My Resume

Patricia Mikkelson

My mission: To use all my talents to create an on-line, and physical school which trains Community Organizers to help neighborhoods become thriving, self-reliant communities, while at the same time nurturing my self, my church, my friendships, and my own neighborhood.

One person’s experience of Patricia Mikkelson:

“Patricia Mikkelson worked for me in the company called Live Love Laugh. She was always a dynamic and energetic presence in making things happen, coming up with creative new ideas, coordinating many volunteers, organizing events, workshops and publicity– just to name a few of her many contributions to the success of Live Love Laugh. During that time she also helped organize and produce various Self Esteem workshops led by the now famous Jack Canfield, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Patricia is a forward thinker and seems to always press for things that make it a better world for everyone.”

Cliff Durfee

My goals:

1. To find work which utilizes my talents and provides income so that I can pay my bills while fulfilling my dreams

2. To find a way to finance my dream of the Citizenship School on line on in a physical location.

Overall talents

Organizing

Efficiency/effectiveness consulting

Marketing

Project manager

Voice lessons: Using the natural approach as taught by Lara Henderson

Non-violent Communication coaching, specializing in parent-child relationships
Cleaning–using environmentally friendly products

Coaching/mentoring–helping people define their values, and setting and achieving goals which are in alignment with their highest priorities of life.

Secretarial work: Word processing, editing, letter writing, transcription, administrative assistance

My Experience, Education, and Employment

A talent for organizing: 1962-present From the age of 8 I have been involved in organizing activities, such as a neighborhood festival, a neighborhood club, and more. I always thought big even when I was little, and loved to organize play activities such as library, hospital, grocery store, and of course my birthday parties. Moving to different neighborhoods every 3 years forced me to learn how to get to know new people and help create the sense of community I loved to have.

Jr. High/High School 1968-1972: I was a class office from 9th grade on. I loved working with the other officers to plan meeting agendas, dances, sign painting, and fund raisers. I was voted most active, was editor of the feature page for the high school newspaper, and member of the pep band. I attended most sports events because I loved to cheer our team on even if they always lost! I was chairman of the Youth Council at the United Methodist Church. Even though I was on the college prep track, my counselor encouraged me to take office occupation classes, where I learned secretarial skills including typing which have helped me immensely to this day!

College: 1972-74 I attended two years of college, but really after the first year I realized that I was not going to fit in with mainstream society—go out and get a good job with my wonderful college degree. I attended San Diego State University, where the radical economics class really turned me around, and helped me to realize that our government was not as it was supposed to be. I also took regular economics classes, and became thoroughly familiar with the benefits of the free enterprise system.

Travel education: 1974-75 At age 19 I left for Europe and ended up going overland from Turkey, through Iran, Afganistan, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. I learned a great deal about the value of family and community—and how fortunate I was to live in a free country. I came home with the revelation that I wanted to serve, yet do something that I enjoyed.

1977-1979: Coordinating Whole Foods Coop: When I was 21, when natural foods were just starting to take off, I co-coordinated a food coop in Chimes, Arkansas. We did all aspects of organizing, including taking orders, publishing a newsletter, fulfilling orders, taking care of the money, organizing volunteers for the monthly pickup.

1981-83 Managed and help start one of the first Mailbox Etc. like businesses. I enjoyed doing all aspects of the business practically single handedly, attending to a multitude of details and multi tasking, including: answering phone, distributing mail, sending UPS packages, and networking in general.

1964-until now: At ten years old I was organizing activities such as carnivals and luncheons for our teachers in our neighborhood, drama clubs, parties and such. I normally liked to play things like library, hospital, store–where I could organize both items and a group. I have loved to help organize groups and encourage people to get involved in activites that enrich life ever since then.

1968 Served on the refreshment committee in 8th grade. The President of the Associated Student Body tried to force me to put the coke cups in a certain pattern. I did not feel good about his demands, and got angry–was fired from the committee. From that point forward, I made two decisions: I did not want to work under demanding, controlling bosses. I did not want to be an angry, controlling boss.
1969-1972: Ran for Student body secretary, and won. Learned how to work with a team, inspire participation from others, get things done. School spirit was my big thing, along with raising funds.

