Chairperson Report - Mary Minnick – for April 8th zoom meeting
A). On March 15th, Mark Everhart and I were invited to attend the “Honor with Action" rally for Gun Safety with Gabby Gifford as the keynote speaker in Lansing at the Capital. It was an important event to have and they had Governor Whitmer, A.G. Nessel, Congresswomen Elissa Slotkin, MEA President Paula Herbart and many others spoke on the 11 gun bills that are soon to be on Governor Whitmer’s desk that she has said she will sign.
www.wxyz.com/news/michigan-senate-passes-gun-bills-to-address-mass-shootings
B). On March 17th, Mark Everhart, Michael Lynch (Candidate for the 2nd CD Congress) and I were asked to join the Barry County Democratic Party’s St. Patrick Day Parade and dinner after. It was a very windy day but a lot of fun too! I have posted the pictures of it on the 2nd Facebook Page; Please take a look at them when you get a chance.
https://www.facebook.com/MI2Dems/
C). On March 18th, the District Officers and a few District Members participated in State Representative Will Snyder’s fundraiser in Muskegon. All had a good time and photos were shared on the 2nd CD’s Facebook page.
D). On March 20th, I was able to speak with Mary Karcher who is the Clerk at the Wheatland Township office to setup the hall for our upcoming Ice Cream Social and secure the date of September 30th when the 2nd CD will have our BLUE WAVE GALA Fundraiser Dinner. Information is available on the 2nd CD Website under the tab “Events”. I am working with Governor Whitmer’s office and will hopefully be able to secure her as a guest speaker at this event. I have other guest speakers I will be reaching out to in the future and will keep our 2nd CD members informed on who I am able to secure as I get their conformation.
E). A couple of the 2nd CD's District Officers participated in Gratiot County Democratic Party’s monthly meeting on zoom on March 20th at 7pm. I was able to confirm Congressman candidate Michael Lynch will speak at both our Ice Cream Social Fundraiser and for our Blue Wave Gala on September 30th.
F). On March 21st, I participated in the MDP Chair’s call with host Lavora Barnes. A Chair’s roundup recap was emailed to all that were on the call.
G). On March 23rd at 1pm, I called 2nd CD's Congressman Moolenaar's Clair, MI office 989-802-6040 and asked when the Congressman would be having a townhall or event in his office. They have nothing on their schedule showing him coming to our state in the next few months. They directed me to call his Washington officer at 202-225-3561. When I called and asked "Jake" the same question, he replied that he would have to get back with me and he didn't see anything on his calendar for going to Michigan soon. I asked when I might be able to make a personal meeting with the congressman and he said he would only be able to let me know by email. I gave him my information and told him that if i did not hear back from him by 3/30/2023, I would be call him back.
H) On March 23rd at 7pm Mark and I went to Mecosta County Democratic Party’s monthly meeting. The party voted on their By-Laws, which passed unanimously. After, they had three guest speakers who explained the new Gotion Plant that is being built in Big Rapids, MI. Governor Whitmer sent Nate Engle to represent her office and give facts on this project. More information can be found on our 2nd CD website under “Call to Action”. I also shared three video's to help the Governor's office spread the facts about this plant coming soon on many of your county Facebook pages. Please feel free to share them with anyone who needs to hear/see them.
I). On March 26th, Mark and I were invited by Dr. Robert Davidson (past 2nd CD candidate for Congress in 2018) to participate in a fundraiser event for 3rd CD Congresswomen Hillary Scholten. It was a big success and photo’s were shared on the 2nd CD’s Facebook page.
J). On March 28th I was able to secure (as long as they don't have a cruise event scheduled between now and then) a comedy duo "The Stern's" for our September 30th Blue Wave Gala. I will keep in contact with the Stern's to make sure they don't have scheduling conflicts.
K). On March 30th, I confirmed Eaton County Commissioner Jacob Toomey to be a guest speaker at our September 30th Blue Wave Gala.
