Meeting Minutes - Ellis County TDW

November 2019 Meeting Minutes

Saturday, November 16, 2019

1. Call to Order ─ President, Lynda Begnaud called the meeting to order at 4:01 P.M., followed by the

Pledge of Allegiance.

2. Elected Officers

President:Lynda BegnaudPresent

Vice-President:Emma WilsonPresent

Treasurer:Sharia LassiterPresent

Secretary:Lana TurnerPresent

3. Minutes ─ October meeting minutes were read and accepted.

4. Treasurer Report ─ October report was read and accepted. Current balance is $4,548.58.

5. Old Business

a) RISD – thank you to Mary Brooks for helping with voter registration.

b) Brown Bag Lunch. 8 members attended. Discussed and finalized details for upcoming Christmas party. Other topics; toy drive for Hope Clinic, turkey dinner family donations and Christmas tree decorating. Recognized TDW member Barbara Turner for organizing turkey dinner drive.

c) Turkey Gift Box giveaways at TDW. On 11/25, families can pick their boxes up between 2pm – 4pm.

d) Cancelled TDW office cleaning on 12/2, moved the cleaning to the same day as the Christmas party prep day (Friday, 12/6).

6. New Business

a) February 7 – 9, Texas State Democratic Convention, will be held in Austin.

b) Lucinda Windsor provided a brief background of high school registration in Ellis County, conducted by TDW. High school Voter Registration started with “Battleground Texas”. Windsor has been working with Ellis county high schools for 5 years. On November 12, 2019, she registered approximately 130 students at Red Oak High and 150 at Waxahachie High School on November 15, 2019.

c) TDW confirmed with Waxahachie City we can move forward with setting up a voter registration booth outside of our office doors. We only need to provide the City with advance notice.

d) President, Begnaud introduced Sarah Kovitch from Rideshare to Vote. The main focus of her company is to drive the maximum voters to Polls. In addition, they target young voters. In 2018 52% of their riders were under age 50. The group is a Partisan group, and privately held company. Structure, IRS Compliant. All drivers are volunteers (we can’t hire). Side note: Uber will offer free ride to vote, but rider pays for the return trip. Rideshare to Vote volunteers drive voters to early voting and on Election Day (round trip). Kovitch trains volunteer drivers on curbside and disabled process. In 2018, Kovitch company drove approximately 1,000 voters to the polls throughout 7 counties.

e) TDW 2020 Board Vote: The Election Committee: Ruthie Self, Nancy Cannaday and Verlie McBroom. Board Nominees:

1. Secretary: Tommy Cannaday – All in favor “Yes”

2. Treasurer: Helen Brock – All in favor “Yes”

3. Vice President: Emma Wilson – All in favor “Yes”

4. President: Lynda Begnaud – All in favor “Yes”

f) Ruthie Self introduced new Ellis County Chair – Kelly Blackburn. Blackburn replaced JR Phillips. We are still in need of Precinct Judge and Precinct Chair.

g) Reminder: Sign-up for 2020 Refreshments

h) Vivian Gibson, Chair will meet with her committee starting in January. Plan to award one scholarship to a Red Oak High School student. Will present scholarship at the RISD award ceremony on May 19, 2020. Recipient must be female and written essay required about a woman. Bake sale fundraiser planned for February 2020.

i) Outreach Committee: Pat Paige, Chair. Begnaud and Paige met with Ms. Butler, Director, North Ellis County Outreach. She gave a tour of their facility. The facility included a food pantry, as well as clothing, furniture and other items.

j) Award Committee: Barbara Fudge, Chair. Summarized level of memberships. Primary objective and goal is to encourage women to run for public office. The TDW State Convention (February 2020), the most important day is Saturday. There is a luncheon to honor Star Award nominees from all Texas chapters for their significant contributions. Ellis County TDW nominated, Lucinda Windsor for her work with Ellis County High School voter registration.

k) Christmas Party Committee: Nancy Cannaday, Chair. Requesting members bring 3 dozen cookies.

7. Adjournment ─ Meeting adjourned at 5:07 P.M.

8. Guest Speaker ─ Pastor Burgess of Joshua Chapel AME Church, Waxahachie Texas

October 2019 Meeting Minutes
Saturday, October 19, 2019
1. Call to Order ─ President, Lynda Begnaud called the meeting to order at 4:06 P.M., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Elected Officers
President: Vice-President: Treasurer: Secretary:
Lynda Begnaud Emma Wilson Sharia Lassiter Lana Turner
Present Present Present Present
3. Minutes ─ September meeting minutes were read and accepted.
4. Treasurer Report ─ September report was read and accepted. Current balance is $4,373.57.
5. Old Business
a) Fall Fundraiser – thank you to everyone. Approximately 49 people were in attendance.
b) Brown Bag Lunch. 10 members attended and discussed upcoming Christmas party.
c) Voter’s registration table at Navarro Community College (Midlothian). Registered 25 people.
Making plans to visit other high schools throughout Ellis County.
d) New member, Craig Beasley joined at Luncheon.
e) Don Mitchell is having health issues. Cathy ask that we please keep him in our prayers.
6. New Business
a) Scholarship Committee in contact with Red Oak High School counselors. Committee will start meeting again early next year.
b) Outreach Committee (Pat Paige – Chair) will deliver donated items to Ellis County Food Pantry on 10/21/19.
c) Christmas Party Committee (Nancy Cannaday – Chair). Propose to hold Christmas party at the Ellis County Democratic office instead of the Women’s Center. Also instead of full meal, will replace with finger foods and appetizers. A motion to make these changes were made and second by the members.
d) 12/2 - Clean-up day for the Christmas Party.
e) 12/6 – Christmas Party set-up
f) 12/7 – Christmas Party; tickets now on sale for $12 per person.

