Running a Campaign, Building Friendships

I just ran a marathon at sprint speed! I'm exhausted and ecstatic and glad the campaign is over! I met many wonderful people and came to enjoy the company of many volunteers on the campaign. It wouldn't have worked without the amazing dedication and willingness of all these people. They made my job much easier, and more successful than I could have ever made it by myself.

A gigantic thank you to lots of people named and unnamed who participated in many different facets of this campaign, all the activities we undertook, and all the enthusiasm it generated for the candidate and the movement.

I want to thank Sandie for her amazing talents and diligence. She organized events with great results and for that we are all thankful. Counting on you was La breeze. thank you.

Thank you Karen, Rachael, Susie, Jesi, Diane, Lindsey, Durwin for organizing parades, pencils, home conversations, launch party, data entry, suggestions, signatures, and on and on. Without your dedication, skills, cars, and volunteers recruited - the campaign would have been a bust. Thanks Rachael for your 3am run with me to plant signs before election day. I may never recover!

Thank you Alicia for giving so much of your time and talents to this adventure. You are an amazing ally and friend. You recruited exceptional people, you made things happen, you pounded the pavement and got on the phone. you followed up on every detail, and did it all with grace and verve. I hope I can do the same for you sometime!

Thanks to all the students who supported the campaign and turned out for events like the St. Pat's parade, the photo shoot, gathered signatures, delivered flyers, etc. etc. etc. Steven, Brennan, Tim, Bobbie, Evan, Brandon, Christian, Paul, Emily, Nate, Claire, William, Nikki, Elizabeth K., Sam, Katy and the list goes on.

Special thanks to all the new people that came to the campaign and will be a part of the movement for Education Reform as it goes forward.
Laurie, Tammy, Frannie, Stephanie, June, Charmaine, Dolores and her campaign, the videographers, Butch, all the hosts - money, time, talent, enthusiasm, space, resources came from everywhere. Wow.
Zack and Elizabeth (and yes, my first draft of this I called you Em) are an amazing duo with skills and ideas that I can only hope to acquire - thanks for sharing all your insights.
Likewise - thanks to the professional skills and experience of our campaign team - Kim, Meghan, Theresa, Genaro, Carol, Monica, and others (some who remain anonymous) who stepped up, stepped in, and kept us from making rookie mistakes or saving us when we did! I learned sooooo much for you all.

Thanks to Amanda who organized from afar and came to KC to help out and lend moral support! You are amazing.

I know I have left people out and I will make amends as I figure that out. People such as Vanessa, Jim, ... who helped with tasks, gave of their time, and lent their moral support to me whenever I needed it! Thank you. A special thanks to Dan Ryan at Gone Mild a great blog. He supported Airick in many ways by providing strong, fair coverage of the campaign and support of the cause. Other blogs like TKC, BlogKC, The KC Post, Law School Bound, Hip Suburban White Guy, and others stepped up with support as well. I love cyberspace and the new communications revolution.

But I would be remiss if I did not thank the candidate himself, Airick, for being the reason that this amazing and fabulous collection of people have come together. Your vision, your tenacity, your spirit propelled an entire community to see what is possible and join in the venture. That is leadership at its finest. You touch so many people in so many ways, but your lasting contribution is the commitment that those people take with them to carry on the work.

What a journey, what an experience, what a rush. It's a party I'm glad I came to and glad all of you came too! I look forward to working with all of you in our next phase as Kansas Citians United for Educational Achievement lives the dream of what is possible for our students when we are united for their achievement. Woo-hoo!

Robyne