L). I had a meeting on March 31 with the District Officers and Temp Secretary Mark Everhart that met at my house at 3pm-6:10pm. we discuss the changes that have been made to the Finance/Fundraiser Committee. Dallas Dean (Chair of F&F.C.) and Committee members Ken Mahoney and K.P. Mahoney have the roll of putting together the invitation designs on flyers/postcards/newspaper ads for events, prices of tickets, finding fundraiser locations, contact caterer for all events, making sure the events have a alcohol license, mailing of invitations/postcards to all citizens who may attend. Choosing food for the menu for all events and if any issues come up, the two Committee Members will take those concerns to the Chair of this F&F.C. Dallas Dean who will contact me, the Chair of the 2nd CD personally either by email, text or phone to discuss issues that he may need help deciding on. At no time, will the Committee Members contact me, the 2nd CD Chair for any reasons. All of this has been approved by the District Officers and Temp. Secretary today at 6:10pm. Finally, it was discussed that the Wheatland Township Hall may not work for our September 30th Blue Wave Gala since we do need a liquor license to sell alcohol. This isn't a deal breaker because we should be able to pay for a million dollar insurance policy needed if we request a liquor license from the county/state. The other issue is that the hall only holds a maximum of 210 people and they do not have round tables. This too is not a deal breaker because the table they do have will fit 6 people comfortable with chairs but if we do get more then 210 guests that want to buy a ticket then we will have to turn people away and we don't want to do that. Further discussions will happen before this event is finalized.
M). On April 1st, I was asked by Ed Miller of the Mason County Democratic Party to schedule a zoom meeting on April 6th at 7pm for his party from the 2nd CD's zoom account because his member who usually sets up theirs is out of town. I have sent him the zoom invitation link so he can share the event with them. I will go to their meeting to make sure the link works and to make sure I won't need to let members in and out of the zoom room.
N). On April 3rd, I was invited to the Newaygo County Democratic Party's monthly meeting which I attended. They had guest speaker Jessie Iliff, Vice Chair for Region 10 of the Rural Caucus. The party also picked their two Legacy nominee's Dallas Dean and Shelly Ross.
O). On April 4th I had a meeting with the Communication Committee at 5pm-6pm on zoom. Sally Wagner, Chadwick Walenga and I discussed “Branding” idea's for the party, best ways to split up the 20 counties to find the newspapers that each receive that would be good for us to advertise our meeting in under “Community Calendar”, "Letter to the Editor" to announce our 2nd CD Congressman Candidate and “Artwork/Design” to go with paid ad’s to announce our parties social events. We all through it would be a good idea to have a “Communication Committee” tab on the website so we could place all this contact information on for future use along with artwork/design samples. I have added this tab today to the website. Please let me know if there is anything else that should be added or needed. Great job tonight!!!
P). On April 5th I had a informal zoom meeting with Wexford County Democratic Party’s Chair Amanda Siggins and member of her party Bill Allen. We discussed their “Ginsberg Gala Fundraising Dinner and Auction” on June 10th at 5:30pm-8:30pm. Once they have a flyer, I will share it on our 2nd CD Facebook page. We also talked about the Ice Cream Social that the 2nd CD is having with guest speakers.
Q). On April 6th, I co-hosted a zoom meeting to help the Mason County Democratic Party due to their I.A. person was on vacation and needed me to make a zoom link they could send to their members.
R). I have been reaching out on email, cell phone and in person to our county party’s chairs to submit their two choices for the Legacy Award Nominees with a paragraph or two on why we should vote for them at our April 8th 2nd CD zoom meeting. I have explained in all contact forms that nominees need to be submitted before this meeting. It will be very difficult to add names the day of this meeting. Nominees can be found on the 2nd CD’s website under the tab “Legacy Dinner Nominees”.
S). Throughout the month I have been updating the Facebook page, Website and answering questions on various subjects with people.
T). I have received an standard email from Congressman Moolenaar thanking me for reaching out to his office last month. It was a standard computer generated letter thanking me for his support (of which I do NOT). When I replied back to the email I have for him, it immediately came back to me as an email that does not accept emails. I checked his website and the email from the letter he sent to me which were the same. If you are interested in seeing this worthless representatives reply, please click here: congressman_moolenaar_reply_to_my_email_to_him_april_2023.jpg
U). Throughout the month I have been updating the Facebook page, Website and answering questions on various subjects with people.
V). Please keep inviting us to your local Democratic Party monthly meetings. I do my best to try and make them all. If you have a Gala coming up, send me your flyer or event pages so I can add them to our Facebook page. I will also buy a ticket with Mark from our own checking account and hopefully others will join us to make your events as successful as they can be. If you need contact cards for guest speakers, let me know, I will text them to you. We are stronger when we help each other.
**More will be added to this report before the actual meeting on April 8th on Zoom only at 10am for District Officers, District Committee Members and County Chairs.
