NELSON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE Meeting–08/05/2024
Meeting at the Faber Fire Department Station 2 – Potluck 5:45
Called to order at 6:25PM by Connie Brennan. She asked for a standing ovation in honor of President Biden AND the next President of the United Stated Kamala Harris.
Guest Speakers
Jack Dozier – Representative from the Coordinated Campaign. He told us a little about himself. He is from North Garden and is ready to get out there and work. Talked about knocking on doors and phone banking.
Marcia Mabee– Spoke about Project 2025 and encouraged everyone to go online and read about it. Also, she spoke about Redwine and Blue, a grassroots project to disseminate info about Project 2025 which was started about 2 years ago. You can go to their website redwine.blue/project2025 to learn more about Project 2025 and to see their tool kit for having discussion meetings.
Election of Bill Brenneman to the West District Committee – Moved, Seconded,Approved.
Acceptance of the minutes of the May 6th, 2024, meeting – Moved,Seconded, Accepted.
Treasurer’s report and revised budget to accept – Jan 1 it was $8,786.00 to date it is $7250.84. It was moved, seconded and Accepted.
Committee Chair reports:
Lynn Fontana – Technology (website) was not present. Lynn just wanted to tell us to open up the newsletter. Also, if you don’t get the newsletter, go on the website to sign up.
Ann Mische- Mark Embry, Nelson Sheriff, was at a Republican meeting and said they are working on a program to help protect seniors from scammers. Ann said she will see if she can get the information from him about this program.
Kathy Hachey – Not present. Wisteria to give her report later in the meeting.
Bob Garrison – Communication – spoke about social media (Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram) Please follow these social media pages. Also, follow Gloria Witt’s Facebook page.
Becky Evans – Demfest/Save our Democracy signs – We are aiming for 300 guests. Tickets will be $30.00 again until September 1st, after that they will be $35.00. More food choices this year. Polish Sausage, Roasted Chicken and Vegetarian Lasagna. Plenty of side dishes. Beer, wine soda and water. If you want to sign up for deserts, please email ncdcdemfest@gmail.com. Next, she talked about save our Democracy signs. There are signs across from Bold Rock (due to the vandalism these signs get put up and taken down by Becky and Bill every day), one at Route 6, one at 151 near the Ruritan club, one on 56 and two on the other side of 56. Two on Mike Crabill’s front porch. We have $740.00 in the Save our Democracy budget, so we can replace some signs.
She also shared about a swatting incident at Mike Crabill’s house. If you are not familiar with what that can bring about, Becky explained. Someone calls 911 to report something suspicious at your home, the cops come with guns drawn and if you are home, you could be the next victim. Thank goodness he was not at home.
Wisteria Johnson – Campaign Planning – First she welcomed Holly Barton and Leslie Alexander, both of whom went to school in Nelson County, and welcomed all of the first timers to the meeting. She also thanked Jack. She stated that Kathy Hachey is amazing. She read Kathy’s remarks. Kathy has secured Gloria Witt for a Meet and Greet on September7th from 9am-12pm at Rockfish Valley Community Center. At the same time, we will have a postcard -writing event. The population we are targeting is the strong and leaning democrats. We are hoping for stamp donations. They are still working on the second Meet and Greet for Gloria on the proposed date of Oct 5th from 4-7pm and this may take place at the Pine Hill Baptist Church, Arrington VA.
Wisteria also reported that people are asking questions like when early voting is, etc. So, she has put together folders with lots of information and will be targeting Black churches.
Larry Stopper – Reminded everyone that the Witt event and the postcard-writing event will coincide with the RVCC breakfast on Sept. 7. He also suggested that if you want to knock on doors, go to Charlottesville or Waynesboro to get a partner so you are not out there alone and it’s a great way to get exercise. On Wednesday there will be a meeting at Silverback Distillery put on by Daniel Riggleman. You do have to sign up for this. Also, Gloria signs are available and one needs to email Larry for these. Larry has been working on getting the big signs.
Connie ended the meeting, by reporting on the Dem State Convention and thanking our delegates, Mary Reinman, Mark Stapleton and Jerry Samford who all attended. She also talked about absentee ballots, which are a big priority push by DPVA. She brought some for people to take and hand out. There is a proposed constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot. She also talked about a new program that is being put together for our community called the Nelson Enrichment Club. This is an engaging and enrichment program for seniors with Dementia or Parkinsons. This will be twice a week from 10am-2pm at the Rockfish Presbyterian Church. It’s not related to the church at all. This will allow the caregiver to get a reprieve.
