Planning session

Our monthly meetings are good times for education and discussion, but if we are to grow and be effective as a group we also need some planning time.

Wilma and I have been planning the monthly meetings, monitoring our Facebook and websites, email and now Twitter, and attend events on behalf of the group. I also am supposed to write a weekly blog post and like to be engaged on the Denver Post web-site, which is a good place to spread our message. As a few recent attempts at rallies have shown, we evidently don't have time to also plan rallies.
So this is an area where some help is needed. A few other duties we could use - someone to set us up as a 401(c) (3), then a treasurer to handle any donations/fund-raisers.

A secretary to take notes at the meetings would be awesome. I've made some changes to the web-site, but it could use more so a "web-master" might be good, especially if this person could also post any surveys we want to send. A videographer to video some events/meetings, then post them on YouTube, to try and by-pass the media and show what Tea Parties are really about, and a photographer.

It is important to recognize one's strengths and weaknesses. Have to admit organizing is a weakness of mine, but my other activities - kind of being an ambassador for the group - I enjoy and seem to be somewhat effective at.

One of my goals when I took over was to increase membership. We now have over 250 members, versus 214 when I took over. Our Facebook page has many more "friends" and we have a few Twitter followers. Viva la revolution!

If you are interested in helping to figure out how we can be most effective as a group, please join us Monday evening. Note, at the last meeting I announced this would be on Tues, 8/9 but I need to change that to Mon. 8/8.

In terms of what message we advocate for, I am thinking that focusing on not raising the debt ceiling anymore may be the simplest for people to relate to. The latest increase will take us just past the next election. We don't want to wait until then to start talking about it again. If the debt ceiling could not be raised anymore, the politicians would have to balance the budget by next year - much faster than even a Balanced Budget Amendment would work. In terms of getting candidates elected, my idea is that the ATP stay non-partisan and any political work anyone wants to do we do within our "party of choice" - pun intended! But these are the types of decisions it would be better to make as a group.

Andy Peth mentioned possibly bringing food. How about if we organize this via the comment section? Hope to see you Monday night!