In delivering the commencement address to 56 Berea College graduates on Sunday, KFTC Executive Director Burt Lauderdale talked about the power of “organizing community” to achieve change.

“Community organizing is essential to the success of our democracy and our economy; it empowers us to participate in the often messy give and take of our system of government. Community organizing changes the world.

“And yet, over the past thirty years, I have borne witness to a deeper, even more profound pursuit of transformative justice when our members and leaders, through their aspiration and their love, have transcended the boundaries of traditional community organizing – and practiced organizing community,” he said.

Burt noted several Berea College graduates who became active KFTC members and made a difference by organizing community.

When Megan Naseman, class of 2007, used her botany skills to help a community in Floyd County protect their land from mountaintop removal mining, she was organizing community.

When Patty Tarquino, class of 2004, arranged for Eastern Kentuckians to travel to her native Colombia to visit coal-impacted communities, she was organizing community.

And when Patty Wallace, class of 1952, successfully prevented a hazardous waste incinerator from locating in her community and then helped a West Virginia neighborhood do the same, she was organizing community.

Though Berea College honored Burt by inviting him to speak and naming him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, he gave the credit for his accomplishments to KFTC members.

“I would not be here were it not for the thousands of members and leaders of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth. KFTC is where I learned that, while we don’t accomplish anything as individuals, together anything is possible,” he said.

If you, like Burt, believe in the power of organizing community, you can honor him by making a gift to KFTC during our fall fundraising campaign. Join him in honoring our members – you – who have accomplished so much together.

As Burt said, “Organizing community means contributing instead of acquiring, sharing instead of conquering. It means making a commitment to the most powerful organizing force we’ve ever known – love.”

To give online, click here.

To watch the video of Burt’s speech, click here.

To read the Berea College press release, click here.

Here are some of the first pictures of today's huge, powerful, and fun Fairness Rally and March in Berea.

And if that's not enough pictures for ya, click here for the full gallery.

Many thanks to all of you who came!

Expect another blog entry soon to go into better detail about the event.

It's been 20 hours since our last Operation Voter Madness update and we've had a lot of robust, fun field work since then.

Here's a quick rundown of activities throughout the state in the last day:

- Scott County Festival of The Horse - We canvassed the crowds this afternoon and registered lots of voters.  We also had some good conversations with people about our campaign to restore voting rights to former felons and got a few stacks of Voter Guides to our volunteers (picture to the right).

- Lexington - Continuous voter registration including 4 hours at Tolly Ho,  4 hours at the Lexington Transit Center, 4 hours on UK Campus, and 4 hours at the Hope Center.  Right now, volunteers are starting their shift at the Kentucky Theater (picture to the right).

- Harlan County - Swappin' Meetin' Festival in Cumberland, KY.

- Northern Kentucky KFTC kicked off their Operation Voter Madness a couple of hours ago with it's Northern Kentucky Loves Mountains Concert, which will run from 4pm to 2am.

- Bowling Green - Lots of voter registration work at WKU.

And there's still tons of events to go! Scroll down on the blog to fin our full Operation Voter Madness schedule and come out and volunteer!

Also, check this blog over the next few days to see more updates as we get them up.

More Scott County Voter Registration Pictures

Monday, October 4th is the deadline to register to vote for the November 2nd, 2010 General Election.  Voter registration cards must be turned into your local County Clerk's office by that day, or postmarked and mailed to either the correct Clerk or the State Board of Elections.

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is capping off it's year-long voter registration drive with a bang, with simultaneous voter registration events all across the state.  In Lexington, for example, volunteers will be registering voters 24 hours a day for three days straight.

This is a non-partisan voter registration drive.  We are not interested in promoting any particular candidate or party.  We are interested in empowering Kentuckians to vote, especially those in populations that aren't well represented in the political world.  When everyone has an opportunity to register, it makes our democracy stronger.

We hope that our efforts over these four days will both directly register over a thousand voters, and will raise awareness of the approaching voter registration deadline.

Note that 17 year-olds can register to vote as long as they will turn 18 on or before November 2nd. 

To learn how to register to vote and to print off a mail-in version of the Kentucky Voter Registration card, visit Here.  To learn where you're currently registered to vote in Kentucky, call your local county clerk or visit Here.

We're also still looking for more volunteers, so if you're interested, please call our contact person in your area to become a part of all of this! 

