Greetings from the Steering Committee!

It’s almost a full year since we have been able to hold meetings and have League activities in person and we look forward to resuming group events before another year passes. We do hope you and your families have been safe and well and continue to be in these difficult times.

We have tried to continue to facilitate voting and spread voter information, as well as support our usual activities, but we have had to cancel and postpone most of our usual gatherings. In October, we still sponsored a “team” for the 25th annual (virtual) vigil and walk for the Melrose Alliance Against Violence, and we were able to raise a lot of funds for them. Thank you all for your support of this worthy cause.

In addition, we co-sponsored a virtual Candidate Forum for the 5th Congressional district race between Katherine Clark and Caroline Colarusso. The League of Women Voters of Belmont spearheaded this project along with several other leagues as well as us. Held on October 13, 2020, it was filmed and available for streaming live and on MMTV.

The Steering committee reached out to senior living facilities in the city to deliver voter registration forms and absentee ballot applications and offered to pick up and deliver those forms and applications to City Hall for processing. In addition, we offered volunteer assistance where needed to Joanne Perperian, Election Administrator for Melrose, but her office did an exemplary job without needing extra help. Joanne also offered comprehensive voting information that we used to disseminate to the senior living facilities, and to create a press release for the local papers and for posting on our website.

To say the election went well is an understatement. Melrose, as well as the rest of the nation, had a record turnout in the middle of a pandemic, and was able to process it smoothly and timely. Our election officials deserved all the accolades they received, including the one published in the local papers on behalf of our League.

The Martin Luther King celebration was virtual this year, too, but we hope you were able to watch or participate in some fashion. We will not be holding any events for the rest of the year, but members are welcome to join any of the monthly Steering Committee meetings held via “Zoom.” The meeting dates are available under the “Events Calendar” tab on our website. If you would like to join the discussion, make comments or suggestions, or just listen in, please contact any one of the Steering Committee members and ask for the invite to be sent to you.

The Annual Meeting will be held in June, and we are waiting to decide if there is any way to make it an in-person event at an outside venue at that time.

Meanwhile, consider following the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts on Facebook. The state League offers updates of League initiatives, legislation and occasional lectures and discussions on pertinent topics that can be accessed remotely. www.facebook.com/lwvmass

Finally, there is one event happening this winter that we announce with mixed emotions. Long-time members and activists Sally and George Stubbs are relocating to North Carolina to spend their retirement near their son and his family. In addition to many volunteer efforts with the schools and library, both Stubbs have been League members for more than 25 years, and Sally has been an officer and a Steering Committee member for many of them. She has volunteered tirelessly on most of our voter registration and voter education programs, and you have all seen her smiling face at Victorian Fair at some point. Both George and Sally have been active in the Recycling Committee (a League initiative, now Zero Waste Melrose) since its inception. George has been a Commissioner on the Human Rights Commission (another League initiative) and Sally has been on the Board of the Melrose Alliance Against Violence (another organization the League was involved in founding). Both of them have been very involved with the annual Martin Luther King celebration as well. After retirement from full-time employment, Sally also worked and volunteered for a hospice organization.

We are sad to lose two members with such big hearts and strong dedication to our community, but we wish them well in their new community, surrounded by family. Many thanks to Sally and George for everything!