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Greetings from your recently elected President and Vice Presidents! We would like to share with you our enthusiasm for the future of the League of Women Voters of Collier County. As a team, we are committed to working together to help all of our members work to accomplish our mission. We recognize that it takes a conscious effort to keep our members informed of recent events, legislation and actions of our league. We are thrilled with the energy we feel from our members to make a difference at the local, state and national level. We are learning minute by minute ways to best support each of you. As was shared at the Annual Meeting, we influence public policy through education and advocacy. Our goal is to empower citizens to take an active role in shaping better communities worldwide. We will do our best to provide ways for citizens to find their own pathway, within their comfort zone, to accomplish that mission. Thank you for all you do to support the mission of The League of Women Voters!
Paula, Beth and Teresa
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MAY LUNCHEON & GENERAL MEETING
May 12 @ 11:30-1:30
Tiburon Golf Club
ACLU:
Protecting our Democracy
presented by
Bacardi Jackson
Executive Director
ACLU of Florida
The Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida will share insights into the ways in which the American Civil Liberties Union is acting to protect the constitutional rights of all citizens in Florida. |
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MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION
If you are bringing one or more guests, please be sure to register them when you register yourself.
Registration and payment must be made online by
Tuesday, May 6 @ 12:00 PM
Walk-ins will be seated in order of arrival on a space available basis
Late registration/walk in price will be strictly enforced
Let's Grow Together! Bring a Friend to Our General Meetings
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| ANNUAL MEETING
The 50th Annual Meeting of the LWVCC was held on Monday, April 14, 2025 at Tiburon Golf Club. This was the first meeting of LWVCC since the merger of our two entities became effective on April 1st. During the meeting, the 40+ members in attendance adopted the 2025-2026 LWVCC Budget and Program and elected new Board members and officers. The new Board of Directors consists of:
 Officers: Paula Schwerin (President), Teresa Stohs (1st VP), Beth VanDamme (2nd VP), Debra Harper (Secretary), Ellen Hannan (Treasurer).- Newly Elected Directors: Tina Palmese, Lynn Martin, Wendy Riedel, Libbie Bramson, Stacy Vermylen
- Directors Appointed by Board: Pallas Diaz, Amy Perwien, and Yvonne Hill
- Returning Board Member: Susan Golden
The members also elected the following members of the Governance Committee: Diane Preston Moore (Chair), Pat Howard, Paul Kardon, Lynn Martin, and Tina Palmese.
 At the meeting, Melissa Blazier, Collier County Supervisor of Elections, was recognized as LWVCC’s Outstanding Community Partner for the SOE’s outreach to the community and education of Collier County voters, as well as her continuing efforts to ensure that our county’s elections are run with integrity and transparency.  Tina Palmese was recognized as LWVCC’s Unsung Hero for her tireless “behind-the-scenes” work at luncheons and events and for being the “Face of Hospitality” for LWVCC. Paul Kardon was honored for his 13 years of service on the LWVCC Board of Directors.
Finally, Stacy Vermylen managed to squeeze a year’s worth of our League’s work into a 6 minute recap video.
| WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
MAKE A CALL
Your fellow LWVCC members were in Tallahassee two weeks ago to meet with legislators. Of particular concern were bills affecting voter access and education. Your calls to our legislators will make a difference and we only have a few weeks to register our opinions as voters.
Study these analyses about the bills that concern us:
Visit the Florida Department of State Division of Elections to obtain information about whom to contact.
| LWVUS FILES SUIT
CHALLENGING EXECUTIVE ORDER ON VOTING
A coalition of voting rights organizations, including LWVUS, filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to challenge President Trump’s executive order on voting. The lawsuit states that the executive order unlawfully attempts to seize the power to set voter registration rules from Congress and the states and that it does so in a way that would violate federal law and the Constitution if carried out by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC).
| LWVFL CONVENTION
June 6 & 7
Orlando, FL
Interested in learning more about how the state league operates? Join us at LWVFL Convention in Orlando this summer on June 6 & 7. There are limited paces for delegates are available, and the more delegates LWVCC has, the greater the say we have in how the State League operates. We will vote on a slate of Officers and Board members, as well as Bylaws revisions and Program Plans for LWVFL. Please contact Paula Schwerin for more information about Convention. Please contact her by May 9th. Limited scholarships are available to cover the cost of registration and hotels.
| DO YOU WANT TO BE MORE INVOLVED?
