a tote bag that contains a clipboard and voter-registration forms and information and talk with people as they enter. Or, you can set up a small table and a sandwich-board-type sign to let people know they can register to vote or update their address at the table. To volunteer, click here. Review the available slots (only one slot per day) and choose the one that works best for you. Feel free to find another person to join if you wish. We will contact you prior to your scheduled date to get the necessary supplies to you.
Art in the Park in Kent,
Sept. 10 and 11

Register voters, update voter registrations, share voting information. Time slot are two hours long. The schedule is designed to always have two people at the booth with one person rotating out each hour and another person joining. This is a fun, shady location with lots of art, food and music. To volunteer, click here. 
All Member Meeting in person; set for July 19,
7 p.m., Kent Social Services
Consensus on 'Parks Accessibility for Underserved Communities'
Our first in-person All Member Meeting in May went well, so we are looking forward to the July 19 AMM at Kent Social Services, 1066 S. Water St., Kent, at 7 p.m. The League’s Portage County Parks and Recreation Committee will be sharing the results of its study, which focused on park accessibility for underserved communities. Members will participate in the consensus process to update our position. There will time to socialize and make announcements. 
ATTENTION, MEW MEMBERS!
NO New Member Orientation at July AMM
Special voter services training will be held in place of the July
New Member Orientation that usually precedes the All Member Meeting. The training begins at 6 p.m. See the voter services article above for more information about the training. New Member Orientation will return for the August All Member Meeting.
Applications available for Helen Dix Scholarship
The Portage Foundation, in conjunction with the League of Women Voters of Kent, is accepting applications for the Helen Dix scholarship for female students age 25 or older seeking an undergraduate degree at Kent State University or Hiram College.

This year, a $1,000 scholarship will be awarded for the 2022-2023 academic year. Applications and supporting materials are due to the Portage Foundation by July 15. Applications may be requested from the Portage Foundation. Call 330-470-8950, or go to the foundation’s website. 

The League of Women Voters of Kent established the scholarship in memory of Helen Dix, a founding member of the organization. When she died in fall 2013, she was the League’s last surviving charter member. Dix was instrumental in furthering the League mission in Portage County since the Kent League was established in 1953. She continued that commitment throughout the rest of her life. She was passionate about the importance of education and its accessibility to an informed citizenry. Tax-deductible donations to support the scholarship may be sent to Helen Dix Scholarship at The Portage Foundation, P.O. Box 623, Kent, Ohio 44240.
LWV Kent 2022 Convention delegates were, left to right, Secretary Jackie Peck, Treasurer Gail Pytel and President Debbie Barber.
The fourth delegate was board member Amie Cajka who was participating on her own at home with COVID.
Resolution highlights from the 2022 National Convention that sparked cheers (even virtually) and resolve
The Kent delegation to the 2022 LWVUS National Convention watched the scene in Denver on smalll screens and voted virtually. There was a definite shift in the energy level and convention speeches after the Roe v Wade decision. Here are some of the resolution highlights that will determine League program and advocacy on the national level for the next two years.
  • Elevate the ‘direct election of the President by popular vote’ as a prominent, listed component of ‘Making Democracy Work.’ This motion includes both National Popular Vote Interstate Compact and the Abolishment of the Electoral College by Constitutional Amendment.
  • Elevated passage of the ERA as a recommended item on the program.
  • Be it resolved that the LWVUS supports the rights of women and others who can become pregnant to self-determination related to, and including, but not limited to bodily autonomy, privacy, reproductive health, and lifestyle choice - LWV of Washington 
  • Whereas the League of Women Voters has had a long-standing immigration position since 2008 and a strong commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI); Be it resolved that LWVUS actively advocates and supports Immigration Reform at all levels of LWV.
  • As delegates of local Leagues assembled at the 2022 LWV US Convention, we call upon the LWV US Board and state and local Leagues to urge state and local governments to adopt and publicize Declarations of Climate Emergency appropriate to local conditions and take appropriate action to implement the Declarations of Climate Emergency.
  • Therefore, be it resolved that LWVUS will provide continued and renewed support for the admission of the state of Douglass Commonwealth (Washington D.C) into the United States of America with equal status to the existing 50 states.
  • LWVUS recognizes there is an immediate, ongoing, & urgent problem of Missing & Murdered Indigenous People(MMIP). LWVUS recognizes the leadership of the Dept. of Interior on this issue as well as the need for additional Congressional attention. We resolve that LWVUS advocate for comprehensive data collection & inter-agency cooperation to address MMIP issues across the country.
  • With the long range goal of attracting significant numbers of new members, convention delegates approved a plan to move membership functions to the national level thereby streamlining the process of joining.
Speaking from the podium at the 2022 National Convention is LWVUS President Dr. Deborah Ann Turner. After plenary, League members responded to the news of the day and marched to the state Capitol in Denver to protest the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In partnership with the League of Women Voters of Colorado, the League of Women Voters of the United States President Dr. Turner and CEO Virginia Kase Solomon led 500 members to the steps of the Capitol and made brief remarks affirming the League’s position on access to abortion and women’s healthcare.
Book Club makin' a splash for summer!
The next Book Club meeting is Wednesday, July 6, at 1:30 p.m. A Zoom option will be available for those who would prefer not to meet in person. All are welcome to join. Contact Jane Preston Rose for details about the meetings. Click here to email her. Here are selections for July, August and September:
July 6 Book Selection—
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wholleben
Aug. 3 Book Selection— Sisters of Mokama: The Pioneering Women Who Brought Hope and Healing to India by Jyoti Thottam
Sept. 7 Book Selection— The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

New LWVK members!
Kimberly Ray
Lisé Russell
Fred Mendiola
Joan Seidel
Lucas Cassi
Second 2022 Ohio Primary Election coming up on Aug. 2; voter registration deadline is July 5
SAVE THE DATE...All events are free except where noted

July 19 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | Special Voter Services Training | In Person | Kent Social Services, 1066 S. Water St., Kent
 
July 19 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | All Member Meeting | FREE | In Person | Kent Social Services, 1066 S. Water St., Kent 

Aug 15 | Monday | 6 p.m. | New Member Orientation | FREE | In Person | Kent Social Services, 1066 S. Water St., Kent 

Aug 15 | Monday | 7 p.m. | All Member Meeting | FREE | In Person | Kent Social Services, 1066 S. Water St., Kent