Absarokee * Alberton * Alder * Alzada * Amsterdam * Anaconda * Angela * Antelope * Arlee * Ashland * Augusta * Avon * Babb * Bainville * Baker * Ballantine * Basin * Bearcreek * Belfry * Belgrade * Belt * Biddle * Big Arm * Big Fork * Big Sandy * Big Sky * Big Timber * Bighorn * Billings * Birney * Black Eagle * Bloomfield * Bonner * Boulder * Box Elder * Boyd * Boyes * Bozeman * Brady * Bridger * Broadus * Broadview * Brockton * Brockway * Browning * Brusett * Buffalo * Busby * Butte * Bynum * Cameron * Canyon * Capitol * Cardwell * Carter * Cascade * Charlo * Chester * Chinook * Choteau * Circle * City * Clancy * Clinton * Clyde Park * Coffee * Cohagen * Colstrip * Columbia Falls * Columbus * Condon * Conner * Conrad * Cooke * Coram * Corvallis * Crane * Creek * Creston * Crow Agency * Culbertson * Custer * Cut Bank * Dagmar * Darby * Dayton * De Borgia * Decker * Deer Lodge * Dell * Denton * Dillon * Divide * Dixon * Dodson * Drummond * Dupuyer * Dutton * East Glacier Park * East Helena * Edgar * Ekalaka * Elliston * Elmo * Emigrant * Ennis * Essex * Ethridge * Eureka * Evergreen * Fairfield * Fairview * Fallon * Fishtail * Flaxville * Florence * Floweree * Forestgrove * Forsyth * Fort Benton * Fort Harrison * Fort Peck * Fort Shaw * Fort Smith * Fortine * Frazer * Frenchtown * Froid * Fromberg * Galata * Gallatin * Gardiner * Garneill * Garrison * Garryowen * Gateway * Geraldine * Geyser * Gildford * Glasgow * Glen * Glendive * Glentana * Gold Creek * Grantsdale * Grass Range * Great Falls * Greenough * Greycliff * Hall * Hamilton * Hammond * Hardin * Harlem * Harlowton * Harrison * Haugan * Havre * Hays * Heart Butte * Helena * Helmville * Heron * Highwood * Hilger * Hingham * Hinsdale * Hobson * Hogeland * Horse * Hot Springs * Hungry * Huntley * Huson
It was a packed day for the Rural crew, hauling from town after town in the far reaches of Ohio to spread Barack's agenda for the heartland. For anyone who looks at the breakdown of the issues, it's no surprise that Barack is far superior for matters that concern rural Ohioans, but it always helps to have a decked-out RV and some farm experts on hand to get the message across.
First up was the renowned Farm Science Review in London, Ohio, an annual trade show with a plethora of farm equipment and products on display, as well as delicious fresh dairy milkshakes and home-grown beef for sale. Rural Director Doug O'Brien talked shop with local farmers and radio hosts about rural issues and Barack's Plan for the Heartland.
Next were some brief stops in Delaware and Bellefountaine, but O'Brien and friends were greeted by ample enthusiasm and press coverage in Lima. In the picture below, O'Brien chats with locals about Barack's comprehensive plan to take rural America forward.
Lima is a town known for its conservative politics, but with this campaign reaching out to heartland voters like never before--be it through going door-to-door, or talking sound policy--Allen County just might turn blue this year. And having an office with awesome murals and carefully mapped out neighborhood team strategies helps too.
Are you a supporter who lives in a rural area? Click HERE to join Rural Ohioans for Obama.
Continuing the “Barns for Obama” effort to show support for Barack Obama in rural parts of Ohio, volunteers will finish the painting of a barn this Thursday in Spencerville. The family who owns the barn will hold a picnic with longtime friend and colleague of Senator Obama’s, former chair of the Illinois Senate Agriculture Committee, Larry Walsh.
You can see the current state of the barn in the picture below. Click it to see the barn painting video that launched Barns for Obama, filmed in Trumbull County.
