Let me blow you away with a number. Charlotte and I (mostly Charlotte) complied the data for the LWVUS Unite and Rise 8.5 survey which requested local Leagues to document voter service activity from August through October. We estimated that GTA reached 2700 citizens which did not include the TV audience or the readership of the Record-Eagle OpEd and Letters to the Editor. Text banking, tabling at multiple events, addressing students, registering and educating voters added up to an amazing numbers of contacts. Great work GTA!

If the reference to a TV audience threw you and you missed this segment, here are the details. Alice Schuman, GTA’s Voter Service Chair, was a guest on Channel 9 & 10 Morning Show on October 30. She described the function of the League and explained the voting process in well-articulated and concise language, all the while looking cool, calm and collected.

GTA members observed Boards of Canvassers in Grand Traverse, Antrim,Benzie, Wexford, Crawford, Otsego and Roscommon Counties.

Our goal for the next three months is to develop partnerships with other local non-partisan women's groups. The concept is strength in numbers.

Please join us on December 7 for our Holiday Party. Hope to gather with many members as we enjoy lunch together. We are sharing our bounty with The Women Resource Center. Bring unwrapped winter adult and children hats, gloves and scarves. Monetary donations are also welcome. Remember to bring your favorite dish to pass. Phone or email Laura Otwell, to register, 231-313-9981 or membership@lwvgta.org, before December 1.

Wishing you a delicious, relaxing, gratitude-filled Thanksgiving!

Charlene Krygier - Co-President LWVGTA
Charlotte Nisbet - Co- President LWVGTA

Jane Hayes, LWVGTA member, was recognized in the Record-Eagle Influential Women of Northern Michigan for her work serving on the WRC board of directors.

The Unite & Rise 8.5 Playbook 3 has been released and can be found on the LWVUS website under the Members only area. The focus for this Playbook is "Building Power Through Partnerships."
Register for training sessions:
Laying the Groundwork: Building Sustainable Partnerships, Nov 18
National Partnerships for Local Engagement, Dec. 16, 3:00 register
Partnering for Voter Engagement Ahead of 2026 Elections, Jan 20, 3:00 register

A new member orientation was held on November 10. The informal gathering was attended by 6 new members. A brief presentation about the history and structure of the League was made. Discussion focused on the upcoming year's goals with many great questions and answers about how to get engaged followed.

Wreath and Garland Fundraising Thank you everyone who ordered a Holiday Wreath or Garland. Don't forget to pick up your order on Saturday November 22, 9:00 am - 2:00 pm at the sign of the Swan 719 Munson Ave. Ingrid Brophy, 231-499-4173

Many thanks to everyone who supported our November election as voters, election workers and board of canvasser observers.  There were elections in four of our five counties in November and we were able to have observers in each county.

Short 1 min. video on What are Michigan's Boards of Canvassers?
YouTube Video

Marcia Koppa LWVCCU VP and Voter Services

Crawford County Unit is moving forward with its plans to become an independent League, the LWV of North Central Michigan (LWV NCM). Christina is beginning the paperwork as we now have 10 CCU members. For those who do not know, the LWV NCM will encompass Otsego, Crawford and Roscommon counties. A request for a formal letter of support from the Grand Traverse Area BOD will be presented at the 19 November GTA board meeting.

We continue to meet on the 4th Monday of the month. The December meeting will be on the 15th and will be a holiday event with speakers from local leaders of food banks in each of our counties. It is the intent to collect food or monetary donations to these agencies at this meeting. Watch for more details.

The Unit is also scheduling "Know What You Sign" presentations to fulfill the grant requirements. Our plans are to do one in each county we service.

The CCU with Kirtland Community College and WCMU hosted an advance preview of Ken Burns film, The American Revolution, and presented an LWV, Who We Are and What We Do event. There were about 60 attendees at the event. We had many compliments, and the audience shared their thoughts afterwards during the open discussion period. It seems through this event, we may have made a good connection with Houghton Lake Schools in Roscommon County.

CCU observed the BOC canvass in Otsego, Roscommon in person and by phone in Missaukee County. The Crawford canvass again had some drama. Crawford County had 1 ballot measure and no candidate races to certify this election. One canvasser called for a hand tabulation of ballots from a randomly picked precinct. The Bureau of Elections clarified that this action was not allowed by the County BOC. The Crawford County election was certified with one canvasser abstaining. A letter was drafted by the CCU members and the LWVMI regarding the canvassers’ duties and will be in the next Commissioners’ meeting packet.

