NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

Dear Members,

Today is Election Day—a culmination of months of voter registration drives, candidate forums, and community outreach. If you haven’t already voted, I encourage you to make your voice heard today. And if you’re able, reach out to your neighbors and friends to ensure they have what they need to participate in our democracy.

But today is also about looking forward. Our League stands at a pivotal moment. We have the opportunity to transform how we serve both our members and our broader community—to become not just an organization that appears every election season, but a year-round civic engagement resource that truly reflects the diversity and needs of the Central Rappahannock region.

The playbook attached to this newsletter represents our roadmap for that transformation. It’s ambitious, yes—but it’s also necessary. We’ve been operating with limited resources and limited reach for too long. Together, we can build something stronger, more inclusive, and more impactful.

This isn’t just about growing our numbers—though we hope to do that. It’s about ensuring that we’re providing real value to you, our members, while expanding our capacity to educate voters, engage communities, and strengthen democracy across all five jurisdictions we serve.

Your voice has been essential to getting us here, and it will be essential to our success moving forward. I hope to see many of you at our special planning meeting on November 15th, where we’ll turn this vision into concrete action.

Together, we rise.

In League, 

Theodore Blackwell
President, LWVFRA

Make Your Voice Heard – Vote Today!

Today, November 4th, 2025, voters across Virginia are choosing leaders who will shape our communities for years to come. Our ballots include critical races for:

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• House of Delegates
• City Council / Board of Supervisors
• School Board
• And more local offices

Help Your Neighbors

If you’re able, reach out to friends, family, and neighbors to see if anyone needs assistance getting to the polls or getting information. A simple phone call or offer could make the difference in their ability to participate in our democracy.

Every vote matters. Every voice counts. Make sure yours is heard today!

A Bold New Vision for LWVFRA

We are thrilled to share with you our comprehensive transformation playbook—a strategic roadmap that will guide the League of Women Voters of the Fredericksburg Area through an exciting period of growth, innovation, and deepened community engagement.

This initiative is LWVFRA’s contribution to the national League’s “Unite and Rise 8.5 Million” campaign, tailored specifically for our unique Central Rappahannock River region encompassing the City of Fredericksburg and Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford counties.

Why This Matters

Our League stands at a pivotal moment. We have the opportunity to transform from a small but dedicated organization into a dynamic, inclusive civic engagement powerhouse that truly serves every corner of our region and reflects the rich diversity of our communities.

This playbook addresses how we will:

• Expand our reach across all five jurisdictions with dedicated Regional Coordinators
• Modernize our infrastructure with professional technology, materials, and systems
• Build authentic partnerships with diverse community organizations, faith groups, and local institutions
• Diversify our programming beyond voter services to include educational workshops, speaker series, book clubs, and year-round civic engagement
• Welcome new voices by actively reaching out to underrepresented communities across age, race, identity, and background
• Create sustainable growth through multiple revenue streams and meaningful member engagement

Six Pillars of Transformation

Help Shape Our League’s Future

What We’ll Accomplish Together:

• Review each section of the playbook in detail
• Develop a focused, actionable timeline for implementation
• Identify specific steps and responsible parties for each initiative
• Create working groups for different pillars of the plan
• Begin the important work of transformation

This is YOUR opportunity to help shape the future of LWVFRA. Whether you want to lead a major initiative, contribute to a specific project, or simply learn more about where we’re headed—your voice matters, and we need you at this meeting.

We strongly encourage in-person attendance to facilitate the collaborative planning work we’ll be doing. However, we understand that’s not possible for everyone, and a virtual option will be available.

MINUTES of the October 13, 2025
League of Women Voters Fredericksburg Meeting

Present: Theodore Blackwell, Debbie Combest, Sue Botts, Nancy Reuter, Brenda Hooper, Leslie Raterman, Karen Griffin, Ashlie Roederer, Rupert Farley

Nominating

After a quorum was confirmed, the executive committee presented Robert Choplin as their nominee to fill the vacant position of vice-president. Robert was elected unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report

Debbie reported the League has 35 members. Current bank balance is $479.71.

Old Business

Theo summarized the September events sponsored by the LWVFRA. Those included two candidate forums, a candidates’ meet and greet, a Night Out event in North Stafford, and a high school voter registration drive at Caroline County High School. He noted that these activities had good attendance.

Upcoming Events

A veterans’ event in coordination with the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Department November 1; student voter registration at James Monroe High School October 21 and 22.

Volunteer Sign-Up Hub

Members are urged to register to view and sign up to volunteer for League activities. Instructions for signing up can be found in a follow up email from Theo on October 14.

Electoral College

Karen suggested our members join a group to work on Electoral College reform which is a position of LWV-US. More information about how to get involved was sent to members by email October 14.

Next Meeting

Will be November 15, 2025.

Adjournment: 6:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Sue Botts, Secretary

“Democracy works best from the bottom up—empowering local government understanding through authentic community-driven civic engagement.”