1971 Methodist Youth Fellowship Council Chairman: learned a lot about leadership.

1972-1974–Attended San Diego State University During this time, I learned that school was not going to teach me what I wanted to learn, and that I was not going to just find out what I was passionate about by attending various classes. I was fascinated by sociology, psychology, and logic–but had no desire to study these topics in an academic setting. After the first year, I decided to travel. The second year was just marking time, mostly playing volleyball and barely getting by.

1974-75 At age 19 I traveled by myself first in Germany. After three weeks of wandering and having fun, I realized that Europe was not where I wanted to be. After consulting with my older sister, a veteran traveler, I decided to head for India, where it was “cheap and exotic.” I took directions from friends who said, “Take the Orient Express to Turkey, then take a freak bus to Afghanistan, and proceed from there.” So I followed the directions exactly, and spent a year traveling around Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka. I spent three months living and working in Meshad, Iran, after I got hepatitis and was told I needed to stay put for a while. I found jobs teaching English and transcribing medical notes for an English doctor. I had a revelation on the plane ride back: “Serve humanity, but do what you love to do.” I have been pursuing that mission ever since.

1975-1976 After returning from my long trip, I was in culture shock. I was trying to find meaning in a country (Southern California) that was so prosperous, after leaving countries that had so many obviously poor people. I lived very simply, and found a family (through a classified ad) that took me in and let me live there, helping as I was willing. I gardened, made meals, and just soaked in knowledge of how to live rightly. I met my husband at the Garden of Eden at San Diego State University, and learned organic gardening and about how the Federal Reserve bank was no more federal than Federal Express
1975-1977
1977-1980 Co-coordinated one of the first whole foods co-ops in Arkansas. My husband (now former husband, present friend) and I did everything except transport the food. Duties included: publishing a monthly newsletter; collating orders; making the order; coordinating volunteers; taking care of the money; coordinating re-packaging of the food. There were a lot of details, and it was a good learning experience. We also encouraged people to have gatherings, and were active in the community, including hosting various community gatherings ourselves.

1981-1983 Returned to Southern California because our dreams of founding an intentional community were not happening. I floundered for a while, doing many odd jobs including house painting, selling crystals, working for a few health food stores, trying out being commission only employment agency, and even one day worked for 7/11 Speedymart. I wanted to work at a job I loved, but just could not figure out how to do it. I did temporary secretarial work, where I learned much about typing, word processing, and details about running businesses. I also learned I never wanted to have a permanent job working for a big business that just saw me as a cog in the wheel.

I started my own business, “Meals on Moped”, where I made food to order for my customers, and delivered it on my moped plus custom made trailer.

I was passionate about getting people to sing together–first at Christmas, then wanting them to do so all year–why sing just at Christmas, especially going to convalescent hospitals where they were flooded with carolers during a small time of year, then no visitors the rest of the year. All of my spare time was spent making a song book with chords and a song book without chords–so people could easily have sing alongs.

1984-87 Worked

1981-83 Managed and help start one of the first Mailbox Etc. like businesses. I enjoyed doing all aspects of the business practically single handedly, attending to a multitude of details and multi tasking, including: answering phone, distributing mail, sending UPS packages, and networking in general.

1983-84 Helped produce Jack Canfield’s new seminars, Self Esteem Seminars. Yes, I was there when he left Insight Seminars and started his own company—now he is known world-wide for his Chicken Soup for the Soul Series as well as a host of other accomplishments. I helped coordinate the volunteer “miracle workers” who performed various functions to produce the seminars.

I attended just about every seminar Jack facilitated that first year, which was about 2 a month, including Loving to Learn seminars for teachers. I helped with almost every detail of seminar promotion, including actual set up, logistics, and enrollment, I also learned a lot about myself by attending the seminars, and experienced tremendous personal growth. I also learned that having high self-esteem was not everything, and I decided to quit working for Jack.

1984-1992 Created and ran my own business, Music for Life. I used every creative means possible to make money being creative with music and fun, including: Entertaining children’s parties, School Assemblies, teaching voice and guitar to all ages and types of people including developmentally disabled: Christmas entertainment; Kristina the Elf, wandering minstrel, story teller, song leader, and games leader extraordinaire; performing at convalescent homes, choir leader, and performer at festivals. Produced and sang on 6 cassette tapes of uplifting, inspiring music for all ages, including coordinating instrumentalist, vocalists, and children’s choir.