Roster of Operation VOTER MADNESS Activities

Lexington

* Thursday, September 30th
6pm-8pm: Singing for Democracy Gospel Fest at Shiloh Baptist Church
8pm-10pm: UK Campus- William T. Young Library
10pm-2am: Campus bars (We’ll meet at Two Keys, and then head to the  Tin Roof, the Paddock,  and other places on the South Limestone strip)

* Friday, October 1st

2am-6am: Tolly Ho’s
6am-10am: Transit Center
10am-2pm: UK Campus
2pm-6pm: Hope Center
6-10pm: Kentucky Theatre
10pm-2am: Cosmic Charlie’s

* Saturday, October 2nd
2am-6am: Tolly Ho’s
6am-10am: Transit Center
10am-2pm: Farmer’s Market
2pm-6pm: Door-to-Door in the Ohio Walnut Precinct
6pm-10pm: Kentucky Theatre 
10pm-2am: Downtown Bars (Will meet outside of the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice office and travel all over downtown)

*Sunday, October 3rd
2am-6am: Tolly Ho’s
6am-10am: Transit Center
10am-2pm: North Lexington Churches
2pm-6pm: Door-to-door

Lexington Contacts
- Brittany Hunsaker, brittanyh@kftc.org, 859-333-0372
- Ondine Quinn, ondine@kftc.org, 859-368-4438

Louisville

*Thursday, September 30th
ALL DAY registration on buses
Early day--Assisted Living Center(s)
3-6pm Shawnee Library

*Friday, October 1st
ALL DAY registration on buses
Grocery store outreach (this is available at other times, too!)

*Saturday, October 2nd
12pm Immigration Rally-(registrations and Power to the People promotion)
Throughout the day St. James Art Fair.

*Sunday, October 3rd
Power To The People Jazz & Spoken Word Fest For Voter Madness
Noon to 7 p.m.
Baxter Square Park, 12th and Jefferson Streets

Louisville Contacts
- Tiffany Gonzales, tiffany@kftc.org, 832-496-8433
- Whit Forrester, whit@kftc.org, 502-592-7160

Harlan County

-October 1-2: Tabling at Swappin' Meetin' Festival in Cumberland, KY
-Class presentations at the two Harlan Co. KCTCS campuses

Harlan County Contacts
- Elizabeth Sanders, elizabeth@kftc.org, 606-633-5796
- Colleen Unroe, colleen@kftc.org, 606-233-2767

Northern Kentucky

- NKY Loves Mountains from 4pm to 2am.Friday- Saturday (Concert to raise awareness about the issues KFTC works on, as well as about the upcoming election. Will have voter registration signs and cards at events, as well as petitions surrounding our issues)
- Pepper Pod from 2am to 6am Saturday (24 hour Greasy Spoon on Monmouth in Newport, KY)
- Anchor Bar and Grill from 6am to 10am Saturday (24 hour Greasy Spoon on Pike in Covington, Kentucky)
- Covington public library from 10 am to 1 pm Saturday (we will be registering voters in the lobby of the Covington branch of the Kenton County Public Library from 10 am to 1 pm)
- Wee Fairy Festival from 12 pm to 7pm Saturday (we will be registering voters and circulating petitions at the Wee Fairy Festival, a festival celebrating mythical creatures located in Covington...)
- Mainstrausse (it's like NKY's Bardstown Road) from 7 pm to 2 am Saturday-Sunday (registering voters from bar to bar and street to street in downtown Covington)
- NKY Pride from 1pm - 2:30am Sunday-Monday. A festival in downtown Covington

promoting pride in the LGBT community and talking about LGBT issues in NKY)

Northern Kentucky Contact
- Joe Gallenstein, joe@kftc.org, 859-380-6103

Madison County

Tabling on Friday and Saturday at locations in Berea and Richmond.

Madison County Contacts
- Carissa Lenfert, carissa@kftc.org, 859-893-1147
- Greg Capillo, greg@kftc.org, 859-327-7348

Scott County

*Friday, October 1st
- Festival of The Horse - Day 1 - from 1pm to 3pm - canvassing the crowds with clipboards and signs on Main Street.

*Saturday, October 2nd
- NAACP/KFTC Voter Mobilization Day -  starting at 8:30am at the Meetinghouse, a house owned by Georgetown College on College Street just across from the Cralle Student Center.  We'll have donuts, coffee, juice, etc. and get ready to make voter mobilization phone calls from 9am to about 11am.  At 11am we'll head up to Main Street and call out for voter registration.  There are televised speeches from the DC rally starts around noon.  By 1pm we will be back at the Meetinghouse to watch some of them.  People are encouraged to come for some or all of the event.

