The Governor's Conference on Energy and the Environment will take place at the Lexington Convention Center on Wednesday, September 30th and Thursday, October 1st.  There is a charge for attending, but scholarships are still available (see the link below). 

According to the information page, this year's agenda will address the following topics:

• How do we achieve energy security in a carbon-constrained world?
• How do we develop our biomass resources?
• What opportunities do we have to increase our renewable energy portfolio?
• How can smart grid technologies help us achieve our energy efficiency objectives?
• How are actions at the federal level going to affect Kentucky's energy landscape?

The agenda includes a session presented by state and federal elected officials about Kentucky's energy landscape and a session that will discuss "new opportunities" in that landscape for our state.  The decisions our state must make around questions of energy and the environment at this critical moment will steer the use of taxpayer money well into the future. 

The questions covered on the agenda point to even bigger questions for KFTC. What do we want Kentucky's energy landscape to look like in the coming years?  What direction will we head as a state in terms of both energy reliance and our economic future?  How can we facilitate a clean, sustainable, just transition in our communities?  This conference is a chance to hear the answers the Governor and policymakers are offering to these important questions and to voice your feedback about those suggestions.

  Click here to link to the state information page about the conference, which includes registration and scholarship information.

There are a lot of challenges to running and winning in Easten Kentucky. 

But is all hope lost? 

Heck no!

               - Mike Dixon

In partnership with Wellstone Action, KFTC organized a Candidate and Campaign training this past weekend in Hindman with 30 participants.  The focus was overwhelmingly on running for office in Eastern Kentucky, but some members from other parts of the state came as well.

The goal was to encourage people to run for office or to help their friends run by providing a top-notch campaign training focusing on campaign planning and budgeting, telling your story, grassroots voter contact, fundraising, base-building, stump speeches, developing a winning message and more.

"KFTC nationally is held up as a kick-ass gold standard of community organizing," said Ben Goldfarb, Director of Training Programs for Wellston Action.  "I'm a little nervous to be training you all, but I think it will be great."

Local members with experience in Eastern KY races joined us to add what they've learned locally to the Wellstone model of running for office including Mike Dixon (mayor of Blackey), Bennie Massey (Lynch City Council), Carl Shoupe, (Benham City Council) and Randy Wilson (recent candidate for his Jackson Rural Electric Co-op).

"A big part of running is getting out there and talking to your neighbors, getting to know them, and talking about issues that they care about.  A lot of us are doing that anyway and we should be doing it even more."

This is the fourth time Wellstone Action has visited Kentucky and KFTC members have participated in each of the trainings.  We're considering another training if the Voting Rights constitutional amendment gets on the ballot next year. 

We're trying to schedule a smaller candidate training based on what we learned this weekend, tentatively in October in Lexington to replicate pieces of this training.  We'll put it on the KFTC Calendar as soon as we settle on a date and location.

"The people who are going through this are the ones who need to be a part of the solutions," Madison County KFTC member Toby Wilcher laid out Saturday morning during a KFTC tax and budget workshop in Berea.  The workshop, "As If People Mattered: Bringing Justice to Kentucky’s Taxes," was designed to give participants a better understanding of how the state’s deficit is affecting our community (where the rubber meets the road), learn about a fair tax system that values lower and middle-income families struggling during today’s hard times, and develop strong, simple talking points to have conversations with others in our community.

"It was very informative," said KFTC member Elwood Sturtevant who traveled from Louisville for the workhop.

Part of the workshop was to get a handle on how to talk about this issue with other folks in the community in a way that makes it meaningful and helps people feel connected.

"Language is important," said Richmond KFTC member John Wernegreen during the workshop. "When the press pick up on the phrase 'tax burden' -- that is counter-productive.  Government is not the evil we think it is."

Participants left with a better understanding of this issue and its importance, but also a set of concrete next steps to take action.  First up, the Madison County Chapter of KFTC will be meeting with one of their local legislators, Rep. Harry Moberly, on August 24th to talk about this and other KFTC related issues.

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth strongly believes that we need better candidates if we want better decisions made in state and local government – and we want YOU to seriously think about what it would be like to run for office or to help one of your friends run.

Come to a powerful, energetic weekend at the beautiful Hindman Settlement School where we’ll build skills, connections, and confidence to work on elections or run for public office.

Led in partnership with Wellstone Action, a national center for training and leadership development for progressives, workshops topics will include campaign planning and budgeting, telling your story, grassroots voter contact, fundraising, base-building, stump speeches, developing a winning message and more.

