Recap of program on immigration

Dr. Ansley gave a very interesting talk in which she related immigration issues to labor and trade policies, and then opened it up for discussion.





















A variety of points of view were represented in the audience, which resulted in a lively and interesting discussion period.

Invitation to our upcoming public program on immigration - hope to see you there!

Program on the Judiciary

Our March 24 program, titled "Selecting State and Local Judges: Election, Appointment, or Other
Alternatives?" turned out to be very interesting. Dr. Otis Stephens, U.T. Dept of Political Science, and Professor Penny White, U.T. College of Law and former member of the State Supreme Court, lead the discussion, starting with some good background material on the topic, and ending by fielding a large number of questions from the audience.

A photo from the event:

Fig. 1 Judge White listens intently to an audience members question

You may remember the Essay contest we held last fall - the topic was "What does it mean to be a good citizen". We had quite a few entries, in which several of the local schools were represented. We had a distinguished panel of judges, who considered criteria such as the essay's organization, grammar, spelling, and word choice, strength of conclusion, and creativity and originality. It was truly a difficult choice; the judges were able to settle on a first place winner, but had a tie for second place. The winners selected were:

1st place - Chelsea Patty of Heritage High School
2nd place - tied between:
Amanda Spooner - William Blount High School
Kathryn Crabtree - William Blount High School

We have received permission from Chelsea and Kathryn to post their winning essays; we will post Amanda's when we receive permission from that author. First, Chelsea's essay (with apologies for the poor scan quality):








Second, Kathryn's essay:

Change in meeting day

In order to better accommodate those who had a conflict with our Tuesday evening meeting schedule, we have shifted our regular monthly meeting to the 4th Monday of each month. As a result, our next meeting will be held at 6:00PM on February 25, in Bartlett Hall at Maryville College - the meeting is open to the public, and we hope to see you there!

Voter registration drive

Many of you already know that Nancy Heintz has graciously agreed to spearhead the League of Women Voters voter registration drive. If you would like to volunteer to help register new voters, please contact the League at LOWVBC@gmail.com.

Thanks for your help!

They remember when

We hope that you had a chance to read the February 3, 2008 issue of The Daily Times - Melanie Tucker had a wonderful front-page story about Blount County's oldest voters. In this election year, it seems very appropriate to honor these voters for their fine example of citizenship. As a sign of our appreciation for their dedication and life-long participation in our democratic system, the Blount County League of Women Voters recently presented Grace Margrave, age 100, and Esther Frow, age 103, with a framed certificate of merit.

As the article in The Daily Times states, both these women have been voting since the first election they were eligible, and have continued this practice ever since. Let's all remember to follow their shining example, and cast our own votes in the upcoming election!

January meeting

The Blount County League of Women Voters will have our annual retreat and planning meeting on January 13 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm in Bartlett 101 at Maryville College. Please set aside this time for important planning and goal setting for the year ahead. This will be an important and exciting time for all of us with the primary election, the party conventions, and the election for President of the U.S. in 2008 as well as state and local elections taking place.

Photos from our December social at Sullivans

December meeting

Our December meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 4, where we will gather at Sullivan's at 6:30PM for an enjoyable evening of dinner and conversation. Hope to see you there!