Welcome to the AZELO Newsletter!

December 1, 2021

This Issue's Contents

Legislative District Action Teams... Why?
Legislative Update
Kem's Open Office
Action Team Update
Upcoming Events
Donate!

Legislative District Action Teams... Why?

by Dr. Dwight Moore, Psychologist and AZELO Volunteer

Some recent quotes from Arizona Congresspeople:

"Young people are going to feel the impact of what we legislators do for years to come. That is why we need to hear their voices through voting. When young voters speak out, we will listen."

"The biggest right you have is the right to vote. If you don't use it, our founders' efforts were in vain."

Representatives and Senators in Arizona frequently ask their constituents for feedback and input (particularly when they are up for reelection). As you may know, there are 30 legislative districts in Arizona and each has 2 representatives and 1 senator. If you don’t know which legislative district you are in, click here and enter your address: My State Legislators.

Here's a question for you:
Do you want to pass a Medical Aid in Dying law in Arizona?

Having your voice heard by the Arizona legislature is essential to getting our MAID bill passed and we have set up Action Teams in each legislative district for that very reason. If each and every one of us join our Action Team, together we will have a very powerful voice indeed! At a minimum, your total commitment could be about 15 minutes a month, but for those who have more time to spend, there are activities for you as well. You will be sent specific directions for each month’s actions. A team leader will be available for help or support.

If you don’t take action and instead remain silent, the law will not pass. Our goal is to have 20 team members in each Action Team. If you haven't done so already, or haven't received a welcome call or email from your team leader, click here to add your name to your LD’s Action Team: AZELO Action Team Sign-up

Arizona End of Life Options (AZELO) is committed to providing excellent end-of-life choices to its citizens. You have leverage in your legislative district. Your senator and representatives want to know how you feel about issues. Being part of an Action Team allows you to participate in the democratic process.

Legislative Update
by Leesa Stevens, Legislative Advocacy Team Leader

As the year comes to a close this is a good time to update everyone on the Touch Plus Legislative Campaign, which started in February of 2021 and is due to end in October of 2022, is now almost the midpoint in our campaign.

The goal of the Legislative Advocacy Team, composed of me, Mandy Weaver, Dave Ronald, and a few other steering committee leaders, was to contact our 90 Arizona state legislators and their aides, introduce them to Arizona End of Life Options, establish a relationship and gauge their support and understanding of MAID. Through personal conversations, we also inquired into any questions or concerns they had, their willingness to attend an informational MAID program, suggestions for allies, and their plans for seeking reelection in 2022 for the 2023 legislative session.

During the first half of our campaign, we were able to connect with 36 legislators and have conversations with 21.

One of our challenges has been legislative turnovers. We have had 7 legislative resignations with 5 new legislators seated in the first half of our campaign. 15 more legislators have announced they will not be seeking reelection to their current legislative position. Others are waiting for the new redistricting map, slated to be finished in January of 2022, before making a decision on whether to run again.

Here is me posing with Senator Martin
Quezada in Sedona at a political event in October. Senator Quezada represents Legislative District 29 and was the co-sponsor of our MAID bill in 2020.

Next month’s legislative update will focus on our new bill language and its new sponsors. It's going to be an exciting year, so stay tuned!

Kem's Open Office
with Kem Ellis, AZELO Volunteer Coordinator

Tis' the season for celebrating!

Let's get together on Friday, December 3, and celebrate the great strides we are making to grow and develop our AZELO action teams. This Friday's open office will be a great opportunity to learn about the latest ideas, resources, and training materials that are now available to help action teams grow, thrive, and take action!

So grab your cup of coffee, or holiday beverage of choice, and join the party! Here's the invitation:

Zoom at Kem's Open Office 10:00 -12:00 December 3rd

I look forward to celebrating with you on Friday, December 3rd!

Kem

Legislative District Action Team Update
by Marie MacWhyte, Digital Marketing Lead

Ron Mohney, Team Leader for LD 6, hosted the first action team organizational meeting Monday morning of November 22nd. The meeting was held via Zoom and was well attended. With nearly 50 members, Ron's team is by far the largest of all the action teams, with residents from the counties of Yavapai and Coconino in Williams, Flagstaff, Payson, and Cottonwood, and five other communities within that square.

AZELO leaders Dwight Moore, Kem Ellis, and Marie MacWhyte took turns presenting information about AZELO's plans for working with the Arizona Legislature on getting a Medical Aid in Dying bill passed, the action team activities needing to be accomplished, and the tools available for managing the team. Eight other team leaders attended as observers, as they ready themselves to host their own team meetings.

Ron made organizing the meeting look easy. He initially contacted all his members, welcoming them to the team, and then he emailed each of them a Doodle Poll to find the best date and time for the meeting.

If you've never heard of the internet tool, Doodle, you aren't alone. "I initially thought it was a cartoon, not a tool to use!" laughed one of the team leaders when asked why she hadn't yet responded to the poll.

Here's how the poll works: participants get an email from the meeting host via Doodle.com where they are presented with a table listing all the possible dates and times that are being considered for the meeting. They can check the box below each date/time if they’re available or leave it blank if not. Participants can also see how others have responded before they choose. Doodle keeps a running total for the host, and as more people respond, it becomes clear which date and time are going to work for the most people. For team leaders who have never used internet tools such as this one, help is available from the AZELO staff.

Which team will be next to host their first organizational meeting? Here's a clue: Dwight Moore, team leader for LD 13, sent out his Doodle poll last Sunday.

If you haven't yet joined your action team and the concept of Doodle sounds intriguing to you, here's your opportunity to try it! Click here to join your action team Do you enjoy organizing people and activities? Some of our action teams still do not have team leaders, so keep that in mind when you sign up, as you may be asked!

Upcoming Events

Presented by Dr. Dwight Moore, this zoom presentation describes the six choices people have about how they will exit this life and makes a case for considering Medical Aid in Dying as one of the choices.

Click on one of these dates to register. Your zoom link will be emailed to you:
Free Webinar on Friday, December 3rd at 1:00

The presentation will be repeated:
Sunday, December 12th at 2:00

*** SAVE THE DATE ***

AZELO All-Volunteer Event via Zoom
Saturday, January 29th, from 9:00 -10:00 am

Meet AZELO leaders in Arizona
Learn about major accomplishments and strategies
Update on bill language for 2022
New opportunities to volunteer
Breakout session for Volunteer Action Teams on how to educate and influence legislators

.....Make a Giving Tuesday Gift to Arizona End-of-Life Options Today.... Click Here to Donate.

Arizona End-of-Life Options
https://azendoflifeoptions.org