2019 Emily Farley Award Recipient
Barbara Kaufman deserves a large share of the credit for the growth and dynamism of the LWVPA once it came back to life in 2014. Karla Wight, who provided the initial inspiration for rejuvenating the LWVPA, credits Barbara with doing the heavy lifting by taking on the role of President. Polly Ward and Loraine Glowczak, among the early recruits, recall that when a small group of members met in Karla's living room in 2013 to discuss the possibility of officially "waking up" the PA League, volunteers to serve as
Secretary/Treasurer and VP of the Board came readily. However, when the position of President was put on the table there was a long silence...until Barbara, who apparently had less tolerance for silence than others, volunteered to take on the leadership challenge. Although Barbara came to the PA League without prior League experience, she brought with her leadership and community development skills honed during her long career as an educator. As she took over the reins of the PA League, she was also actively building community service programs in Maine public school systems through the Kids Consortium program.
Barbara's vision for the "new" PA League, coupled with her ability to draw volunteers into undertaking the work needed to follow the vision, has contributed to growth in membership, expansion of League activities, increased recognition of the LWVPA in the community, and to this 6th Annual Meeting. Thanks to Barbara's efforts and ability to mentor others, the PA League has established a structure and a set of processes that will carry us well into the future. Those who have had the pleasure of working with Barbara describe her as...
always welcoming; possessing a magic spark; able to grease the skids--people want to help her accomplish things; deals with others where they are and doesn't force people to come to her terms; a juggler able to handle many tasks at once; someone who shares--doesn't hog--leadership.
Peg Balano praises Barbara's ability to lead with humility and grace, to mentor others, and to build cohesive teams able to work together toward the common goals of the League. Peg's first contact with the League was a call to Barbara to volunteer for voter registration drives. Before she knew what had happened, Peg was the coordinator of voter registration for the PA, then a PA Board member, then a LWVME Board member, and now a Co-President of the PA League. Peg points out that all along the way, she was mentored and encouraged by Barbara. Peg notes that Barbara has the best way with people and a bag of tricks to help solve any quandary.