Advocacy Committee

Lessons from the Emmet County Recycling Tour
by Carrie Olmsted

Put the cap back on the plastic bottle when you recycle it! One of the important lessons we learned from touring the Emmet County Recycling Facility.

This facility does it all. Because there are no landfills in Emmet County, all waste materials are required to go through the county facility. The county is responsible for ultimately hauling waste to a landfill in Alpena County, so it has a financial incentive to keep as much material as possible out of the landfill. To keep costs down, they optimize the recycling and reuse of materials. Seventy-five percent of the residential waste stream is recyclable and 20% is food scraps that can be collected and composted. Very little is left to go to the landfill.

Emmet County uses a dual waste stream system, where "dry" material (paper boxes and bags) goes in one cart, and "wet" material (mixed containers such as water bottles, milk containers, paper cups, aluminum cans or anything that contained liquids) go in a separate tote for residential and business curbside pickup in eight communities.

Twelve drop sites are also available for this dual waste stream recycling throughout the county. Additionally, the drop sites offer food scrap recycling. Acceptable materials include meat and fish, dairy products, bread and rice, greasy paper bags and pizza box liners, as well as the "usual" food waste like fruit, vegetables, flowers and greenery. Separate grease bins are provided for fats, oils and greases. Participating restaurants are provided with carts and get curbside food scrap pick up with their other recyclables.

The facility has both a manual and robotic sorting line. Humans pre-sort the recycling materials and robots do the final sort. The robots have difficulty picking up plastic containers without their caps, so put those caps back on and don't crush the plastic. This sorting process provides a very clean commodity, which brings a higher price when sold.

Emmet County has worked at developing local end markets for these materials. For example,

• Cartons go to local tissue factories
• 1 and 2 plastic go to Dundee, MI to make resin for new bottles
• Seasonal plant pots are recycled by East Jordan Plastics
• Boat shrink-wrap plastic is recycled locally
• Plastic film, mixed plastic and other materials go to Southern Ontario,
• Glass is sent for reuse in Toledo
• Oils provide fuel at a cement producer in Charlevoix

Education is the special sauce that makes all this work. Instructing the public on what can be recycled, how to manage the materials, and why it is beneficial makes Emmet County Recycling Facility successful. In fact, their services have been expanded to Presque Isle and Cheboygan Counties.

Go to Recycling and Disposal | Emmet County Recycling for more information or your own virtual tour!

Many thanks to everyone who supported our November election as voters, election workers and board of canvasser observers. There were elections in four of our five counties in November and we were able to have observers in each county. In two counties our observers were able to report on complicated situations so that they could be monitored by state election support groups. In general the members of Boards of Canvassers are welcoming and thank us for our reliable attendance as observers.

And, many thanks to everyone who supported our voter service activities in 2025.  We had Voter Education tables at Friday Night Live, Voter Registration Day,, and the No Kings 2 Rally.  We have a voter information table this week in the lobby of Old Town Playhouse who are presenting a one-act play "The Minutes" about a city council meeting. We observed Boards of Canvassers in August and November.

We are making plans for 2026, which will be a full year of elections, issues and candidates. Our next Voter Services Committee meeting will be via zoom on Thursday Jan 15, 10am.  Please join us and bring your creative ideas for reaching out to all voters in our counties to increase voter turnout, and voter understanding of the issues & candidates on the ballots.  We are working on creating presentations for libraries and small groups, reaching out to voters with physical challenges that make it difficult to cast ballots, brainstorming about Democracy Trivia nights - all suggestions and volunteers are welcome, please join us.

Our goal for the next three months is to develop partnerships with other local non-partisan women's groups. The concept is strength in numbers.

Happy Holidays! Rest up, enjoy the season and join us in January as we kick off a busy year of Voter Service activities!

Volunteer! Short on time? There are always volunteer opportunities for those short on time. Email voterservices@lwvgta.org, or call/text Alice at 917-664-4658

Wise Words

"You never know where your actions will lead to.
But if you don't do anything they will lead you nowhere."  

– Mahatma Gandhi

Many 💖♥️💕 Thanks to all the Election Workers.
You make our elections Work!