7. Adjournment ─ Meeting adjourned at 4:53 P.M.
8. Guest Speaker ─ Aubrey Reinhardt (Nancy Cannaday’s granddaughter)

September 2019 Meeting Minutes
Saturday, September 21, 2019
1. Call to Order ─ President, Lynda Begnaud called the meeting to order at 4:03 P.M., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Membership was introduced to Ms. Lauri Brook, a visitor, and
2. Elected Officers
President: Vice-President: Treasurer: Secretary:
3. Ms. Diana Melcher, a new member.
Guest Speaker: Jana Sanchez introduced Stephen Daniel, Democrat running against Congressman Ron Wright (R) for the U.S. Congressional District 6 seat in the upcoming 2020 Elections. Stephen Daniel is an attorney (personal injury lawyer) at Clay Jenkins & Associates and is a resident of Ellis County. He discussed the following platform: Medical Care, Immigration, Citizenship, holding politicians accountable, and having an economy that work for everyone. Before leaving he answered questions and listened to the opinions of the membership.
4. Minutes ─ Minutes from the August 17, 2019, meeting were read and accepted.
5. Treasurer Report ─ Financial information dated September 20, 2019, was read and accepted. Current balance is $3,110.45, and includes: $1,137.00 for the Scholarship Fund, $424.01 for the 2020 CandidateFund,and$1,549.44 inoperatingfunds.Thereis$397.52 istheBuildingFund.
6. Old Business
a) T-shirts are $20.00
b) Brown Bag Lunch. 7 members attended and discussed Fall Luncheon along with building clean
up.
c) 3 members attended Women’s Equality Day.
d) 8 members were in attendance at the Waxahachie High School Culinary Day.
e) Remember, when providing refreshments please bring snacks and not a full meal.
f) The proceeds from the Fall Fundraiser Luncheon will be donated to Democratic candidates after
the primaries.
7. New Business
a) Scholarship Committee will give an update after October meeting.
b) Outreach Committee will make their next donation in October.
c) Haley Kayzen composed a letter that will be mailed to Senator John Cornyn. There is a sheet
that will be attached with signatures. Please read the letter and sign. We will send a letter to
the Senator’s office every month.
d) Next Brown Bag Lunch will be on Monday, October 14, 2019, at 11:00 A.M. at headquarters. e) October 15, 2019, is the next Democratic Debate. Jana Sanchez will organize a watch party. f) Thank you, to Larry Wilson for the generous donation towards the scholarship fund.
g) Fall Luncheon. We need volunteers and a few items: tea, ice, and deserts (banana pudding).
There is a sign-up sheet available and please prepare for 50-60 people. The building can
accommodate 67 and 47 tickets have been sold.
h) If you know anyone who would like to be a member of TDW please let us know.
8. Other Reminders
Thank you, to Helen Brock and Nancy Canaday for providing refreshments for the Baby Shower for the Hope Clinic.
9. Adjournment ─ Meeting adjourned at 4:50 P.M.
10. Guest Speaker ─ Ms. Barbara Clark, Director of the Hope Clinic

July 2019 TDW Meeting Minutes

July 20, 2019

The meeting was called to order at 4:05 p.m. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Lynda Begnaud – July 2019 Treasurer’s report was read and accepted.

Lana Turner – the July 2019 meeting minutes were read and accepted.

Old Business:

Several TDW members attended the Democratic retreat in Lubbock. Breakout sessions, focused on what was needed to flip the 9 seats necessary to take back the Texas House of Representatives. Texas is a battleground state, and the DCCC will be investing in Texas to flip 6 U.S. Congress seats.

Texas Democratic President, Maria Regalado – facilitated one of the panel discussions. She gave a summary of what is happening at the border. The U.S. has implemented “metering” which severely reduces the number of people allowed to seek asylum. Main takeaway, “people” are scared of the negative rhetoric, disregard of the constitution and departments refusing to uphold and maintain justice for all in the United States. What can the average citizen do? 1) Vote, 2) support efforts in reaching democrats and independents straddling the fence, to get out and vote, 3) volunteer, 4) remain encouraged and stay determined during these challenging times.

Reminder: Baby Shower for Hope Clinic in September.