1984-1992 Director of a choir which had as its main purpose to sing at convalescent hospitals and other places where people needed cheering up. I helped create sense of community within the choir, and our shared experience of service to others was bonding and uplifting. Even though I couldn’t read music very well, I was very successful because I figured out ways for the choir members to learn their parts without having to wait around and listen to everyone else make mistakes and finally get it right. I worked with others who had more musical knowledge than I in order to make practice tapes. I also appointed leaders of each part, and they would practice separately in different rooms, during the choir practice. Our very first practice of a season would result in singing beautiful three part harmonies.

People loved the way that I would take their feedback and incorporate it into the various workings of the choir. If someone was passionate about doing something, I encouraged them and supported them, which enriched our choir immensely. People made new friends, felt a sense of accomplishment and service, and learned how to sing better. People who thought they were poor singers became soloists, some of them performing on my tapes that I produced.

1984-1992 Hosted numerous Community Gatherings in our home. Every holiday was a chance to invite folks who didn’t have family—or who considered us family—to join us in uplifting, connecting potlucks. We would always have a circle to share meaningful feelings and thoughts. Time after time people would meet new friends and keep the connections going even after the event.

1992-2007 Mostly did cleaning and organizing, some waiting tables. After moving to Arkansas hoping for a better life for our family, I had a hard time getting my music career back in sync. This was an intensely humbling and learning filled time where I learned more about the hardships of the working class. I learned a lot about being short on money all the time because of taxes, credit card debt, and just never having the time to get back on track with being an entrepreneur in doing what I loved to do.

1992-2007 This time was an intense learning period for organizing people. I tried many times to get people together for various groups, including the Sustainable Living Network, Livable Future Project, Homeschooling groups, neighborhood groups and more. The times I was most successful was when people were totally on fire about something—like the tree issue and property rights issue described below.

I learned a lot about leadership—about empowering people to do what they love to do, not try to control them but encourage and provide information, resources and support. I discovered more and more that people wanted to make a difference, but they were so busy that they just didn’t have time because of two income families, single parents, rising costs of food and basics, inflation and taxes. I started researching ways that we could get out of this negative cycle, including alternative currencies, barter, and time banking.

2000 Helped to lead a passionate group of people who wanted to uphold the Fayetteville Tree ordinance. Department store wanted to cut down to accommodate their store. I had never been involved in politics before, but I got angry when I miraculously had first hand evidence that the City Council was trying to sneak this issue through without too much public scrutiny. I got really angry, and solicited advice and mentoring from people with more experience than I had. By using my own creativity, encouraging people to follow their passion in the issue, networking and communicating through the internet, and using creative techniques which got me on the front page at least 4 times, we rallied together and had 200 people attend the city council meeting—where they still decided to violate the tree ordinance. I instigated civil disobedience, where a 55 year old grandmother climbed a tree. Grassroots self-organizing resulted in huge amounts of publicity and a 33 day tree sit. We saved about 6 beautiful oaks. This was a lot of work for only six trees.

But people have told me that the Omni Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology would never had been started without the momentum which was generated by my efforts to save the trees. Omni is Fayetteville’s main group to help activists cooperate and generate interest in helping the world have a culture of peace.

2002 Saved an orchard from getting taken over by the state through emminent domain. Spearheaded a 10 day blitz which helped keep the Springdale School Board from using imminent domain to take away a 2 generation orchard owned and operated by the Eddie Gay family. Simply by strategic planning and getting publicity, empowering many people to get involved as they freely wanted to, we were able to inspire them to drop their threats and find somewhere else. I wanted to keep the organization I started, Neighbors Unite, going, but I found that with my need to work and attend to family I did not have time or energy.

2003-Present Purchased 27 acres of land which we want to make in to an eco village and exemplify the best ways that we can live in ways that nurture the land and our freedom. My dream continues to be to live in an intentional community where many people who want to help change the world in positive ways can live and work, being the change we want to see happen.

Personal details: Mother of two wonderful children, Mahriyanna 11, and Chris 18. Married to Robert Kersbergen, 16 years. Homeschooled our children since their home births. Vegetarian for 35 years. I love Jesus, who inspires me so much, and I do my best to be lead by him. Lived in Fayetteville for 10 years and have many friends and connections because of my activities here. Married to Robert Kersbergen for 16 years, and still cooperate closely with former husband, Cliff, to whom I was married for 15 years.

