About the League

League of Women Voters^®
of Thurston County

History and work

What is our mission? How are we structured? What is our history?

50th Anniversary of Thurston County League. Our Mission. Other Leagues. Our History. Understanding the League. National and State Leagues. Board Minutes. Archives of Thurston County LWV.

50th Anniversary !!!

The Thurston County League is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To commemorate the event, a booklet looking back over the last five decades has been produced. Take a look! Decade Stories: The First Five Decades of Helping Democracy Work in Our Community, State and Nation
Also see the article about the League published in The Olympian newspaper on November 27, 2011: http://www.theolympian.com/2011/11/27/1892193/league-of-women-voters-50-years.html

Our Mission and Roles

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization encouraging informed and active participation in government. It influences public policy through education and advocacy. We never support or oppose any political party or candidate.
The League of Women Voters has two separate and distinct roles.

Voters Service/Citizen Education: we present unbiased nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process, and issues.

Action/Advocacy: we are also nonpartisan, but, after study, we use our positions to advocate for or against particular policies in the public interest.

To conduct our voter service and citizen education activities, we use funds from the League of Women Voters Education Fund, which is a 501(c)(3) corporation, a nonprofit educational organization. The League of Women Voters, a membership organization, conducts action and advocacy and is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporation.
Our Vision, Beliefs, and Intentions guide our activities.

Other League Organizations

The League of Women Voters of Thurston County joins many other leagues within the state as well as the state league. For more information see http://www.lwvwa.org.
The national body of the League is accessible at http://www.lwv.org

History of the League of Women Voters

Read a short history of the League of Women Voters.

Understanding the League

Some helpful tools for working with the League of Women Voters follow. They include "League Lingo", a guide to understanding the terms and vocabulary used by League members; "League Basics Review/Summary", a summary guide to how the League operates; "League Basics", the more detailed guide to how the League operates; and the "Thurston County League ListServe" use guidelines.
League Lingo
League Basics Review (Summary)
League Basics (Complete)
How to Use the Education Fund
Thurston County League ListServe Guidelines
Guidelines for League Membership in Other Organizations or Coalitions

National and State Leagues

Council, June 2010 - Five delegates from Thurston County attended the State Council meeting in Bellingham WA in June 2010. See notes of that meeting from Thurston County's perspective.
2010 Council Notes
National Convention - Thurston County League President Clydia Cuykendall offers these notes of the recent 2010 National League of Women Voters Convention.
2010 National Convention Notes
Following is a list of State League studies that can be obtained on the State web site.
State League Studies, 1998-2008

Board Minutes

Board meeting minutes will be posted each month, beginning with the June 2010 meeting.
2011
September 2011
August 2011 (at Planning Retreat)
June 2011
There was no May 2011 Board meeting.
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
2010
There was no December 2010 meeting.
November 2010
October 2010
There was no September 2010 meeting.
August 2010
There was no July 2010 meeting.
June 2010

Archives of Thurston County LWV

The League stores its records through the State of Washington Archives. For information about past League work, see the inventory of archived records. Inventory of Thurston Co. LWV Archives

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: January 3, 2012 12:26 PST.