In case you are wondering, last night's event went great! The turnout was great, the people were great and things went great.
The after-action report will only feature a few bumps. We have got to figure out a way to process last-minute auction items faster. My sister did an outstanding job of keeping up, but next time we need to get her more help.
Registration went very well and the lines were minimal. I wonder if we can figure out a better way to do name tags?
Many thanks to the great volunteers who pitched-in to help, either pre-planned or on-the-spot. We have the greatest group of supporters in the world!
It is comforting to know that God is ultimately in control of how an election turns out. You do the best you can, but the "heart of the king" is in the hand of the Lord. In our great country, the "king" is made-up of voters. They elect the leaders who will make laws. We are not at the mercy of someone who was "born to be king" and may or may not turn out to be any good at it.
On the other hand, we deserve nothing. As a country we have, in may respects, turned our back on God. If we get bad leaders, it is usually because we have allowed it ("we" in the general sense of the word). If we don't do everything we can to turn this country around, then we deserve what we get (and probably worse).
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Busy Night & Day
Last night I went home to help my Mom get ready for a fundraising event. It was rather late before I went to bed.
Today I feel a bit tired, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Tonight is the big night, and I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends and making some new ones.
Events are fun, but they sure are a lot of work!
Today I feel a bit tired, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Tonight is the big night, and I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends and making some new ones.
Events are fun, but they sure are a lot of work!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Weekday Evenings
So, what do you do in the evenings after work? I have just about as many answers to that question as there are days in the month. But there are a few that predominate.
1) Yardwork. This is first on the list not because it is the most important, or because I do it the most often. It is first because it is what I did last night, so it is fresh in my mind.
I am one of those people that love to see a row of freshly cut grass appear behind me as I walk across the lawn with a mower. Last night I got to try my hand at using the trimmer (for the second time). It is not due to lack of interest that I have very little experience with those machines, but rather my brother's great interest in them. At our house he loves to get out his big trimmer, put on all sorts of protective gear, and wack away.
I'm not as fond of garden work. I enjoy it when I actually do it, but I prefer to mow the lawn while someone else plays with plants in the dirt.
This activity is restricted to evenings with at least some light and minimal rain. This means I rarely do yardwork several months out of the year. Either I get home after dark or it is raining.
As a side note, I need to get one of those face shield things. I'm very grateful for the protection my glasses provided me last night, but would like to spare them that particular job in the future.
2) Attend political meetings. Four nights a month I have a regularly scheduled political meeting. Other miscellaneous meetings pop-up from time-to-time to increase the number of evenings spent on this activity.
3) Do jobs around the house. I love to fix things, put together things, install things, etc. All of my "spare" evenings for several months were previously occupied by redecorating both bathrooms, replacing lights, etc. Most of the small jobs are now done and we await an opening to begin a "major remodeling project." This will require professional help. But I'm sure I'll be able to find ways to assist in the evenings.
4) Paperwork. Ahh, that 21st Century never-ending task. I usually use the paperwork excuse as a reason to sit on my bed, watching a recorded TV show or movie, while creating piles of sorted paper all around me. It's also a good activity if I am not feeling my best or want to be alone for some quiet time.
If I don't have a paperwork night every month or so, I start to get into unsorted paperwork overload. I have an idealistic goal of properly reading and filing all the paper from that week each weekend. However, maybe sometime I'll discuss my weekends and you will see why that rarely happens.
5) Shop...as in grocery shopping. I enjoy doing the household grocery shopping. By the time I get away from work, do the shopping, get home and put the stuff away, and eat dinner, it is usually time to get ready for bed.
6) Work late. Ahh, another 21st Century affliction. Well maybe not. Think of farmers who worked sun-up to sun-down. Think of slaves. Think of mothers who have traditionally spent their evenings serving their families.
I have several good excuses to work late. I'm not married and don't have a family that will suffer. I enjoy my job and it is for a good cause...we're making a difference in this world. I often get things done that I don't seem to have time to do during the day.
If I ever get married, my job will suffer...without me actually. (grin)
OK. That sums up most of my evenings. Various other evenings are spent with things like Bible studies, visiting friends, working on campaigns, etc. But I think the majority of regular activities are summarized above.
1) Yardwork. This is first on the list not because it is the most important, or because I do it the most often. It is first because it is what I did last night, so it is fresh in my mind.
I am one of those people that love to see a row of freshly cut grass appear behind me as I walk across the lawn with a mower. Last night I got to try my hand at using the trimmer (for the second time). It is not due to lack of interest that I have very little experience with those machines, but rather my brother's great interest in them. At our house he loves to get out his big trimmer, put on all sorts of protective gear, and wack away.
I'm not as fond of garden work. I enjoy it when I actually do it, but I prefer to mow the lawn while someone else plays with plants in the dirt.
This activity is restricted to evenings with at least some light and minimal rain. This means I rarely do yardwork several months out of the year. Either I get home after dark or it is raining.
As a side note, I need to get one of those face shield things. I'm very grateful for the protection my glasses provided me last night, but would like to spare them that particular job in the future.
2) Attend political meetings. Four nights a month I have a regularly scheduled political meeting. Other miscellaneous meetings pop-up from time-to-time to increase the number of evenings spent on this activity.
3) Do jobs around the house. I love to fix things, put together things, install things, etc. All of my "spare" evenings for several months were previously occupied by redecorating both bathrooms, replacing lights, etc. Most of the small jobs are now done and we await an opening to begin a "major remodeling project." This will require professional help. But I'm sure I'll be able to find ways to assist in the evenings.
