Shanna Goldman, our Organizing Director, and Chris Scoville, our Capital District Organizer, opened the conference with a dynamic discussion on far reach of economic concerns. Leaders then chose among 3 workshops that were divided into 2 days. Jess Wisneski, our Legislative Director, and Cynthia Ward, Northeast Action Executive Director, moderated the health care workshop. Cleo Oliver, Citizen Action Campaign Coordinator, and Carin Schiewe, Northeast Action Field Director, moderated the civic engagement workshop. Karen Scharff, our Executive Director, managed the education workshop.

Citizen Action staff loved the level of engagement–especially since we all put so many hours into organizing the conference.

The engagement, though, reached into the Internet this year. We live-streamed portions of the conference and actively used Twitter and Facebook. Leaders especially loved the Twitter projection. Be sure to click on the link to see what the buzz was all about.

We ended the conference on a riveting and uplifting note. William McNary, President of USAction – our national affliate-, brought everyone to their feet and some even to tears. Luckily, in yet another example of technological versatility, Charlie Albanetti, our Communications Director, captured this provocative engagement on video.

Here is a collection of photos that highlight our very active weekend:

We’re also embedding the informational binder that each attendee received. The pages highlight our major projects and is chock full of useful summaries. Please take a look!

2010 Leadership Conference Binder Docs

It appeared that the Administration we worked so hard to elect was backing away from our strongest mandate – true health care reform through a strong public option.

But every cloud has a silver lining!

My group in Buffalo, BuffalObama, that worked so very hard from March of 2007 until election day and after, is re-energized.  And it’s not just Buffalo, across the state the grassroots organizers who have been continuing to meet, open offices, make phone calls and support health care reform initiatives are ready to speak up.  We are not going to lose this fight!

So, if you were involved in the campaign – knocking on doors, making calls, holding signs, sending in money – it’s time to do it again!  Let’s not waste the significant time we put in during the election with inside the beltway politics and insurance company money.  We proved we could overcome all of that during the election – we can do it again!

Call your Citizen Action office right now and ask what you can do – we have LOTS of events happening and each one is important to show that our support for a public option is louder and larger than the voices of the right wing crazies.

The City of Poughkeepsie is the County seat and has an interesting and prominent place in Dutchess County History. Once considered the “Jewel of the Hudson,” the City has suffered the ill effects of economic decline, crime, and poverty since the 1950s. Local political and community leaders have worked hard to bring Poughkeepsie back, and promising changes are being seen. Parts of Main Street are home to new shops and successful restaurants. The waterfront also has been revitalized with art sculpture, refurbished parks, a public walkway, and private facilities.

The population of the City of Poughkeepsie is close to 31,000. The City’s population is approximately 51% white, 37% Black, and 11% Hispanic, according to 2000 census data. There are several outstanding community agencies in Poughkeepsie. Perhaps the most well known is the Family Partnership Center, an umbrella organization of over thirty non-profit and human services organizations. The FPC was co-founded by the late beloved Poughkeepsie community leader Lateef Islam. Among the trusted organizations FPC houses are Dutchess Outreach, Hudson River Health Care, The Living Room, and the Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library. The Catherine Street Community Center is another trusted organization in the City that offers AIDS awareness and prevention education, after school and summer programs, and a boys choir program.

CAHV held a public hearing on health care at the FPC on Monday, October 29th. The hearing was modeled after the Partnership for Coverage panels the Spitzer administration has been holding around the stated. The panelists at the Poughkeepsie forum were Poughkeepsie County Legislator Barbara Jeter-Jackson, Spitzer Administration Regional Representative Tara Sullivan, and Partnership for Coverage panelist Mark Scherzer. Over forty people attended the meeting and many gave testimony about the challenges they have faced accessing health care. Representatives from the American Cancer Society and Union organizations also spoke about the plight of people who have inadequate health coverage. The hearing was held in Poughkeepsie by CAHV in the hopes of recruiting more members of the Poughkeepsie community to Citizen Action’s statewide health care campaign.

CAHV is interested in involving more people from Poughkeepsie in the health care campaign and other important campaigns. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact me at (516) 749-1995. We need your energy, activism, and leadership. Don’t wait another day to advocate for yourself, your family, and your community – become an active member of Citizen Action today!

-Stephanie Ruggiero, CAHV Steering Committee Member