Are you someone who is looking for new opportunities? Are you curious about the League of Women Voters of Collier County? Would you like to be more involved but are not quite sure what to do next? Are you ready to learn more and become more involved? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, we have an opportunity for you!
Starting back in 2019, some of our outstanding LWVCC members developed our very own League Leadership Program. The intent was to identify future leaders in our group and help them learn more about the history and workings of the League of Women Voters at the national, state and local levels. The program also helps individuals identify areas within our league where they might take on a leadership role and help us become a stronger organization.
Over the course of five sessions, League Leadership members gather to cover a breadth of topics that help them better understand the League of Women Voters and identify areas where they will become more involved. Our league has a continual need for educated and empowered individuals who can help our organization meet current and future needs.
If you are interested, please click on our League Leadership Application and fill out your information. We will follow up with you soon!
| RETURNING CITIZENS POSTCARD WRITING PARTY
May 8 @ 1:00-3:00
Altavilla Pizza & Trattoria
We are once again organizing postcard writing parties for Returning Citizens. The League of Women Voters of Florida continues its effort to help Returning Citizens regain the right to vote after completing their sentence. The State League is a founding member in getting the 2018 Amendment on the ballot which overwhelmingly passed with 64% of the Florida Electorate. The League helped reduce fees and administrative costs that returning citizens were required to pay. Cecile Scoon, LWVFL Co-President, established a state program to identify and educate returning citizens of their rights and developed training to work pro bono for those in need.
Now we again need your help as LWVCC assists LWVFL in mailing postcards. Our goal is to do 500 per month. We will host monthly writing parties the next of which is April 10. In the past few years we have written and provided the postage over 15,000 cards!
For those of us that have been a part of this, it is truly a rewarding experience. |
SCAM ALERT!!!
Several committee chairs recently have received an email purportedly from Diane Moore saying something like "I am in the process of working on a project and would greatly value your assistance with it. Kindly inform me if you are free today." The sender notes Diane's name, but the email address is NOT Diane's email. If you receive an email from Diane or any League member that you suspect may be a scam, please call the sender to confirm that it is a valid email. If you find that it is a scam message, please forward it to techteam@lwvcolliercounty.org. In the meantime, we are taking steps to prevent this from happening again. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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| April 12 @ 10:00-3:00 |
Earth Day Celebration
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| April 14 @ 10:00-11:30 |
Annual Meeting
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| April 14 @ 11:30-1:30 |
Luncheon & General Meeting |
| April 23 |
Board Member &
Committee Chairs Orientation
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Visit the LWVCC Calendar for event details
| ONLINE REIMBURSEMENT FORM IS NOW AVAILABLE
Board members, committee chairs, and others who need to submit reimbursement requests can now do so via our Submit Online Forms page. | UPCOMING COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Because LWVCC committee meetings are for members and their invited guests unless stated otherwise,
members should log in to the website to register
to get the Zoom links for committee meetings and other events. | Plastics Task Force Meeting
May 1 @ 3:30-5:00
Zoom | Membership Team Meeting
May 6 @ 3:00-4:00
Zoom
| Board Meeting
May 7 @ 9:30-12:00
Moorings Park Clubhouse
| Environmental Affairs Committee Meeting
May 8 @ 10:15-11:30
Baker Museum
Docent-led tour of the Baker Museum to see the exhibit “Entangled in the Mangroves", featuring 9 Florida artists who explore the beauty and diversity of the Everglades ecosystem. $10 fee museum admission. Lunch at Food Kitchen at Waterside will follow. | MISSED AN ISSUE OF THE VOTER?
NEED TO CATCH UP ON THE NEWS?
Check out our updated News & Newsletters page, which has all our latest news and links to current and back issues of The Voter and The LWVCC Update.
| Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in Government. We influence public policy through education and advocacy. Our goal is to empower citizens to take an active role in shaping better communities worldwide. The League of Women Voters of Collier County does not support or endorse any candidate or political party.
| League of Women Voters of Collier County
P.O. Box 9883Naples, FL 34101
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