The next monthly meeting is Thursday, May 14 at 4662 S. Clyde Morris Blvd., Port Orange (map). Social time is 6:30-7:00 p.m. and the meeting begins at 7:00 p.m.
We have much to discuss and organize during this meeting. It is now time to start gearing up for mid-term elections. We are so very fortunate to have Kevin Nielan and Greg Gantt helping us to get ready.
The meeting will also be a working meeting. We have “Time for another Tea Party” fundraiser project and Vote-by-Mail (VBM) postcard mailings to new voters for getting us all involved at the May meeting.
Our speakers are going to be two representatives, Nancy Vaughn and Carla Christianson, from the League of Women Voters of Volusia County. They will be sharing a powerful presentation at our meeting: “News: Separating Fact from Fiction”. This will be a very informative presentation to help us with the challenge of separating facts from fiction in the media.
Nancy Vaughn comes from a very political family. She was interested and engaged in politics from a young age. Working on her cousin’s campaign for Governor of Maine and later U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy understood the importance of civic engagement. She served on the Port Orange Environmental Advisory Board, reviewing and making recommendations to the city’s tree ordinance, among other things.
Prior to assuming the LWVVC presidency last year, Nancy has filled many roles in the League. She started as part of the Observer Corps in 2014; in 2017, while serving as Natural Resources Chair, she and her team worked with Solar United Neighbors to bring a solar co-op to Volusia County. Since then, she has collaborated on educating our community on springs restoration, beach renourishment, and the role conservation plays in the health of our county. She also chaired the Communications Team, spreading the word on League activity both internally and externally.
Nancy and her husband Jeff have lived in Port Orange for 28 years. They raised their two children in the public school system here. Currently, both work in the environmental field. She and Jeff spend their summers sailing along the coast of Maine.
Carla Christianson has been a member of the League of Women Voters of Volusia County for about 20 years.
She has a degree in interior design from College of DuPage in Glen Ellen, Illinois. Carla was also the owner of Personal Reflections, an interior design firm in Naperville, Illinois for many years.
Prior to the design firm she was the owner of Wicker Unlimited, a retail store and home party planning business, in Lisle, Illinois. Carla and her husband Jim retired to Florida in 1999 after cruising the Great Lakes for two years while living aboard a boat.
In retirement, she and her husband became involved in activism through several organizations including the Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Committee in Ormond Beach, Move to Amend Florida, and Florida Fair Elections. After joining the League of Women Voters of Volusia County she served as Natural Resources Chair focusing on the Florida Water and Land Legacy Amendment which became Amendment 1 on the 2014 ballot. She then served as Voter Service Chair for several election cycles.
She continues to enjoy helping educate voters on the issues that matter.