Brown Bag lunch

• 11 attended. Discussed fall fundraiser(s)

• College professor, Haley Kayzen continues to write articles on the behalf of TDW. Last article was about our attendance at the TDW Summer Retreat in Lubbock. Please forward ideas and future events to President Begnaud, so she can share with professor Kayzen.

New Business:

Committee Updates:

• Scholarship Committee: Chair, Vivian Gibson, absent, no updates.

• Outreach Committee: Chair, Pat Paige

o We brought our quarterly donations to North Ellis County Outreach. They cater mostly to senior citizens who are living on social security and food stamps.

o Organization is in dire need for more food donations. Most of their customers are seniors, living off a budget of $600 - $800 monthly. Meals on Wheels delivers food 1 x per day.

o TDW voted to donate every other month

• Christmas Party: Chair, Nancy Cannaday

o Committee discussed discontinuing the silent auction in replace of a bake sale.

o Idea is to bake cookies and place them in decorative boxes and sale them.

• Fundraiser Committee: Chair, Sharia Lassiter, absent, no updates.

JR – beginning cleanup in September of the Ellis County Democratic office. Preparing for future events.

Other Reminders:

• 8/26: Women’s Equality Day

• 8/21: Women’s Equality Day Celebration at Dallas City Hall

o Program starts at 12:00 pm

o Location: Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street, (in the Flag Room)Dallas, Texas

o Wear white to honor women’s equality

• 9/12 & 9/13: Next Democratic Presidential debates

• 9/16: Brown Bag luncheon

• 9/18: Waxahachie Culinary restaurant, “The Reservation”. There will be a sign-up sheet for future dates: 9/25, 10/2, 10/16 and 10/23.

• 9/24: National Voter Registration Day!! Location: Navarro College, Waxahachie, Texas – take a friend to register!! This event is non-partisan.

• 10/12: Fall fundraiser. Guest speaker, current chair of the Texas Democratic Party, Gilbert Hinojosa. Refreshments will be included. Purchase your tickets, limited seating. Tickets are $25 each. If you would like to help sponsor the event, there is a donation box specifically for the fundraiser.

• Continue to visit TDW Instagram and Facebook pages.

Guest Speaker: Jennifer Venable – Waxahachie High School History teacher.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:44 p.m.

June 2019 TDW Meeting Minutes

Date: June 15, 2019

The meeting was called to order at 4:04 p.m. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Sharia Lassiter – June 2019 Treasurer’s report was read and accepted. Lana Turner – the June 2019 meeting minutes were read and accepted.

Old Business:

A $500 scholarship check was mailed to Liberty University and Texas Tech on behalf of Scholarship winners: Madeline Shepherd (Midlothian High School) and Samantha Harris (Midlothian Heritage High School). TDW participated in the Crape & Myrtle parade, which turned out to be a successful event. Reminder: In September TDW will host its annual baby shower fundraiser for Hope Clinic. Please start collecting your items you plan to donate. Some suggestions for donated items: diapers, baby food, baby formula, clothes and cared for used furniture. TDW Trailer – the title was successfully transferred to the Ellis County Democratic Party. July Brown Bag lunch, held in the Ellis County Democratic office. Seven attended Discussed the possibility of holding a fundraiser in the fall College professor, Haley Kayzen continues to write articles on the behalf of TDW for the Waxahachie Daily Light newspaper. She also updates our Instagram and Facebook page.

New Business:

Committee Updates: Scholarship Committee: Chair, Vivian Gibson, no updates to report. Outreach Committee: Chair, Pat Paige, no update, chair was on vacation. Christmas Party: Chair, Nancy Canaday, no updates to report. Fundraiser Committee: Chair, Sharia Lassiter, no new updates. JR - the state requested we put together a folder/notebook. Southern Border: Email from ACLU encouraged individuals and party organizations to draft letter outlining our concerns and disagreement on how the border immigration of splitting children from their parents. Sign and mail letters to: Texas Senators, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and Texas State Representative, Ron Wright. Van training and block walking on 7/22 at 6:30 p.m. Next Democratic Presidential debates: 7/30 & 7/31 central time. Next Brown Bag luncheon/Ellis County Democratic Office: Will be held on 8/12. Ellis County Democratic T-shirts available for purchase ($12 each). Jimmie E. Ray passed away, and his service will be held on 7/19 at the Waxahachie Texas Civic Center. Former WISD coach/teacher and administrator Ellis County Constable Guest Speaker: Bob McShane The meeting was adjourned at 4:32 p.m.

TDW of Ellis County Meeting Minutes

May 18, 2019

The meeting was called to order at 4:04 p.m. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Sharia Lassiter – April 2019 Treasurer’s report was read and accepted.

Emma Wilson – April 2019 meeting minutes was read and accepted.

Old Business:

TDW will participate in the Ennis Polka Festival. We will have 3 booths.

• Voter registration

• LULAC

• Membership

The TDW trailer needs a lot of work to restore for us to continue to use safely in parades.

