Y'all come now, here?
Good day and welcome to
DKos Asheville. This is the weekly DKos Asheville open thread for Saturday January 10th. We try to get together every weekend to share with everyone what we're all up to in Western North Carolina and beyond. We hope this group serves to invigorate us locally and regionally here on Daily Kos, building on the sense of community that's grown through our online engagement. DKos Asheville can give us all a better sense of connection, a better understanding of who we stand with, work with, and share with. We hope this community can help leverage our orange passion for progressive politics to elect more and better Democrats.
Asheville and all of Western North Carolina are wonderful places to visit. We have a powerful progressive presence, both cultural and political, and for the most part everyone is really nice. And the views are breathtaking. If you've never been here, we promise you'll love it.
And speaking of visiting Asheville, we are putting the finishing touches on DKos Asheville's seventh meet up, next Saturday and Sunday, 1/17-18. Please join us below the beloved Orange Thingy to get the latest.
We are proud to have our lovely city host DKos Asheville's seventh meet up over the last few years on January 17 and 18. Over this time we have developed rich relationships, been inspired to register voters, have driven people to the polls, canvassed neighborhoods, and spent endless hours at phone banks. And we have built ourselves a network of like minded brothers and sisters who are in this fight for life. A place we can come to find inspiration, power, solace and community.
So please mark your calendars and plan on joining us for a wonderful weekend of camaraderie, inspiration, networking, fun, food and entertainment.
What A DKos Asheville meet up in Asheville, North Carolina.
When Saturday and Sunday, January 17-18, 2015. 1:00 pm Saturday till 1:00 pm Sunday.
Where Crown Plaza Resort Asheville, One Resort Drive • Asheville, NC 28806. tel:800-733-3211, tel:828-254-3211.
Accommodations Pet friendly, Vegetarian and Vegan friendly, lunch, five double rooms have been booked for attendees, (we have one left and you can always bunk with someone if you need a place to sleep if we run out of rooms). Private patio or balcony, deluxe bathroom, complimentary high-speed wireless internet access, Cable / Satellite TV, much more. Excellent open meeting spaces. Easy access to downtown Asheville for fun and frivolity. From their website: Located in Asheville, North Carolina and only one mile from the stylish and eclectic downtown area, the Asheville Crowne Plaza features accommodations that offer more than just a good night’s sleep. Inside this hotel, you will find towering stone walls and a grand stone fireplace with a newly renovated lobby perfect for relaxing and commraderie.
Why After this election season we obviously need to regroup, get charged back up and start focusing our orange passion on how to turn this whole thing around. And we need some well deserved rest and relaxation with good friends. Grow our network, grow our community.
Cost The gas it takes to get there and of course, the beer, wine and drinks. As one of our event organizers has noted - we are providing five double rooms with meals, etc, etc, etc at no cost. Donations are always welcome but certainly not expected.
Details Please Kosmail me, randallt, if you would like to attend and whether or not you will need a room. Let's get local, build this community and help win this next election.
Even though we have to check out by 1:00 PM on Sunday, we will still be welcome to hang out and watch some playoff football!
RSVPs:
1. randallt
2. davehouck
3. Joieau
4. Gordon20024
5. SteelerGrrl
6. SteelerGuy
7. LamontCranston
8. Otteray Scribe
9. Joy of Fishes
10. Burns Lass
11. Mary Beth
12. NBBooks With guest
13. DawnN
Saturday Program
We are pleased to announce that DKos Asheville and Progress NC have joined forces and will be hosting a bloggers conference as part of our January 17th meet up. Following is information about Progress NC from their web site.
Progress NC is a 501-C3 organization dedicated to being a voice for forward-thinking North Carolinians who want to protect the balanced approach to government that made our state great.
We are proud of our legacy as a southern state capable of adapting to change and embracing new opportunities. We are also determined to retain our national status as a great place to work, live and raise a family. To that end, Progress NC raises the visibility of issues that affect the quality of life in our state. We monitor the statewide political landscape on your behalf, identifying extreme legislative actions and other policy changes that could affect your life. We tell you about them quickly and let you know what you can do about them.
http://www.progressncaction.org/....
Tentative Afternoon Schedule
Lunch
Introductions
Conen Morgan (ProgressNow)- Building and maintaining your blog
Gerrick Brenner (Progress NC)- Regional data and polling research
Sarah Ovaska (Policy Watch) and Jon Elliston (Carolina Public Press) - Bridging the gap between old media and new
Tom Sullivan (Scrutiny Hooligans), Jerry Williamson (Watauga Watch) and David Forbes (Asheville Blade) - Advocacy political blogs
Daily Kos Community Panel - Using and leveraging the Daily Kos blogging platform and community.
Terry Van Duyn (NC Senate) (unconfirmed but were working on it) and Gordon Smith (Asheville City Council) - Issues and priorities for 2015
NBBooks- PowerPoint presentation, the historical value of government investment in the "General Welfare"
Virtual chat with Daily Kos Seattle - Laying out 2015 agenda, activist actions
Conclusion followed by networking and social gathering.
It is cold, clear and dry in the mountains today. I hope everyone has a fine weekend. If you missed it, here is the link to my diary from yesterday talking about my radio show appearance on Thursday with our friend Jeff Messer from 880 The Revolution. I was able to spend an entire hour with Jeff as we talked about the meet up, blogging and politics in general. I'm pleased to announce that Jeff will be with us on Saturday and will be bringing a banner from the station and a big bag of goodies for participants.
And speaking of bags of goodies, here is an example of what DKos Asheville will be bringing for our group courtesy of our wonderful SteelerGrrl. And these gorgeous works of love will not be empty, that we promise. Enjoy your day, see you in a week!