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February 2009
Press Releases
Secretary of State Markowitz Announces New Town Meeting Holiday -
February 13, 2009
New law makes it easier for citizens to participate in local
government.
Secretary of
State Markowitz Presents the 2009 Democracy Awards - February
12, 2009
Secretary of
State Markowitz to Present the 2009 Democracy Awards -
February 10, 2009
Seven Vermont citizens and organizations to be honored in a statehouse
ceremony on February 12.
February
13, 2009
Contact: Ginny Colbert
(802) 828-2148
________________________________________________________________________
Town Meeting Day
Holiday Announced
Secretary of State Deb
Markowitz Announces New Town Meeting Holiday
Citizens Urged to Participate in Town Meeting This Year
Montpelier.
Today Secretary of State Markowitz announced a new town meeting holiday to
permit working Vermonters to take time off to attend their town meeting.
Markowitz said, “Town Meeting Day is one of the democratic high points of
the year. It is a time for neighbors to
discuss the civic issues of their community, elect local officers and vote
on budgets. The legislature created the town meeting holiday to ensure that
every Vermonter has an opportunity to participate.”
The new law provides that, subject to the
essential operation of a business or entity of state or local government, an
employee has the right to take unpaid leave from work to attend town
meeting. Markowitz said, “The new law treats attendance at town meeting the same
way we treat serving on jury duty by providing employees with unpaid leave
time. It also balances the legitimate needs of employers to continue their
operation while enabling most employees to participate in town meeting.”
To take advantage of this law the employee
must give at least seven days notice to his or her employer. The law also
gives students who are 18 or older the right to miss school in order to
attend their town meeting.
For more information about Vermont town meeting, visit the secretary of
state’s office town meeting website.
www.sec.state.vt.us/townmeeting/index.html.
This website is designed to help citizens, candidates, and local officials
make the most out of Town Meeting Day and includes a
Citizen’s Guide to Town Meeting
and a Handbook for Moderators,
as well as many other resources.
#30
PRESS RELEASE
February 12, 2009
Contact: Ginny Colbert (802) 828-2148
_______________________________________________________________________
Secretary
of State Deb Markowitz Presents the 2009 Democracy Awards
Seven
Vermont citizens and organizations were honored in a statehouse ceremony.
Montpelier.
Today, Vermont Secretary of State Deb Markowitz presented the 2009 Democracy
Awards to seven Vermont citizens and organizations at a ceremony at the
Vermont Statehouse.
“These awards honor people who have promoted
the tenets of democracy in Vermont. Each of this year’s recipients is a
shining example of leadership in the democratic process,” says Markowitz.
The
National Association of
Secretaries of State Medallion Awards were presented to
Kristie Bush, teacher at Montpelier’s Union Elementary School; Don Collins,
former Franklin County state senator and educator; and WPTZ Television
Newschannel 5.
Receiving the
Vermont Secretary of
State’s Enduring Democracy Award were Dennis Bonanza, a
teacher at the Community High School of Vermont; Bill Hoar, Barnet Town
Clerk and Treasurer; Toni Little, Resident Advisor at Johnson State College;
and Ashley Wheeler, Miss Vermont 2008.
The Medallion Award was established by the
National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) in 2001 to honor
individuals, groups, or organizations with a record of promoting the goals
of NASS in one or more of the following areas: improving elections, with
special emphasis on voter education and increasing voter participation;
civic education, including the teaching, promotion, and study of this
subject; and service to state government--specifically, as it relates to
improving democracy in the state.
The Vermont Secretary of State Enduring
Democracy Award honors individuals and organizations that have shown an
outstanding commitment to promoting democracy in the Vermont.
Please visit
www.sec.state.vt.us for more information about programs offered by the
Secretary of State’s Office.
Honoree information:
Kristie Bush, Teacher, Montpelier Union Elementary School
Kristie Bush has been chosen as a recipient
of this year’s Medallion Award because of her leadership and longstanding
commitment to promoting civics education in her classroom, her school and in
the state. As one of the founding board members of Kids Voting and then
Vermont Votes for Kids, she was instrumental in developing and promoting
Vermont’s mock election programs. In addition to continuing to be a leader
in her school and a role model for other schools in promoting mock
elections, she has developed a Veterans’ Day program that is creative,
unique and engaging for her students and highlights the number of Veterans
in our lives and the importance of their service.
