Yesterday, about 20 folks from LaGrange to Hazard came to a lobby training sponsored by KFTC at the Capitol, then headed out to kick off another year of lobbying, or as Erika Skaggs from our Central Kentucky chapter put it, "one of the things that KFTC members do best."

Members were able to catch legislators in the halls coming back out of session for some lobbying, rounding up cosponsors for our bills in support of voting rights, clean energy, and tax reform. Then, after some pizza fortification, a crew of East Kentucky members stayed for the State of the Commonwealth Address.

Members shared reflections on the address on the way home. What did you think?

• Members were excited that the governor is committing to tax reforms that are fair, and that grow along with the economy, although we also recognize that these can be slippery words. KFTC supports tax reforms that are fair, meaning that the responsibility of paying taxes is shared equitably, and low- and middle- income Kentuckians shouldn't be asked to pay a larger share than the wealthiest citizens of the state; adequate to our state's needs and priorities; and sustainable (or elastic, able to adapt to the shifting economy).  Clearly, Governor Beshear is sharing our language about needing a tax structure that is "fair," and these words can be fuzzy but it seems like he's  advocating sustainability, too. That's a start!
  
• The governor, one carload reflected on the way home, would do well to think and talk more about root causes to Kentucky's challenges, and to think more deeply about a vision that addresses those root causes.  Prescription drug prevention programs are very important, but they fall short of addressing a vision for what's really needed to build a more diverse and dynamic economy in Kentucky. We need to invest in a vision: vibrant communities, access to quality education, and a commitment to the growing clean energy economy.
  

 Enjoy a couple of photos from the training and the evening:

"I'm here because I hear people always say that the candidates we have to choose from are no good.  It's time to change that.  I'm also here because I think it will give me some insight and help me become a better citizen lobbyist" - Erika Skaggs

Here are some of the first pictures:

 

  

Last week, KFTC members and staff joined 5 other community and faith-based grassroots organizations from across the South for the 2011 Community Media Organizing Project annual training in Nashville, TN.  This year's training focused on youth engagement and leadership development.  Workshops ranged from language justice and creating multi-cultural spaces to online community mapping and video blogging.  Skills were built around identifying and supporting spokespeople, tapping into social media outlets, creating your own media outlets, developing relationships with media contacts, and countless others. Participants even got to preview an upcoming short film on youth leadership and one young woman's story, Maria Full of Hope.

Have YOU ever thought about running for public office or helping someone else to run?  Now might be the time. 

We now have an online registration form up for our November Candidate and Campaign Training with Wellstone Action and the PUSHBACK Network.

Elements of the world-class Wellstone Action training will include messaging, electoral base-building, targeting, direct voter contact, running an effective phone and door program, stump speeches, interactive scripts, GOTV, media work, fundraising, and more.

This is a non-partisan training for people who plan to run for office or help to manage a campaign within the next three years. It is sponsored by the KFTC and the Pushback Network, a national collaboration of social justice community organizations to coordinate integrated civic engagement work. The purpose of the training is to advance social justice by preparing people to represent our communities as elected officials and campaign managers.

The training will be held from Nov. 11-13 in Louisville, Kentucky. The training will begin at 9 AM on Nov. 11 so out of area people will need to arrive on Nov. 10. It will end in early afternoon on Nov. 13 so people can fly out that day.

Please register here and we will follow up with you to work out logistical arrangements. Registration Deadline - Oct 7th

Kentucky Habitat For Humanity, a KFTC ally in the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance, will host an amazing 2-day conference on green housing at the Fayette County Extension Facility in Lexington on June 13th and 14th. The special cost for KFTC members and allies is $25 for the two days, which includes all meals. Scholarships for travel costs and fees are also available. 

The conference, entitled "Beginning With The End In Mind," will feature a wide range of speakers, including policy-makers and technical specialists from in and out of state. This conference focuses completely on the use of sustainable energy and green building techniques in ways that maintain housing affordability. As many know, Habitat For Humanity works successfully with thousands of low-income families each year to provide sustainable, affordable housing.  

Visit www.kyhfh.org or contact Ginger Watkins (ginger@kyhfh.org) to learn more or register for the event.

Each year the central Kentucky chapter celebrates their hard work with a holiday party. Members came through out the evening to share stories, eat and be merry.

We also created a newsletter with chapter highlights from 2010 which you can check out here.

Now it's time to get back to work and we have several events scheduled as well as many opportunities to get involved:

Tuesday January 4th 10am-2pm join us in Frankfort for a tour of the capitol and a brief orientation of our lobby work. We will be carpooling from Lexington at 9:30am from the Versailles Rd. Save-A-Lot.

Tuesday January 11th 7pm - Our local economic justice work team is putting together a plan to go door to door and survey several Lexington neighborhoods about what kind of changes they'd like to see in town and how the economic recession has affected them. We will be meeting at Brittany Hunsaker's house at 186 Richmond Ave. 

Wednesday January 19th at 7:00pm is the UK KFTC student group's first meeting of the new year. All UK students are welcome to attend. They meet in room 111 in the basement of the student center, across from the center for student involvement (CSI). The will be meeting to discuss attending the upcoming lobby training and planning a events on campus related to KFTC's work.

