MARCH 2025 Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm at the Democratic Headquarters by President Stephanie Shufelt.

The minutes of the last meeting were not circulated so approval will be extended to April.

Membership Report:  Welcome to new members. All participants are encouraged to complete the membership form and pay the optional dues of $25. To date, including 2024 members, the count is 32.

Treasurer’s Report:  Ending balance January 31, 2025, was  $1,917.11                    

Debits:  $164.47, Credits:  $355.65   Ending Balance February 2025:   $2,108.29

March debits to date:  $154.96, Tentative Balance:  $1,953.33 (March 25, 2025)

President’s Report:  Key notifications, successes, and needs:

In line with the 5051 movement, NWA will hold a protest march on April 5. The event will start at the Washington County Courthouse and protesters will walk to the Town Center. WCDW will be represented and volunteers are invited to table with Stephanie. The Headquarters are open on Saturday from 10 to 2 and people are welcome to make signs for the protest. 

The Townhall meeting was successful. Senators Cotton and Bozeman as well as Representative Steve Womack  were invited but did not attend,

Stephane reported that she is working on the WCDW website and is seeking a secretary and communications volunteer,

Guest Speaker: Stephanie introduced the speaker, Bruce Appel, President, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2201, the sole representative of bargaining unit employees of the  Veterans Healthcare System of Ozarks. He is a retired RN who served the VA from1994 to 2020,

Key points of his presentation: The Choice Act resulted in Veterans seeking health care in the community due to staffing shortages of 49,000 to 68,000 in 2019.

Staffing issues include the shortages, pressure on community privatized health care providers to meet the volume of veterans seeking care. Recent cuts  have resulted in a reduction of 83,000 employees, no has expertise in Veterans' needs, unfair career conditional retirements, a loss on non-partisan staffing and control of the VA. 

The Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks. must fire 600 employees. Due to recent White House resolutions, contracts are being cancelled, each employee must submit a weekly report of work accomplished. The VA has 70,000 veterans to care for. The VA has veteran access to expertise for veteran needs, especially for mental health. Mental health care at the VA is the best in NWA.

In anticipation of cuts, he predicts that Women’s Health Care will go first. There will be deferred resignation implementation, financial management will change and a great loss of key personnel.

What can we do? Get the word out!

AFGE is the key to addressing the loss of veteran services such as the protest in Fayetteville. This is not a partisan need for action but rather a common non-partisan need to do the right thing. 

What can WCDW do? Serve as a partner, inform each other about protests and other actions, regain citizenship.

On behalf of WCDW, Stephanie thanked Bruce for his talk and action for Veterans.

General discussion:

The NWA Community Hub is a helpful online resource for coalition building and event information. Members suggested that WCDW cards and flyers should be circulated at the Farmer’s Market and other events. Justice of the Peace Beth Coger reported that the Quorum Court voted down the Welcoming Community Resolution. She will be honored at the Women in History Banquet on March 31.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:50.

Submitted by Mary Alice Serafini