ONE » Nevada

Recap: August recess meet ‘n greets

Field — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:57:05 +0000

ONE members across the country are using the August recess as an opportunity to meet with their congressional leaders to advocate for the world’s poorest people. So far, ONE members have attended more than 45 meetings with their senators or house representatives. Here’s a compilation of some of last week’s visits:

ONE member Steve with a member of Sen. Nelson’s staff

Meeting at Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson’s Omaha Office
Recently, I met with one of Sen. Ben Nelson’s, (D-Neb.), staff members, Patrick Leahy. After briefly discussing ONE’s history, agenda and the strong membership we have here in Nebraska, we got on to some more urgent matters. I asked that Nelson sign the Lugar-Casey letter in support of the Global Food Security Act and increase funding for GAVI and the Global Fund.

I asked Patrick to relay our thanks to Nelson for his support in these areas. I also told him that we are aware and proud of Nelson’s important position on the appropriations committee and how lucky we are to have him representing Nebraska.

- Steve White, ONE Nebraska

ONE members at Sen. Klobuchar’s office

Meeting with Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s St. Paul Office
ONE Congressional District Leader Reena Dhake and I headed over to Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s, (D-Minn.), Twin Cities office, where we met with State Director John Kavanagh to discuss ways to help improve the lives of millions of people living in extreme poverty.

Klobuchar supports both ONE and the issues we focus on. During the meeting, we commended the senator for her efforts, including her cosponsorship of the Global Food Security Act.

We also asked the senator to add her name to the Casey-Lugar letter in support of this legislation.

–Rochelle Gibbs and Reena Dhake, ONE Minnesota

ONE member Steve with a member of Sen. Nelson’s staff

Meeting with Sen. Barbara Boxer’s Fresno Office
My husband Ryan and I had the privilege of meeting with Sen. Barbara Boxer’s, (D-Calif.), Fresno office.

State Director Thomas Bohigian and Ameen Khan, the director of Central and Eastern California, were extremely gracious with their time and attention. We all agreed that because the world’s poorest people often find themselves silenced by the circumstances of their lives, it is vital that concerned citizens continue to raise awareness on their behalf.

We asked Bohigian and Khan to thank the senator for her efforts to represent the interest of the world’s poorest, including cosponsoring PEPFAR and the Water for the World Act. We asked that Boxer continue to show her support as we look ahead to the Global Fund’s replenishment conference in October. We also asked that she sign the Lugar-Casey letter in support of the Global Food Security Act.

The senator’s track record for supporting aid legislation is excellent, and we walked away with a sense that Boxer’s office is very empathetic to the plight of those enslaved by extreme poverty.

- Rebekah Townsend, ONE California

Meeting with Berkley’s Office

Meeting with Rep. Shelley Berkley’s Las Vegas Office
I met with district representatives Jan Churchill and Nikki Koval at Rep. Shelley Berkley’s, (D-Nev.), district office in Las Vegas, Nevada – and even briefly met the congresswoman.

We discussed the Global Fund and GAVI. I asked that Berkley do all that she can to build bipartisan support for increased funding of both programs in the House.

It is my sincere hope that although this week’s in-district meetings have happened in Vegas, they don’t stay here. Perhaps what happens in Vegas can be one small part of a concerted effort to change the world for the better and save lives.

- Adam Bellamy, ONE Nevada

Meeting with Sen. Al Franken’s Twin Cities Office
Yesterday, ONE member Rochelle Gibbs and I had a meeting with Sen. Al Franken’s, (D-Minn.), deputy state director, Daniel Fanning. We delivered a large thank you on behalf of ONE and its members in Minnesota for Franken’s leadership and dedication in the fight to end extreme poverty and preventable disease.

We asked Daniel to have the senator sign the Casey-Lugar letter in support of the Global Food Security Act to overhaul U.S. agricultural assistance efforts and help developing nations become more self-sufficient in their food production. Daniel informed us that they are in the process of looking into signing onto the letter at this time, so it was great to hear about the support from ONE.

