TO: All League of Women Voters of the Mid-Shore Members:

Message from the President, League of Women Voters of the Mid-Shore

Welcome to another year of LWVMS activity. Being an election year, we are already hard at work on voter service projects.

We kicked off the Voters’ Guide activity on July 7, sending questionnaires to some 147 candidates for local offices in Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, as well as to the candidates for Maryland’s House of Delegates and the State Senate. Responses are coming in and we are working with Chesapeake Publishing to have the Guide published in late August and distributed in all three counties before early voting begins: September 3-9 (excluding September 5).

Our thanks to the stalwart volunteers in Dorchester and Talbot Counties whose assistance greatly helped to formulate relevant candidate questions and gotten the mailings out in a timely fashion.

As always, we welcome individual and organizational (tax-deductible) donations to the Education Fund to help defray the costs of publishing the Voters Guide and this year is no exception. It would be greatly appreciated if you could suggest possible donors in your area. Donors who contribute $200 or more will be listed in the Voters Guide. Checks should be made out to LWV Mid-Shore, memo line LWVMS Education Fund and mailed to LWVMS, PO Box 1724, Easton, MD 21601.

Members have asked about candidate forums and we are considering forums for Dorchester County Council, Talbot County Council, and State Senate and House of Delegates candidates. We will provide details shortly. Suggestions are most welcome, as is help with organizing and conducting the forums.

Membership in our League, as well as Leagues throughout the State, is down this year, reflecting the need to prioritize expenditures in a difficult economy. We would like to see our membership numbers grow and encourage you to send our Membership Chair, Harriett Hankins, contact information for any potential members. Her contact information is: 1902 Pig Neck Rd., Cambridge, MD 21613.

To keep members up to date, we are instituting a “highlights” of LWVMS Board Meetings. This will be sent to members who do not have access to the Internet, and will be posted on our Web Site as well. The first edition of Highlights covers the July 12 meeting. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Please feel free to contact me or any Board Member. Your input is valuable, and we’d love to have your help on many of our projects, so we’re hoping you can volunteer.

Janice W. Bain-Kerr, President LWVMS
July 2010