• . Talents:
• Fast typist
• Fast reader
• Fast thinker
• Good writer of articles, proposals, press releases, newsletters, scripts, blogs
• Creative
• Self motivating
• Music–good choir director, song leader, band facilitator
• Excellent meeting facilitation
• Can Organize anything–space, groups, clutter, papers
• I have always had a gift for Seeing the big picture
• Sales and marketing
• Encourager/coach/mentor
• Good listener
• Good at building bridges with people who are different from me and from each other.
• Fast, effective researcher Knowledgeable about a lot of things on the web since I am always researching and reading and talking to people
• Networker extraordinaire
• Team builder
• Skills in open space technology facilitation
• 19 years experience in using non-violent communication

History:

I moved a lot as a child because my dad was in the navy, and he managed to move us to the mid west during some of my most important formative years because he was an ROTC instructor at Purdue University, and Navy Recruiter in Muncie.

1954 Born in Lafayette
1957-62 Lived in California, mostly San Diego area
1962—65 Muncie, Indiana
1965-1974 National City California (San Diego)
1974-75 Various countries in the east
1975-76 San Diego area
1976-1979 Arkansas (Jerusalem area)
1979-1992 North San Diego County (Encinitas)
1992-Present I’ve lived in various places in the Ozarks, including Springfield, MO, Eureka Springs, Shirley, and East Wind Community. We have lived in Fayetteville for 9 years. My husband, former husband, and I own land in Kingston where I live part time.

My experience with sales and marketing:

Although I have not had any formal training in this field, I have always been a natural born sales and marketing whiz. I love to figure out how to angle things so that the majority of people; or a niche market; can get excited and motivated to buy something, whether it be an idea or a product. My biggest weakness is that I don’t want to sell anything where I make money because then people might think I just want to make money! However, selling meetup groups would be so rewarding because the cost is not very high, the rewards are great, and I am selling community, connection, social change, and personal growth. I am selling organizers a possibility of helping them to create a niche for themselves. I would like to help organizers figure out how they can make money as meetup organizers, because we need community leaders/organizers to be able to focus quality time and energy on this essential task which up until now has mainly been done by volunteers.

I still remember how I just could not “get” what marketing was. I felt so dumb and dense! But then when I really understood that it was about helping people to see what their need was, and then helping them see how the product fit their need, then I knew how to market. It is an intuitive thing that needs someone that loves to learn about everything and loves to understand the big picture–that’s me!

Why All The Recommendations?

I put this together because I was applying for a job with Meetup. They were looking for a vice president to help them put their Alliance program together. So I asked people for references. Also, I was thinking of applying for the Arkansas State Campaign Manager for Ron Paul position, so I asked for references then (before the Meetup job) I also decided to look back into my past recommendations, and was pleased to find one that applied to this campaign.

I felt really encouraged by how willing people were to take the time to write recommendations for me! I hope as you read these a little bit of trust is built. Of course, trust has to be earned–I certainly know.

Well, I haven’t gotten the jobs I wanted–Meetup needed me to have more technical experience, and Jason Sheppherd  who had more experience than I,  got the job of campaign manager–congratulations!

So now I will use this as a way for people to get to know me in case they want to work with me on the Ron Paul Academy, or work for them in other positions.

I need to confess that I was not very responsible in pouring all my time and resources into the Ron Paul campaign. I believed that I was doing the right thing–however now my resources are depleted, and I am deep in debt. I want to continue working on my dreams of being a community organizer and to set up a Citizenship School fir community organizers on our land. But I can not put all my energy into this project unless someone comes forth with financial backing. In the mean time, I am willing to focus on making money in order to be in integrity with my creditors.

Joe Alexander’s Recommendation

To whom it may concern

I have known Patricia for five years. I know her to have a consistent, strong and persistent interest in organizing people to work together for mutual benefit in very important causes. I admire her for her ability to reach out to others,carry on conversations readily with pretty much anyone, stick to her own honest point of view in spite of pressures to conform to the social group she is involved with, and to take initiative in inspiring others to action.

I admire her for getting involved in very important issues such as property rights,Aaron Russo’s promotion of his “America, From Freedom to Fascism” movie, and Dr. Ron Paul’s presidential campaign, rather than more trivial matters. She appears to be quite well attuned to the zeitgeist, the spirit of the time, to see the real need of the time and what causes are most important to work on at the moment.

I believe that with the strong and consistent interest she has displayed for such organizing work for many years, that she has a calling in this field.

