If you weren’t at the Annual Meeting on June 18, I’m sorry. You missed a very good time! In spite of some rainy weather, the food supplied by many of us was abundant and delicious and the information shared among us all about the past and current League work was equally abundant. We also quite cheerfully handled the required business of approving the new year’s budget and the board and nominating committee appointments that were outlined in the mailing you got in early June.
But I think all those present would agree that hearing from our Ulster County sheriff was the highlight of the evening. Sheriff Figueroa goes well beyond law enforcement. He clearly wants to make his whole community better, not just crime-free. An example is the way he eagerly assisted us in getting qualified jail “residents” registered to vote and his willingness to help League leaders in other counties have successful partnerships with their sheriffs. We could easily have kept him there for an extra hour with all our questions.
We also appreciated having Hyde Park singer-songwriter Pat Lamanna opening and closing our meeting with songs we could sing along with. The final song of the night had us refusing to let anyone steal our joy, and I hope that in spite of everything that distresses us, we are still allowing ourselves to be joyful about the many good things that are also happening. We need that joy to support us in the challenging work that lies ahead. Onward!
Dare Thompson, President
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