More than 80 people turned out for a lively potluck dinner and celebration of local youth, KFTC members and elected officials who demonstrated leadership and courage in the 2008 General Assembly.

"There is no denying that many of the outcomes of the session were a bitter disappointment," stated Teri Blanton, who emceed the event."But anyone who has ever worked for something worthwhile knows that success doesn’t happen overnight. Along the way it is important for us to celebrate each other and say thank you."

The chapter presented three legislators from Madison County with certificates of appreciation for their leadership and courage. Rep. Harry Moberly, Rep. Lonnie Napier and Rep. Don Pasley all supported many of KFTC's priority bills.

"As members of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, they were in the hot seat," explained Melissa Fry-Konty as she presented a certificate to Rep. Lonnie Napier. "Legislators on that committee were the first to cast votes on many of the most difficult and important issues facing the commonwealth, including tax reform, the state budget, the stream saver bill, and a major initiative on renewable energy and energy efficiency."

Awards were also given to the many young people from Madison County who traveled with KFTC to Frankfort in 2008, including the entire fourth grade class of Berea Community Elementary School. Fourth grade teacher Karen Mattingly accepted a certificate on behalf of those students.

"I am proud to be part of this fine organization and group of people," declared member Gail Waldeck as she presented awards to four members of the local chapter who testified before legislative committees.

Music during the event was provided by a terrific local band called Mud Pi. Dozens of volunteers helped with the set-up and clean-up of the event. Thanks to everyone who turned out and pitched in!

Sponsored by Sustainable Berea, the Berea Rain Barrel Festival proved to be a huge success last Saturday, with approximately 2,500 people coming out to Memorial Park to learn about water conservation, enjoy local food and live music, and to look at more than 60 rain barrels painted by various artists, non-profit organizations, clubs, schools, youth groups, and churches. The Festival was designed to not only raise awareness about water conservation, but also to serve as a venue where anyone could be an artist and paint a barrel.

Among the barrel artists were Toby and Harold Wilcher, along with their daughter Zoe Wilcher, and their grandchildren, Cloe and Magnolia Clark, and Lenore Fisher, who together painted the rain barrel representing the KFTC Madison County chapter. The KFTC barrel was sold for $95 in a silent auction, with Krista and Randall Carter placing the winning bid. After learning whose barrel she and her husband had purchased, Krista said that their fourth-grade daughter had taken part in a school field trip to Frankfort in January that was hosted by KFTC and that she was glad to know she bought a barrel supporting a good cause.

Because the KFTC barrel sold in the silent auction, 100% of the proceeds will go back to the organization. For the live auction, 75% of the proceeds will go to the group or person who painted the barrel, with 25% going to help cover costs of the event. In addition to painted barrels, there were 72 unpainted barrels sold by Sustainable Berea, and 119 people placed themselves on a waiting list to purchase a barrel.

Rain barrels are designed with a screen on top for the gutter pipe to drain into. Water that comes from the roof and is captured in gutters during rainfalls then drains into the barrel, providing a free source of water for gardens and other outdoor water needs. Using rain barrels not only promotes water conservation, but also serves as a good way to save money and as a source of water during a drought.

While the rain barrels were the main attraction, several organizations set up booths at the Festival to promote other sustainability and environmental issues. Madison County KFTC members tabled at the Festival and had more than 50 people fill out postcards about mountaintop removal to send to Gov. Steve Beshear. Members also gave out dozens of newsletters and were busy talking to interested folks who stopped by. Three new members joined KFTC at the Festival, and $150 was raised through donations and sales of t-shirts.

For the last three years members of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth have pursued the goal of doubling the size of our membership and increasing our annual grassroots fundraising budget to $200,000.  We are now happy to announce that, as of this past Friday, we have surpassed these goals.  This is truly a monumental moment for us, as our organization has never been as large as it is now.

And what does this mean for our issue work?  As an immediate result, when the General Assembly convenes next month our strength in Frankfort will be greater than ever before.  We'll be able to go into the 2008 legislative session with over 5,000 members and a larger budget for direct lobbying for our issues.

    Musicians including Tula, Maurice Manning, Clack Mountain String Band, Rodney Hatfield, and authors Ed McClanahan and Gurney Norman performed at The Dame in Lexington last night in a tremendous homage to The Band's Last Waltz, a concert in 1976 made famous by Martin Scorsese's rockumentary by the same name.

