Category: Meetings

Teri Ryan Vickery, a member of the Lake of the Woods Association Board of Directors, will speak to members of the LOW Democratic Club at a special evening session at the club’s first meeting in 2021.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 13, via the Zoom online meeting app.

Vickery was elected to the LOWA board earlier this year and serves as the board secretary. In addition to answering member questions, she will providean update on recent board actions of note, the budget planning process, and the impact of the coronavirus on LOWA operations.

Club members will discuss the new legislative session and plans to celebrate the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris on January 20 and the re-election victories of Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Abigail Spanberger.

The new year means that it’s time again to pay club dues. Please visit our website at  https://www.lowdemocrats.org to download the membership form and return it with your annual dues of $30. New members are welcome now and throughout the year.

Our officers and committee chairs welcome your comments, suggestions and volunteer help. They are: Valerie Smallwood, chair; Paul Conrad, vice chair; Howard Newman, treasurer, Bill Wemmerus, secretary; Kerry Sipe, communications chair; Ann Boyd, outreach chair; Ellen Wilson, special events chair; Gerri Colucci, membership chair; and Jen Heinz, programs chair.

Stephen Farnsworth, Ph.D., professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, will speak to the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club at 1 p.m. Nov. 11 via the Zoom online meeting app.

Farnsworth, a political scientist, author, and political commentator, will share his perspective on this unique election season and on the state and federal election results.

Many thanks to all our friends and supporters who planted a yard sign, donated, or gave their time through the year to help our Democratic slate of candidates. As this is written the election results are unknown, but there can be no doubt that these efforts have made a difference, both locally and nationally.

While our November meeting will focus on an election debriefing, we hope that all of our club members and campaign volunteers will mark their calendars for our Dec. 9 meeting, during which we will hold our own club officer elections and celebrate the many contributions of our volunteers. Please plan to join us!

New club members are always welcome. Our annual dues are just $30. Click on this link to download a membership form and return it to join for 2021.

The next meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, October 14 via the Zoom online meeting application. All are welcome.

The meeting will feature a discussion with dedicated youth activists who have been working hard this year to both encourage voter registration and to support their peers in becoming more engaged with the civic life of our community as volunteers and leaders. Their goal is to work to create the world they want to live in and address important issues that impact our county, state and nation.

The discussion will include a participant in the Blue Ridge Governor’s School who is focusing her senior project on the impact of COVID-19 on the electoral process. Please join us as we celebrate “The Youth” who are striving to make a positive difference in our county – and beyond. We’ll also be hearing from field organizers from Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s re-election campaign about volunteer opportunities as we head into the final weeks of the election.

Early voting at the Orange County Registrar’s office in Orange has been busy. Many LOW residents were present September 18 outside the Registrar’s office when Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Sen. Tim Kaine stopped by to help kick-off the early voting period.

Those voting absentee can place their ballots in a collection box inside the building vestibule as an alternative to placing it in the mail. Absentee ballots can also be delivered directly to the Registrar’s office.

JoAnne Speiden, secretary of the Orange County Electoral Board, will be guest speaker at an online meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club at 1 p.m. Sept. 9. She will update members on the steps the board and the staff of the County Office of Voter Registration and Elections are taking to implement Virginia’s new election laws — particularly those allowing absentee voting without excuse and a 45-day period of early in-person voting.

With the election season now in full swing, club members are actively engaged in supporting the campaigns of the Democratic presidential ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the re-election of Sen. Mark Warner and U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger.

Club activities during the pandemic shutdown, including active campaigning, have continued through the Zoom meeting app and other electronic means.

Many thanks to County Supervisor Lee Frame for providing our Club members with a comprehensive update on variety of county issues at our Zoom meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Members were particularly interested in hearing about the Orange County response to the pandemic.

Frame explained how CARES Act monies have been allocated to provide, among other things, family assistance, support for county businesses and community organizations, election preparations, COVID testing, and meeting school reopening needs. Beyond that, he provided a wealth of information on broadband expansion and local economic development projects.