“Get out the vote” campaign to be
ramped up
By Bob Robinson
GREENVILLE
– Nearly 100 volunteers for the
“Friends of Quality Greenville Schools” met June 13 prior to the
Greenville
School Board meeting to make plans for their final push to get out the
vote in
favor of the levy that will be on the ballot Aug. 6.
“Early
voting and absentee voting begins on
July 2,” ‘Friends’ chair Jan Teaford said. “We will begin our
door-to-door
campaign on July 13.”
Volunteers
consisted of teachers,
administrators and community residents supporting the initiative.
Teaford also
noted that all school board members, as well as Supt. Doug Fries, were
present
at the meeting.
“I’d
like to thank all of you for helping to
make this happen,” Fries said. “I’d also like to thank our tri-chairs
(Teaford,
Rita McCans and Susan Spille) for all of their hard work.”
He
added that volunteers shouldn’t get mixed up
with negative talk.
“Get
out there, mix with people you know you
can influence.”
Spille
said she had been talking to a small
businessman that was concerned about the impact supporting the levy
might have
with his customers.
“I
didn’t take no for an answer,” she said. “He
said he would think about it… he called today and said he would support
it,”
she added.
“It’s
just too important not to,” he said.
Bob
Rhoades said that the newest building we
have is the one you’re sitting in.
“It’s
50 years old. We weren’t on the moon yet,
there were no cell phones… no Internet!”
Teaford
told them to start writing letters, to
get the editorials into the newspapers and online (web sites).
Several
volunteers talked about some of the
plans they were working on, including being in the Annie Oakley Days
parade and
getting the Green Wave Wagon uptown during First Fridays.
Rhoades
noted that he drove the Green Wave
Wagon when it was still used by the Greenville Fire Department, adding
that it
also might be a good idea to get it to Gettysburg, Wayne Lakes and some
of the
other areas in the District.
One
volunteer said they are working with Amber
Garrett to set up window decorations and possibly sidewalk chalk for
the two
First Fridays they will have prior to the election.
Teaford
noted that there will be a Townhall
Public Meeting at Memorial Hall at 7 p.m. on June 24.
“We
plan on having a victory party after the
election,” Teaford said. “We’ll be blocking off the streets from Fourth
Street
to Memorial Hall.”
Other
plans hadn’t been solidified, but will be
published on the Strong Schools Strong Community website, www.greenvillestrong.com.
Also
on the site are facts about the levy and commonly asked questions and
answers.
Published
courtesy of The Early Bird
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