You might have seen Linda Stine at an event.

She’s the one who approached everyone walking by to ask, “Are you registered to vote?’ If the answer was no, she showed them how. If the answer was yes, she asked,” Have you heard about Rachel Wallace, our Democratic candidate for Congress?”

While she regaled them with information, she let them play a history trivia game, offered them candy, and signed them up for a lottery. By the time she was done, her persuasive chat might have even convinced them to volunteer to help Democrats win.

Stine was named Democrat of the Year at the Democratic Committee’s sold out fall dinner Oct. 1 at the Hebron firehall.

It was a surprise, she said. There are so many others making a difference as we head into the midterm elections.

“It was such a team effort,” she said. “And there are so many other people who have been working so hard.”

Stine is the event coordinator for the committee. She and her 41 volunteers talked to people at the Lebanon Area Fair, National Night Out, Old Annville Days and America’s 250th anniversary celebration at the Expo Center.

They had conversations with 1,685 people by her count, handed out dozens of yard signs and convinced 25 people to volunteer to help Democrats win in November.

Talking to people was “very uplifting, very energizing,” whether they agreed with her or not. “I was feeding off of talking to so many people,” she said.

Stine has lived in Heidelberg Township since 1977 and spent most of her professional life as an occupational therapist. She is married, with two children and four grandchildren. She also raises chickens, and decided at age 65 to learn to play the saxophone, a habit she continues daily.

She never expected to become involved in politics. Then Trump happened.

“When Trump won the second time, I felt bereft,” she said. “I felt more bereft than when my parents died. You expect to lose you parents, but I never expected to lose democracy. I thought, ‘why isn’t somebody doing something?’ Then I said, ‘Linda, what are you doing?’”
She found an answer.