We told the Senator to support a strong, three-year, $6 billion U.S. pledge to the Global Fund at the replenishment conference in October. We also told him to urge the appropriations committee to keep the Senate-approved funding level for GAVI at $105 million.

- Steven R. Thai, ONE Minnesota

ONE members at Sen. Reid’s office

Meeting with Sen. Harry Reid’s Las Vegas Office
It was an exciting morning as local ONE volunteers Renee Meyocks and Amber McIntosh and I met with Sen. Harry Reid’s, (D-Nev.), Regional Representative, Charvez Foger, at his downtown Las Vegas office.

We were honored to have the chance to share our passion for ONE’s goals and discuss the Global Food Security Act, GAVI and the Global Fund. Charvez made it clear that Reid is a proponent of international development and assistance, and exhibited a keen interest in what we had to say.

Charvez told us that at some point next year, Reid would like to hold an international development summit, inviting volunteers and officials from diverse nonprofit organizations (including ONE) and high-ranking representatives from the State Department to engage in a dialogue on these issues.

This news was very exciting to us. We are always looking for ways to highlight and debate international development issues locally so that our fellow Americans and government officials understand that global issues are also local issues.

- Adam Bellamy, ONE Nevada

Albright and Biden Visit Nevada

matthew.higginson — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:58:51 +0000

We had a busy day in Las Vegas on Friday. First, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was in town to hold a foreign policy discussion at UNLV. I was able to attend with a few ONE volunteers and students.

During the discussion Secretary Albright talked about the need to reevaluate the way we approach our foreign policy including towards the continent of Africa. She also mentioned the need to do more to eradicate disease and genocide.

As a follow up I was able to ask her if she thought fighting poverty and disease was essential to our national security. Here was her response:

Also on Friday, Joe Biden held a rally in Henderson, NV. We had about a dozen ONE members there to remind the Senator about his commitment to fight AIDS in Africa.

-Matt Higginson

Matt H: “My wife is super jealous”

matt.higginson — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:00:51 +0000

Well, Justin Timberlake was in Las Vegas to stump for Barack Obama on Saturday, October 11. He held a rally at the Clark County government complex. When I arrived I jumped for joy and screamed like a 13-year-old girl. Well, no I didn’t – but I did take a picture, thank him for his support of ONE (he appeared in our “WithYourVoice” TV ad in 2005) and the work he has done in Africa, and then I gave him a ONE wristband.

-Matt Higginson

ONE meets Obama in (O)NEvada

Matt Higginson, ONE member, Las Vegas, NV — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:16:01 +0000

This week Barack Obama held a rally here in Las Vegas, NV. We had a great showing from ONE members who wanted to hear more details about Obama’s plan to fight global poverty and disease.

With the economy dominating the current debate, global development was not discussed, but we were happy to be there and continue to make ONE’s presence known on the campaign trail.

-Matt Higginson

Nevadans Step Up Their Game

Field — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:36:08 +0000

A few weeks ago a bunch of 20somethings from our local Carson City, Nevada, church put together a service project to raise awareness about ONE.

We had some great volunteers: Jason Gwinn, Haley Simpson, Parker Willey, Janelle Musselman, Ben Robinson, Amanda Robinson, Eric Libby, Trent Simpson, Mike McBride, Jessica McBride, Brian Cosens, Justin Simmons, Melanie Simmons (who is 8 months pregnant!), Jaime Sayer, and Ashley Boyd.

Everyone had a great time and it was amazing to see how getting involved changes your perspective. We are so glad we did it and looking forward to what we will do in the future!

-Jake Musselman

Memory Lane with Biden

Virginia Simmons — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:18:37 +0000

Obama’s vice presidential pick Senator Biden will be speaking at the DNCC tonight.

To prep- we’ve gone through these old Biden materials. Check out this one of ONE members meeting with him in Las Vegas during the primaries.