Sincerely, Joe Alexander,Fayetteville Arkansas 

www.joealexander.net 

Community Gathering Testimony from Staci

If you are looking for someone with fervor for community, you will definitely discover that ignited passion within Patricia. Her effort to organize a community gathering is exactly the reason I had the pleasure of meeting her, and right from the start, her passion was bluntly apparent. There were networking materials, reference books, and Patricia buzzing around introducing and meeting people. From her blog to the conversations I have with her, networking is intertwined in all she does. I can only imagine what she would embark upon with leading edge resources and others of the same passion! She passes a torch to people, planting seeds of community-empowerment. Patricia’s spirit is thought-provoking and much needed in the world today.

Staci Rankin

staci444@cox.net

Judy Horne has only known me for 6 weeks, but she knows…

I have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Patricia Mikkelson recently. In a short time, I have been amazed at her amazing ability to inspire and organize people into a strong, active group that is highly effective here in Northwest Arkansas.However, when you get a chance to meet her, you understand how she does this.  She is very dedicated to the vision of a better world for all with ALL of us working together to that goal.She is very interested in people and so she meets people easily and can quickly get an excellent discussion started about topics of concern to her.

Because this area is very diverse, her achievements in the Ron Paul for President campaign are all the more notable. I believe her success is due not only to her ability to work with people, but also to high energy great organizing skills.She has the ability to quickly understand large amounts of data and see the patterns and trends in the information.She also has the ability to cut through trivial material to get to the heart of an issue of us here in America, is weary of the stale, unproductive approaches to solving the many problems we face.

She has a burning desire to see a better life for everyone, especially those who have been marginalized in some way by various groupsI believe Patricia would bring energy, focus, and good organization to your efforts. Please feel free to contact me for more information

Sincerely,
Judy Horne

Sky Blaylock of Community Access Television shares about Patricia

To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is to recommend Patricia Mikkelson for a job helping build alliances.

Patricia has been my neighbor on two separate occasions.From that I have witnessed her passion for helping people self-organize and her commitment to community building even in her own neighborhood.Patricia is full of energy and has relentless devotion to things she believes in.She would be an asset to any organization.If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely
Sky Blaylock CAT Manager
Community Access Television, Fayetteville, AR

Description of Patricia’s efforts in grassroots organizing which led to a tree sit

I met Ms. Mikkelson over a year ago, when, as a lawyer, I was called on to mediate diverse grassroots resistance to an unlawful development project in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where she and I live. I myself, hindered by circumstances to do any more than the briefest community work, would be greatly reassured to know that Patricia Mikkelson would be doing the same thing for the Arctic Refuge as she did for Fayetteville

Patricia sparked the resistance movement at its beginning stages. It was she who began organizing against the city’s connivance at tree-preservation ordinance violations in favor of a huge mall development. The resistance grew to include tree-sit action and substantial civil disobedience of over twenty people.

 

Through a protracted and tense summer and at great personal cost, Patricia applied her considerable talents wherever she was needed. She initiated and participated in email bulletin boards and chat-lists that were vital in keeping communication lines open, when fast-moving events threatened to  overwhelm opposition. She responded to demands at all hours; this was important when the bulldozers were mobilizing under cover of darkness. Moreover, endurance became important when the tree sit failed and the development proceeded. Patricia had that endurance>

Eventually, the voters deposed the sitting mayor and even he conceded that he lost because of the tree fight. Further, due to intense community participation and oversight, the applicable tree ordinances have just been redrafted to remove some of the ambiguities that countenanced the violations in the first instance.

Had the resistance collapsed when the trees fell, we might still be suffering under the prior administration. But the resistance continued into the November elections, and the redrafting was due in part to Patricia’s substantial efforts. Needless to say, her efforts were unpaid and, especially regrettably, largely unrecognized.

Subsequently, Patricia and I have talked at length. Based on those conversations and my observation, I can assert that her faith in community action seems to flow from an in exhaustible well. I believe she has the vision and the commitment to work on national issues. She has the experience, the will, and the philosophical mettle to stay flexible and resourceful, in the face of what seems to be overwhelmingly big money interests. She is the right person for the job.
Please do not hesitate to contact me further, if there’s anything else I can do in connecdion with Ms. Mikkelson’s application.
Anita Schnee

Here’s all the things that community gatherings and meetups can help inspire to happen.

