The Chair’s Newsletter Vol. 1 No. 3
Week of September 14-19, 2024
This newsletter covers Friday to Thursday of each week. We started this weekly time period with a first-ever two-hour Volunteer Office Staff training and will have a second training on September 30th. As a result of this training we will have a completed office manual for the first time in our history. In addition, we now have three computers, two for the use of volunteers in the office and one for Committee administration. We did not have a computer three months ago.
On Saturday we had a table at the Rockbridge County Fair at the Horse farm and received donations to the Harris campaign, met people and people were glad to see us there. In addition, based on a meeting I had with Margaret Ann Paxton, learning about all of the events she attends on behalf of CERT, the Community Emergency Response Team, https://www.co.rockbridge.va.us/252/Community-Emergency-Response-Team-CERT I was able to develop an entirely new approach to how our Committee participates in events in our community. While we have had a focus on events that we produce, like our
Committee fundraising events, I want our members attending and representing our Committee at events hosted by others including events in the following places:
Lexington, Buena Vista, Fairfield, Vesuvius, Collierstown, Goshen, Glasgow, Raphine, Buffalo Ridge, Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge Station, Willow Springs, Brownsburg, East Lexington, Gilmore Mills, Marlbrook, Mechanicsville, Rockbridge Baths, Bains and Steeles Tavern. Times are changing. We are fighting for every square inch of the square mile area of Rockbridge County and all of BV and Lexington.
I estimate there are over 100 events a year when you consider the 24 events by the area Chamber of Commerce, plua Lenfest, Lime Kiln, BV Music Festivals, Regional Fairs, Palmer Ice Cream Dinner, and many other events. We will have all of these community events on our Website calendar in several weeks at www.lexrockbvdems.com. We will have a social media presence regarding these events and encourage our members to attend and even help the organizers of these events if they want our assistance. That is what we do as community leaders.
In addition, we have launched a new group - the Young Dems. With the great assistance of our new Secretary, Laure Stevens-Lubin and her son, Leo Stevens-Lubin, Manager of Heliotrope, we met with the owners of Heliotrope, and will have an event on Monday, September 30, from 5:30 to 7:00pm - free appetizers, and cash bar and attendees pay for additional food. We will be reaching out to many organizations serving young persons in our area with flyers. This meet and greet is long overdue as part of our outreach to Young Dems. If you know of anyone from 14 to 40 who might want to attend, or groups that work with young people who will share a flyer about the event with their members, please send me an email at herb@herbrubenstein.com
We continue to support and collaborate with our strategic partner, Veterans for Harris. We organized a meeting for them at Cornerstone Bank and will hold another meeting with them on September 26, from 1:00 – 2:30 at the Abigail Inn. If you know of any Veterans who might want to attend, please send me an email at herb@herbrubenstein.com. Veterans for Harris is already advertising in the News-Gazette.
Our large signs are going up in lots of places thanks to Louise Ward and Will Towns and others on their Large Sign team. Thanks to Bea Johnson for recommending so many great sites for our large signs. We are going to get a lot more signs this coming week.
We need help canvassing, especially in Rockbridge County and BV. If you are willing to canvass for Ken Mitchell and all Dems running for federal office in 2024 in our area, please contact the office at lexrockvadems@gmail.com and let us know. It would be great if we can canvass multiple days of each week with teams of people.
Please continue to contribute to our Congressional candidate, Ken Mitchell, at www.kenmitchellforvirginia.com or mail a check to Mitchell for Virginia, P.O. Box 1795, Harrisonburg, VA 22803. I am in discussions with the political consulting firm and polling firm that managed communications for all of the campaigns for the last Democrat who won the 6th Congressional race, Jim Olin, who held the seat from 1982 to 1992. They work out of Washington, DC. This Congressional race is starting to get some attention in Washington, DC. If there was a poll showing Mitchell within five points of Cline in this race, we would be the national news story from now through November 5th and beyond. I will keep you posted on my efforts to commission a poll for this district and my efforts to continue to attract national attention to this race. LexRockBV Dems know how to do get national attention. We did it with the help of the Combined Campaign for our incredible Labor Day effort and if we win this Congressional seat, we will be the talk of the nation for a very long time.
I have been given the names of some farmers in our area who support Ken Mitchell. If you know of some Farmers who support Ken Mitchell, please let me know as we will ask them to put up “Farmers for Ken Mitchell” signs and will help start a Farmers for Ken Mitchell group.
Great to be your Chair. Many other great things have occurred in the past week and more will occur next week. I look forward to hearing from you. Vote early!
Herb Rubenstein, Chair, LexRockBV Dems. 303.910.7961, herb@herbrubenstein.com
www.lexrockbvDems.com September 18, 2024