New Business:

Scholarship Committee: Chair, Vivian Gibson reported that the scholarship award ceremonies will be held on:

• May 21, 2019 – Midlothian High, winner Madeline Shepard

• May 23, 2019 – Midlothian Heritage High, winner Samantha Harris

Lynda Begnaud will present each scholarship on behalf of TDW

All TDW members are encouraged to attend the ceremonies

Both winners have been invited to attend the June TDW monthly meeting, at which time they will read their award winning essays. Congratulations to both students!

Outreach Committee: Chair, Pat Paige is collecting donations for the annual Baby Shower for Hope Clinic, planned for September 2019.

Jana Sanchez is following SB 22, which is headed to the Governor’s desk. The bill will halt important and vital services that are offered by Planned Parenthood and are fully or partially funded by the federal government. Sanchez is coordinating a protest around the historical Waxahachie courthouse early next week.

Election Results:

Chuck Beatty and Mary Lou Shipley were elected to the Waxahachie City Council

Edith Finely – was not elected to the WISD Board

Discussed fundraiser ideas:

• Post sale items on Craig’s list

• Garage sale

• Gift bags for Christmas

The board encourages members to continue to submit ideas

Primary debates for democratic president candidates:

June 26-27 (Chicago)

July 30-31 (Detroit)

Jeanette Flores will represent TDW in D.C. at Blue Ribbon Lobby Day

Becky Harris will continue to mail Birthday Cards to TDW members

Lynda Begnaud, presented design for business cards and banner to hang in the office

TDW board continues to encourage members to view and sign-up for our Instagram and Facebook pages

Lynda Begnaud, showed a PPT on the history of Women’s Day

The meeting was adjourned at 4:46 p.m.

TDW of Ellis County Meeting April 20, 2019

The meeting was called to order at 4;06 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Emma Wilson read the minutes in Lana Turner’s absence and they were accepted. Lynda Begnaud read the Treasury Report in Sharia’s absence. Treasury report was accepted. Lynda asked those who wanted to be members to see her after the meeting.
Old Business: Blue Ribbon Lobby Day-Two of our members went, Lynda Begnaud and Emma Wilson. It was a very good experience. There was a rally for equal pay and several female legislators spoke about different women’s issues. Jeanetta Flores went to the Washington DC for Women in Blue Day.
Thanks to Joe Gatlin for selling tickets for the Fish Fry. Thanks to Sharia Lassiter for collecting the money. Lynda asked if we wanted to use the Fish Fry money for the scholarship fund. Barbara Fudge thought we should keep the money for campaigns.
New Business: The Scholarship Committee chair, Vivian Gibson reported that the committee met twice since the last meeting. There were six candidates in total from both Midlothian high schools. The winner from Midlothian Heritage was Samantha Harris. We will present the scholarship to her on May 23, 2019 at 6:30. The winner for Midlothian High was Madeline Shepherd and her scholarship will be presented on May 21, 2019 at 6:30. Each winner will receive $500. There is $900 left over for next year.
Pat Paige reported about the Outreach Committee. The North Ellis County Outreach in Red Oak received help for their organization from us. They didn’t seem to have had as much help as the other towns to whom we have donated. Pat suggested that we donate to them the next time also and then go to the other towns afterward. Barbara moved to do this and Emma seconded. This will occur in July 2019. We will include food and personal items.
Lynda reported that Rebecca Cockerham’s daughter has volunteered to be TDW’s publicity person. She will be setting up Instagram.
A check was mailed from TDW to the Cook County Illinois Alzheimer Association chapter in memory of Verlie Cambric, Verlie Mc Broom’s mother.
Rebecca Cockerham’s father, Von Gene Stanford, passed away on March 25, 2019. Rebecca said that he was a lifelong Democrat so she asked that the donation go to the Ellis County Democratic Party.
Early voting begins April 22, 2019. May 4th is election day. Things on the ballot include Proposition A, having to do with annexation. Edith Finley is running for the WISD School Board and Chuck Beatty and Mary Lou Shipley are running for Waxahachie City Council.
We now have a TDW website, www.elliscounty.tdw.org
It was suggested that we limit refreshments to snacks instead of meals.
On May 25, 2019, JR Phillips is planning a big showing for the democrats at the Ennis Polka Festival. We will have three booths. One is for voter registration, another for LULAC and for membership opportunity. We will be trying to be in the parade. JR also said that Cat Sanders talked at the CEC meeting about how to reach out to rural communities. He had lunch with Lupe Valdez in reference to the homeless situation.
Meeting was adjourned at 4:45.
Speaker was Chuck Beatty.

ELLIS COUNTY TDW MINUTES March 16, 2019

The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m., by President, Lynda Begnaud and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. All board members were present, except for Treasurer, Sharia Lassiter. Lana Turner – February 2019 Secretary meeting minutes were read and accepted. Lynda Begnaud – February 2019 Treasurer’s report was read and accepted.

