Young was president of the Clark County chapter from 1984 to 1986, and held numerous other positions, including treasurer and forum chairwoman.
On May 2, Young was honored for her 50 years as a member of the league, becoming the fourth woman to earn the honor since the local chapter was founded in 1937.
“I truly believe in what the league does,” Young said. “We educate ourselves, and we educate others.”
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization that looks to encourage informed and active participation in government and politics, as well as to influence public policy through education and advocacy, according to the organization’s website. The national organization has local and state chapters.
Growing up in Vancouver, Young said her parents weren’t too interested in politics, but she was an avid reader and tried to keep up with what was going on in the world.
“I don’t think my mom even voted,” Young said. “Or, she didn’t vote until I started getting on her about it.”
Young passed her interest in politics to her two daughters.
“Ever since they were old enough to think for themselves, they got politically active,” Young said. “The (Equal Rights Amendment) came in the early ’70s, and they really got active. They wrote letters to the editor. We would go together to marches and protests.”
One of her daughters, Julie Young, twice ran unsuccessfully for Vancouver City Council.
Young said she thinks she’ll always be a member of the league, but she’s seen membership decline over her 50 years with the group. When she first joined, the Clark County chapter had membership in the mid-50s to mid-60s. When she was president, Young set a goal to increase membership to at least 70. Currently, there are about 30 members, she said.
It’s disappointing for Young to see the numbers drop.
“I know it takes a lot of time to inform yourself,” she said. “If you read a paper or two, it takes a lot of time.”
It’s that reason why Young has remained a member of the league for 50 years.
“Informing people, or helping them to inform themselves, is so darn important,” she said. “I really worry about this country, and how the voting public, the percentage of people really informing themselves, is going down. I think it’s a real tragedy.”
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