Page County Democratic Committee
June 2011
To my fellow Democrats, I know it’s difficult to make all of our meetings and I greatly appreciate your support and efforts that make our committee work. I understand how many things we must juggle to meet the demands of daily living. Summer is here and life is even busier, however, there are several committee functions and events coming up that are of great importance to you and we need your active support. As you know, the local and state elections are fast approaching and much needs to be done between now and then.
COMMITTEE CAUCUS: July 6, Board of Supervisor’s Room (County Courthouse) at 6:30 pm:
We will be having a formal meeting (an assembled caucus) to officially nominate our candidates for District 2, 3, and 4 on the Board of Supervisors, County Treasurer, Sheriff, Commissioner of the Revenue and Commonwealth Attorney. At this time we have two candidates who are seeking these positions. Penny Gray – penny4treasurer@yahoo.com is seeking the position of County Treasurer and Larry Sours is seeking the position of District 2 supervisor. It is essential that you make time to attend this caucus in order to support our candidates. It is important to get there early enough to sign in and be seated as this will be a closed door meeting. It takes a little time to get everyone registered for this meeting so please arrive by 6:30 pm to register. The Caucus will begin promptly at 7:00 pm at which time the doors will be closed. I expect the whole process to be completed in about an hour.
COMMITTEE MEETING, JULY 6: Immediately following the assembled caucus we will conduct a brief committee meeting. I believe it is a good idea to have the caucus and committee meeting back to back to avoid the need to meet again this month.
COMMITTEE POSITION UPDATES: Please note the recent changes in committee positions this month:
David Newman: David has stepped down as our Vice-Chair due to his work and travel schedule that limit the time he can devote to the committee. I want to personally thank David for all of his work over the last year and a half. David will continue to work behind the scenes on our committee’s WEB page and provide advice on other technical issues.
Jennifer Sanford: Jennifer Sanford has been appointed by the executive committee to fill the position of Vice-Chair between now and January 2012 until elections for our committee position will be held. I want to say how much I appreciate Jennifer stepping up to fill this vacancy and I look forward to working with her on the many issues coming our way. One of the major projects she will be working on is establishing a Young Democrats group. This group will include young Democrats in Page County who will interact with the Shenandoah Valley Young Democrats. The goal is to encompass and bring together young Democrats in several counties in the valley
John Mayeux: The executive committee has also appointed John Mayeux as the Chairman of the District 2 committee. This position has been vacant for awhile and again I appreciate John stepping forward to take on this position.
Two more to go: We still have vacancies for the positions of District 3 and 4 committee chair so don’t hesitate to take on this job. Give me a call.
District 1: A heads up to those of you in District 1. Betty Karp will not be continuing the chair position after January 2012. We need a volunteer to fill this position.
I greatly appreciate and value all of the committee members who have worked hard to make our events happen, and I’m looking forward to new volunteers joining the team. With your help, we can achieve more and have a real impact on our community. Please call me at 540-272-4264 or email me at tomowog@comcast.net if you are willing to donate a little of your time.
COFFEE AND CONVERSATION:
I invite you to stop by the Gathering Grounds Cafe in Luray and join us for coffee and conversation EVERY FRIDAY at 10:00 am. This has become a popular weekly event and provides a good way to meet up in an unofficial setting to discuss everything from local to world politics and problems. The response to this gathering has been very positive. As I mentioned earlier, this is a weekly event; same time -same place, every week. There may be a time or two throughout the year when I can’t make it but don’t let that keep you from coming since it’s your committee and your interest is all we need to keep things going. Of course politics are discussed but so are other subjects that any group of friends would discuss over a cup of java.
If there is an interest in having a get together in Shenandoah or Stanley please let me know and I will find a day, time and place to make this happen.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP? SPREAD THE WORD!
MONTHLY MEETINGS: Our monthly committee meetings are held on the FIRST WEDNESDAY of each month. The meetings are at the County Courthouse in Luray in the Board of Supervisors room. Meetings begin promptly at 7:00 pm, and usually run a little over an hour.
2011 JEFFERSON/JACKSON DAY DINNER:
Our Jefferson/Jackson Day Dinner was a huge success. Overall, the feedback was very positive. Any suggestions on how to improve this event are welcome, and many of the ideas will be acted upon for next year’s dinner.
July 2: Stanley Homecoming Parade: The Town of Stanley’s Homecoming (45th) parade will be on July 2. Come out to show your support for our candidates Penny Gray (Treasurer) and Larry Sours (District 2 Supervisor). The Parade starts at 6:00 pm and we hope to see you there. For more details, contact the town office at: 540-778-3454.
Page County/Shenandoah Young Democrats:
Exciting news for our Young Democrats in Page County. Jennifer Sanford is heading up the program in Page County that will help launch the Shenandoah Young Democrats. Organization/strategy meeting will be taking place mid-late June that will organize Young Democrats in the greater Shenandoah Valley area. This group will be connected with the State and National Young Democrats with shared goals. How old are the Young Democrats you might ask…anyone between the ages of 13-35 would be eligible to join. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please contact Jennifer Sanford at: nateandjen1111@yahoo.com
Luray Wranglers team dinner and concession stand:
The Luray Wrangles season has started and this year we are continuing the tradition of sponsoring a team dinner at the Mt Carmel Baptist Church in Blainseville and working the concession stand. The team dinner will be on June 22 (just after the game) and although we have pulled things together in years past, a couple of additional volunteers and food donations are welcome. In addition to the team dinner, some of our volunteers will be serving food at the concession stand at Bulldog field. If you are interested in helping with this event please call Lucia King at 540-743-1066.
Page County Fair:
The Page Valley Agricultural and Industrial Fair will be held from August 20 through August 27. We will be there again this year with our Democratic Committee booth and need volunteers to work a few hours each night. This has always proven to be a lot of fun and a worthwhile effort. We are kicking around ideas of how our booth and be decorated and ways in which an effective message can be relayed to folks as they stroll by and talk with us. Your ideas are welcome so please contact me and I will pass along your information to our committee.
Page County Democratic Committee Picnic:
Mark your calendar for September 10 to attend our fall picnic. We have reserved the Lions Club Shelter at Lake Arrowhead for this event. Details are still being worked out in regard to the exact time the festivities will start so I will follow up with everyone before then. In the meantime consider volunteering some time for this event. Bill King is our picnic coordinator so if you are interested in helping call Bill at 540-743-1066.
October Fundraiser:
On October 5, Betty and Herb Karp will be hosting a Democratic fund raiser at The Barn at Evermore. Complete details will be coming soon.
A Special Request from the Chairman:
Are you tired of reading those ‘far right’ letters to the editor in our local paper, The Page News and Courier? You all know that I am a frequent responder… but we need a louder voice! The community needs to hear from more of us so please join me in a writing effort. I would love to see at least one letter submitted every week. Please give me a call at 540-272-4264 if you are interested, or if I can help in any way. Letters to The Editor should be submitted to the paper’s editor, Randy Arrington at: editor@pagenewspaper.com.
