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EducateWorthington.org

The 912 Project - Glenn Beck

912 Group of Central Ohio

Please let me know if you'd like your link added

[Thank you in advance for helping to keep this forum organized - IF YOU DID NOT ATTEND THE MEETING, PLEASE USE THE LINKS BELOW TO POST TO A DIFFERENT FORUM! Unrelated posts will be moved.]

For those who attended the September meeting, we want your feedback!  Tell us how you like the venue, the meeting discussion, what, if anything, was missing, or anything else you think important.

Thank you in advance for helping to keep this forum organized - IF YOU DID NOT ATTEND THE MEETING, PLEASE USE THE LINKS BELOW TO POST TO A DIFFERENT FORUM!  Unrelated posts will be moved.

I will start by thanking Peter for his generous contributions.  Peter conceived, developed and launched this website in January 2004 and continues to provide site maintenance, upgrades, tech support, and hosting - all at his own expense.  Without Peter's generosity, this site would not exist.

I would also like to thank Tony Blair for being the Meetup organizer.  TB ensures that we receive recognition on the Meetup site by faithfully paying the monthly subscription to let the Meetup site visitors know about Columbus Townhall and when we meet.  After all...we WANT people to attend our meetings and visit this beautiful website that we have!

Now it's your turn - please be constructive with your comments and remember that we are all volunteers.  And if you see an opportunity for improvement - by all means - step up to the plate and be a part of the solution!  

If you didn't attend the meeting and want to provide feedback on the updated website - please post your comments here.

If you didn't attend the meeting but want to suggest something for a future meeting please click here.

If your comments don't fit in one of the above forums - start a new one!

Excellent meeting, especially afterwards (if that makes any sense). Looking foward to comments from those that were there.

[Edmund Burke]

I applaud the effort to become more active.  I'm not much for mixing in crowds, but we'll see.  I'm willing to give anything a shot.  We will definitely need the Conservative Cavalry to refit and mount up!

Enjoyed the talk...particularly why Episcopalians suck at chess!

So why *do* Episcopalians suck at chess...I gotta hear this one!

[Edmund Burke]

I'll let Credo tell you that one.  Some things just shouldn't be posted    

I'll let Credo tell you that one.  Some things just shouldn't be posted 

Attendance is mandantory for this illumination.  :lol:  

"Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

Thanks, PeekingIn, for the PM.  Somebody had to fill me in!  

lol  No problem.  Can't let these fellas have all the fun...  I suspect they had visuals, though.  :lol:  

[Edmund Burke]

OK, here are my suggestions:

1)  let's agree on an issue (e.g., taxes, redistricting)

2)  let's target conservative venues (e.g., gun shows, high school football games)

3)  at these places, we can have petitions signed or pass out information cards and encourage people to write to their representatives

This will cost some money...who could sponsor it?

1) let's agree on an issue (e.g., taxes, redistricting

Different strokes for different folks...not everyone will want to work on either/or.  If you want my opinion (you're getting it anyway), people should focus on what they like, especially since we're not paid.

At this stage in the game, I don't think we  1) are organized enough 2)have enough capital or human resources 3) have the credibility or the time to influence policymakers.  

What we CAN do is brand the Columbus Townhall name by sending postcards to policymakers and attending high profile events...maybe have a booth at the downtown festivals, etc.  Those are simple and don't take a whole lot of money (money=a topic that I will cover later in this post).  Anyone who works in advertising/PR will tell you that branding takes a while.  The idea is to flash "Columbus Townhall" as much as we can so that when election time rolls around, candidates know that we represent a large part of their constituency.

This will cost some money...who could sponsor it?

I would be very surprised if we were able to get many sponsers at this stage of the game.  My suggestion to help get us off the ground so we can incorporate and open a bank account would be to 1) ask everyone on the site to contribute a little through PayPal 100 members x $10 adds up! and 2) hold fundraisers like garage sales or car washes.  Once we are incorporated and have a bank account, we can seek larger donations.

Ok, so now you have read my opinion  

There was a post meeting sub meeting afterward.

Last year we were obviously focused and effective and that was due in no small part to the God Awful specter of President John Kerry looming on the horizon.

We were taken seriously for a moment, but not for the time being?

How do we regain that momentum?

I personally liked the ideas that G3 proposed at the end of December.  She proposed a variety of issues but not too many people that people could act on.  How many have acted on them?

G3's obviously been in the game a while and there's a lot we can learn from her.

Who's PayPal account do we use?

 

[---->Peter]

The most valuable action we can do as a group is to be vocal with our elected officials.  Call them and email them regarding the issues that we discuss here.  Let them know how you feel and let them know you're a member of Columbus Townhall.  Invite them to review the site and participate in our forums.  Invite their LA's as well.  

We are large in number and can become a conservative mouthpiece for Columbus, but we have to brand the organization before we will be taken seriously.  We can achieve that through consistent communication which you can do in five minutes or less from the comfort of your home.  Just remember to mention Columbus Townhall and ask for a response.  

Most legislators, especially juniors, are more concerned about getting reelected than they are about knowing the issues.  They depend on their constituents to tell them how they feel.  If we don't tell them, we risk having them vote on their gut.  You don't want that!

---->Peter, can we add a box for legislator emails and phone numbers on the home page?  It would make it much easier and efficient for CTH members.  (I'll provide the info if you make the space).  

Convenience is important, and I think that may be a very useful way to make it convenient, by somehow providing instant access to contact info for some of our legislators.  

The feedback I received yesterday, from a friend within the office of a US House Rep indicates that well-written, well-reasoned and personal/personalized letters, phone calls, e-mails etc. do get more attention than mass amounts of pre-printed communications, although these can have their place as well.

He made a case for "timing" being very important, and that each issue would likely have a different ideal time and method for effectively communicating to a legislator's office.

If we come up with a specific topic or two of interest, I will contact him for any additional thoughts he may have on our approach, as we learn the ropes.  

The idea of being "branded" (ouch!) hurts, but I think that may be a worthwhile point.  

With the actions we take, we will want to know how/when we want to represent ourselves as CTH, and how to be consistent with that.  Referring to specific developed materials on our website at appropriate times will be another means of communicating what we want to say, efficiently and effectively.

Now, I'm new at this sort of thing, so anyone with "expert" opinions should share them now........please!!!  (And if you think I'm an idiot, please say so now, so I can get you back at the next meeting!!! :lol: )

Oh, and another personal observation.  One of our goals should be to have FUN with whatever we decide to do here!  While we may have small plans that grow into bigger plans, I think this is a very important aspect of whatever we decide to pursue.  

Finding ways of enjoying the hard work that we are considering doing for FREE  :huh: will benefit us, and others who may decide that they don't want to be left out!    

Yes, we should definitely have fun!

And you are right Fettucini, legislators definitely pay more attention to personal letters, phone calls and emails than they do to mass mailings.  Both have their place - personal letters influence more and a thousand postcards draw attention to the group that put them out.   Obviously, we would love to do both!

With the actions we take, we will want to know how/when we want to represent ourselves as CTH, and how to be consistent with that. Referring to specific developed materials on our website at appropriate times will be another means of communicating what we want to say, efficiently and effectively.

I agree. But that will take longer and, perhaps, be more painful than branding.