Thursday January 20th 7pm-9pm we will have our first chapter meeting of the year where we'll update folks on different committee work and our lobbying goals during the general assembly. We meet at the Episcopal Mission house on the corner of 4th St. and Martin Luther King Ave.

Saturday January 22nd from 11am - 3pm we will be having our third annual lobby training for folks interested in learning more about how the Kentucky general assembly works and how we can influence change. We will discuss topics such as how a bill becomes a law, what is citizen lobbying and what kind of issues do we talk to legislators about. There will also be an opportunity for folks to get a more in depth analysis of a few of our campaigns. Location is still TBA but as soon as we've narrowed one down we will update the KFTC calendar (www.kftc.org/calendar).

Monday January 31st from 10am - 5pm the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance is hosting a conference in Lexington on clean energy in Kentucky. Early bird registration (before Jan. 14th) is $10 afterward is $15. KFTC can sponsor up to 20 folks who are interested in attending. For more information about the conference you can go here: http://www.kysea.org/2011-conference

As with anything, if you have any questions about any of these events or about ways to get involved with our work in the Lexington area, feel free to contact the central Kentucky organizer at ondine@kftc.org or (859) 368-4438.

We've recently hired 11 new Electoral Organizers to help us hit our Voter Empowerment goals between now and Election Day (Tuesday, November 2nd).

They started off last week with a three-day training in Lexington, including field work and role-plays (pictured to the right) and are now back in their respective communities this week to hit the ground running and collectively have deep, meaningful contact with 50,000 voters. 

As always, our greatest strength lies in our Members, not our staff, so these new Electoral Organizers are there mostly to facilitate the work of our members (like you) in registering voters, talking about issues, circulating petitions, organizing events, and distributing voter guides.

Jefferson County
- Whit Forrester
- Tiffany Gonzales

Central Kentucky
- Tayna Fogle
- Jerry Moody
- Lella Garner
- David Fitts

Scott County
- Rev Joseph Jackson

Madison County
- Greg Capillo

Eastern KY Communities
- Waylon Nelson (Floyd)
- Angela Armstrong (Letcher)
- Elizabeth Sanders (Harlan)

And all of that is in addition to the full-time Voter Empowerment staff, most of which we brought on several months ago

- Shameka Parrish-Wright (Jefferson)
- Parrty Tarquino (Warren County)
- Brittany Hunsaker (Central Kentucky)
- Joe Gallenstein (Northern Kentucky)
- John Stoll Malloy (Data Manager
- Dave Newton (Lead Voter Empowerment Organizer)

With all of this added capacity, we're poised to make an especially big impact on the 2010 Election - with your help. 

This Friday (Sept 10th) KFTC is having a  5 1/2 hour grassroots, non-partisan training about Voter Empowerment strategies to prepare KFTC members to register, educate, and mobilize 50,000 voters leading up to Election Day.  It's a great general skills training that we're hoping members will bring back with them to their own chapters across the state. 

Major components of the training include:

- Voter Registration

- Community Tabling

- Door-to-door Canvassing

- Phonebanking

- Volunteer Recruitment

The training will run from 11am to 4:30pm at the Northside Branch of the Lexington Public Library, Russell Cave Rd, Lexington

Please let us know if you plan to attend, by talking to your local KFTC organizer or emailing Dave Newton at Dave@kftc.org.

Join KFTC's delegation to a conference and day of action focused on transition and the future of Appalachia. The events aim to advance the dialogue about current energy extraction practices, with a specific focus on ending mountaintop removal coal mining, and advocate for a renewable energy future for Appalachia on a national stage

"We envision a vibrant weekend during which thousands will learn about the challenges Appalachia faces and ways to build a movement to end the destruction and plant the seeds of a sustainable and prosperous Appalachia," said the organizers of the events.

The conference, entitled Voices from the Mountains, will be held on September 25-26, 2010. Organizers of the Voices from the Mountain conference are planning a space for regional participants to grow and connect through strategy sessions, workshops, learning, and cultural events. Topics will include both exploration of the issues facing the region and ways to move forward.

The day following the conference, September 27th, many people from the Appalachian region will gather with conference attendees for a day of mobilization and rallying on Capitol Hill. 2000 people, including movement leaders from the region, celebrities such as Ashley Judd and Silas House, and many Appalachian residents are expected to gather.

Click here to sign up or learn more.

The Alliance for Appalachia will be hosting a weekend-long training for community leaders in the southern coalfields, August 13-15, near Charleston, WV.

The training will focus on skills and information related to community organizing as well as issues such as developing economic alternatives. By providing a number of longer and shorter workshop options, our goal is to appeal to people who have been organizing in their communities for a long time, as well as those who are just getting their feet wet. Workshops include: Organizing 101, Conflict Resolution, Talking to Your Neighbors about Tough Issues, Economic Transition, Understanding SMCRA and more! Plus plenty of time for fellowship, music, movies and fun. You can see the draft schedule at here.

Registration deadline has been extended to July 31! Register here.