Last Updated on September 13, 2025
09/05/25 FIRST FRIDAY FORWARD MEETING:
Our MD FWD at Charlestown group met in the Refectory at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 5th. Seventeen of us attended the meeting. Buttons and elevator pitch business cards were available to help members get the word out about FWD.
We tried out the poker chip method to illustrate Ranked Choice Voting. We voted on whether the majority of members liked vanilla, chocolate, strawberry or moose tracks ice cream best. After an initial vote followed by two subsequent rounds to include the second choice flavors of voters whose first choices had been eliminated in previous rounds, chocolate won. It was fun. We learned how to use poker chips more efficiently to demonstrate this kind of voting. Participants said it was a helpful way to be able to see the results of the vote and how the tabulations were done. Maybe we can find a way to do a similar demo for other FWD events.
We talked about how RCV is being considered for use in the city of Annapolis and what we could do to lend email support to that effort.
As we meet people interested in learning about FWD, please remember that our introductory emphasis is that this is a grassroots movement that is trying to help voters communicate their concerns to legislators. The survey on the MD FWD website (easily reached by the QR code on our elevator pitch cards) takes 3 minutes to complete and will help us compile which political issues voters in various localities throughout MD feel are most important. If you give someone a card, consider asking if they will pass it on to another person once they have completed the survey.
UPCOMING
09/12/25 CGO EXPO:
For the 09/12 CGO Expo (formerly Fruits of our Labor) event in the Conference Center, We still have no one at our table from 11:30-12:30. All other volunteer time slots for that event are filled – many thanks.
09/30/25 RCV PRESENTATION:
Tickets (no charge) for the 09/30 event will be distributed on 09/17 at Cross Creek from 11:00-12:00 and Fireside from 1:00-2:00. It would be helpful if you would wear your FWD buttons on the 16th to help remind folks to pick up their tickets. Let me know if you need a button, elevator pitch business cards or a flyer announcing the event to put on your apartment door.
On 09/30 we will be handing out paper ballots for attendees to fill out as they enter the auditorium. These will be used for a mock RCV vote. We still need two club members who are willing to arrive early to learn how to tabulate these ballots and then to help do so. This will help participants get a better feel of how RCV works. Please let me know if you can help out with the vote counting on 09/30.
Our speakers on 09/30 will be parking at the Cross Creek parking lot. we need a volunteer to meet them in that lobby, walk them over to the auditorium.
We also have only one volunteer to usher on 09/30. Three to four ushers would be much better, so please let me know if this is something you can do.
Think that’s about it. Thanks for your generous offers of help during this busy month. I will be speaking at the Catonsville Rotary on 09/16, so will report back on what I learn there and we can discuss results of our 09/30 RCV event at our next club meeting on October 3rd.
Rose Ann