To: West Virginia Young Democrats
Just a reminder about the WVYD 2008 state convention next weekend (April 4 - 6) at the Charleston Civic Center. The kick-off event will begin Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. The convention will conclude at noon on Sunday following the general session. In between, we have a schedule packed with high-profile speakers, valuable training sessions and caucus meetings, as well as three very important candidate forums for State Supreme Court, Secretary of State and 2nd Congressional District. (See the updated schedule below.)
The room block at the Holiday Inn Express will close on Monday evening, so please make your hotel reservations immediately for $85 per night by calling 304-345-0600. Be sure to request the Young Democrats nightly rate.
Also, if you are a local chapter president, please don't forget to bring your chartering packets with you to the convention. We need the completed packet, chartering fee ($1 per member), and copy of your clubs bylaws. Please call me immediately if you have questions about any of these items. The packet is available on our website at:
http://www.wvyoungdems.org/upl...
There has been a little bit of confusion about the $10 registration fee for the convention. This fee also covers the keynote dinner on Saturday night with Christine Pelosi. Tickets are available to the general public for $50, but Young Dems attending the convention will not be charged separately for the dinner.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I'm looking forward to seeing Young Democrat leaders from across the state next weekend in Charleston!
Thanks,
Rod Snyder
President, West Virginia Young Democrats
(304) 279-2584
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FRIDAY, APRIL 4
4:00 PM
Conference Registration (until 9:00 p.m.)
5:00 PM
Convention kick-off event with Chelsea Clinton
7:30 PM
US Congress 2nd District Candidate Forum
- Anne Barth
- Richie Robb
- Thornton Cooper
9:00 PM
Dinner on your own
SATURDAY, APRIL 5
8:00 AM
Conference Registration (until 6:00 p.m.)
8:30 AM
Women's Caucus - Guest speaker: Lida Shepherd, WV FREE
Veterans Caucus - Guest speaker: Senator Erik Wells
9:15 AM
Training Session: "Preparing the WVYD Generation to Run for Public Office" - Tiffany Lawrence, Former Miss West Virginia and Candidate for House of Delegates
Training Session: "Chapter Presidents' Roundtable: Sharing Ideas to Improve Our Local Clubs" - Rod Snyder, WV Young Democrats President
10:00 AM
Secretary of State Candidate Forum
- Billy Wayne Bailey
- Joe DeLong
- Natalie Tennant
11:30 AM
High School Caucus - Guest speaker: First Lady Gayle Manchin
College Caucus - Guest speaker: Former Senator Lloyd Jackson
12:15 PM
Lunch on your own
1:15 PM
Environmental Caucus - Guest speaker: Larry Gibson, Keepers of the Mountains Foundation
GLBT Caucus - Guest speaker: to be announced
2:00 PM
Supreme Court Candidate Forum
- Bob Bastress
- Mennis Ketchum
- Spike Maynard
- Margaret Workman
3:30 PM
Training Session: "Using technology, media outreach and other creative methods to recruit new members and grow your local chapter" - Tyler Oyler, West Virginia Young Democrats Vice President
Training Session: "New methods for identifying voters...and how this knowledge can make young campaign volunteers invaluable" - Curt Zickafoose, Field Staff for the WV Democratic Party
4:15 PM
Minority Caucus - Guest speaker: to be announced
Labor Caucus - Guest speaker: Larry Matheney, West Virginia AFL-CIO
5:00 PM
Training Session: "Everything you could ever want to know about attending the DNC Convention in Denver" - Derek Scarbro, Field Director for the WV Democratic Party
Training Session: "The inside scoop on building a career in the political arena" - Dan Kimble, Chief of Staff to WV Speaker of the House Rick Thompson
5:45 PM
Jennings Randolph Society Reception with Christine Pelosi (JRS members only)
6:30 PM
Keynote Dinner with Christine Pelosi
9:00 PM
Night at the movies to watch "Stop-Loss" - hosted by the WVYD Veterans Caucus
SUNDAY, APRIL 6
9:00 AM
Rules Committee
Resolutions Committee
Credentials Committee
10:00 AM
General Session
12:00 PM
Adjournment
To: West Virginia Young Democrats I am pleased to announce that former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton will speak during our WVYD convention kick-off event at 5:00 this Friday evening at the Charleston Civic Center (Room 202).
We already have a very exciting lineup of speakers throughout the convention, and the addition of Chelsea Clinton will make this weekend truly unforgettable. The kick-off event is free and open to the general public. (The Obama campaign may also be sending a surrogate speaker to the convention, mostly likely during our general session on Sunday morning.
Please check the WVYD website later this week for more details.) We have moved up the start of the convention registration time to 4:00 p.m. on Friday to accommodate the slightly modified schedule. The complete agenda for the weekend is available on our website at www.wvyoungdems.org.
The convention registration fee is $10, payable by cash or check when you arrive at the Civic Center. Tickets are still available to the general public for Saturday night's keynote dinner with Christine Pelosi.
Members of the general public who are not Young Democrats can purchase a ticket for the Pelosi dinner for $50 each by contacting Kanawha Valley Young Democrats President Travis Mollohan at 304-345-2794 or tmollohan@hotmail.com. Of course, those Young Dems registered for the convention will be admitted to the keynote dinner for free.
