LWV UMRR Board Moves into the next phase...

Post by Gretchen Sabel, Communications Director

LWV UMRR was incorporated in 2015, after being affirmed by our membership at our first Annual Meeting on October 24 in Dubuque, and being affirmed by the LWV US Board on April 1, 2016.   In the early days, we traveled across the region, getting to know our watersheds and member Leagues.  Like everyone else, we turned to Zoom and were virtual for years, finding that this is an effective way to us to work in our far-flung watershed.  In early June, 2023, the LWV UMRR Board met in La Crosse for our first in-person retreat since 2020.   

Our current chair, Mary Ellen Miller (home League LWV Metro Des Moines, IA) noted that we've matured as an organization in these seven years.  Some elements are working well, but others need some adjustment.  Now we will be re-evaluating our structure, and seeking ways to bring more people into our Board and committees.

Our current Board is composed of five officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Past Chair, Secretary and Treasurer plus  a representative and an alternate appointed to the Board by the Boards of our four state member Leagues.  We have only one year-round committee - the Action Committee.   (Board info can be found here.)

At the Retreat, we decided to start two additional committees: Communications and  Bylaws.  The Communications Committee will work with Communications Director Gretchen Sabel to learn the website and social media tools and assist with the ​

monthly newsletter.  The Bylaws Committee will examine the structure of the Board and recommend changes to bring in more Board members in meaningful roles.   The Action Committee is also seeking new members as we expand our work and advocacy.   We will share more on these new committees in upcoming blog posts.  The Nominations Committee is also seeking new members.  

Take a close look at the picture above.  Do you recognize anyone well-known to all of us Leaguer's?  Yes, we had  several special guests at our Board Retreat.  One was LWV US President Deb Turner.  We were honored to be able to ask her our questions about how an ILO like LWV UMRR works with LWV US.   She observed that there is no book written that outlines how this relationship is supposed to go so we are writing it as we go.  We committed to working together to develop strong ties and effective working relationships.  LWV US Midwest Regional Organizer, Jessica Rohloff, also attended  - she will be on hand in this role as we move ahead. 

Another guest at the Retreat was Bonnie Cox (home League LWV Jo Daviess County, IL).  Bonnie was one of the original organizers of LWV UMRR, and she shared two videos that look back to the origins of LWV UMRR and explain the basis for our work on nutrient pollution.  These videos can be viewed at these links; here and here.  

The retreat started out Friday night when several of us met for the dinner cruise on the La Crosse Queen.  We were pleased to be joined by Joy Guscotte-Mueller, President of the LWV Lake Michigan Region ILO (LWV LMR), and David Mueller, Action Chair for LWV LMR.  On the cruise, we learned about each other's organizations and talked about the possibility of joint action on issues of common interest, like changes to regulation of Waters of the US in response to the Sackett decision.  You can read more about this decision in blog posts here and here.  

All in all, the retreat was a three-day event filled with camaraderie and exploration.  It was amazing to be able to meet in person after years of Zooming, and we not only worked but got to know each other informally.   Here are some pictures from the event!