Old Business

Texas Democratic Women State Convention (2/22-2/24): Several TDW members attended, including Barbara Fudge, Lynda & Jerome Begnaud. March 6, 2019: Several TDW members met for lunch at “Reservations”, the restaurant operated by the culinary student program at Waxahachie High School.

New Business

April 18, 2019: Roundtable Meeting at Democratic Office, Waxahachie. Ruthie Self, reported the loss of TDW family members: Barbara Turner (sister) and Verlie McBroom(mother). Ruthie Self moved for TDW to donate $50 to an organization selected by the family member, 2nd by Emma Wilson. Verlie selected Illinois Alzheimer Association, Cook County, Barbara Turner’s donation is pending her choice. Reminders April 13, 2019: Fish Fry Fundraiser, held at Sardis Point Cafe April 2, 2019: Blue Ribbon Lobby Day New Business Scholarship Committee: Chair, Vivian Gibson, reported that we have a balance of $1,900 earned through fundraising and individual donation efforts. Outreach Committee: Chair, Pat Paige. Still accepting donations. Christmas Party Nancy and Tommy Cannady volunteered to chair the Christmas Party. Training J.R. Phillips, beginning to train volunteers (i.e., walkers and phone representative). Working on the Democratic t-shirts to wear while performing volunteer duties. The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

ELLIS COUNTY TDW MINUTES February 16, 2019

The meeting was called to order at 4:04 p.m., by President, Lynda Begnaud and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Sharia Lassiter – January 2019 Treasurer’s report was read and accepted.

Lana Turner – January 2019 meeting minutes were read and accepted.

Old Business

Barbara Fudge provided more information on Blue Lobby Day. Blue Lobby Day is very important. This event was created to give TDW members a chance to lobby their state representatives.

New Business

Scholarship Committee: Chair, Vivian Gibson, will be mailing applications to the high schools (in Midlothian) for students to complete. Lynda Begnaud made a motion to donate $200 from the TDW General Fund in support of the 2019 scholarships. Ruthie Self suggested we hold off donating $200 from the General Fund until the Scholarship Committee contribution period closes for the year. If at that time the goal of providing $750 for each scholarship (two) falls short, than TDW could consider donating $200 from the General Fund.

Outreach Committee: Chair, Pat Paige. Still accepting donations.

Training Updates

• February 19, 2019: Precinct Chair and Precinct Assistants, from 6-8 pm.

• February 21, 2019: Volunteer Deputy, from 7-8 pm.

Round Table Discussion will be held at the Ellis County Democratic Office. All interested in attending are welcomed, on February 18, 2019, from 1:15 - 2:15 pm. The discussion will be facilitated by TDW President Lynda Begnaud.

The Liberal Luncheon will be held at the Waxahachie Culinary Training Facility (Waxahachie High School) at 12:30 pm., on March 6, 2019. All interested in attending please add your name to the “sign-up” sheet. Reservations are required in advance. Entrée’s are $10 (which includes tea, and or coffee), an additional $3 for Desert.

In honor of Black History Month, Lynda Begnaud shared some less known heroes in the civil rights era.

Lynda Begnaud thanked Kathryn Mossom for refreshments.

2017 & 2018 Audit Report was summarized and presented by Barbara Fudge. The audit was performed by Barbara Fudge and Ruthie Self. The audit found the books accurate. Recommendations: That a copy of the audit letter verifying the starting balance should be filed in the 2019 Treasurer’s records, that the monthly Treasurer’s Report to the chapter contain more detail reflecting activity that caused changes to the account balances. The sample report contained in the Treasurer’s Handbook would be a good format model, that three months into the tenure of the new treasurer, the review committee sit with her and give their feedback regarding report and filing methodology rather than wait until year end to make her aware of review parameters and techniques.

Ruthie Self, provided an interesting fact about Slavery and ownership. Some slaves (less than one percent) were owned by other Blacks. Also, recommended reading material: Lift Every Voice and Sing.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