As a soybean and corn producer himself, Larry Walsh has a farmer’s understanding of agricultural issues. Additionally, Walsh was featured in the video introducton of Senator Obama before he gave his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last week in Denver and will be touring rural Ohio Thursday and Friday. Details on the event are below:
Larry Walsh attends “Barns for Obama” painting and picnic Thursday, September 4th - 5:30 p.m. Krendl Farm1095 North St. Marys Road (State Rt. 66)Spencerville, OH
“Barns for Obama” is another example Barack's growing support in rural parts of the state. Barack has already visited Lima, Marysville, and Marengo, with stops in New Philadelphia and Dillonvale today. Additionally, the campaign has hired former Assistant Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture Doug O’Brien as Rural Vote Director. Click below to hear a radio interview with Doug on the Buckeye Agricultural Network:
Are you an Obama supporter who lives in a rural area? Fill out this form and join Rural Ohioans for Obama!
Barack and Senator Joe Biden rounded off their trip through Ohio yesterday with two well-received stops. Barack attended church services in Lima, a town where though support is strong, renown as a conservative stronghold had kept previous Democratic presidential candidates from visiting for the last fifty years, according to this news story...
But of course this is a different kind of campaign. Obama supporter and actress Kerry Washington also made a splash in Lima on Saturday, showing up for an Obama 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Barack and Joe followed the Lima trip with a discussion the economy on the roof of the Toledo-Lucas Library, which had positive reviews in the local press. Toledo is a city hurting, and Barack had this to say about renewing America's urban areas:
Many jobs are leaving Toledo, and Joe offered concrete solutions to the citizens listening:
One of the ways to keep America’s corporations here, and Barack has been talking about it for three years, and I’ve been talking about it as well -- the way is to invest in the infrastructure.And, by the way, if we invest just twenty billion dollars a year or ten billion dollars a year in the United States of America, in infrastructure towards airports, roads, sewer systems, guess what? You are creating jobs where the average pay, even for laborers, is fifty thousand dollars a year. There’s two ways of dealing with it – you’ll cover both ends.
The two made it clear that they stand for working people, and working people agree--read this editorial in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
A photo slideshow of the days events, along with later day stops in Hamilton, Indiana, and Battle Creek, Michigan, is posted below:
It was a packed day for the Obamas and the Bidens yesterday in Ohio, as the two families criss-crossed the state and made nothing short of four stops for a variety of events.
The climax of the day was no doubt the Rally in Dublin, at Dublin Coffman High School, where 19,000 people packed both sides of the football stadium, not to mention the sprawl of the sidelines, to hear Barack and Joe. The two Senators were introduced by Governor Ted Strickland, Senator Sherrod Brown, and Ohio hero and former Senator John Glenn. Pictures from the event, and the rest of the day, are posted below:
Even before Barack took the stage and shouted "O-H!" (to the roaring reply of "I-O"), the energy in the open air stadium was off the charts. Joe Biden aptly explained what's behind all the excitement in his introduction of Barack:
"I watched a guy tap into, just by his very being and his ideas, tap into the age-old American belief that many have forgotten. And that is, you don't have to accept a situation you cannot bear; you can change it."
The rally was preceded by a stop in tiny Marengo, in Morrow County, where Barack and Joe stopped at a sweet corn stand.
Before that, in Cleveland, the families attended the memorial service of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who died on August 20th. Senator Clinton and President Clinton were also present, and though the service stretched to four hours, Barack stayed for the duration, and made remarks as well.
The duo kicked off the morning with some breakfast at the Yankee Kitchen Diner in Boardman, near Youngstown. The stop was caught on video, which you can check out here:
Today, Barack and Joe were in Lima and then Toledo, for a discussion on the economy at the Toledo-Lucas Library. More on those events coming soon...
