By Laura Haight
DWGC, President

When I took over this post in February, I really had no idea what the heck I was doing. But I was fortunate to have some excellent mentoring and support from previous presidents: Mary Wright, Linda Hardman, and Kate Franch.

I will butcher this next comment, but you’ll get the drift: They say that God puts people in your life when you need them. And that is definitely the case with the DWGC board. I met Jen Boffey two days before our election; I knew Evelyn Nocella just a bit from her work with North Greenville Dems, I knew nothing at all about Valerie Brooks Madden until the day we were all elected. But the three of them have been indispensable to our board. 

We’ve got some openings on the board that are proving a challenge to fill, but I am thankful for:

• Linda Derector, who’s picked up and done a great job with fundraising in addition to planning and managing our monthly meetings; 
• For longtime board members Linda Hardman, our legislative chair; 2nd veep and membership chair Peggy Schotsch, and social chair Sadie Carter, who are a crucial bridge between honoring the past while moving toward an evolving future; 
• For Lucille Herwald who brings her artistic talent and skill to our communications and Mary McCarthy, although not a board member, who has done an amazing job in just a few months of being editor of the Donkeys Tale.

I’ve been filling in as programs chair since May, but I am grateful to Roxanne Cordonier and Anita LeBold (also a past president) for being my partners in an ad hoc programs committee. Our goal this year was to have next level programs that would educate, engage, and include opportunities for advocacy and activism. So far, I feel that we’ve achieved that thanks to their participation. 

With Evelyn’s leadership of the squad, we set up volunteer sign ups for both Dorothy and Michelle’s campaigns. I’m thankful for the 67 members and friends who volunteered for a minimum of 211 canvassing/phonebanking/and event shifts over the past three months. I say minimum of 211 because some people – like Lee Turner (another past president) and Anita LeBold – I know were out there every weekend and some weeknights even though they only signed up once. And some people never signed up – they just showed up when they were needed. 

And I am thankful to all of you whether you are members, meeting goers, or first timers for helping to make this group – the oldest continuously operating democratic women’s organization in the state – the vibrant community it is.

As of today, we have 258 members – that’s a nearly 30 percent increase over last year. And I think we are making progress in bringing younger women into the organization through outreach activities like community engagement, cocktails & conversation, the book club, and the monthly coffee. I am thankful for the efforts of Paula Catterall and Charlotte Abrams in keeping these events going without interruption for 7 years, keeping them casual and welcoming, and regularly attracting new and – sometimes – younger people. 

At the coffee this Saturday, I was interviewed by the national political reporter for Politico, David Siders. He had reached out to see if he could come to the coffee after he read my blog post on why we are not stuck with Biden. He also talked with several other coffee goers in our group and took a bunch of pictures. We’ll see what — if anything — happens with that.

One area where I fear we may be losing ground is in diversity, especially among African Americans, but also Hispanic and Asian women. This is something the board is concerned about and has been discussing. I am interested in organizing a small group of members to help me better understand what we may be doing wrong or not be doing to attract more diverse women to Dem Women. I’ll be reaching out to a few of you but if you have thoughts you would like to share, please call or email me.

And finally – I bet you thought I was never going to get here – I am thankful for Dorothy Dowe and Michelle Shain for the grace, resilience, power, and presence they showed in their races. They elevated the community conversation and, I for one, am so proud to have been a small part of their campaigns.

To Dorothy, who calls me a “badass”, I say – no, lady – you are the badass. This was not an easy election, there were obstacles to overcome and mountains to climb. And climb them she did with resolve, fortitude, positivism, and commitment to this community. And she did it in those damn six inch heels. Holding the Democratic majority in the city council was crucial. And I am so looking forward to seeing what she can accomplish over the next four years.