ELLIS COUNTY TDW MINUTES January 19, 2019

The meeting was called to order at 4:02 p.m., by President, Lynda Begnaud and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.‭ ‬   Barbara Fudge facilitated the installation of the ‭new ‭officers:‬ •‭ ‭ Lynda Begnaud ‬– ‭President‬ ‬•‭ ‭ Emma Wilson ‬– ‭Vice President‬ ‬•‭ ‭ Sharia Lassiter ‬– ‭Treasurer‬ ‬•‭ ‭ Lana Turner ‬– ‭Secretary‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Lynda Begnaud ‭gave ‭a ‬‬brief speech of acceptance and appreciation of her position‭ ‬as President‭. ‭ ‬‬   Lynda Begnaud ‭– ‬identified current and new Committee Leads:‭ ‬ •‭ ‭ Get‬-‭out‬-‭to Vote (new, Jana Sanchez & Vicki Alcada‭) ‬‬‬•‭Finance (need volunteer)‬ ‬•‭ ‭ Christmas Party (need volunteer)‬ ‬•‭ Audit (Ruthie Self & Barbara Fudge)‭ ‬‬‬•‭ ‭ Scholarship (Vivian Gibson)‬ ‬•‭Food Bank/Pantry (Pat Paige)‬ ‬   Vanessa Adia, discussed the importance and benefits of wom‭en running for elected office‭ ‬‬(local and national  levels). Early phone banking and walking volunteers are‭ essential ‭to‭ ‬‬winning!!‭ ‬‬   Secretary Lana Turner ‭- November 2018 Meeting Minutes were read and accepted.‭ ‬‬   Sharia Lassiter ‭– November 2018 T‬reasurer’s report was read and accepted. 13 members paid their dues for 2019.‭ ‬   ‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Old Business‭:  Lynda‭ ‬Fulg‭hum passed away in November 2018. Lynda‭ and ‬her husband Don were long ti‭me members of ‬‬ TDW. Don and Lynda‭ ‬built the Donkey stationed in the Ellis County Democratic office. Both were engineers  and enjoyed contributing it as a gift to the Ellis County Democratic office.‭ ‬It was moved to don‭ate $50 to the ‬ Ann Richards Foundation, in Lynda and Don Fulghum’s name‭. ‬   New Democratic County Chair is J.R. Philips (replacing Nancy Cannaday)‭. Philips’‭ ‬‬is a long‭-‭time resident of Waxahachie, and he is looking forward to working with all of us.‭ ‬  ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

New Business:‭ ‬ ‬  2019 Christmas Party. Need to select and reserve location. ‭Note:‭ ‬The Women’s Center is the most reasonable ‬ and will allow TDW to use a TDW member as the bartender.‭ ‬   Scholarship Committee‭ – Vivian Gibson reported ‭that ‭the committee has met 3x since 2018. Target to ‬‬‬ receive applications from high schools in March/April 2019‭ ‬from the two Midlothian high schools. The award  program will take place in May, actual date is pending. The goal of the committee and scholarship is to  motivate and inspire students to continue with their education.‭ ‬   Outreach Committee‭ – Pat Paige. Primary goal is to provide sizeable food items (non‭-perishable) to non‭-‬‬‬ profit foundations. ‭A few foundations identified: ‭ ‬‬•‭ ‭ My House (Midlothian)‭ ‬‬‬•‭ ‭ Helping Hands (Ennis)‬ ‬•‭ ‭ Waxahachie Care (Waxahachie)‭ ‬‬‬  The committee is targeting local pantries in M‭idlothian and Waxahachie‭ for our next outreach‭. ‬‬‬   Vivian Gibson ‭– suggested that TDW send ‭the ‬‬2018 TDW President, Kathy Kincaid a service plaque.‭ ‬  Lynda Begnaud ‭– ‬suggested we suspend monthly Liberal Luncheon. It was brought to the floor by Ruthie Self inst‭ead of suspending the monthly luncheon consider changing the frequency to quarterly and change the ‬ restaurant location quarterly as well.‭ ‬  Remi‭n‭der ‬– ‭TDW Convention will be held in Austin, February 22 ‭– ‬24. The Blue Ribbon Lobby Day‭ ‭will be‬‬‬‬ hoste‭d by ‬the ‭Texas Democratic Committee, April 22‬nd .   Fish Fry fundraiser will be held at Sardis Point Café on April 13, 2019, from 11:00 am. ‭– ‭2:00 p.m.‬ ‭Cost ‬- ‭$12 ‬‬ per ticket.‭ ‬ Friendly reminder ‭– ‬Bakeless bake sale donations are still being accepted. Letters were mai‭led to TDW ‬ members last month.‭ ‬ February 2019 Guest Speaker was Jesse Gibson (husband of TDW member Vivian Gibson)‭. Gibson spoke ‬about the history and importance of supporting Black History Month.‭ ‬   The meeting was adjourned at 4:49 p.m.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

ELLIS COUNTY TDW MINUTES November 17, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 4:06 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Kathy Kincaid spoke to us and pointed out that this is the last meeting of the year and her last year altogether. Jana Lynn Sanchez spoke to us about the election. We had a large amount of candidates this year and were quite visible. We dramatically changed the future of elections and learned a lot from this experience. The minutes were read and accepted. Linda Begnaud read the treasury report and she acknowledged that Larry Wilson gave TDW a generous donation. She also mentioned the need for scholarship donations. The treasury report was accepted.

Linda Begnaud with the Christmas committee had a sign up sheet to see what food people could bring to avoid duplications. The Christmas party will have a dessert contest and a silent auction. We will have a guest speaker, Jana Lynn Sanchez.

