MEET KARLA WIGHT

Although every League member offers a level of commitment, active participation, and leadership that contributes to the overall success of the League, certain individuals, like Karla Wight, come along with levels of energy and passion that are well above average. Karla’s energy and passion were contagious and responsible for the LWVPA’s return to an active status in 2014, following about 10 years of inactivity.

Karla was the first child of a Unitarian minister and a Polish immigrant social worker. She, as well as her sister and brother, became part of the "family business", working on community efforts that come with the obligations of a family headed by a minister and social worker. This childhood put Karla on a life-long path of community engagement, which benefited both the Seattle and the Portland Leagues.

Karla graduated from Boston University with a nursing degree in 1957. Shortly thereafter she married and the newly-weds headed to Seattle where a job awaited her husband. In Seattle, Karla completed a Master in social work (MSW) and worked as a psychiatric social worker until she had her first daughter in 1959. As expected of a woman of the 1950's, Karla quit her job to become a full-time mother. 

It wasn't long until Karla felt something was missing. Her conversations with others now seemed confined to subjects such as potty training and other homemaking topics. Not having the intellectually stimulating discussions and community engagement she once had, Karla asked a friend; "Is this all there is?" That friend recommended joining the Seattle LWV; a decision that changed Karla's life.

Karla became a Unit Leader, Board Member, and Membership Chair, working persistently on civic issues facing Seattle. This work with like-minded and equally passionate individuals was the intellectual stimulation she so dearly missed. As her family expanded with the birth of a second daughter, Karla found that her League work contributed to making her a better mother.

Fast forward to 2007: Karla and her husband, Joe moved to Portland, Maine to be near family as Joe was fighting Alzheimer's. Upon his death in 2011, Karla was ready to join and meet members in her new League home. She was saddened to discover that LWVPA was inactive. She turned that disappointment into action, and through hard work and dedication, she provided the spark that re-ignited a thriving, fully active organization by 2014. It is for this reason that she is the recipient of the 2016 Emily Farley Award, the first since the LWVPA re-launch.

Thank you, Karla, for your enthusiasm, dedication, and incredible, extraordinary spirit.