2024 Emily Farley Award Recipient
Without a doubt, Elaine DiGiovanni (in the middle of the photo) meets the Emily Farley Award criteria.
Elaine became a League member in 2013 and moved up to LWVPA board membership the following year. She came to the LWVPA after a career in teaching English as a second language (ESL) -- first as Asst. Professor at the Community College of Philadelphia where she taught for more than 20 years and then as a tutor to ESL students in Portland Adult Education. Her accomplishments in training others, publishing and presenting at the national level served her well in her many League roles. Her experience with non-native speakers of English made her a strong supporter and an excellent resource for LWVME efforts to translate voter guides into languages other than English.
Elaine currently chairs the LWVPA Membership Committee, co-chairs the Nominating Committee and serves on Democracy Maine’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Membership Committee. She has contributed immeasurably to developing best practices for member engagement and retention—practices which other Leagues emulate. She is brilliantly qualified for this work by being welcoming, generous, and kind, as well as disciplined.
Most of you who have joined the LWVPA since 2014 have received phone calls or personal notes from Elaine inviting you to join or thanking you for joining. In addition to her phone calls and notes, Elaine has frequently hosted LWVPA events at her home, with a particular emphasis on introducing new members to already active members.
Elaine is also great with details. She keeps the Board well organized in her quiet and professional way. She’s good at considering different options and explaining her opinions, inspiring us all to be more thoughtful.
The EFEF Board would like to clarify that traditionally the Awardee does not know beforehand that they are receiving this award. But Elaine was inadvertently forewarned, and that story epitomizes some of her most endearing characteristics. It goes like this: Elaine was accidentally included as a recipient on a Board email drafting the 2024 Awardee’s “story”. When the error was noted, we called her to apologize. She laughed and said that as she began reading, she started thinking that the recipient sounded an awful lot like herself, but she dismissed it because she couldn’t figure out why she would be getting this award. That is Elaine, modest and unpretentious!
Thank-you, Elaine, for the personal attention you have extended to each and every member.