 

Community Gathering Examples

 

Here are some examples of things that can happen at a Community Gathering

 

173 WAYS TO BUILD SOCIAL CAPITAL

 

The first 144 ideas were from
The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America

 

Definition of Social Capital, by Robert Putnam, Author of BOWLING ALONE and BETTER TOGETHER

 “The central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Social capital refers to the collective value of all “social networks” [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other (norms of reciprocity)

Social capital is built through hundreds of little and big actions we take every day. We’ve gotten you started with a list of nearly 150 ideas, drawn from suggestions made by many people and groups. Try some of these or try your own. We need to grow this list. If you have other ideas, email us.

I, Patricia Mikkelson, conceptualizer of the Community Gathering, have put stars at the end of each activity to show how the Community Gathering can make these things more possible. When people show up at a weekly Community Gathering,knowing there is a free meal, childcare,  transportation, and meaningful/fun activities for the whole family– then they are going to be much more likely to be involved with all of these projects.

*means that an announcement can be made, flyers handed out, this can be listed on a newsletter, and a bulletin board, or you can just talk to a few people about getting involved, or the idea can be introduced somehow.

** means that this event can easily be organized at the gathering

***means that this activity can actually take place at the community gathering

1.      Organize a social gathering to welcome a new neighbor***
2. Attend town meetings***
3. Register to vote and vote***
4. Support local merchants**
5. Volunteer your special skills to an organization***
6. Donate blood (with a friend!)*
7. Start a community garden**
8. Mentor someone of a different ethnic or religious group***
9. Surprise a new neighbor by making a favorite dinner–and include the recipe*
10. Tape record your parents’ earliest recollections and share them with your children***
11. Plan a vacation with friends or family***
12. Avoid gossip***
13. Help fix someone’s flat tire*
14. Organize or participate in a sports league**
15. Join a gardening club***
16. Attend home parties when invited**
17. Become an organ donor or blood marrow donor.*
18. Attend your children’s athletic contests, plays and recitals*
19. Get to know your children’s teachers*
20. Join the local Elks, Kiwanis, or Knights of Columbus*
21. Get involved with Brownies or Cub/Boy/Girl Scouts***
22. Start a monthly tea group***
23. Speak at or host a monthly brown bag lunch series at your local library**
24. Sing in a choir***
25. Get to know the clerks and salespeople at your local stores***
26. Attend PTA meetings*
27. Audition for community theater or volunteer to usher**
28. Give your park a weatherproof chess/checkers board***
29. Play cards with friends or neighbors***
30. Give to your local food bank***
31. Walk or bike to support a cause and meet others**
32. Employers: encourage volunteer/community groups to hold meetings on your site*
33. Volunteer in your child’s classroom or chaperone a field trip*
34. Join or start a babysitting cooperative***
35. Attend school plays
36. Answer surveys when asked***
37. Businesses: invite local government officials to speak at your workplace*
38. Attend Memorial Day parades and express appreciation for others**
39. Form a local outdoor activity group

40. Participate in political campaigns***
41. Attend a local budget committee meeting*
42. Form a computer group for local senior citizens***
43. Help coach Little League or other youth sports – even if you don’t have a kid playing*
44. Help run the snack bar at the Little League field*
45. Form a tool lending library with neighbors and share ladders, snow blowers, etc.**
46. Start a lunch gathering or a discussion group with co-workers **
47. Offer to rake a neighbor’s yard or shovel his/her walk *
48. Start or join a carpool**
49. Employers: give employees time (e.g., 3 days per year to work on civic projects)*
50. Plan a “Walking Tour” of a local historic area**
51. Eat breakfast at a local gathering spot on Saturdays**
52. Have family dinners and read to your children*
53. Run for public office**
54. Stop and make sure the person on the side of the highway is OK*

55. Host a block party or a holiday open house **
56. Start a fix-it group–friends willing to help each other clean, paint, garden, etc.***
57. Offer to serve on a town committee*
58. Join the volunteer fire department*
59. Go to church…or temple…or walk outside with your children–talk to them about why its important***
60. If you grow tomatoes, plant extra for an lonely elder neighbor – better yet, ask him/her to teach you and others how to can the extras*
61. Ask a single diner to share your table for lunch*
62. Stand at a major intersection holding a sign for your favorite candidate**
63. Persuade a local restaurant to have a designated “meet people” table**
64. Host a potluck supper before your Town Meeting***
65. Take dance lessons with a friend***
66. Say “thanks” to public servants – police, firefighters, town clerk…***
67. Fight to keep essential local services in the downtown area–your post office, police station, school, etc.***
68. Join a nonprofit board of directors*
69. Gather a group to clean up a local park or cemetery***
70. When somebody says “government stinks,” suggest they help fix it*
71. Turn off the TV and talk with friends or family***
72. Hold a neighborhood barbecue**
73. Bake cookies for new neighbors or work colleagues**
74. Plant tree seedlings along your street with neighbors and rotate care for them**

