Congratulations on the election. Now get back to work.

OK, people. The honeymoon is over. Get back to work.

So you've won an election. Congratulations. Now go get yourself ready to win again.

Daily Kos prides itself on being a community of activists, and that means it's time to put down the Doritos and get yourself out the door. Luckily for you, there are lots of people out there who've come up the same way we have. Some of them first got into the game for Howard Dean. Some of them first got into the game for Paul Wellstone. Some of them first got into the game for Jack Kennedy. Or Martin Luther King. Or Cesar Chavez. Where they came from doesn't matter as much as where they are now: waiting to teach you how to do the same thing, only better.

These days, the InterTubes^TM have made it easier than ever to pool our resources and our strength. But the best multiplier of those resources and that strength is still getting out the door, getting together in force, getting to know one another, and getting on the same page together.

It's still six months until Yearly Kos convenes in Chicago. Let that be the culmination of six months of preparatory work, during which we organize locally and regionally, getting to know our fellow Kossacks who are also our neighbors, so that ideas born at Yearly Kos have regional infrastructure already in place to implement them when we all return home.

And speaking of getting to know your Kossack neighbors, can I plug a great project initiated by my Next Hurrah blogmate emptypockets? Check out the Daily Kos frappr! map. Enter your location, and then take a look around. Find out what you've always suspected was true, even if you live in the reddest of red lands: you are not alone.

So, how can you get started? Like I said, the InterTubes^TM make it easier than ever. How about kicking things off with the good folks at Democracy for America and their DFA Training Academy?

Staffers, professionals, and volunteers researched and developed a curriculum for winning local elections and for organizing between elections. We reached out to campaign professionals who shared DFA's vision for grassroots-led democracy. By themselves, none of DFA['s] activists or local candidates would be able to afford this level of professional expertise. With the training we can connect activists and campaigns with professionals to build a sustaining and politically savvy organization.

Where and when can you join in? Well, sooner than expected, if you happen to be in the Las Vegas area. DFA Training starts in Vegas this weekend, but there's still time to sign up.

Las Vegas, NV	February 10-11
Houston, TX	March 3-4
Columbia, SC	March 17-18
Cedar Rapids, IA	March 24-25
Jackson, MS	March 31 - April 1
Columbia, MO	April 14-15
Austin, TX	April 21-22
Knoxville, TN	April 28-29
Bloomington, IN	May 12-13
Baton Rouge, LA	June 2-3
Salt Lake City, UT	June 16-17
Albany, NY	June 23-24
Tampa, FL	June 30 - July 1
Frankfort, KY	July 7-8
Sacramento, CA	July 14-15
Orange County, CA	July 21-22

Don't live close enough to one of these locations? You can even put in a request for a Training Academy session near you.

Or how about Camp Wellstone?

Camp Wellstone is a training program that teaches progressives how to win on issues and elect good candidates. We use a distinctive approach to politics, based on Paul Wellstone's success at integrating grassroots organizing, electoral organizing, progressive public policy and ethical leadership.

Camp Wellstone is divided into three tracks:

• Candidate track.   This is for people who have made the decision to run for office.
• Campaign track.   This track focuses on how to be an effective staff or volunteer member of a winning progressive campaign.
• Citizen activist track.   For people interested in citizen lobbying, issue advocacy, and community organizing, this track provides skills in how to win on issues.

They've got an event slated to start March 9th in Seattle, WA. Registration is now open.

Or Campus Camp Wellstone, at Illinois College, starting Feb. 17th?

Campus Camp Wellstone is a unique program that provides training to students on campuses across the country who are interested in gaining skills in leadership, political action, and civic engagement.

And there's also Camp Sheila Wellstone (whose currently scheduled programs are actually all full at the moment):

Camp Sheila Wellstone provides domestic and sexual violence movement leaders with skills in strategic planning, organizing, communications, and political advocacy.

The list doesn't end here, of course. But why don't we throw it open to you? Have you been to a training session of any kind held by some other organization? Tell us about it, share a link, and drag someone you know from Daily Kos there with you, kicking and screaming if necessary.

Then, bring them with you to Yearly Kos, and let them kick and scream at me... Armando.