 | And we're off! Yesterday, at the LWVOC's Annual Meeting, business for 2024-2025 was completed, volunteers and partners were recognized for their incredible contributions, and a new Board of Directors (elected and appointed) was installed. (READ their bios here.)
We were thrilled to welcome newly elected Orange County Supervisor of Elections Karen Castor Dentel (also a longtime Leaguer) for a special presentation of her "First 100 Days" in office. Many members of the Orange County Elections Office were also in attendance.
Where are we off to? Leading the charge to another dynamic year, 2025-2026, of grassroots activism to empower voters and defend democracy! (Board Members in attendance shown below L-R seated: Janet Ziomek, Kathy Sheerin, Jane Hursh, Rev. Kathy Schmitz, Lee Rambeau Kemp, Saudi Ellis; L-R standing: Barbara Lanning, Diana Smith, Cassandra McAdams, Gina Hall, Dan Helm, Pat Grierson; far right: Co-President Rev. Kathy Schmitz introduces SOE Dr. Karen Castor Dentel) Photos by Carol Wonsavage
| | A message from new Co-President Jane Hursh, shown (left) with Co-President Rev. Kathy Schmitz:
Dear fellow LWVOC members-
In my remarks yesterday, I gratefully accepted the role of co-president with Rev Kathy Schmitz for the coming year. I also posed a challenge to you, each of our more-than-800 members.
Our chapter is one of the largest in the US! Imagine if each of us stepped up to lend our time, heart and/or mind to any of the many foci to which we are committed. There is a place for each of us to do our best thing and do it NOW, more so than ever. | | |
Is there something else that motivates you, that you’d like to pursue? We’d love to hear about it and welcome your innovation and drive.
We did not sign on to simply take a pass on participation, did we? This is on each of us. So I ask, do we have it in us, every one of us, to play the long game and keep standing up for our communities, our neighbors and democracy itself?
Because in this new year of the non-partisan League of Women Voters/Orange County, this moment is not a right or left moment. It’s a right or wrong moment. | | APR 16, 7pm, Wed
DEIA Social Justice Book Club
APR 17, 11:30am
GOV Committee Zoom mtg
APR 22, 1:30pm
Show Up & Speak Out, OC Admin. Center
for Hope Refuge Shelter; In keeping with our MAR Hot Topics goal of bringing the homeless crisis to the forefront, you can use your "League Legs" and fill the seats at the zoning hearing!
APR 24, 5:30pm
Natural Resources Comm. Mtg.
MAY 1, 5pm, Thurs
NPV, What exactly is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact?
Check the calendar for all upcoming Committee meetings (most on Zoom) and become an active Leaguer!
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*We table and sometimes provide power points to provide voter registration and civic information at the following opportunities. You must have taken and passed the League voter registration test HERE
NATURAL RESOURCES events will include petition gathering, VBM encouragement, and civic education.
APR 12, 8am & 11am
Gopher Tortoise Day at Split Oak Forest
APR 12, 9am
Macedonia Health Fair; voter info
APR 18, 10:45am
East River HS Student Registration
APR 19, 8am, 11am, 1:30pm
Central FL Earth Day, Lake Eola
APR 25, 10:30am
Earth Day Work Day, Orlando City Hall
| | | | This is what it looks like to volunteer!
JONES HIGH SCHOOL Voter Services Outreach Betty Saulpaugh and Gina Hall led student voter education presentations throughout the day, Apr 7. League members Saudi Ellis, Emily Glickstein, Pres. Kathy Schmitz, and Orlando D-5 Comm. Shan Rose performed voter registration during the morning and Terry Osbourne, Nancy Nix, and Marsha Davis had afternoon duty. Approx. 52 new voter registrations were collected by Marbri Pereira of the SOE. | | |  | |
Voter Services volunteers were at Lake Nona High School on April 3 delivering the program, Your Voice, Your Power, Your Vote and registering students to vote.
Be inspired by the next generation and SIGN UP to visit a local school to share the value of voting!
Shown left to right: Melinda Wright, Marsha Davis, Michele Stone, Theo Webster, Gina Hall, Luis Gutierrez (From SOE office). Leaguer Bob Leger, photographer |  | Leaguers were in attendance at Tuesday's Generational Diversity Workshop (Edyth Bush Inst. for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership) seeking to learn how to foster a workplace culture that embraces generational nuances to fuel innovation and collaboration through an understanding of the characteristics unique to each generation, the underlying reasons for these traits, and practical insights into how these can manifest in workplace behaviors.