  75. Volunteer at the library*
76. Form or join a bowling team**
77. Return a lost wallet or appointment book*
78. Use public transportation and start talking with those you regularly see*
79. Ask neighbors for help and reciprocate**
80. Go to a local folk or crafts festival**
81. Call an old friend*
82. Sign up for a class and meet your classmates***
83. Accept or extend an invitation***
84. Talk to your kids or parents about their day***
85. Say hello to strangers***
86. Log off and go to the park**
87. Ask a new person to join a group for a dinner or an evening***
88. Host a pot luck meal or participate in them***
89. Volunteer to drive someone*
90. Say hello when you spot an acquaintance in a store*
91. Host a movie night***
92. Exercise together or take walks with friends or family***
93. Assist with or create your town or neighborhood’s newsletter***
94. Organize a neighborhood pick-up – with lawn games afterwards***
95. Collect oral histories from older town residents***
96. Join a book club discussion or get the group to discuss local issues***
97. Volunteer to deliver Meals-on-Wheels in your neighborhood*
98. Start a children’s story hour at your local library***
99. Be real. Be humble. Acknowledge others’ self-worth***
100. Tell friends and family about social capital and why it matters***
101. Greet people***
102. Cut back on television***
103. Join in to help carry something heavy***

104. Plan a reunion of family, friends, or those with whom you had a special connection***
105. Take in the programs at your local library*

106. Read the local news faithfully***
107. Buy a grill and invite others over for a meal**

108. Fix it even if you didn’t break it***
109. Pick it up even if you didn’t drop it***
110. Attend a public meeting***
111. Go with friends or colleagues to a ball game (and root, root, root for the home team!)**
112. Help scrape ice off a neighbor’s car, put chains on the tires or shovel it out*
113. Hire young people for odd jobs***
114. Start a tradition***
115. Share your snow blower*
116. Help jump-start someone’s car*
117. Join a project that includes people from all walks of life***
118. Sit on your stoop*
119. Be nice when you drive*
120. Make gifts of time***
121. Buy a big hot tub
122. Volunteer at your local neighborhood school*
123. Offer to help out at your local recycling center**
124. Send a “thank you” letter to the Editor about a person or event that helped build community***
125. Raise funds for a new town clock or new town library***
126. When inspired, write personal notes to friends and neighbors***
127. Attend gallery openings*
128. Organize a town-wide yard sale***
129. Invite friends or colleagues to help with a home renovation or home building project**
130. Join or start a local mall-walking group and have coffee together afterwards**
131. Build a neighborhood playground**

132. Become a story-reader or baby-rocker at a local childcare center or neighborhood pre-school***
133. Contra dance or two-step***
134. Help kids on your street construct a lemonade stand***
135. Open the door for someone who has his or her hands full***
136. Say hi to those in elevators*
137. Invite friends to go snowshoeing, hiking, or cross-country skiing***
138. Offer to watch your neighbor’s home or apartment while they are away*
139. Organize a fitness/health group with your friends or co-workers***
140. Hang out at the town dump and chat with your neighbors as you sort your trash at the Recycling Center*
141. Take pottery classes with your children or parent(s)*
142. See if your neighbor needs anything when you run to the store*
143. Ask to see a friend’s family photos***
144. Join groups (e.g., arts, sports, religion) likely to lead to making new friends of different race or ethnicity, different social class or bridging across other dimensions ***

 

The following are suggestions I, Patricia, have made:

146. Start a success team and encourage each other in following your dreams***

147.    Facilitate a music jam session and encourage people of all ages and stages of talent to participate***

148.    Start a free geeks group and make it easy for people of all incomes to get computers**

149.    Start a life-long learning center and have classes for all ages in every conceivable subject***

150.    Have a dance jam where people bring their favorite music to dance to***

151.    Make an effort to include in all activities people who are under served and underheard***

152.    Teach a class in Non-violent communication or some other effective communication technique, and encourage people to start speaking in ways that build bridges of compassion***