It's hard to open a newspaper in Ohio without coming across a story about how ubiquitous the Obama field team is here. Every day it seems like there's a new office opening in some far-off, traditionally conservative part of the state whose progressive citizens have been brought back to political life by Barack's candidacy. Just yesterday there was one in Woodlawn, today there was one in Port Clinton, and tomorrow there is another in Licking County.
Marion also welcomed 65 local supporters into a brand new office, which they more than deserved after their amazing voter outreach effort during the Birthday for Barack phone bank. A picture from the opening is below:
Ted Strickland had already spoken at three office openings, in Lima, Chillicothe, and Athens... but he wasn't done. This past Saturday he helped open the Campaign for Change doors in Trumbull County; the story is available here. (Trumbull County also happens to be home to the barn featured in our Barns for Obama video).
And that's just the start. Look for word of openings in Columbus, Defiance, Mt. Vernon, and Youngstown, and special events in St. Clairsville, Marietta, Chillicothe, Ironton, and Portsmouth (plus a special opening in Zanesville) featuring a very special guest...
With all this grass-roots activity it's no wonder that an Ohio resident left the following comment on Jack Cafferty's blog--which ended up being featured on Cafferty's TV show earlier tonight!:
Earlier this week, for Barack's birthday (August 4th), supporters gathered across the state at over 100 different locations, to hold pot luck and phone bank parties. The unlikely goal was for volunteers to make 47,000 calls to their neighbors, in honor of Barack's 47th year. The entire state was blanketed with events--no corner left unturned, no region left unspoken to--but we wanted you to see how a couple specific areas stood up to the challenge on Monday, and show you some of the memorable moments captured on camera.
Lorain and Medina counties were out in force, with 117 volunteers between them eager to take action.
In Lima, not exactly a Democratic stronghold, no fewer than 40 volunteers showed up for the festivities, filling the phone bank so past its capacity that some supporters hit the streets to do voter registration instead! But there was no lack of calls being made; there were five other phone banks in the region as well...
The Ironton area also hosted a disproportionately huge number of volunteers, with 46 reaching out to their community in the region of Ironton at large.
And against all odds, Marion (an area with a huge number of swing voters) hosted 53 volunteers, who made well over a thousand calls in 4 hours!
GRAND TOTAL: Buckeyes all over the state not only met their goal--they busted through it and then doubled it.
What better birthday present could Barack possibly get??
Lima is a fairly small town, and a historically conservative one at that.
But that didn't stop over 350 people from coming out to the Campaign for Change office opening, to meet and greet Governor Ted Strickland, and hear about what they can do to get involved.
Here's just one visual from the event:
This is just the first of the Governor's 3 office openings this weekend--tomorrow is Chillicothe, and Sunday is Athens. With such support and dedication from a figure like Gov. Strickland, Ohio's movement for Barack can't be beat.
**Were you in Lima? How was the event? Let us know in the comments section!
If you've checked our page lately, you've seen that campaign field offices are opening up all over the state in the next week.
But those who live near Lima, Chillicothe, and Athens, are in for an extra-special occasion this weekend, as the highest official in the state, none other than Governor Ted Strickland, will be at their community's office openings to help lay the foundation for our campaign for change!
The Lima event is tomorrow, at 1 pm, the Chillicothe event is on Saturday at 9:30 am, and Athens holds its own at 1:30 pm on Sunday. More details are available on the campaign's grass-roots social network site, my.barackobama.com. Come out and listen to the Governor talk about his and Barack's shared values, and how crucial it is to help get Barack elected for the future of our country!
In other corners of the state, groups herd into other fresh new spaces to begin the work of the next few months. Sandusky held its own office opening yesterday. After mingling and treating themselves to some refreshments, supporters listened as Field Organizers Eric and Rich talked about what the community can do to get involved. Above, a volunteer indicates her commitment by filling out a shift sheet.