Vivian Gibson with the Scholarship committee announced the Linda Begnaud has joined the committee along with Pat Paige, Francine Jackson, Emma Wilson, and Kathryn Mossom. The next meeting will occur after the holiday. This year we gave two scholarships to Ennis High School students and in 2017, we gave one scholarship to a Waxahachie High School student. This coming year the scholarships will be awarded to high school students in Midlothian. There are two high schools there so our goal is to award a $500 scholarship per school in May. Pat Paige from the Service and Outreach committee told us that we should be proud of TDW accomplishments serving the different communities. We started with Waxahachie Care, then the Ennis Food Pantry and then Manna House in Midlothian. We will return to service Waxahachie Care in 2019. We may go with serving Red Oak after that.
There was a request for $100 worth of stamps for the Bakeless Bake Sale and funds that could be used to pay for twenty tickets to the Christmas Party for people selected by the Christmas committee. Each of those requests were accepted.

The Election Committee which includes Ruthie Self, Verlie McBroom, and Jerome Begnaud gave the 2019 Nomination Report. The nominations include:

Linda Begnaud-President
Cathy Mitchell and Emma Wilson-Vice President
Sharia Lassiter-Treasurer
Lana Turner-Secretary
There was a vote for Vice-President and Emma Wilson will serve in that capacity in 2019.

The speaker was Jim Schermbeck who is the director of Downwinders At Risk which is a non-profit, volunteer-run, grassroots group who is fighting for cleaner air in our area since 1994. The meeting was adjourned at 5:01.

ELLIS COUNTY TDW MINUTES
October 20, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 4:09 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Kathy KinKaid gave thanks to all those who are helping with the elections. The minutes and treasury reports were read and accepted. Lynda let people know about the dues, that it is better to pay after November 1st so it's effective through next year.

Old Business:

The TDW Christmas party will be held on December 1, 2018 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. There is a sign-in sheet created to help with the party. We need a committee. We couldn't get information from the Woodmen of the World, so went ahead and booked the Woman's Building.

TDW headquarters will be open during the Bob Phillips Texas Country Reporter event since the Beto people will be at headquarters. There are no other plans concerning the event. Kathryn Mossom informed us that a petition to stop involuntary annexations by Ellis County cities received enough signatures to put forth the referendum on the May 2019 ballot. On the May ballot, voters can decide if they wish cities to be required to call a vote that will determine if an area will be annexed.

New Business:

Ruthie Self is the head of the Elections Committee along with Verlie McBroom and Jerome Begnaud. The election of the officers will be held during the November meeting. The nominees are Lynda Begnaud for President, Cathy Mitchell for Vice-President, and Sharia Lassiter for Treasurer. There was no nomination for secretary.

Pat Paige spoke about starting the cycle for food donations with Waxahachie Care. We need to get a time frame for when to give Thanksgiving dinner items. There was a discussion about other towns that could be included in the cycle. It will be a quarterly cycle. At the next meeting, we can look at the framework as to what towns would receive help.

The refreshment sign-up sheet is going around for next year.

Vivian Gibson brought up the scholarship committee so we can get started for 2019. Midlothian will be the next town to receive our scholarship. They have two high schools. Lynda Begnaud volunteered for the committee as she had an idea for fundraising.

Nancy Cannaday informed us about Beto's rally at the Midlothian Conference Center on Thursday, October 25, 2018. The event will be at 5:30. Meeting was closed at 4:50.

The speaker was Jody LaFleur, an attorney with Winborne & LaFleur attorneys & counselors at law.

ELLIS COUNTY TDW MINUTES
September 15, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 4:06 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Kathy KinKaid opened the meeting with words of encouragement. The minutes were read and accepted. The treasury report was read and accepted. We have $586 in our Scholarship Fund.

Old Business:

A member, Lynne Wilson died. A motion was made and accepted to donate $50 as a memorial to her. After discussion, it was decided to send the donation to Ann Richard’s School for Young Women Leaders in Austin.

Barbara Fudge shared how the campaign money TDWEC allocated to candidates was distributed. A $100 donation was allocated to Jana Lynne Sanchez, Lupe Valdez, Kim Olson, Justin Nelson, Joi Chevalier, Curtis Polk Jr., and Sharon Levingston. Beto wouldn’t accept our donation because we are a PAC. The campaign Donations Committee decided to split the funds allocated for Beto to J.R. Phillips and Vicki Spaniel making the donation to each of them $200.

National Voter Registration Day is September 25.

Beto’s mother and sister were at Ellis County Democratic headquarters on Friday, September 14.

New Business:

Mike Collier will be here on Monday, October 15 at Ellis County Democratic headquarters for the Ellis County Young Democrats meeting. Kathy, Lynda, and Gayla will help prepare for the meeting. An article needs to be sent to local papers to announce his coming.

t’s time to elect new TDW officers. TDW elections chair is Ruthie Self. Not all officers are leaving. Existing officers can serve again.

Beto and Cruz will have their first debate on Friday, September 21 at 6 pm. It will be on domestic policy and will be held at SMU. There will be a debate watch party at headquarters.

Gayla reminded us the Hillary Clinton will be on the Rachel Maddow show on Tuesday, September 18.

The Bob Phillips festival is October 27. We decided to postpone discussion of whether to open headquarters during that until the next meeting.

We discussed where to have the Christmas party this year. Ruthie will find out about the Woodman of the World location.

