League of Women Voters of the United States Board of Directors
Board Meeting
Friday, June 8, 2012
Washington Hilton, Washington DC
Board Present
Elisabeth MacNamara Patricia Donath Marcia Merrins
Judy Duffy Peggy Hawkins Hill Marlene O’Brien
Judy Davis Mary Klenz Janis McMillen
Susan Morris Wilson Norman Turrill
Dianne Wheatley-Gilotti Elaine Wiant
Nominated Board Members Present
Peggy Appler, carolyn Brown, Toni Larson, Anne Schink, Linda Wassenich
Nominated Members of Nominating Committee Present
Linda Duckworth, Mary Santee, Penney VanVleet
Staff Members Present
Nancy Tate, Zaida Arguedas, Kelly Ceballos, Greg Leatherwood, Lloyd Leonard, Pamla Sterner
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MacNamara called the meeting to order at 12:02 p.m.
Minutes
Wilson moved that the minutes of the meeting March 24, 2012, of the LWVUS Board of Directors be accepted as presented. Seconded. Passed.
Wilson moved that the minutes of the meeting March 25, 2012 of the LWVUS Board of Directors be accepted as presented. Seconded. Passed.
Financial Report
Wilson moved that the financial report of the LWVUS dated April 30, 2012 be accepted and placed on file. Seconded. Passed.
Wilson reported that the organization is in good financial shape. LWVUS has $573,455 in cash, which is a healthy level. Our net assets increased by a little over $631,000.
President’s Report
MacNamara reported on her activities. She recently spoke about campaign finance issues on Long Island, New York, as part of our grant from the Unitarian Universalist Church. She went to the Texas Convention in San Antonio, and attended an MLD training in Houston.
MacNamara traveled to Washington DC, where she attended the ABA Convention on Civics and the Law. She also attended an event on Stand by your Ad where there were several panels on political fact checking. This was sponsored by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
Executive Director’s Report
Tate reported that we are financially sound. The League is getting a lot of media coverage mostly due to Voter ID laws and elections.
A lawsuit is pending against LWVUS and the League of Southwest Indiana because a Libertarian candidate was not allowed to participate in a debate 2 years ago.
In the Education Fund, we are working on Power the Vote. We also have a very ambitious global project called BMENA, funded by the Department of State, to help them sponsor conferences for civil society in the Middle East. In addition, we are in conversations with the Annenberg Public Policy Center about a project concerning TV stations and 3rd party campaign ads.
The General Services Administration of the U.S. government has approached us about putting our logo on a poster about the steps involved in being elected president. We plan to explore this with them.
At the March Board meeting, it was agreed that Leagues need to be informed that variations to the League name and logo can have serious legal ramifications, because allowing them undermines our ability to protect our brand should some other organization try to do the same. We have talked to our lawyer, but the task is larger than anticipated and a letter has not gone out. This issue will need Board attention in the months ahead.
Convention Walk Through
Marcia Merrins and Natalie Testa briefed the Board on various scheduling and logistical matters.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.