Scott County Contacts
- Dave Newton, Dave@kftc.org, 859-420-8919
- Rev. Joseph Jackson, joseph@kftc.org, 414-236-1440

Bowling Green

* Wednesday, September 29th
7pm-midnight - WKU Campus DUC Southlawn
Shanty Town event

* Thursday, September, 30th
7pm-9pm Greener Groundz
10pm-12 midnight - Thirsty Thursday WKU Campus and Bowling Green area

* Friday October 1st
11am-2pm  Lunch shift WKU Campus DUC and Garrett

* Saturday October 2
11am-2pm Ellis Park Tri-State Aids Walk

4-7pm Stary Nights Music Festival

* Sunday, October 3rd
Sunday Service, Unitarian Universalist Church

* Monday, October 4th
6-9am Revolution WKU Radio Station

Bowling Green Contact
- Patty Tarquino, patty@kftc.org, 606-335-0806

Floyd County

Various events over the course of several days.

Floyd County Contact
- Waylon Nelson, waylon@kftc.org, 606-253-0089
- Brittany Combs, brittany@kftc.org, 606-422-0100

Letcher County

Various events over the course of several days.

Letcher County Contact
- Angela Armstrong, angela@kftc.org, 606-309-7743

- Willa Johnson, willa@kftc.org, (606) 632-0051

The 4th Annual Berea Solar Tour will be held Saturday October 3 in conjunction with the National Solar Tour. Thirteen Berea homes and other buildings that use solar energy will be open for public viewing and conversation with the owners. A guided bus tour of some of the sites, a car caravan to a Garrard County off-the-grid home, and three public presentations on home solar energy use and energy conservation round out the day.

The Madison County Chapter of KFTC will be hosting a workshop as part of the event called "Clean Energy, Green Jobs."  The workshop will focus on KFTC's campaign to stop a coal-burning power plant and describe how an equivalent investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy could generate more jobs and great economic development to meet the area's energy needs.  The workshop will be from 4 to 5 p.m. at 302 Center Street.  Please join us if you can!

The Solar Tour provides an opportunity to learn from homeowners who are already using solar, and to consider whether some type of solar energy makes sense for your house.

Click here for more information and a copy of the Tour Guide with times and locations of the solar presentations and guided tours, and locations and descriptions of the solar open houses.

Members of the Madison County Chapter held their chapter annual meeting last night in Berea.  “The annual chapter meeting is a great opportunity to reflect on the previous years work and gear up to move the Commonwealth’s democracy forward,” said Madison County KFTC Chapter co-chair Jeff From.

The first hour of the meeting focused on business that all KFTC chapters handle once a year:  electing new chapter officers, setting issue priorities for the upcoming year, and more.  The second hour featured a conversation and questions with State Representative Harry Moberly (D-Richmond). 

The group talked to Rep. Moberly about everything from clean energy to voting rights.  Rep. Moberly had positive comments to make about KFTC’s work in interjecting our social and economic justice issues into the public dialogue.  He was also positive about many of the issues we raised and agreed to meet with us again before the session to dig even deeper into our issues.

“I always look forward to meetings when our local elected officials are speaking.  Not only does it give us a chance to talk about issues that are important to us, it also helps us develop a good rapport with our representatives in Frankfort,” said Berea KFTC member Toby Wilcher.  “During the legislative session, when KFTC members spend a great amount of time lobbying legislators from all over Kentucky, we have a built-in, cordial working relationship with our own legislators, which often proves to be very beneficial,” she added.

Almost 100 KFTC members and friends turned out on a rainy Saturday for the Madison County SpringFest. 

The event start off with a reading of the brand new book "Something's Rising:  Applachians Fighting Mountaintop Removal"  from authors Silas House and Jason Howard. 

Folks also enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner that featured locally raised meat and music from loved local band Mudpi. 

A friendly Derby pool and silent auction helped raise fun – and funds -- for KFTC.

"I enjoy having the chance to socialize with members and prospective members in a party atmosphere where there is a minimum of business to discuss.  I think that kind of outreach is as important as all the tabling, phone banking and chapter and committee meetings that we members do throughout the year."  -- Toby Wilcher, Berea.

The event was a great celebration of the strength and work of the nearly 500-member strong Madison County chapter.  Thanks to all who volunteered and helped make the event a success!

More than 40 people turned out in Berea on Friday for a Madison County KFTC Chapter event with a national energy efficiency expert who implemented numerous successful energy efficiency programs for utility companies.  In the presentation, “Making the business and ethical case for energy efficiency,” Mr. Cannon talked about how energy efficiency programs are good for utility companies from a business and economic stand-point.  

“The savings are real and persistent if the programs are designed and implemented well,” Mr. Cannon said.  “And there is no reduction or shift in customer value, comfort or output.”  He went on to talk about how the programs can save customers 10%, 20%, and 30% off their energy bills and only cost 2 to 3 cents per kWh.