For more information and to register online, Click Here.

     

Sixteen Kentuckians with KFTC and our allies at KY Jobs With Justice have been in Nevada for the last several days at a big convening of the PUSHBACK Network.  Over 160 members and staff from PUSHBACK ally organizations gathered to make connections between our various grassroots base-building organizations so we can learn from eachother, particularly around voter empowerment campaigns to educate and mobilize voters in our respective states.  

It's an honor and a privilege to be here and to share with this group.  It's about meeting people and really coming together to build the world we want to see. - Tayna Fogle, Kenton County

    

Workshops included pieces on the US Census, inter-generational organizing, integrating voter work with issue work, fundraising, green jobs, voter list management, and tax and fiscal policy.  There was also a strong emphasis on peer-to-peer learning - making connections between organizations and members to lead to more exchanges and learning in the future.

"The networking here is great," said Jim Shepard of Perry County. 

I'm just so proud of Kentucky!  This is a powerful coalition and we're really representing our state and leading so much of it." - Angela Rudd, Louisville

"I thought this was really great," said Janet Tucker of Lexington.  "I still have so many questions."

"There's also a lot of work to get done," added Sean Thomas.  "But we're better equipped and motivated to do it!"

Recently more than a dozen local KFTC chapter leaders converged in Frankfort for a “Build Power, Build Chapters” training.  Leaders from Central Kentucky, Madison County, Jefferson County, where there are strong local chapters, came together to share their work and learn from each other.  KFTC members from Frankfort and Northern Kentucky also joined for the day to learn how to build a new chapter in their area.“I got a lot out of it,” said Jefferson County member Ben Evans. 

During the 5 ½ hour training leaders learned about the characteristics that make a strong chapter, a snapshot of how various, current chapters function, and how important local chapters are to building power. “I enjoyed seeing the “life-cycle of a chapter” graph – the ups and downs -- it reminded me of myself!” said Madison County member Tom Hubbard.

Folks also spent the afternoon discussing how to build our personal networks to connect more people to KFTC and strengthen our chapters.  

The energy throughout the day was great.  Leaders enjoyed sharing and celebrating all of their efforts with each other.  Jefferson County leader Becki Winchel said, “We need circle back pats to appreciate each other for all we do and the support we have from each other and give to each other to keep on doing it as often as possible.”

East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) wants to build a new coal-burning power plant in Kentucky. If you are a member of a rural electric co-op served by EKPC (those in the eastern, northern and central parts of the state) then this may be of particular interest to you. Because although this new plant is not necessary to make sure you have the electricity you need, EKPC will want you to pay for it.

New coal-burning plants, even those with up-to-date pollution controls, still are major polluters. So if you live in central Kentucky and prefer to breathe clean air, then this new plant may be of particular interest to you, too.

And since the new plant would burn coal if it is allowed to be built, that means more mountaintop removal, more buried streams, and continued dependence on fossil fuels when we could have made better choices. That should be of particular concern to you if you live anywhere in Kentucky.

KFTC is part of a growing campaign to stop EKPC’s Smith 1 coal-burning power plant.  We invite you to find out more about the proposed plant, what it would mean for you as a co-op customer or as a Kentucky resident, and how you can be involved in the campaign.

This “Armchair Seminar” will take place at 7:30 p.m. EDT tonight (Tuesday, April 28). To get on the call, a couple of minutes before 7:30 p.m. EDT dial 1-800-868-1837 and enter the Conference Code: 88347983#. You’ll hear a brief, informative presentation about the effort to stop the Smith power plant and ways you can get involved. There will be time for questions at the end of the call. We’ll also share resources you can use to talk with others in your community about this issue.

We’ve also prepared a helpful slide presentation that you can view during the armchair seminar. These slides are available on our web site at www.kftc.org or here. You will be able to access the slide show in several formats that are designed to work well for either high speed or dial-up internet service.

Please contact Sara Pennington at 606-276-9933 or sara@kftc.org with any questions.

Whether or not you plan to join us on this call, please sign-up here to learn more about this campaign and ways you can take action.

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.  

In case you haven't noticed, we've begun taking registrations for our 2008 Annual Membership Meeting on October 10th--12th.  We encourage all members to attend this meeting.  It is a great opportunity to meet with members from around the state and to discuss the future of the organization.  If you wish to attend, please sign up online here.

2007 Annual Membership Meeting