A). On March 15th, Mark Everhart and I were invited to attend the “Honor with Action" rally for Gun Safety with Gabby Gifford as the keynote speaker in Lansing at the Capital. It was an important event to have and they had Governor Whitmer, A.G. Nessel, Congresswomen Elissa Slotkin, MEA President Paula Herbart and many others spoke on the 11 gun bills that are soon to be on Governor Whitmer’s desk that she has said she will sign.
www.wxyz.com/news/michigan-senate-passes-gun-bills-to-address-mass-shootings
B). On March 17th, Mark Everhart, Michael Lynch (Candidate for the 2nd CD Congress) and I were asked to join the Barry County Democratic Party’s St. Patrick Day Parade and dinner after. It was a very windy day but a lot of fun too! I have posted the pictures of it on the 2nd Facebook Page; Please take a look at them when you get a chance.
https://www.facebook.com/MI2Dems/
C). On March 18th, the District Officers and a few District Members participated in State Representative Will Snyder’s fundraiser in Muskegon. All had a good time and photos were shared on the 2nd CD’s Facebook page.
D). On March 20th, I was able to speak with Mary Karcher who is the Clerk at the Wheatland Township office to setup the hall for our upcoming Ice Cream Social and secure the date of September 30th when the 2nd CD will have our BLUE WAVE GALA Fundraiser Dinner. Information is available on the 2nd CD Website under the tab “Events”. I am working with Governor Whitmer’s office and will hopefully be able to secure her as a guest speaker at this event. I have other guest speakers I will be reaching out to in the future and will keep our 2nd CD members informed on who I am able to secure as I get their conformation.
E). A couple of the 2nd CD's District Officers participated in Gratiot County Democratic Party’s monthly meeting on zoom on March 20th at 7pm. I was able to confirm Congressman candidate Michael Lynch will speak at both our Ice Cream Social Fundraiser and for our Blue Wave Gala on September 30th.
F). On March 21st, I participated in the MDP Chair’s call with host Lavora Barnes. A Chair’s roundup recap was emailed to all that were on the call.
G). On March 23rd at 1pm, I called 2nd CD's Congressman Moolenaar's Clair, MI office 989-802-6040 and asked when the Congressman would be having a townhall or event in his office. They have nothing on their schedule showing him coming to our state in the next few months. They directed me to call his Washington officer at 202-225-3561. When I called and asked "Jake" the same question, he replied that he would have to get back with me and he didn't see anything on his calendar for going to Michigan soon. I asked when I might be able to make a personal meeting with the congressman and he said he would only be able to let me know by email. I gave him my information and told him that if i did not hear back from him by 3/30/2023, I would be call him back.
H) On March 23rd at 7pm Mark and I went to Mecosta County Democratic Party’s monthly meeting. The party voted on their By-Laws, which passed unanimously. After, they had three guest speakers who explained the new Gotion Plant that is being built in Big Rapids, MI. Governor Whitmer sent Nate Engle to represent her office and give facts on this project. More information can be found on our 2nd CD website under “Call to Action”. I also shared three video's to help the Governor's office spread the facts about this plant coming soon on many of your county Facebook pages. Please feel free to share them with anyone who needs to hear/see them.
I). On March 26th, Mark and I were invited by Dr. Robert Davidson (past 2nd CD candidate for Congress in 2018) to participate in a fundraiser event for 3rd CD Congresswomen Hillary Scholten. It was a big success and photo’s were shared on the 2nd CD’s Facebook page.
J). On March 28th I was able to secure (as long as they don't have a cruise event scheduled between now and then) a comedy duo "The Stern's" for our September 30th Blue Wave Gala. I will keep in contact with the Stern's to make sure they don't have scheduling conflicts.
K). On March 30th, I confirmed Eaton County Commissioner Jacob Toomey to be a guest speaker at our September 30th Blue Wave Gala.
