MINUTES of the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2022
March 27, 2022
Virtual Meeting
1:00 – 2:00pm PST
Present: Giles Hogya (Chair)
Jude Fox, Jon Scheer, Jim Ham, Steven Saunders, Lynne Severance, Pat Kostek, Susan Watt, Heidi Burch, Steve Nardi, Jennifer Takahashi, David Judwin, Penny Judwin, Jeffrey Patterson, Mary Louise Meadow, Kevin Brown, Nuala Power, Stefan Stasik, Glenn Mehalek, “Jay Spark” (per zoom ID), Leslie Hogya. (21 attendees)
1. Meeting called to order
1.1 The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 1:08 PST
2. Approval of the agenda
2.1 The agenda was revised to exclude Item #14, a volunteer report from Jennie Preuss, who was not in attendance. The revised agenda was approved unanimously by acclamation.
3. Approval of the 2021 AGM Minutes
3.1 There were no amendments, or corrections to the 2021 AGM minutes. Susan Watt made a motion to approve the March 21, 2021 AGM Minutes. The motion was seconded by Pat Kostek and passed with unanimous consent.
4. Business arising from the 2021 AGM Minutes
4.1 None
5. Chair’s welcoming remarks: Giles Hogya
5.1. Giles warmly welcomed all present with introductory remarks and introduced the first guest presenter, Steve Nardi.
6. Guest presenter: Steven Nardi, Global Vice Chair Democrats Abroad, Americas Region, and Former Chair of Democrats Abroad Canada (two terms).
6.1. Steve explained that DA Global has 50 active country committees assigned to one of three geographical divisions: Asia-Pacific (AP), Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA), and the Americas. Canada is the second largest country committee globally.
6.2. The Americas Region comprises 13 active countries including Canada, México, Central and South America, Greenland, and Antarctica. The Caribbean countries are attempting to form a collective transnational committee which could serve as a role model for other countries.
6.3. The goal is to deliver as many ballots as possible by (1) supporting country committees and chapters in their Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaigns, (2) promoting the use of the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) in requesting a ballot, and (3) improving affordable international mailing options.
6.4. Steve stressed the importance of voting down ballot when possible. Important initiatives and decisions are being made at local levels such as school board, municipal, county, and state levels.
6.5. The Victoria Chapter under the leadership of Giles, Jude and others has been a shining example of how chapter activities engage locally while supporting national initiatives.
6.6. Steve acknowledged that the growth in DA membership is due largely to the efforts of volunteers and thanked all volunteers for their work in ensuring that democracy continues in the USA.
7. Guest Presenter: Heidi Burch, DA Global Coordinator for Vote from Abroad (VFA), and Former Chair of DA Victoria and the Islands.
7.1. Heidi emphasized that the role of all volunteer efforts is to “get ballots in boxes”. VFA’s simple message to US citizens is to go to votefromabroad.org, register to vote, and request their ballot.
7.2. Over 500,000 US citizens in Canada did not vote in 2020. VFA’s mission is to find those Americans in Canada, educate them, register them, and help them to mail their completed ballots on time.
7.3. VFA raises awareness through physical and digital visibility, and through formal and informal outreach.
7.4. Heidi described the importance of completing the FPCA when requesting a ballot, and the steps involved in completing it.
8. Chair’s Report: Giles Hogya
8.1. This past year DAVI implemented a strategic plan with three main goals and 23 plans of actions for promoting voting from abroad. DAVI embarked on three major signage campaigns with the premise that signage raises visibility, is cost effective, and augments the online and digital advertising done by Global:
8.1.1. “Double Your Donation” Billboard campaign – (The billboard design was shared.) DAVI raised over $5,000 to pay for four billboards that will be placed strategically across the islands. The billboards will go up before the 2022 midterm election. This very ambitious goal was achieved with generous donations from board members and contributions from others. Giles thanked the board members, volunteers, and contributors for their help in achieving this goal.
8.1.2. Bumper stickers – (The bumper sticker design was shared.) 100 bumper stickers were designed and printed. They are currently being widely distributed across the Islands.
8.1.3. Car magnets – (The design of the car magnets was shared.) DAVİ had enough funds to design and produce 10 car magnets to publicly raise voter awareness. Most have been distributed to volunteers. Two magnets are still available and will hopefully be distributed to volunteers up island.
8.2. DAVI’s other ongoing activities include a robust social media presence, phone banking, and the distribution of business cards promoting the VFA website, an easy and quick response to inquiries about voting.
8.3. DAVI is an active chapter and an incubator for leaders. Giles thanked members, volunteers, and contributors for their efforts in accomplishing this year’s goals.