153.    Start a listening buddies network so that every single person in your neighborhood has  number of people who can listen empathically to them in times of trouble.***

154.    Organize a neighborhood-wide emergency preparedness plan using something like 3 steps to neighborhood Preparedness***

155.    Start a neighborhoodlink or some similar website to connect neighbors***

156.    Raise funds to help bring in a consultant who can facilitate a three day meeting to help the neighborhood create a shared vision using effective change making facilitation techniques such as Future Search or Open Space Technology***

157.    Start a group to help localize the economy***

158.    Organize a networking group of local business people***

159.    Organize a food drive***

160.    Help single parents with childcare***

161.    Sponsor a 12 step group or other support group for addictions***

162.    Start a mentoring/coaching network***

163.    Have study groups to learn about different religions and foster a spirit of tolerance and understanding***

164.    Bring people of all ages and background together for a sing along***

165.    Organize a talent show where people of all levels of skill are encouraged to share their gifts***

166.    Host a local mic having poetry,music, prose, comedy and drama, encouraging people of all levels of talent to participate***

167.    Host conversation cafes and discuss a wide variety of topics relating to civic engagement

168.    Host study circles and learn more about the important issues that effect us all

169.    Learn more about the importance of civic engagement***

170.    Have book studies on such books as Bowling Alone, Better Together,

171.     Make a list of all the books which relate to building social capital and build a library accessible to all

172.    Inspire people to pay a fee like ten dollars a month to pay a natural connector in the community to do that full time.

173.     I have about 200 more ideas—no time now! (Patricia)

Acknowledgement for our Statewide efforts, and Fayetteville in particular

I know that I can not take all the credit for inspiring the Ron Paul Campaign to hire a State Coordinator for Arkansas. I understand that they have a lot invested here, because if Ron Paul can beat Huckabee, that will make a huge statement! But at the same time, they had to have some hope that investing their precious resources would bear fruit. I started the Arkansas Ron Paul Freedom Movement state wide meetup www.ronpaul.meetup.com/1288 At our first conference all a month or so ago, I spoke to Cathy Christian, who had only just gotten involved with the campaign.

 

She was inspired to start www.Arkansansforronpaul.com which supported the meetup site. We are still getting the site more functional, but it is a great start. I also encouraged her to request the Little Rock organizer to give her the job of organizer, since he wasn’t very active. The very next day, that is what she did, and the organizer was very happy to hand over the job!

 

In addition, Cathy has done a wonderful job of organizing, now getting teams organized. She has attended three of the conference calls I hosted, and I sent her my meetup organizer handbook.

 

I sent a state wide strategy to Chris Holley, who said he could get it sent straight to the top of the campaign, without all the usual red tape. I did this. I also was encouraged by Trent, who started our meetup from West Texas, to contact the assistant campaign manager, who responded with encouragement. The very next day after I cried out for help, Jason Shepherd was hired.

 

And, of course the Fayetteville meetup is the most active, the largest and I think the most inspiring group of any in Arkansas. I hope that this all demonstrates my ability to market, strategize, sell, and be on the cutting edge of product development. I developed a meetup for Ron Paul with very little influence from others–there wasn’t that much support for specifically Ron Paul meetups at the time. I also helped the various groups in Arkansas to come together to cooperate and encourage each other.

 

Without Meetup, this would have been impossible. Thanks for your help!

 

 

December 6, 2007

The Ron Paul 2008 Presidential campaign Committee is pleased to announce the appointment of an official coordinator for the state of Arkansas. Jason Sheppard, of Fayetteville, is an engineer with experience in state wide campaigning and organization. And, of course, Jason is a huge Ron Paul fan!

He’s a member of the very active Fayetteville Ron Paul Meetup group, and he will be attending as many meetups as possible throughout the state between now and the Feb. 5 Arkansas Republican primary election.

Our investment in Arkansas is due to the effort you continue to demonstrate to us. We believe that we can carry the state for Congressman Paul, and bringing on board a coordinator with Jason’s track record is evidence of that fact. As with all our campaign coordinators, one of Jason’s primary jobs is to help you.

Please utilize his assistance as you continue the hard work you’ve shown the nation thus far. We’ve come so far in such a short amount of time, there’s no telling just how much additional support for Ron Paul can be created in Arkansas with the two months remaining until the big day!

Debbie Hopper
Assistant Campaign Manager
Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Committee

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Paid for by the Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Committee