    The house was packed all night with hundreds of people enjoying a great show for a good cause. 

     Kentuckians For The Commonwelth and also our allies at KCIRR (The Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights) benefited from the concert, getting a cut of the money made at the door.  KFTC members also got a great chance to talk to hundreds of people about our issue and the work we do.
 
    KFTC activists signed fifty-seven people to become new members as part of our final push to become a 5,000-member organization by the end of the year.

    Tula and friends also put on two Last Waltz concerts late last year (in Lexington and Louisville) and are trying to line up a concert venue in Louisville for December.   Check the events calendar for more information and we'll post it as it becomes available.

    “The event went really great.  We got to talk to lots of people about what KFTC does while listening to some great music.  We really appreciate The Dame, the bands like Tula and everyone else.  They did a super job and it was a great time!"  said KFTC member John Ghaelian.

As you may have noticed from a few of our recent blog entries, we are in the midst of our annual Fall Fundraising Campaign.  This year's campaign is especially important, because the work we do these next couple months will determine whether we are able to meet the ambitious goals we set for ourselves three years ago to increase the size and capacity of our organization.  Chief among these goals was to increase our membership from ~2,000 members to 5,000 members, and in increase our  grassroots fundraising to $200,000 a year by the end of 2007.  These changes would allow for us to become a much larger political force in the state, especially when we push for good legislation in Frankfort.

We have since met incremental goals in the last two years, vastly expanding our member and fundraising base, building up our final push this year.  Our Fall Fundraising Campaign this year will include a mailing to all of our members, asking for a donation beyond their normal membership dues.  We will also be hosting a number of house parties and friendraisers around the state. 

We urge anyone who wants to agrees with our vision to make a donation of whatever you can afford to Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.  Tell your friends about our work, encourage them to become members also.  Our strength grows with each new member.  Let's go to Frankfort next year with 5,000 members at our backs!
 

Last weekend the Jefferson County Chapter held an open house at their new office in Butchertown to meet with their neighbors and introduce them to KFTC.  Here is a report from Jessica G.:

The Louisville Open House was really amazing. We had tons of free chili (with grass-fed, all natural, local beef and organic ingredients from a local health food store that was prepared by the locally acclaimed chef program at the Salvation Army), pimento cheese and crackers (from a local butchertown deli that uses local cheese), Havana Cola (a local Butchertown Cola company that uses natural ingredients) and coffee from a Butchertown coffeeshop (Jackson's Organic Coffee). We also had a Latin musician, a Folk musican, a Hip-Hop artist and a bluegrass band. We had booths and information from allies, Local Butchertown artists sold their stuff, we had a Greese Car that served as the street blockade, a flameworking glass demonstration and a Cornhole Tournament with a trophy.

We raised about $450 in memberships and merch sales and signed up 14 new members. There was a really good mix of people who were already members who just wanted to see the office and local Butchertown folks who we met at their door. Several people raved about the Voter Guide.

We've uploaded some photos of the open house that you can look at here.  We hope to have some more up soon.

View more photos from the BBQ

Harlan County KFTC members raised $1,400  and recruited 27 new members at a KFTC Bar-B-Q grassroots fundraiser on Saturday.  Benny Massey fixed some great food and music was provided by Benny, Ann Schertz and John Craft along with others.  Ann and Benny were joined by Carl Shoupe and Roy Silver on stage to talk about why they joined KFTC and what the KFTC chapter is doing in the community.  Approximately 75 people came out and had a great time.  Many thanks to the Harlan County KFTC Chapter for a great event!

UK student  KFTC members are organizing a huge concert set for next Tuesday with lots of ally organizations, music acts, free Kentucky food, fun, and a chance to get involved in democracy!

Co-sponsoring organizations include Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, Green Thumb, Amnesty International, UK Newman Center, Latino American Student Organization, Transy Progress, UK Student Government, WRFL, and others

There will be a variety of musical acts, including:

• The Sepia Tones

• Richard Becker

• Charlie Denison & Friends

• Hambone

• Fitch Lane

• Eyes and Arms of Smoke

• The Dialectics

Come out and join us for a fun evening!