This is a semi-follow up diary to my report yesterday on the official opening of the Obama Raleigh HQ yesterday. Below you'll find some pics and more thoughts on my experiences as a campaign volunteer.
Pic 1: We had a volunteer donate a large billboard and another artistically-inclined volunteer signed up to paint it for us. This was positioned at the corner of the sidewalk for oncoming traffic and attendees to see:
Needless to say many cars honked as they drove by :-). After the rally was over we hit the streets of Raleigh. At a laundromat, I met a guy who thanked me for asking him to register. He had this big smile on his face, and asked if I was doing this as a part of an organization or group. I told him I was a volunteer for the Obama campaign and I ended up giving him contact information and asked him to come by the office to help out.
Pic 2: We had over 150 volunteers come to the rally yesterday, all on a mission to do one thing...
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Later on in the day, we escaped the rain for a Starbucks break. While inside the store I struck up a conversation with the three employees there. 10 minutes later we had three more registration forms (all Dem's :D), three thank you's and two free cups of coffee. For two of them it was their first time registering to vote.
Pic 3: This was an 8' tall sign that another volunteer had painted the night before. Couldn't say it better myself...
Finally, when it was almost 7:00 and we were hanging out at a local strip mall, I went inside to a hair salon to see if everyone had been registered. While the supervisor checked with the other employees, I began talking to a middle-aged African-American woman who was undecided between Obama and Hillary. She said that she felt it was a woman's turn to be in the White House, but she wanted to hear what both candidate's had to say. I pointed out that by that logic, I should want to see McCain in the White House, but I also told her I appreciated her keeping an open mind.
At the end of the day, this IS the change Barack Obama talks about. One conversation, one registered voter, one person at a time. Each of us stepping up in our communities to make a difference in this election. When I came back to the office, it was almost dark, but I hung out for a few more minutes and saw volunteers from as far as an hour away driving back completed voter registration forms. I know in my gut that on May 6th the people will have spoken and the message will be clear:
Yes We Can.