Shown L-R: Sandy McAdams, Kathy Sheerin, Gina Hall, Jane Hursh, Pat Grierson, Rev. Kathy Schmitz | | |
 | | John Healy
Shannon Healy
Gigi Ramirez
Michelle Snoberger
Kathleen Dugan-Cavanagh
Not a member yet? Visit JOIN HERE and learn about becoming a Leaguer! |  |
Saudi Ellis, Giving Society, "in memory of my League mentors Nora Douglas Jackson, Carole Davis, and Penny Villegas"
(Photos from our archives shown below of these League legends)
REMEMBER, if you're joining or renewing on the national site, COME BACK and
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 | Nora Douglas Jackson |
 | Saudi Ellis, seated; Carol Davis, standing |
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 | Penny Villegas |
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| Leaguers showed up at the 50501 Democracy Rally on APR 5...along with about 5,000 others and millions across the nation! (Shown above, LWVFL Co-President Cecile Scoon and LWVOC Co-President Kathy Schmitz making signs for the event.) This weekend you can participate in their local "Assembly for Action" with like-minded individuals. Check out our Spring Rallies Photo Album to see us in action. |  | APR 22, 1:30PM, SAVE THE DATE: Another Homeless Shelter Up for Approval
At our March Hot Topics on homelessness RECAP: "Unsheltered-Criminalized and Cast Aside" the speakers unanimously said that the role of LWVOC must be to advocate for the homeless: show up and speak out. We weren’t present when the Kaley Avenue Orange County Jail work release program building conversion to a homeless shelter was turned down. But we have another chance. April 22 at 1:30 PM, an East Orange County shelter (Hope City Refuge) zoning and site plan will be considered by the Orange County Commission for approval. We need this shelter.
Please wear your LWVOC name tag and your LWV big white buttons and sit in the audience with Orange County Leaguers at the Orange County Administration Center, 201 S Rosalind Ave., Orlando. We will have at least one LWVOC speaker in favor of this Hope City Refuge project for 240 shelter beds and services for homeless individuals and families. Get your Leaguer legs moving. We need lots of butts in seats to show our support.
| From the Orlando Sentinel and News Collaborative of Central Florida:
A regional reporting collaborative aims to track the impact of Florida's homelessness law
NOW that you've read about it, want to DO SOMETHING? Below is your opportunity! |  |
If you're interested in learning more about HOW to write and submit your own, reach out to Ann Patton.
These are timely commentaries (personal submissions) authored by Leaguers featured recently in local news outlets.
TOPICS include immigration, democracy, election law...basically, EVERYTHING that the League is fighting FOR and AGAINST! |  | Secure gun storage can save lives
"Death by firearms is now the number one cause of death in children and teens in America, and we can all help prevent that with safe gun storage. According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, about 350 guns are stolen out of cars here every year, and many of those guns are then used in crimes. Recently, a 4-year-old found a gun in a car in his garage, launching an unfortunate chain of events that resulted in his avoidable death."
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 | SPECIAL "Take Action" Alerts Now Available from Pres. Kathy Schmitz
“Alert lists” are open to both LWVOC members and non-members. They are a way to share timely opportunities, for example, upcoming rallies, volunteer needs, or urgent legislative actions. To keep email volume down, only I, or someone I specify, will be posting to this list.
“Sharing lists” are an additional option for LWVOC members. Within guidelines that will be posted, anyone who joins one of these lists will be able to post. Guidelines will focus on posting actionable information, avoiding debate, and maintaining a respectful tone.
Current topics are Immigration, Housing & Poverty, Women’s Issues & Health Care, and Defending Democracy
To sign up for any of the lists, fill out this simple form HERE.
|  | Sponsors are vital to our work to empower voters by providing timely information for the benefit of non-partisan civic engagement in our community.
To further explore how becoming a Hot Topics Sponsor can align with your business goals, please contact LWVOC Vice President, Lee Rambeau Kemp HERE
A range of sponsorship levels are available. |  |  | | Statewide call to action: The League of Women Voters supports the Florida Right to Clean Water campaign, a citizens' initiative to amend the Florida Constitution with the right to clean and healthy waters. If our current laws were working, then we wouldn’t have manatees dying in record numbers, 80% of our 1000 springs impaired, and harmful blue-green algae and red tide in greater frequency and duration. A constitutional right takes precedence over legislation that permits pollution, restricts fertilizer bans, and allows radioactive materials to be used in our roads. Create a legacy for the future of our waters!
The Right to Clean Water! In support of establishing our basic right to clean and healthy water, LWVOC has committed to helping get this citizen initiative on the 2026 ballot. Please sign your own petition. Those who signed prior to 2024 will need to sign the new petition.
Learn how YOU can become an active volunteer here: https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org/resources | |