President-elect Obama’s inauguration is one week away. Thanks to you, East Bay Young Dems made a difference!

Because Nevada is always a bellwether state in presidential elections, and because Washoe County (home to Reno) was pivotal to both campaigns’ Nevada strategy, EBYD decided to make the long trip up the hill two weeks prior to the election. (Image: EBYDs in Washoe County, NV getting out the vote.)

Thanks to the superb organizing skills of outgoing VP Andy Coghlan, thirty of our members arrived safely and spent Friday night cooking dinner, getting to know each other, and marveling at our ability to fit into just two houses (using all available floor space).

The next morning, we got word that Obama himself would be speaking at a rally down the road, so we braved the early morning cold to hear his rousing, inspiring speech. Then off to our orientation, where we learned to properly pronounce Nevada, and on to our assignments, where we walked door-to-door to get people out for early voting.

This was the first time many of our members had canvassed, and the stories abounded. Overall, the opportunity to discuss real-life issues with real people, and what Barack Obama’s candidacy meant for them, was moving for all of us.  It was our chance to help make change happen.  And many of the conversations were transformative.

The best one for me was the 47 year old woman who had never voted in her life, and said she really wanted to this year, but was leaving town in a few hours and not returning until after the election.  We offered her a ride to the polls, and she was nervous and stayed in the booth more than 20 minutes.  When she emerged, she was beaming, and said she just helped make Barack Obama president.  She was right.

I’m proud that EBYD was a part of that moment.

Thank you to all the donors who made it possible for us to take this trip at such limited expense to our members and allowed the club to cover travel and lodging for everybody.