L). I had a meeting on March 31 with the District Officers and Temp Secretary Mark Everhart that met at my house at 3pm-6:10pm. we discuss the changes that have been made to the Finance/Fundraiser Committee. Dallas Dean (Chair of F&F.C.) and Committee members Ken Mahoney and K.P. Mahoney have the roll of putting together the invitation designs on flyers/postcards/newspaper ads for events, prices of tickets, finding fundraiser locations, contact caterer for all events, making sure the events have a alcohol license, mailing of invitations/postcards to all citizens who may attend. Choosing food for the menu for all events and if any issues come up, the two Committee Members will take those concerns to the Chair of this F&F.C. Dallas Dean who will contact me, the Chair of the 2nd CD personally either by email, text or phone to discuss issues that he may need help deciding on. At no time, will the Committee Members contact me, the 2nd CD Chair for any reasons. All of this has been approved by the District Officers and Temp. Secretary today at 6:10pm. Finally, it was discussed that the Wheatland Township Hall may not work for our September 30th Blue Wave Gala since we do need a liquor license to sell alcohol. This isn't a deal breaker because we should be able to pay for a million dollar insurance policy needed if we request a liquor license from the county/state. The other issue is that the hall only holds a maximum of 210 people and they do not have round tables. This too is not a deal breaker because the table they do have will fit 6 people comfortable with chairs but if we do get more then 210 guests that want to buy a ticket then we will have to turn people away and we don't want to do that. Further discussions will happen before this event is finalized.
M). On April 1st, I was asked by Ed Miller of the Mason County Democratic Party to schedule a zoom meeting on April 6th at 7pm for his party from the 2nd CD's zoom account because his member who usually sets up theirs is out of town. I have sent him the zoom invitation link so he can share the event with them. I will go to their meeting to make sure the link works and to make sure I won't need to let members in and out of the zoom room.
N). On April 3rd, I was invited to the Newaygo County Democratic Party's monthly meeting which I attended. They had guest speaker Jessie Iliff, Vice Chair for Region 10 of the Rural Caucus. The party also picked their two Legacy nominee's Dallas Dean and Shelly Ross.
O). On April 4th I had a meeting with the Communication Committee at 5pm-6pm on zoom. Sally Wagner, Chadwick Walenga and I discussed “Branding” idea's for the party, best ways to split up the 20 counties to find the newspapers that each receive that would be good for us to advertise our meeting in under “Community Calendar”, "Letter to the Editor" to announce our 2nd CD Congressman Candidate and “Artwork/Design” to go with paid ad’s to announce our parties social events. We all through it would be a good idea to have a “Communication Committee” tab on the website so we could place all this contact information on for future use along with artwork/design samples. I have added this tab today to the website. Please let me know if there is anything else that should be added or needed. Great job tonight!!!
P). On April 5th I had a informal zoom meeting with Wexford County Democratic Party’s Chair Amanda Siggins and member of her party Bill Allen. We discussed their “Ginsberg Gala Fundraising Dinner and Auction” on June 10th at 5:30pm-8:30pm. Once they have a flyer, I will share it on our 2nd CD Facebook page. We also talked about the Ice Cream Social that the 2nd CD is having with guest speakers.
Q). On April 6th, I co-hosted a zoom meeting to help the Mason County Democratic Party due to their I.A. person was on vacation and needed me to make a zoom link they could send to their members.
R). I have been reaching out on email, cell phone and in person to our county party’s chairs to submit their two choices for the Legacy Award Nominees with a paragraph or two on why we should vote for them at our April 8th 2nd CD zoom meeting. I have explained in all contact forms that nominees need to be submitted before this meeting. It will be very difficult to add names the day of this meeting. Nominees can be found on the 2nd CD’s website under the tab “Legacy Dinner Nominees”.
S). Throughout the month I have been updating the Facebook page, Website and answering questions on various subjects with people.
T). I have received an standard email from Congressman Moolenaar thanking me for reaching out to his office last month. It was a standard computer generated letter thanking me for his support (of which I do NOT). When I replied back to the email I have for him, it immediately came back to me as an email that does not accept emails. I checked his website and the email from the letter he sent to me which were the same. If you are interested in seeing this worthless representatives reply, please click here: congressman_moolenaar_reply_to_my_email_to_him_april_2023.jpg
U). Throughout the month I have been updating the Facebook page, Website and answering questions on various subjects with people.
V). Please keep inviting us to your local Democratic Party monthly meetings. I do my best to try and make them all. If you have a Gala coming up, send me your flyer or event pages so I can add them to our Facebook page. I will also buy a ticket with Mark from our own checking account and hopefully others will join us to make your events as successful as they can be. If you need contact cards for guest speakers, let me know, I will text them to you. We are stronger when we help each other.
**More will be added to this report before the actual meeting on April 8th on Zoom only at 10am for District Officers, District Committee Members and County Chairs.