Early voting begins September 20th.
Next meeting will be September 23.
Motion to adjourn made, seconded and approved; meeting adjourned.
Nelson County Democratic Committee meeting May 6, 2024
Meeting Minutes
5:45 Potluck dinner
6:15-7:30 Forum with Senator Creigh Deeds and Delegate Amy Laufer
Introductions and then a review of the recent General Assembly session, followed by questions and answers.
7:30 Business meeting called to order.
Election of two District chairs (correction from last meeting) :
Judy Greenberg for the West District
Wayne Hachey for the Central District
Moved, seconded, no discussion and unanimous yea to elect.
Election of two additional members to the Executive Committee:
Chris Garsson and Bob Garsson
Moved, seconded, no discussion and unanimous yea to elect.
~Reports from Officers and Chairs
Treasurer Marina Kelley reported the balance in the bank account is $7,037.77. This does not include monies related to the Sign project. We have received two donations totally $250.00 and Marina invited people to make more! We no longer collect dues but do accept donations.
Secretary Angie Jones was not able to attend, but a motion was made by Connie to accept the minutes of the Committee meeting on March 18. Motion seconded, no discussion and unanimous vote to accept the minutes.
Chair of IT Lynn Fontana reported on new changes to our website and is looking for help doing research. Please contact her if you are interested in doing this.
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Chair of Outreach Ann Mische reported on the upcoming Candidates Forum, which will be on May 31 at the Heritage Center, at 7 PM. Planning is underway.
Rules Chair Brad Johnson reported that our current ByLaws exist in the DPVA’s archives and we will update them when possible.
Chair of Campaigns Kathy Hachey reported she is meeting with the Precinct captains this coming week to assess the needs for the upcoming events.
Becky Evans Vice-chair reported on the Save Our Democracy Signs project which is moving right along. $909.00 of the $1000.00 given to the project by last years Committee has been spent. 9 banners have been purchased. Another $1780.00 in donations has been received. She is looking for more places to put signs. Becky also gave an update on Demfest: the Heritage Center has been secured, and the band committed. The Committee is working on other details. One thing folks can help with: 60” round tablecloths will be needed, so please help with this.
~Special report from Larry Stopper on Biden-Harris-Kaine signs. The 5th District gets a total of 52 signs (for 24 jurisdictions!) from the coordinated campaign, so Larry is working on getting many more. Money to pay for the signs will have to be donated in a manner that will not incur FEC violations. Stay tuned.
~Chair Connie Brennan reported on 3 items:
First, there are now 3 confirmed candidates running to be selected to run to represent the 5th Congressional District. They are Gloria Witt, Paul Riley and Gary Terry. As previously mentioned, there will be a Candidates Forum here in Nelson on May 31st at the Heritage Center. Marketing and outreach is being planned. Volunteers may be needed; see Lynn or Kathy if you would like to help.
Second, a reminder that the Primary to choose our candidates for president, senator and congressperson will be held on June 18. Our District chairs and Precinct captains are preparing to staff the polls and other activities so be ready to volunteer if called upon.
Lastly, our delegates to the 5th District Convention have been elected and are preparing to attend the convention on May 18 in Fluvanna County. They are Mary Reinman, Mark Stapleton and Jerry Stamford and were introduced to the Committee. If anyone wants to attend the convention, please let Connie know. You do not have to be a delegate to attend. The state convention will be in Richmond in June and the national convention will be in Chicago in August.
Everyone has been asked to sign up to do something, as the election is only a bit over 5 months away. We will need all hands-on deck to get out the vote! Thanks to everyone who has signed up to volunteer to do something!
Next scheduled full Committee meeting will be on August 5.
Meeting adjourned.
Submitted by Connie Brennan
NELSON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE – 03/18/2024
Meeting Minutes
The NCDC meeting at the Faber Fire Department Station 2 – Potluck 5:45 Called to order at 6:10PM by Connie Brennan, Chair Guest Speakers – Paul Riley 5th District Congressional Candidate spoke about why he is running. You can go to his website paulrileycongress.com for more information about what he is all about.