In later comments Giles mentioned that one of the goals in the strategic plan was to fill all board member positions. This has been accomplished with strong additions to our Members-at-large positions, and three new members undertaking officer positions.
9. Vice-Chair Report: Jude Fox
9.1. Jude submitted a Vice Chair’s Report (attached).
9.2. In her role as Vice-Chair Jude has attended national meetings of chapter leaders along side Giles. She supports the DAVI officers, and she responds to many member queries throughout the year.
9.3. Her primary focus is plotting with other board members on how to get more voter turnout for the 2022 midterm elections. The billboard campaign was a key strategy for increasing DA visibility and raising awareness to increase voter turnout.
9.4. Jude gave a detailed description of the steps involved in launching the campaign, and the challenges that became potential barriers to achieving success. Thankfully many people stepped up to help overcome these challenges, and the billboards are on target to go up in August 2022, before the midterm elections.
9.5. She thanked the amazing and generous DAVI board, contributors, volunteers, and Giles for their help in meeting those challenges to accomplish a successful outcome.
10. Treasurer’s Report: Jon Scheer
10.1. Jon submitted the Treasurer’s Report for the year ended December 31, 2021 (attached).
10.2. DAVI started the year with $525.88. Revenues included $395 in program registrations related to the 2021 tax seminar, and $4,882 in donations related to billboard and signage campaign. Expenses totaled $335, and included the zoom subscription, stripe fees, and bank charges. The ending cash balance was $5,467.78. There is enough to pay for the billboards.
10.3. Jon moved that the Treasurer’s Report be approved. The motion was seconded by Jim and approved by acclamation.
11. Membership Secretary’s Report: Steven Saunders
11.1. Steven Saunders submitted a Membership Secretary Report (attached).
11.2. Steven become Membership Secretary in October 2021. The annual membership verification process began in November 2021 with the objective of reviewing the database and removing members with whom there has been no contact for four years. This year’s membership verification process is now complete.
11.3. As of January 31, 2022, DAVI has 1612 members who are 100% verified.
11.4. As of March 27, 2022, our membership is 97.5% verified, since an additional 41 members will need to be verified in the following annual membership verification period.
12. Social Media Secretary: Melanie Wade (not in attendance)
12.1. No report
13. Volunteer Coordinator Report: Jude Fox
13.1. Jude submitted a Volunteer Coordinator Report (attached)
13.2. There are many ways that volunteers can help to register voters, including bumper stickers, car magnets, writing letters, and setting up voter registration tables.
13.3. She emphasized the importance of networking within our individual social networks.
13.4. Phone banking is one of the most effective ways of connecting with like minded Democrats and encouraging them to get their ballots in.
14. Questions from the floor
14.1. Giles asked Heidi Burch about training opportunities for volunteers. Heidi discussed both phone bank training and voter registration training opportunities. The DA web site offers continuous training opportunities for phone banking via live zoom sessions, taped training, and practice call sessions. Voter assistance training is offered on the website as well. The local chapters are also encouraged to hold their own training.
14.2. Susan Watt asked Heidi and Steve Nardi what the benefit is of registering through the VFA website via the FPCA application, rather than through local election boards. The benefit is that it establishes your status as an “overseas” voter with federal protections that an “absentee” voter does not have. This status guarantees the right to receive the ballot earlier, a backup ballot if needed, and extra time to submit the ballot by fax or email.
14.3. Susan Watt asked about the impact of filing an FPCA on down-ballot voting. If a voter indicates on the FPCA that their return to the USA is uncertain, some states will allow down-ballot voting. However, indicating “uncertain return” may trigger state tax ramifications, depending upon the state.
14.4. Nuala Power asked Heidi for the link to phone bank training on the Democrats Abroad website. Heidi provided the link and Jude offered to assist with any questions about phone banking.
14.5. Giles asked Steve Nardi for examples of elections that were determined by Democrats Abroad voters. Numerically DA voters have affected selected elections in New York, New Hampshire, Nevada, Minnesota, Georgia, and Arizona.
14.6. Steve Nardi offered two tips for our chapter:
14.6.1. Consider creating a Google business listing. It is free, increases chapter visibility, and offers analytics on number of visits, etc., and
14.6.2. Consider creating a QR code with a unique URL that features VFA.org. It can be used for publicity at street festivals or other public events.
14.7. Giles thanked both speakers for their presentations and for their past and continuing work in DA. He also thanked all those present for their contributions to getting out the vote.
15. New Business
15.1. None
16. Old Business
16.1. None
17. Adjournment
17.1. Adjournment was moved by Susan, seconded by Jim, and passed by unanimous consent. The meeting adjourned at 2:33pm PST
Respectfully submitted by,
Lynne Severance
Acting Recording Secretary