President's Update - May 2026

Dawn Smith, President

Happy Spring League Members!

I write this on the cusp of May (although we did have to turn the heat on when I got home from work today because it was freezing in my house).

Spring is my favorite time of year, even with the wishy-washy weather, so I’m really looking forward to May. I’m also a huge Star Wars fan, so “May the 4^th” is an important holiday for Chad and me. 

Last weekend I had an opportunity to attend the Empower the Vote event that the League co-sponsored with the YWCA.  I really love our collaboration with the YW - they are excellent partners, and they do amazing things in our community – especially for women. 

A huge thanks to Lynn Meshke, Gail Hohenstein, Colleen Neuman, and my ever-present sidekick, Chad, for volunteering at the event. Pre-COVID, Chad and I had participated in some voting simulations for kids with COVO. I built on that, and last Saturday at the YW we hosted a voting simulation for the kids: They got to vote for Kpop Demon Hunter characters to fill national and state offices. We had six kids vote, with Rumi winning for president. It was super fun for me, and the YW invited us back to host a sim vote with their day care. 

Celestine Jeffreys, the Green Bay City Clerk, and Eloisa Gomez of the Milwaukee League also spoke. It was a small but mighty (and engaged crowd), and it was a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning.  Thank you again to our volunteers and to those who attended. 

An upcoming event I want to call out for everyone is our Democra-TEA party we’ll be having on Saturday, May 9. With the change from a calendar year to a fiscal year, we had to move our Annual Meeting from April or May to January. The Board felt Lively Issues and the summer picnic are too far apart, and we wanted to host an event for our members to get together, celebrate a successful spring election, and just enjoy one another’s company.  We’ll be collecting fem-care products for The Monthlies, and we’re asking everyone to bring some kinds of finger-food snack to share. You can wear whatever you want…but I will probably be wearing a hat and dress.

I really hope to see you at our inaugural tea party. 

Happy Spring friends!