Sunday, February 05, 2017

Wow!

[stole this pic from facebook.com/couleeprogressives!]
Thank you so much to organizers, guests, organizations, friends, contributors, visitors, and everyone who attended the Progresstival on February 4 at the Concordia. We estimate more than 300 people attended the event!

First - great job, organizers - Kevin, RoZ, Avery, Lewis, Monica, Peter, Austin, Kathy, and Alyssa. And  thank you to the Concordia - you have such a great space! And thank you to those who donated food and supplies including People's Food Co-op and Jules Coffee House. (This section may need updating!)

Next - thank you to organizations, causes, and groups (see list below)! You provided just what people are looking for - a way to become more involved in our community, a way to have our voices and values heard, a way to move forward together to build a better world. If you attended but didn't have a chance to visit everyone, please be sure to visit them online. (If you are a contact person for one of the groups and would like to blog here, please email!)

Thank you, local candidates, Nick Dutton (La Crosse City Council candidate - sign up to help him here!) and Laurie Cooper Stoll (school board), for introducing yourselves and giving us the chance to jump into local politics!

And, thanks, Mike McCabe of Blue Jean Nation! You reminded us that it's a privilege to serve the public (not that serving the public is for the privileged!) and that modern day progressives should remember that the "Fighting Bob" and, later, FDR era progressives were PRO-active championing a long list of bold ideas and programs that improved the lives of all the people. While many are casting about for a way to respond to this alternative universe we seem to have tumbled into, we need to make sure to take and make every opportunity to connect with one another, talk to one another, and care for one another. And we need to make sure that, "The will of the people is the law of the land."

What's next?

1.  There's no doubt that we need to wake up and speak up. We also need to meet up! But we have to make sure that we are communicating with each other! Otherwise, we are going to be duplicating efforts and diluting our energy. So - LET'S MAKE SURE TO COMMUNICATE AND COORDINATE! Your event will be even better if more people know about it. Our call-in action will be more effective if even more people call in. So, let's make sure we use ALL our resources, including this blog, to spread the word! Again, if you want to blog here, if you have a calendar item, if you need lots of people to support your event or action, please email!

 2.  Do you have suggestions for future events? Would you like to be involved in planning or do you have resources that can help? In the next few days we'll put up a form for you to leave feedback, suggestions, and ideas.

3.  Join a group! If you haven't already, pick at least one from the list below (or send us info about your group), join it, and connect with other groups.

We pledge to keep the calendar here at CouleeProgressives.org as up to date as possible but we can't add an event if we don't know about it (and not everyone is on Facebook either!) If you know of an event, please let us know! And please spread the word about this site so others can find out what's happening. And if you know of other similar sites, let us know so we can connect and amplify efforts.

These groups want YOU!
*This group is just starting up - if you're interested in helping them get going, email emullenhouser@gmail.com

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