Parma also had its local politically star-studded office opening yesterday. State Senator Dale Miller gave a rousing speech underlining the urgency of our times, and praised the area Obama team's eagerness to work on the same level with locals. State Rep Tim DeGeeter also spoke, and afterwards the crowd of around fifty socialized and talked about what they could do to help.
One by one, counties in the Buckeye state are opening themselves up to the possibility of a new moment in our nation's narrative.
UPDATE: Buckeyes for Change, one of the largest prObama groups in Ohio, and which was featured in a previous blog post, got some serious exposure on Cleveland local news the other night. The news clip, found here, covered the Unite for Change event the Buckeyes held in a park downtown, and the choreographed dance they performed there. In the clip, producer James Reid talks about plans to distribute a video of the dance on the internet, to raise money and support for our campaign for change. You can catch a brief glimpse at the dance by checking out the clip (which also features a quick shot of our very own Ohio for Obama blog and website!).
Congratulations to Lisa, Zakiyyah, and all the Buckeyes for Change, for their newfound fame!
But Lisa and friends weren't the only Obama fans who got some mention in the news. Volunteers from Lima held a 4th of July event in Faurot Park (one of hundreds across the state), and the story got picked up by WLIO. They registered voters, recruited more volunteers, and dished out some Obama gear.
Looks like some good deeds do go noticed!
The Grand Opening of the Lima HQ was a huge success. Many volunteers came out to show their support. Not only did they mingle and have good time, they even volunteered and put yard signs together, signed up for canvassing and phone banking. The kids even joined in and a Kids for Obama area is setup for coloring of their own Barack Obama coloring pages to hang on the wall.
HQ is open daily at 226 N. Main St. Lima. Stop in and volunteer and pick up a yard sign!
[17 Feb 2008]
The Holiday Inn - Lima, Ohio
A week of preparation and we were about to find out who would turn out for our Lima, OH rally for Barack Obama.
The event was scheduled from 6:00 - 8:00 and people started to trickle in around 5:00.
We had the grand ballroom at the Holiday Inn and got a major bonus when the Minority Caucus of the Allen Co Dems graciously sprung for refreshments and snacks. (THANK YOU!)
The format:
4 tables were set up outside the room with sign in/sign up sheets on clipboards to get volunteer commitments from the attendees. Christina, Gail, Alex and Zach did a wonderful job interfacing with folks as they came in - and again as they left.
We allowed the first 30 minutes for people to trickle in, so we pumped them up with music and Barack speaches projected onto a large screen. (Audio and Video thanks to Rob & Ken)
We had agreed that hearing people tell their personal stories of what brought them to Barack was pretty powerful. So we thought, why not have some local speakers who could give "witness" to their support for Barack. That sounded so good to me, I thought a local preacher/supporter would be an excellent get. A good one would be inspirational and a great speaker. What more could you ask for? Josiah came through with the perfect speaker: Daniel Hughes, pastor of the Future Church of Tomorrow. Pastor Hughes was followed by other local speakers: Beverly, myself, Evan, Alberta, Josiah. Alex finished the event. Each speaker had a topical theme service, unity, hope, etc. and each speaker ASKED for volunteers to commit to what they could do for the campaign - their campaign.
The turnout was AWESOME! Nearly 300 people came out and they were on their feet for most of the event. LOTS of chanting. And the crowd was diverse in any way you'd want to assess it. After the event, the organizers all congregated to celebrate with our time honored political event tradition: pizza.
Lessons we learned: Reach out! Build coalitions of diverse groups. JUST DO IT - NOW is the time to get your local effort going. When it breaks - fix it! You know...make lemmonaid. The momentum coming off this event is incredible. The message was positive, the vibes are positive. Print coverage said it was as much revival as it was rally. I guess we hit our target.
When you organize your area...get ready for the ride of your life! In years of political organizing, this was the most fulfilling event I've ever been a part of.
Si Se Puede! Yes We Can!
Why are you ready for Obama and what are you doing to assure that Senator Obama is the next President of the United States of America?