The Honorable Don Collins, former State Senator for Franklin
County
Don Collins was chosen as a recipient of this
year’s Medallion Award because of his lifelong commitment to educating
Vermont students to be good citizens. As a teacher, administrator and
legislator he has shown outstanding commitment and leadership in promoting
civics education.
WPTZ Television, Colchester, Vermont
WPTZ has been chosen as a recipient of this
year’s Medallion Award because of News Channel 5 and WPTZ’s outstanding
coverage of the 2008 election through the Your Vote Your Voice series.
WPTZ’s commitment to educating citizens about their civic obligations and
its affirmation of the media’s important role in our democracy is worthy of
special recognition.
Dennis Bonanza, Teacher, Community High School
of Vermont
As the civics teacher at the Department of
Corrections’ Community High School of Vermont, Dennis assists students in
their academic, social and vocational successes. His passion for civic
engagement and dedication to his students fueled his determination to
provide a voter registration event at Marble Valley Correctional facility to
register eligible inmates to vote.
Bill Hoar, Barnet Town Clerk and Treasurer
As the Barnet Town Clerk/Treasurer, Bill has
been a willing mentor to countless other clerks and members of various
public service boards. Under his quiet and understated leadership, Barnet
was one of the first towns to adopt the vote tabulator system to ensure
accuracy and efficiency in election results. Bill will be missed as he
begins his well-deserved retirement!
Toni
Little, Resident Advisor, Johnson State College
Toni is being honored for her efforts in
coordinating a campus-wide voter registration event at Johnson State
College. While campus-based voter registration was popular all over Vermont
this election year, as far as we know, Toni coordinated the only completely
student-initiated, campus-wide registration event.
Ashley Wheeler, Miss Vermont 2008
As Miss Vermont, Ashley took the initiative
to figure out how and where she could use her position to help educate
Vermonters about the importance of voting. Under the Your Vote is Your Voice
banner, during the past election cycle Ashley was armed with buttons,
stickers, and voter registration forms and helped Vermonters do their part
for democracy.
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PRESS ADVISORY
February 10, 2009
Contact: Ginny Colbert (802) 828-2148
_______________________________________________________________________
Secretary of State Deb Markowitz to Present
the 2009 Democracy Awards
Seven
Vermont citizens and organizations to be honored in a statehouse ceremony.
Montpelier. Vermont Secretary of State Deb
Markowitz will be presenting the 2009 Democracy Awards to seven Vermont
citizens and organizations at the Vermont Statehouse on Thursday, February
12, at 3:30 pm.
“These awards honor people who have promoted the tenets
of democracy in Vermont. Each of this year’s recipients is a shining
example of leadership in the democratic process,” says Markowitz.
The National Association of Secretaries of State
Medallion Award will be presented to Kristie Bush, teacher at
Montpelier’s Union Elementary School; Don Collins, former Franklin County
state senator and educator; and WPTZ Television Newschannel 5.
Receiving the Vermont Secretary of State’s
Enduring Democracy Award are Dennis Bonanza, a teacher at the
Community High School of Vermont; Bill Hoar, Barnet Town Clerk and
Treasurer; Toni Little, Resident Advisor at Johnson State College; and
Ashley Wheeler, Miss Vermont 2008.
The Medallion Award was established by the National
Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) in 2001 to honor individuals,
groups, or organizations with a record of promoting the goals of NASS in one
or more of the following areas: improving elections, with special emphasis
on voter education and increasing voter participation; civic education,
including the teaching, promotion, and study of this subject; and service to
state government--specifically, as it relates to improving democracy in the
state.
The Vermont Secretary of State Enduring Democracy Award
honors individuals and organizations that have shown an outstanding
commitment to promoting democracy in the Vermont.
Please visit our website at
http://www.sec.state.vt.us/Democracy_Awards.html for more information.
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