President’s Update – June 2026

Dawn Smith, President

Hello, my League friends.

It’s May 31, and I’m writing this two days late, having missed the deadline on Friday, with all the excitement of the State Annual Meeting, which I attended in Wausau this weekend, along with Lynn Meshke, Denise Gaumer Hutchison and Terri Gulyas.

But my excitement is no excuse for missing the deadline, and I’d like to express my apology and gratitude to Lynn Gerlach for her patience and flexibility with me, and for the amazing job she always does with our newsletter.

This was my third State Annual Meeting, and once again I leave feeling refreshed, energized, and with a bunch of ideas inspired by what other Leagues have done this past year. 

This year we were lucky enough to hear from some great and inspirational speakers – one of whom was Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, the first person of color to serve as the president of the League of Women Voters – National.

There was a lot of focus on the relevance of the League after 106 years and how we, as an organization, move forward.

And, while I left on a high note (full disclosure, I had to leave before plenary started since my husband was house sitting for my daughter’s cats, I had her apartment keys in my purse) I did not leave with all, or even any answers.

Here are the three primary things I left the 2026 State Annual Meeting with:

1)         Our country needs us now, more than ever. The League of every generation is faced with different challenges, and the threat to our democracy is our challenge to face.

2)         We must find a way to bridge the generational gap. And I’m sure anyone reading this is saying, “Duh.  We’ve been saying this forever.”  But I think it’s essential that we acknowledge that, while we have the knowledge built by years of living and learning, our younger citizens have a passion for change. However, engaging that passion where we find it will require change from us as an organization – and change is hard.

3)         The League is full of good people who passionately care about our communities, our state, and our country.  And while we have our faults and struggles, I heard every League in the state share the work they did in 2025, and that work has an impact.

I want to leave you with a quote from Dr. Jefferson-Jenkins, during her keynote address on Friday: “The League does not exist because democracy is easy. The League exists because democracy is fragile.”

Be strong my friends. Take care of one another and keep looking out for ways to help our neighbors and members of our comminutes who don’t share in our privilege. The journey to preserve our fragile democracy is a long one, and I’m glad we’re in it together.