Convention Thank You

brittany — Tue, 1 Apr 2008 23:42:12 -0400

I want to thank everyone who came down to Blacksburg for the 2008 VAYD Convention March 28-30. With only three months of planning, I definitely think the entire weekend was a huge success. At the opening ceremony on Friday, we heard from candidates for the 6th District Congressional Democratic nomination Sam Rasoul and Drew Richardson. Drew has since resigned from the race, but I would still like to thank them both for coming to let us know what their campaigns are/were all about (especially since I grew up in the 6th). We also had a great "Welcome to Blacksburg" from Steve Cochran, the Montgomery County Democratic Committee Chair and former VAYD President, who is a huge support to the Young Democrats at Virginia Tech.Presentations were held on Virginia Tech campus later in the evening and open to anyone who was not sitting on a committee. These included another speech by Steve Cochran about the importance of youth political involvement, a presentation on community activism by VT Mathematics Professor, Blacksburg Vice-Mayor, VT Womanspace and Amnesty International faculty advisor, and Montgomery County NOW Coordinator Susan Anderson, and a presentation about the Virginia Tech GREEN Team and Environmentalism by Virginia Tech student Angie De Soto. Please check out the GREEN Team website if you are at all interested in Environmental Activism. They have some really great ideas about educating others on awareness and sustainability--you might be able to start something similar on your campus or in your community!

Saturday was mostly business, but we had some excellent breaks including visits from Senator Creigh Deeds and Delegate Brian Moran. Both spoke on the Convention floor, and we are so thankful they came down to address us! Our breakout sessions at lunchtime consisted of a much needed DEMopolis training lead by our VAYD webmaster and 2008 Male YD of the Year Jordan Higgins. We also had a FANTASTIC speech by Delegate Steve Shannon about how young people can get involved in and start their own political campaigns and careers. You should be sad if you missed it because he really had great advice for us all!

We ended Saturday with a Dinner Banquet and awards ceremony. Our keynote speaker was Charley Conrad, President of the Virginia Partisans. We could not have asked for a better treat than to end the Convention with his fabulous words. He addressed the Convention theme of "Tomorrow Starts Today" and gave us all a few laughs as well. Congratulations to everyone who won awards this year: the University of Virginia College Democrats for Up-and-Coming Club of the Year, College of William and Mary Young Democrats for Club of the Year, Jordan Higgins for Male YD of the Year, Brittany Morrison (myself) for Female YD of the Year, and Charley Conrad for Honorary Young Democrat.

Our events officially concluded Sunday at noon with the new VAYD Executive Board meeting. I think I speak for everyone in saying that our new board shows tremendous promise for another excellent year. With the 2008 Presidential Elections growing closer, I hope you will all stay tuned to the VAYD website so we can work together on turning Virginia BLUE! Once again, thanks to all of you for making this Convention a huge success, and please let me know if you have any feedback as I will be compiling a list of suggestions and helpful hints for the 2009 Convention host organization.

Sincerely,

Brittany Morrison

2008 Convention Chair

VAYD Southwest Region Chair

New River Valley Young Democrats Vice-President

southwest_region@vayd.org

7 Ways in 7 Days

brittany — Thu, 1 Nov 2007 17:52:13 -0400

Here are 7 ways that YDVT is helping out in the 7 days before the election. Attached is an image of the flier we used (printed as quarter-pages) to keep club members in the know. Please feel free to steal my idea and transform it to fit your organization! Anyone in the SW region is welcome to attend any of the events listed on the flier, and more details can be found at www.yd.org.vt.edu.

brittany's blog

Convention Thank You

7 Ways in 7 Days