From Coalition Journalist Greg Puckett:
Well, here we are. It was, shall we say, a rather slippery morning coming to the Convention Center. I'm really glad that most of the Forum 17 participants arrived early enough to avoid the rainy - snowy - icy mess that is outside now. Coming from WV, I'm used to this type of thing, but has anyone seen a snow plow this morning? Just making sure that we had some out there.
Yesterday was a great day for many of us, despite the weather. Thousands of CADCA faithful ventured out into the cold and braved the elements to see thier representatives on the Hill. In a time of continual cutbacks and modifications to the federal budget, those trips are more valuable than ever. And... Although I was late to come to the 'abbreviated' rally in Senate Park, I saw over 200 brave souls huddled together in mass to see some of our own speak on the value of continued funding and support. Those persons that stood there in the shivering cold, should really be commended for showing thier passion for prevention.
At the reception last night, there was a great sense of accomplishment. You could really feel something good in the air. One story that was heard was how one Congressman knew of 20+ people from his district in his office and he stepped away from his hearings to visit with them. In a time of transition on the Hill, that's pretty amazing and it sends a strong statement on the power of your visits while in DC.
Now, here we are for day 3! There are many workshops ongoing today and I'll be heading off to participate in a variety of roundtable discussions as the day rolls along.
Word of advice... Take the time to not only go to these workshops, but make every opportunity to network amongst your peers and share stories on your successes or strategies. They will do the same and together, we will gain a greater understanding on how to cross city, county and state bounderies to make true community change.
Best of luck and post, post, post your blogs!
G
Comments