Kathy KinKaid suggested setting up a mock voting booth to help people feel more comfortable about voting.

Becky Folse talked to the group about being a poll greeter, and asked for volunteers on election day and for early voting at all locations.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:52 PM.

Gladys Burns with Meals on Wheels of Johnson and Ellis County spoke to us about their mission and told us about volunteer opportunities.

ELLIS COUNTY TDW MINUTES
August 18, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 4:03 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The treasury report was read and accepted. We have $556 in the scholarship fund as of today. Thirty- seven members have paid their dues.

Nancy Cannaday spoke about the Vote by Mail program. Over 2,000 people would qualify in Ellis County. Because it’s something new, the recipients will need to be called to have it explained. We need volunteers to sign up to make phone calls.

Old Business: Scholarship recipients, Emma Howard and Marissa Feller received their money. Pat Paige gave a report of the TDW food donation on July 23rd at Manna House in Midlothian. We were asked what organization we represented multiple times and they were very pleased with the donations. Manna House works with the police and fire departments and with churches. We are donating $1200 to candidates. A committee was formed to make the decisions as to how to distribute. The committee includes Barbara Fudge, Kathy Mitchell, Ruthie Self, and Nancy Cannaday. Women’s Equality Day is August 22nd in Dallas at City Hall at 12:00 pm on the 6th floor. Turning the Page is the theme. Wear white.

Tommy Cannaday announced that Lynn Wilson has been very ill. She is in hospice care and is not responding.

New Business: Donations are needed for the Hope Clinic, like diapers and other baby things. Nancy suggested that we have a “baby shower” in the next meeting to collect the donations. We could name it Baby Shower for Hope Clinic.
Our speaker was Robert Ray Smith who spoke to us about the two main ways to get your Medicare coverage. Those are the original Medicare and the Medicare Advantage Plan.
Meeting was adjourned at 4:43.

Ellis County TDW Miinutes

July 21, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 4:05 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The treasury report was read and accepted. Lynda Begnaud conducted the meeting in Kathy KinKaid's absence.

The $510.00 made from the fish fry was given to 8 candidates per Jana Sanchez. Each candidate received $56.00. The Scholarship Fund now has $1536.00. We asked for more donations and discussed membership dues.

Old Business: Food donations will be for Manna House in Midlothian. Pat Paige will be taking the food there soon. TDW summer retreat will be in Dallas. Many speakers will be there August 3rd and 4th.

New Business: We need new committees and the volunteers to head them. Committees could meet once a month. For the Get Out the Vote fundraiser, see Lynda Begnaud after the meeting. Kathy KinKaid suggested we make banners indicating things for which liberals stand. For example, liberals support DACA. This can be discussed in the next meeting. TDW has a new website. Each chapter has the ability to have one also. Lynda showed everyone the different pages of the website. Photos could be included. It was asked if the minutes of the meeting could be included in the websites and we agreed to do that. Also, we discussed if the bylaws and committees should be included and we decided not to include those. We discussed a possible mission statement.

Per the upcoming election, a list of judges were needed by Jana Onion by July 31st. Gayla Gatling provided those. On August 13 and 14, Jana will be having input to modernize the voting equipment. They have had difficulties getting parts.

The speaker is Barbara Clark, the CEO of the Hope Clinic. Kevin Crouch was her co-speaker.

Meeting was adjourned at 4:30.

Ellis County TDW Miinutes

June 16, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 4:10 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

The minutes and the treasury report were read and accepted.

Kathy KinKaid's introduction concerned the DACA program and the situation on the border with children being separated from their parents.

Marissa Feller, the second scholarship recipient, spoke about her college plans and answered questions from the members.

Our speakers, Juana Ayala and Yuridia Salazar, spoke to the members about their experience with DACA. They informed us about the process to apply for DACA, the costs involved and how it has to be renewed every two years. Each time it's renewed, they have to do the full application process anew, and they have to pay once again. They have to give quite a bit of information and they have to be fingerprinted so they are easier to track. Therefore, they worry they would be more easy to deport.

Old business: Slate cards which have the information about the Democratic candidates could be helpful when doing block walks. Ruthie Self suggested that TDW donate the money from the Fish Fry to Jana Sanchez in order to contribute toward the slate cards. Barbara Fudge suggested that we earmark the money for the slate cards and figure out to whom the check would be given. It was decided that Lynda Begnaud will do what will be appropriate after talking to Jana. Beto signs and bumper stickers are at headquarters. The July 4th parade's theme is Ride the Blue Wave with the Young Democrats working on that. Kathryn Mossum asked for information about the state convention and whether or not we would be meeting and going together. The answer to that was no. The SD22 caucus is mandatory for delegates and they should sit together in order to vote. Juneteenth information was given.

New Business: It is time to start thinking about the Christmas party. The city council meets July 2nd in was anyone wants to attend. Liberal Lunch will be July 14th. We will try to have on in Red Oak at that time along with Waxahachie and Ennis.

Meeting adjourned at 5:40.