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To the editor:
When we started the League of Women Voters of Marblehead’s Observer Corps in 2019, we were living in different times. The existing “news desert” and then Covid motivated League members to fill in for the lack of information about town boards and committees. Our observer reports were often the only local “news” being reported, and many readers expressed how grateful they were for our efforts.
Volunteering as an observer was a substantial commitment requiring many hours between trying to figure out when a meeting was happening, observing at the meeting, writing up the report and then sending it off for publication. Sometimes there was follow-up with the board chairperson to make sure the reporting was accurate. And that was always critically important…getting the information right.
Now we have three papers that have been covering several of the same boards we did. With this enhanced coverage by local media, observers reluctantly decided that the time was right to bring the Observer Corps to an official end.
Over the years 15 League members have volunteered as observers including: Tom Krueger, Nancy Powell, Kay Rieper, Katharine Redmond, Brigitte Lagoutte, Kathy Breslin, Shari Pressman, Maggie Smist, Cathy Marie Michael, Mimi Hollister, Jody Howard, Judith Black, Julie Matuschak, Steven Levy and myself.
All these volunteers are to be commended for their dedication and commitment to the Observer Corps. It has been a labor of love. For us, this is not a sad occasion but instead a time to celebrate all we have accomplished and the commitment we made to bring sunlight to town government.
We extend our gratitude and appreciation to all those who have volunteered to be part of this extraordinary effort by the League of Women Voters of Marblehead, including the Marblehead Current, the Marblehead Weekly News and the Marblehead Independent for their on-going support over the years.
Bonnie Grenier
Sagamore Road