4) Paperwork. Ahh, that 21st Century never-ending task. I usually use the paperwork excuse as a reason to sit on my bed, watching a recorded TV show or movie, while creating piles of sorted paper all around me. It's also a good activity if I am not feeling my best or want to be alone for some quiet time.
If I don't have a paperwork night every month or so, I start to get into unsorted paperwork overload. I have an idealistic goal of properly reading and filing all the paper from that week each weekend. However, maybe sometime I'll discuss my weekends and you will see why that rarely happens.
5) Shop...as in grocery shopping. I enjoy doing the household grocery shopping. By the time I get away from work, do the shopping, get home and put the stuff away, and eat dinner, it is usually time to get ready for bed.
6) Work late. Ahh, another 21st Century affliction. Well maybe not. Think of farmers who worked sun-up to sun-down. Think of slaves. Think of mothers who have traditionally spent their evenings serving their families.
I have several good excuses to work late. I'm not married and don't have a family that will suffer. I enjoy my job and it is for a good cause...we're making a difference in this world. I often get things done that I don't seem to have time to do during the day.
If I ever get married, my job will suffer...without me actually. (grin)
OK. That sums up most of my evenings. Various other evenings are spent with things like Bible studies, visiting friends, working on campaigns, etc. But I think the majority of regular activities are summarized above.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Minutes Done
If you have ever been the Secretary of an organization, you understand about "minutes." Getting them out in a timely manner is always an important, but sometimes difficult challenge.
This time I think I set a record. Our convention minutes have been typed, approved by the Chairman, and sent out to the delegates. Hurray!
I must confess that being at home alone last night was key in getting this done so quickly. There is nothing like a quiet evening to motivate you to get the stuff done you know you need to get done. Besides, I have no idea when I'll get another quiet evening. I was afraid that if I didn't get them done ASAP they might get put-off too long. There were quite a few timely things in the minutes that needed to be reported right away (like the list of delegates elected to the state convention).
Oh, did I mention that I am now a delegate to the State Convention? Not only that, I was elected to the Rules Committee. That means I "get" to go over to the convention a day early to sit in the Rules Committee Meeting. Oh well, someone has to do it. I guess it is best to have someone do it who has an idea of what to do.
Although most people consider the Rules Committee to be boring, if you understand rules, you realize how vital they are to a good convention. I have been at conventions with bad rules which lead to a bad convention. Easy to understand rules allow people to participate in a meaningful and orderly manner. When the rules are unclear or poorly written, it leads to frustrations by the delegates, which often leads to "incidents."
There you go...if you haven't thought about the importance of rules before, maybe this will be your day to think about something new. (grin)
This time I think I set a record. Our convention minutes have been typed, approved by the Chairman, and sent out to the delegates. Hurray!
I must confess that being at home alone last night was key in getting this done so quickly. There is nothing like a quiet evening to motivate you to get the stuff done you know you need to get done. Besides, I have no idea when I'll get another quiet evening. I was afraid that if I didn't get them done ASAP they might get put-off too long. There were quite a few timely things in the minutes that needed to be reported right away (like the list of delegates elected to the state convention).
Oh, did I mention that I am now a delegate to the State Convention? Not only that, I was elected to the Rules Committee. That means I "get" to go over to the convention a day early to sit in the Rules Committee Meeting. Oh well, someone has to do it. I guess it is best to have someone do it who has an idea of what to do.
Although most people consider the Rules Committee to be boring, if you understand rules, you realize how vital they are to a good convention. I have been at conventions with bad rules which lead to a bad convention. Easy to understand rules allow people to participate in a meaningful and orderly manner. When the rules are unclear or poorly written, it leads to frustrations by the delegates, which often leads to "incidents."
There you go...if you haven't thought about the importance of rules before, maybe this will be your day to think about something new. (grin)
Monday, April 24, 2006
County Convention
Well on Saturday we had our Republican County Convention. Since I was heavily involved, it was a relief to see it go fairly smoothly and to have it over with. I was Secretary, on the Convention Committee, on the Rules Committee, and am the President of the YR club that provided all the food for the day.
Praise the Lord for my great sister who coordinated the YRs and actually did most of the work for the food. Everyone raved about how great lunch was, and we only ran out of mayo and diet pop.
I love the fact that we live in a country where we can disagree or agree with each other peacefully. Losers in elections don't worry about being assassinated. We can speak our minds in relative security. I love America!
In order to preserve these freedoms for the next generation, we must be involved in our political process. These freedoms will not continue on their own. There are people out there who want to define free speech as "freedom to speak as long as you agree with me." There are people who want to define any belief that excludes them as "hate speech." There are people who believe government should tell us what to do, or at least limit our options, from the time we are born until we are no longer "useful" to society...and then they don't think we should bother them anymore...literally.
I hope you are involved at some level in keeping American free. At the least, each one of us should be an informed voter, so we elect people who will work on our behalf to protect our freedoms.
Praise the Lord for my great sister who coordinated the YRs and actually did most of the work for the food. Everyone raved about how great lunch was, and we only ran out of mayo and diet pop.
I love the fact that we live in a country where we can disagree or agree with each other peacefully. Losers in elections don't worry about being assassinated. We can speak our minds in relative security. I love America!
In order to preserve these freedoms for the next generation, we must be involved in our political process. These freedoms will not continue on their own. There are people out there who want to define free speech as "freedom to speak as long as you agree with me." There are people who want to define any belief that excludes them as "hate speech." There are people who believe government should tell us what to do, or at least limit our options, from the time we are born until we are no longer "useful" to society...and then they don't think we should bother them anymore...literally.
I hope you are involved at some level in keeping American free. At the least, each one of us should be an informed voter, so we elect people who will work on our behalf to protect our freedoms.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
