President’s Update – December 2025

(Dawn Smith, President)

Greetings, League Members, and happy holidays!

I spent last weekend making Christmas cards with girlfriends, which has become a tradition for us. Last year I was in a bit of a funk over the holidays, and the cards I made never got sent out, so this year I’m going to do better. I’ve started writing out a couple cards a day to get through my stack. While I know no one thinks less of me for not sending out cards (I didn’t send out cards for years when my girls were at home because I didn’t have the time), in a world that sometimes feels completely out of control, if feels important to me to reach out to my family and let them know I love them this holiday season.  And the cards I made are super cute.

Between the Christmas cards and the Holiday Brunch on December 6, I feel like the holiday spirit is going to be thrust on me early this year, whether I’m ready for it or not. We always have such a nice time at the Holiday Brunch, and we’ve got a fun activity planned that we tried out at our October Voter Services meeting. We’ll also be collecting food for Rooted In.  I really hope you all will be able to join us. It’s a lovely time, and a chance to get caught up on what the League has been up to and to just visit with League members. 

The other event coming up that I hope you put on your calendars is our Annual Meeting on January 10.  At our last Annual Meeting in May we voted to change from a fiscal year to a calendar year, which means we had to move our Annual Meeting up. We’re still hoping to host some kind of event in May, so watch the newsletter for that. 

The Annual Meeting packets will be sent out in early December for you to review. The Board did pass a budget with a deficit, which we’ll discuss at the meeting, but I did want to give a heads-up and let people know that this was an intentional decision. While the budget we’ll be sharing was voted on by the Board and is our recommendation to members, our membership will be the ultimate decision makers on whether our budget will pass. I’m hoping to have good attendance on January 10 to ensure a robust conversation about our budget and the work we want to see the League of Women Voters of Greater Green Bay do in 2026.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. I know for many people 2025 was a tough year. I want us to all take some time to take care of ourselves and each other, and to remember the things we have to be thankful for. I want us all to celebrate the joy we have in our lives, and I am thankful for all of you and the work you all do to make our community and our country a better place for everyone.