UPDATE: Event with Senator Joe Biden

Who: Senator Joe Biden
What: Voter rally
When: Friday 10/17 at 4:30pm
Where: Morell Park – 525 Harris St. Henderson, NV 89015

To RSVP click here: http://www.one.org/event/GeneralEvent/655

ONE Sparks With McCains in Sparks, Nevada

Virginia Simmons — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:19:43 +0000

Yesterday, John McCain was campaigning in Sparks Nevada and as always ONE was there to great him.

On the rope line as Senator McCain entered the town hall he spotted my ONE shirt and pointed it out to his wife. Having just returned from Rwanda with ONE it was a familiar sight. I was able to thank Cindy for traveling with ONE and asked her how the trip went. “Amazing,” she said, “it was fantastic.”

Well it must have stayed on her mind. Prior to introducing her husband, Cindy spoke to the packed high school auditorium about the ONE Campaign and her “incredible journey through Rwanda.” She went on to offer her support for the efforts by ONE to make fighting extreme poverty and disease a foreign policy priority during this election season, and for the many organizations on the ground in Africa “offering hope to mothers and children through selfless aid work and service.”

Mrs. McCain went on to comment about the strength of African families and noted that the key to fighting these dreaded diseases will be to empower African women and mothers.

-Matt Higginson

Nevada Caucus Stories

Weldon Kennedy — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:47:44 +0000

This past weekend Nevada held its first ever early caucus. Like any political event, ONE was there. When I turned on CNN on Saturday I couldn’t miss seeing ONE shirts. But that was just one caucus, and with tens of thousands of members around Nevada and hundreds of caucus sites there are many more stories to be told than what was on the news.

A couple of volunteers have already sent in their stories of both easy successes and some frustrations:

It was a very successful day. In a 90-minute period I was given two separate opportunities to talk voters in my precinct about ONE and why it should be included in our party’s platform. It was well accepted both times and I had several people express their support for ONE after the meeting.

- Jack Winslow, Las Vegas Republican

Our Caucus went great–great experience! I had no problem submitting the plank. I was the only one to submit something that I wanted to include to the parties plank. Nobody objected and they all (32 people ) thought that it was a great idea. There was a great turn out at Bonanza High School. Several Thousand people.

- Rory K. Riley, Las Vegas Democrat

I talked up ONE to all my neighbors, explained the campaign, wrote down the internet source for members who seemed genuinely interested, distributed info and bracelets, delivered the resolution, and got myself elected to the county convention.

- Judy Michaels, Las Vegas Democrat

The caucus was a frustrating experience…but my frustrations were over issues other than my submission of the ONE platform. In fact, that was about the only thing that went much as I expected.

- David Entler

If you are a Nevadan ONE member, please take a moment to share your reflections from last weekend’s caucus by posting a comment below. It is important that we all have a chance to learn and find inspiration from your efforts.

Caesar’s Palace: The Results are in

Josh Peck, ONE.org — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:46:58 +0000

The caucus just ended. 166 delegates showed up, many of them sporting ONE bands. There was a lot of excitement in the air. The final count was close with 17 delegates going to Obama and 16 to Clinton.

Jessica Vandenberg ran the Caesar’s Palace caucus and wore a ONE t-shirt. Since CNN was covering this particular caucus it was all over television (according to reports from my friends).

With a little national media for ONE, I am going to call this caucus location a success for ONE.

-Josh Peck

The Nevada Caucus: Live from Caesar’s Palace

Josh Peck, ONE.org — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 18:28:21 +0000

I am in Las Vegas, Nevada at Caesar’s palace, the site of one of the (recently contested) Democratic Party Caucus locations. The caucus is being setup as I type.

I stopped by Cashman Convention Center in Las Vegas yesterday afternoon which is the Results Reporting Headquarters. You can see table after empty table waiting for the day to begin. ONE Vote ’08 had a strong presence with banners and T-shirt clad volunteers all over the place. ONE Vote ’08 is also providing water for all the political reporters. The media should certainly know we’re here.

Now I am waiting for the first caucus-goers to arrive at Caesar’s Palace. The setup is a lot more modest, just a couple hundred people are expected (though I am not sure anyone really knows). We hope to see a few ONE members representing the fight against extreme poverty.

-Josh Peck