A Message from the President

From Judy Curtis, President of the Geneva LWV

President's Message, Stardate Nov. - Dec. 2007

Greetings Leaguers and Would Be Leaguers,

Needless to say, we had an awesome Candidates Forum on October 23rd at North Street School. There were 22 candidates on stage, and a few who didn't make the cut due to such an overwhelming response. Our rookie Voter Service Director, Mary Bakogiannis, did a great job putting the forum together. Kudos to Mary! She deserves the mother lode of credit for this undertaking. Judith McKinney racked up another stellar performance as the forum moderator, with her high degree of professionalism, intelligence, and articulation. We thank Heather Aten and Kim Reisch for their service as experienced question screeners, scanning for relevancy and redundance. Kim Aliperti and Kristen Ondik served as runners, and (were they ever fast!) edit? No. Kim Aliperti, Kristen Ondik, Mary Bakogiannis, Stephanie Kutzke, Mary Ann Bourbeau, Barb Roesch, and several others helped with setting up and taking down the forum. What a team effort, and it shows!

Our web site is yet another feather in our cap, thanks to Kristen Ondik and Mary Bakogiannis, who painstakingly gathered candidates' bios and posted them on our web site. Several voters have asked me about what I knew about certain candidates, and I could adhere to my nonpartisan requirement by directing them to our web site. I'm sure that many of you have directed your friends and family to our web site when they were in need of information about candidates.

We are making a difference in assisting voters to make educated, informed decisions when they vote, and also in helping candidates get their message out. This is democracy in action.

Our Geneva League is about to launch a City Council Observer Corp, with Kristen Ondik and Chris Hoffman heading up the effort. We will also be getting some student interns from Hobart William Smith College who are interested in political science and government to help develop the Observer Corp. What a way to see local government in action, and to strengthen our collaborative alliances with the Colleges.

Likewise, the Colleges have contacted our League to request volunteers for the Vote Smart Bus which will be stopping at the Colleges on Nov. 8th.

Later this month, we have an enthusiastic Betsy Bihn and Rosario Millington putting together an informational program regarding immigration. We could even do an immigration study if anyone is interested, and knows how to do a study. Study materials can be found on the national LWV web site.

Kim Reisch is working quietly behind the scenes in collaboration with the Red Cross, bringing a leadership training program to high school students known as Leaderspark. Facilitators from the League include Karen Goulet, Gretchen Fox, and Judy Curtis. The program consists of about 5 or 6 three hour units focusing on acquiring leadership skills. Thank you Kim, for working hard to train volunteers and to coordinate this valuable program.

The Court Watchers are busy as well, and have now converted their newsletters to electronic form. Please check your e-mail for more information about the Court Watching Program.

I would like to conclude this missive by heartily commending our board and membership for being so enthusiastic and hard working, thereby producing excellent programs that benefit both our League and our Community. We are the Geneva Leaguers!!!

Respectfully Submitted,

Judy Curtis Geneva League President

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: July 8, 2008 22:48 PDT.

© Copyright League of Women Voters of Geneva, New York. All rights reserved.