Engage the nation

You have given me the opportunity to continue to serve this organization in a powerful way--as your president. I thank you for that and for the confidence you have shown in me, and I pledge to lead this organization to the best of my ability throughout the coming biennium. But I can't accomplish our goals by myself. I need you. I need each and every member and supporter across the country.

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As we begin this biennium, I have two simple messages--get your fellow citizens out to vote and get your fellow citizens to join the League of Women Voters. We must, as individuals and as League members, energize the nation's citizens--men and women, young and old--to get out and vote. We must engage the nation.

Our founder, Carrie Chapman Catt, proposed the idea for a League of Women Voters to enable others to "finish the fight" that was begun with the passage of the 19th Amendment. She believed that, to become effective voters, women needed to understand the rudiments of voting: how and where to register, how to vote, and what to expect at the voting booths. She also knew that these newly enfranchised women needed to understand the issues.

We, in the League of Women Voters today, are the heirs of that monumental struggle for women's right to vote--that monumental vision of truly extraordinary women. Recognizing that heritage and the obligations accompanying it, we must commit to "finish the fight" for all citizens by rededicating ourselves to the League of Women Voters and everything for which it stands. And so, while we go about our work, before, during and after Election Day, let us not forget that we owe it to our courageous founders to build the membership of this organization so that it can finish the fight.

I challenge you now to make it possible to say with pride at the end of Election Day 2004 that--in addition to registering new voters, educating voters and getting them to the polls--you have also shared your passion for the League of Women Voters with your fellow citizens and invited them to be a part of our great organization.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Take full advantage of the unique visibility this organization enjoys during a presidential election year. Share your pride and passion not only in what the League does, but in what the League represents--the heart and soul of our democracy. With your enthusiasm, we can truly achieve something great!

BY KAY J. MAXWELL

LWVUS President

COPYRIGHT 2004 League of Women Voters
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group