Gary Jaketic spoke about the Ukraine fundraiser to be held April 12 the at the Nelson Heritage Center. Tickets are $20.00 (12 and above), 6-12 are $6.00 and under 6 is free.
Nomination of District Chairs:
North District – Larry Stopper
Central District – Kathy Hachey
East District – Wisteria Johnson
South District – Ester Larkin
West District – Judy Greenberg
There was some discussion about the difference between district chairs and precinct captains. The final decision was to elect Larry Stopper, Kathy Hachey and Wisteria Johnson for District Chairs and worry about the other two at a later date. This was put to motion by Brad Johnson and seconded by Mary. Motion carried. Connie asked for discussion; hearing none the vote was called. Larry, Kathy, and Wisteria elected District Chairs.
Election of Kathy Hachey to become the new Vice Chair for Campaigns. This seat had been filled by Wisteria Johnson for a long time and she would like to spend more of her time doing the District and Precinct Captain work. Motion to elect Kathy was given by Marilyn Mars and seconded by Ann Krieger. The motion carried and there was no discussion. Vote taken and Kathy was elected to serve as Vice Chair for the Campaign Committee chair.
Minutes of the Reorganization Meeting were accepted and approved. Treasurer’s report – by Marina. Currently we have $7,961.03. This includes $84.00 for the PO Box. No budget for the T-shirt sales. Hoping to sell more tickets for the DemFest this year, about 250 tickets. Hoping to raise $6,000.00 in sponsorships. Marina handed out the NCDC 2024 Budget. Connie asked if there was any discussion about the budget. It was then put to a motion to approve the budget by Ann and the motion was seconded there was no discussion. Treasurer’s report and budget was approved.
Reports from Committee Chairs:
Rules Committee Chair – Brad Johnson – Working diligently on the bylaws. We have until April 22nd. to get them submitted to the state.
Vice Chair Campaigns – Wisteria Johnson – There are 9 Precincts and 7 Precincts Captains.
Rockfish Precinct – Larry Stopper – North
Shipman Precinct – Ester Larkin – South
Gladstone Precinct – Ester Larkin – South
Nellysford Precinct – Kathy Hachey – Central
Faber Precinct – Cheri Boeckmann – Central
Roseland Precinct – Judy Greenberg – West
Montebello Precinct – Judy Greenberg – West
Schuyler Precinct – Nathou Attinger – East
Lovingston Precinct -Wisteria Johnson – East
Vice Chair Outreach – Ann Mische – The purpose is to become the party of information, based on research. Getting the information out to you sooner than later. Having more social gatherings.
Vice Chair Technology – Lynn Fontana – Lynn talked about the “Members Only” email that was sent out. There were 5 people that did not open their email. If it goes to your junk box or spam box, open it, and move it to your inbox and then put NCDC with the info@bluenelson.org email address in your address book
We are going to learn to use technology efficiently. The website- 2 new features (1) Elections 2024 (2) Know Your Government. The website is www.bluenelson.org. Every time you click on a link in the newsletter it pushes you to the website.
Demfest – Becky Evans – Saturday September 14, 2024, at the Nelson Heritage center from 4pm-7pm. Al Weed is selling Mountain Cove so we cannot be there this year. Food may be catered and more details to come later.
Hoping the speaker may be Abigail Spanberger and a special guest.
Sign Project. The Save our Democracy committee has been working on signs that will be put up in various places. 2 signs were on display at the meeting. Marina and Becky also read some of the other signs that they are working on. They have used the $1,000.00 that was given by NCDC last year. If you want to give a donation, please make a check payable to NCDC and write Save our Democracy in the memo field and mail to P.O Box 178, Nellysford, VA 22958.
Connie ended the meeting after talking about the Call to Caucus. We need to elect Delegates. The National Convention will be in Chicago. Nelson county has been assigned 4 Delegates and 1 Alternate to attend the 5th District Convention. These folks will be elected at the Caucus which will be held on April 22nd at the Nelson Center. If you are elected, you will attend the 5th District Convention on May 18th in Fluvanna County. At the 5th District Convention, delegates will be selected for the State
Convention, which will be held in June in Richmond. Please let Connie know if you are interested.
Newsletters will almost always be sent to you on the 4th Sunday of each month.
We only have 2 more meetings before Demfest. The next meeting will be May 6th at the Faber Fire and Rescue.
Meeting adjourned.
Submitted by,
Angela Jones, Secretary