Mr. Cannon’s audience included KFTC members, other members of the local community, and several local public officials including the mayor, city council members, and utility advisory board members.  The event was cosponsored with Sustainable Berea, Kentucky Environmental Foundation, and the League of Women Voters of Berea & Madison County.

During a 30 year career in municipal utilities, Glenn served as chair of the Board for the American Public Power Association and for 17 years, as General Manager of Waverly Light & Power, a small town utility just about the size of Berea’s.  Mr. Cannon has long been an effective champion of energy efficiency and renewable energy and currently serves on the Leadership Group of the Joint EPA & DOE Energy Efficiency Action Plan.  He spook about energy-efficiency programs designed by Waverly Light &Power that have resulted in less electricity use, savings for the town and its residents, and a strengthened local economy.  

As one of a dozen recent community education events aimed at restoring voting rights for former felons, the Madison County Chapter of KFTC organized a gathering earlier tonight, inviting former felon Tayna Fogle to speak to a crowd of community members and Berea College Students.

Over forty people turned out, and most signed postcards to legislators and took home call-in action alert sheets to use to call their legislators in the morning. 

"I made a mistake... but I'm not a mistake"

                                 - Tayna Fogle, KFTC Former Felon Spokeswoman

   

   

Earlier this week, we lost a wonderful member and extraordinary person. Berea College sophomore and Madison County KFTC member Zachary Sieben passed away Tuesday. Zack was a dedicated, hard-working member and will be greatly missed. Below is a piece written by Beth Bissmeyer, Madison County Chapter Co-Chair, who went to school with Zack.

We weren’t very close, but I counted Zack among my friends at Berea. Most of our time together came from sharing an interest in mining and environmental issues. I first met Zack last spring when we both went on a trip to Kayford, West Virginia, for a Mountaintop Removal witness tour. On that trip, Larry Gibson told us to talk to people about MTR, to do something, and Zack did just that.

Since last spring, Zack has been active with KFTC and the Madison County chapter, along with several justice-focused student organizations. Zack was an officer for Bereans For Appalachia (BFA), the club I’m most active with at Berea, and he was dedicated, helping plan different events and organizing tabling efforts. We organized together, and he was great at it. So many people express an interest in an issue, sign a petition, and then walk away, but Zack dove in and was passionate about making change. He was stoked about going to Powershift and I Love Mountains Day, helping organize people on campus to go to both events.

Zack managed to actively participate in BFA, Oxfam, Students for a Free Tibet, among other clubs, while studying Nursing and Sustainability, working and living at the Sustainability and Environmental Studies House, playing music, running, hiking, doing all this with a big smile. He really put most of us to shame.

We just hung out a couple weeks ago during the big ice storm that hit Berea and knocked power out for days. He was part of a small group that I pow-wowed with at the Appalachian Center, playing Apples to Apples for hours until the daylight was nearly gone. I wish I had more memories with Zack, but the times we did share were great ones: jumping into the lake after the end of the KFTC Annual Meeting, hiking the Pinnacle at night to put images of MTR on the trails, playing Frisbee, working on BFA, taking Intro to Sustainability, going to the Wilson Creek LUMP hearing, learning together, laughing together.

I Love Mountains Day is next week. Zack was pumped about going to Frankfort; it was going to be his first trip there (he's from California). He had just attended a lobbying training a few weeks ago so he could learn more about how to talk to legislators about the bills KFTC is supporting. Next Tuesday, I plan on standing tall in the march to the Capitol and chanting and yelling and singing twice as loud for the voice that should've been heard there, his.

We encourage people to use the comments section below to share their remembrances of Zack and to celebrate his life.

There are a few events today and tomorrow in Berea celebrating Zack's life.

REMEMBRANCE AND CELEBRATION OF
THE LIFE OF ZACK SIEBEN
Phelps Stokes Chapel, Berea College Campus
13 February 2009
Friday, 3:00 p.m.
In this ceremony, members of our community will share space, time, and spiritual expression in commemoration of and celebration for Zack's presence in our lives.  
 Please feel free to dress casually.

SHARING STORIES, SHARING MEMORIES
Eco-Village Commons House
13 February 2009
Friday, 4:00 p.m.
Zack’s Family welcomes you to join them for a simple meal and to share
memories, stories, and pictures.
If you cannot attend this gathering, the family asks
that you forward pictures or stories
to either of the following email addresses:
vernahaas@aol.com
siebenhaas@sbcglobal.net

WONDER, LOVE, AND COMMUNITY:
HIKING BRUSHY FORK
Meet at Alumni Fields
14 February 2009
Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
To commemorate Zack’s love for and wonder at the natural world,
friends will gather at the Alumni Fields
for a hike in the woods
of Brushy Fork.
For more information, contact Ruhiyyih Young:
youngr@berea.edu