What We Do:
ACTIVATE.
EDUCATE.
MOTIVATE.
The History of the BCDC
In late 2018, a few Democrats in Burnet County, Texas, were working to support Marti Pogue, Burnet County Democratic Party Chair, when they realized something.
They weren’t alone! Burnet County has more Democrats than they knew.
So, they decided that the best way to support the Party at the county, state and national level was to formally establish a Club. This Club would be a separate entity from the Burnet County Party, with its own board, members and funds. Yet, its mission would be to spread the ideals of the Democratic Party throughout Burnet County and help to register and turn out as many Democratic voters as possible.
Mel Hazlewood, BJ Henry, Shirley Schmidt and Mary Doran were the forces behind the Club’s formation.
They began working on bylaws and filing legal paperwork in early 2019, and began holding meetings in March 2019 while the Club was still being formalized. About 25 people attended each lunchtime meeting to hear a guest speaker and Club and Party updates.
Club members elected an interim Leadership Board to finalize the Club’s formation. They were:
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Mel Hazlewood, President & Treasurer
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BJ Henry, Vice President
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Cindy Dashnaw
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Mary Doran
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Shirley Schmidt
As gatherings continued monthly, the board finalized bylaws and set membership policies. The Club supported a Party fundraiser in September. Members elected the Club’s first official board of directors by acclamation:
The first board officially took office in January 2020 for one-year terms:
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BJ Henry, President (served through 2022!!)
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Mel Hazlewood, Vice President & Treasurer
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Mary Doran, Secretary
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Cindy Dashnaw, Publicity
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Shirley Schmidt
Our current Officers elected for 2023-2024 are:
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Dr. Sue White, President
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Guy Stuart, Vice President
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Martha Patino Van Vleck, Secretary (second term!)
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Rodney Wing, Treasurer
Along with a governing board comprised of active, involved Democrats throughout the county, the BCDC has a bright future moving ahead!
Our goal: ACTIVE. EDUCATE. MOTIVATE.
Board meetings are the third Friday every month at 1:00pm. Events are published in the monthly newsletter and promoted on all our social media sites!
Our Purpose
The purpose of the Burnet County Democratic Club is to foster active interest in the Democratic Party to increase political activity by Democrats in local, state and national politics.
Any person who supports the purposes of the Club is eligible for membership. The
Club does not and shall not exclude anyone from membership on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, ethnicity, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status.
Per a bylaws change adopted in April 2021 by a membership vote, the Burnet County Democratic Club no longer collect yearly dues. But donations are welcome!
We have set up an online membership form to make it easy to join and/or update your membership profile.
A Message from Your New BCDC Officers:
