OCTOBER LUNCHEON & GENERAL MEETING
October 13 @ 11:30-1:30
Tiburon Golf Club
Freedom of the Press
presented by
Bob Orr
Naples Press Club
We are excited to welcome Bob Orr, a former broadcast news reporter and news anchor from CBS News in Washington; he has over 40 years of experience in the industry. Mr. Orr will address us on the numerous problems facing the media today, including the challenge to freedom of the press and its implications for our democracy.
| REGISTRATION & MORE INFORMATION
MEMBERS MUST LOG IN FIRST TO RECEIVE MEMBER PRICE
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, October 7 @ 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 | MONTHLY MEETING FEE INCREASE
Our monthly luncheon meetings provide both an educational speaker program and an opportunity for current members to gather and renew acquaintances. These meetings are also a popular way to attract new members to the Collier league to introduce new entrants to the voting structures and issues in Florida which, in many cases, are very different from the “up north” experience. For those reasons, LWVCC has subsidized the cost of our monthly general member meetings for the past decade or more.
Our per-member charge has been a constant $34.00 for the past three years, despite the increased costs faced by our vendor. After careful consideration by your board of all aspects of our meetings, we believe the current venue is most suitable to the needs of the membership and provides the best value we can secure. However, the contract costs have risen annually for several years while our member charge has not kept pace. Additionally, as discussed at our Annual Meeting in April, the net dues we receive per person have declined substantially due to the new pricing structure from the LWVUS. Our revenues are declining while our costs are rising.
Thus, beginning October 2025, we will be instituting a new charge of $40.00 per member or member guest registered by the member by the registration deadline (still an approximately $10 subsidy, requiring website login to qualify) and $50.00 for non-members who register themselves and at the door for all walk-ins. |
In 2010, 63% of Floridians voted yes on Amendment 6 which outlined guidelines for congressional redistricting. Recently, House Speaker Daniel Perez has appointed a Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting. As a result, LWVFL has established a Mid-Cycle Redistricting Day of Action on October 4th.
Lynn Martin, Laura Hansen Reynolds, and Patricia Forkan have volunteered to head up an email and phone call storm from our LWVCC members on/around October 4. We ask you to contact your Collier County Legislative Delegation (see information below), along with your friends and family. We’ve drafted suggested text for members and provided background material and graphs of partisan gerrymandering.
The second half of our Day of Action will take place on October 18th at the No Kings Day, held at 10 am at the Collier County Courthouse. Lynn Martin and Laura Hansen Reynolds Members will be hosting a sign-making party. More details about that later.
Please join us and make your voice heard!
Senator Kathleen Passidomo.Kathleen@flsenate.gov 239-417-6205
D-81 Representative Yvette Benarroch Yvette.Benarroch@flhouse.gov 239-417-6200
D-82 Rep. Lauren Melo Lauren.Melo@flhouse.gov 239-417-6270
D-80 Rep. Adam Botana Adam.Botana@flhouse.gov (239) 949-6279
| GET TO KNOW YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
Stacy Vermylen
Government Committee Chair
There are several ways each of us can become better acquainted with our elected local, state, and federal representatives, and how they feel about major issues. Here are a few:
First, create a detailed list of who they are. Try Votesmart.org, choose Voter Tools, and look for a complete list of elected local, state, and federal representatives and their contact information based on your address. You can also try ChatGPT.
Sign up for newsletters offered by most representatives. For instance, Collier County Commissioners send regular, informative emails about decisions, past and upcoming.
Watch meetings, live or recorded. Attend meetings, if possible, although they are often quite lengthy. City of Naples records council meetings in their entirety, and they have recordings on the website. Agendas are also listed ahead of the meetings.
Attend town hall meetings. State legislators often team up with County Commissioners to hold town hall meetings, and these are an excellent way to get to know them. For instance, Commissioner Kowal is holding a town meeting with Yvette Benarroch later this month, and anyone is invited to attend, although an RSVP is required. Political party organizations also hold town hall meetings, and while these are partisan, they can be very informative, and the public is invited. Check out Floridatownhalls.com for event listings.
