[Iowa-dx] Fwd: Regional Four State Gathering of Green Parties

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:09:00 -0500

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 ------ Original Message ------
 Received: Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:28:00 PM CDT
 From: "Ron Hardy" &lt;ronaldkanehardy@gmail.com&gt;
 Subject: Regional Four State Gathering of Green Parties
 
 
 Greetings!
 
 I've talked or emailed with some of you already about this, but I'v=
e added some others that I haven't spoken directly with so forgive me if =
I start at the top.
 
 Here in Wisconsin and I think in other states there has been an inc=
reasing interest in building regional networks and collaboration between =
our state Green Parties. There has already been some inter-state collabor=
ation over the past year, but given the urgency of our Presidential elect=
ion and (from what I hear) tensions at the national level it feels that r=
egional cooperation, communication, and community is more important now t=
han ever.
 
 So given this we have been talking about holding a multi-state Gath=
ering of Green Parties this summer, specifically the upper mid-west state=
s that border the Mississippi River: Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisco=
nsin. We contacted a few people from MN, IA, IL, and WI and for the most =
part people seem genuinely excited about the idea!
 
 We haven't gone into any kind of talk yet about what we can accompl=
ish by doing this, or what kind of programming, but some brainstorming th=
at people have mentioned so far:
 
<ul>
 <li>Invitation to GPUS Presidential Candidate(s) to speak; </li>
 <li>Planning / coordinating campaign for our presidential candidate thi=
s fall in the upper mid-west;
 </li>
 <li>Campaign school for candidates;
 </li>
 <li>Republican National Convention - disruption / protest planning;
 </li>
 <li>State-wide races: round table discussion with 2006 Governor candida=
tes Whitney (IL), Barth (IA), Pentel (MN), Eisman (WI) - NOTE: none of th=
ese people have been asked, it is just an idea;
 </li>
 <li>Bio-regionalism and "localism" in a post-peak oil / post-grid-colla=
pse society - challenges for the upper mid-west </li>
 <li>Ballot access issues and challenges;
 </li>
 <li>State breakouts for coordinating council meetings or other;
 </li>
 <li>MAYBE MOST IMPORTANT: relax, rejuvenate and get to know one another=
! Camp fires at night, songs, games, etc.,
 </li>
</ul>
 So here is what we have done so far in terms of Logistics:
 
 Location: Wyalusing State Park sits at the point where the W=
isconsin River joins the Mississippi, on the Iowa - Wisconsin border appr=
oximately half way between Minnesota and Illinois. They have an indoor Lo=
dge facility with meeting rooms, kitchen, dining area, and more, along wi=
th several dormitory-style indoor group lodging buildings. There are also=
 group camp sites as well as individual sites. The cost for the Lodge was=
 reasonable, so we have reserved the Lodge, Dormitories, and one Group Ca=
mp Site for the weekend of August 22-24.
 <a href=3D"http://www.wyalusing.org/">http://www.wyalusing.org/</a>=

<a href=3D"http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/specific/wyalusing/">ht=
tp://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/specific/wyalusing/</a>
 
 Pets: Pets are OK at the group camp site, which allows for 4=
0 humans. They are not permitted at the dorms.
 
 Date: We wanted to do this well after the Chicago Convention=
, but before the RNC in the Twin Cities Sept 1-4. The only site availabil=
ity was for August 22-24 or the following weekend, so we went ahead and b=
ooked the facility for these dates.
 
 Cost: The Lodge and Dorms cost $4 per person per night, with=
 a minimum of $200 for the weekend. We put down a $204 deposit to reserve=
 the facility. The group campsite for Friday and Saturday night cost $80 =
per night for $170 ($10 fee for something) for the weekend. Total cost so=
 far: $374.
 
 Non-resident car fees are $10 per day, but there may be parking out=
side the campground if we arrange carpooling from the entrance to the sit=
es.
 
 We would likely need to charge a "Registration Fee" for the event, =
that would include lodging (for either indoor dorms or group camp site), =
food, full program, etc. Registration fees would be used to pay for the s=
ite reservation, food, possibly speaker honorariums, promotional material=
s, etc.&nbsp;
 
 We should probably ask for pre-registration for the event at a lowe=
r cost than on-site registration so we know we will have enough attendees=
 to cover the costs.
 
 Where to go from here
 
 I encourage everyone on this list to chime in with input about this=
=2E We really need to know what kind of support or interest there is from=
 each state, what kind of turnout we might be able to expect, additional =
programs that might interest people, how to handle food, promotion ideas,=
 etc.
 
 Also if there are others that should be added to this planning e-ma=
il list let me know. We may want to create a Yahoo groups list to handle =
this planning.
 
 SO WHAT DO Y'ALL THINK! 
 
 --
 Ronald Kane Hardy
 Co-chair, Wisconsin Green Party
 Cell: 920-292-8129
 <a href=3D"mailto:ronaldkanehardy@gmail.com">ronaldkanehardy@gmail.=
com</a>

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