Check out representatives’ social media accounts for added insight.
Sandy Parker works hard to research issues and decisions that our local government officials are dealing with, so sign up for her newsletter, Sparker's Soapbox.
The Government Committee will try to keep you updated on proposed legislation for Florida, and the next session is slated to start on January 13, 2026.
| YOUR LETTERS MATTER!
On behalf of the Environmental Affairs Committee and the LWVCC Board, we want to shout out a big THANK YOU! to those of you who took the time to contact the Collier County Commissioners in support of The Conservation Collier Program’s current funding level (a millage rate of .2096). According to the Audubon of the Western Everglades, the commissioners received 800 emails, of which- 90% supported Conservation Collier! Because of your successful advocacy, and the presence of supporters at the budget hearing The Program will be fully funded this year. However, we must be ever vigilant! You reminded our local government that voters overwhelmingly approved Conservation Collier in 2002, 2006, and again in 2020. Collier citizens are willing to invest in protecting our water, wildlife, and natural areas. Thanks to you the Commissioners heard unequivocally, that preserving our most critical landscapes matters greatly to Collier citizens. Since its inception, The Program has acquired and preserved over 6,400 acres of vital land, including key wetlands, aquifer recharge zones, and treasured public preserves like the Gordon River Greenway, Otter Mound Preserve, Pepper Ranch, and Freedom Park. These lands are essential to the long-term sustainability of our region’s environment, our sense of place and quality of life. Your actions demonstrate the power of the League’s commitment to the environment and its ongoing mission: to educate voters and protect democracy. Thank you, Leaguers—we are proud to stand among you in support of Conservation Collier’s mission: to acquire and preserve vital and significantly threatened natural lands, forest, upland, and wetland communities located in Collier County, for the benefit of present and future generations. | |
The Communications Team recently began a video series titled “Civics Unplugged” posted on all of LWVCC’s social media sites. The goal of these short reels is to educate viewers on the basics of national and local civics, such as Branches of Government, Voting Rights, Constitutional Amendments, City Council, and more.
We will be posting these 1-minute videos approximately once a week on Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube. As always, the more “clicks” on the postings we get, the more engagement we will see in our community! So please make sure you check-in to our social media to view, like, comment, and share our reels.
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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| October 4 @ 10:00 |
Redistricting Day of Action |
| October 13 @ 11:30-1:30 |
Luncheon & General Meeting |
| October 23 @ 2:00-4:00 |
Movies that Matter Panel Discussion
Free for All |
| October 30 @ 2:00-4:00 |
Movies that Matter
Change Not Charity |
| November 4 @ 4:00-6:00 |
Empty Bowls Paint & Sip |
| November 6 @ 2:00 |
Movies that Matter
Facing Fear |
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
Check our Event Calendar for meeting locations and more information. 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. | Development & Outreach Committee Meeting
September 26 @ 10:00-11:30
Zoom
| Board Meeting
October 1 @ 9:30-12:00
Zoom
| Plastics Task Force Meeting
October 2 @ 3:30-5:00
Zoom
| Environmental Affairs Committee Meeting
October 9 @10:00-11:30
Collier Community Foundation
Guest speaker will be Eve Samples, the Executive Director of Friends of the Everglades. As you know from the news, a detention center has been built in the Big Cypress Preserve, part of the Everglades. Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biodiversity and Earth Justice have sued alleging that the required environmental review wasn’t undertaken. Eve will update us on the status of the lawsuit, the detention center and other activities of Friends of the Everglades. | Gun Violence Prevention Subcommittee Meeting
October 15 @10:00-11:00
Zoom
| Juvenile Justice Committee Meeting
October 24 @10:00-12:00
Finemark Bank | 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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