Watching History Unfold

Hi all,

Well, tonight is the night. We are all waiting in anticipation of the acceptance speech at Invesco field, of the first black man to be the nominee of a major political party for the presidency of the United States.

While most of us are tired and somewhat restless after a long few days of lots of meetings and work as well as high emotions, we are all excited about the future of this campaign and the Democratic Party.

Last night was the defining moment for me. It was last night, on the convention floor of the Pepsi Center that it hit me that I was a part of history. As I cast my vote for Barack Obama to be the Presidential nominee, it all hit me.

Logically, I knew that this was history in the making, that I was going to have front row seats to it all and that I would have the chance to cast my vote for Barack, but emotionally, I could not wrap my head around this concept.

Then, as I sat among my fellow delegates and watched as we all excitedly signed our ballots and realized that this was the moment we had all been working so hard for, the tears began streaming down my face in a flood of emotion. Realizing that this was the moment my great-grandmother, a very vocal African-American activist in the 1920's and 30's in California, had worked her entire adult life in politics to try and achieve; realizing that my grandmother, a white woman who married a black man and raised her children as the first inter-racial couple in a small conservative town in Washington, had been fighting her whole life to prove possible in America.

For my father, who is a third generation Mexican-American, working to instill cultural values in his children so that they will not forget where they come from but believe that they can go anywhere. For my children, and grandchildren, and all those who will come after me, this moment in history has been a long-time coming.

As I stood on the floor of the convention, in the moment that the rhetoric of America and the reality of our values met, I watched history unfold.

It is one of those moments, where instead of having to say "where were you when 9/11 happened" - one of the greatest tragedies in American history and by far the worst in my lifetime, I will now be able to answer "where was I when we voted for a change in America, where was I when America stood up and took it's country back? - I was in Denver, Colorado the day America changed the course of history.

--kristine

The Collection!

So, one of the things that has been really fun while in Denver is our own mini celebrity watch!

I have had the chance to catch, on video or camera, several prominent members of the political community, a few actors and even some Republicans.

Check it out! I have uploaded some photos to flickr, facebook and myspace to share the experience.

I have also been tagged as the "stalker" since I have been working to get autographs of all kinds of people.

Can't wait to share!

--kristine

Catching Up!

So, as I am sure you are already aware, I am busy trying to catch up on my blogging and vlogging experience here in Denver.

Our days start at 5:30 and go until 1:30 or 2 am.

I did not get to bed last night until 3 am. There is so much to do and see here and no one wants to miss a thing!

So, I am diligently working on uploading more video, pictures and experiences from the convention. There is so much to share, I hope I will be able to get it all in.

Thanks for your patience and I look forward to sharing more as the week continues!

--kristine

Michelle Obama!

This has to be the best part of the convention for me so far!

By far, this speech was the most emotional experience of a lifetime.

I have to admit I cried during the whole speech. Never in my lifetime did I think that I would see American nominate an African-American for President and now, not only was I seeing it, but there I was, watching it unfold before my eyes.

Part One



Part Two



Part Three



I am told that the Washington Delegation is featured in some prominent video shots!

Can't wait to see what they have in store for us tomorrow!

From Denver - kristine

Arriving In Denver

Today started early with a late start. I woke up late, freaking out that I was going to miss my flight, only to be thankful that I had packed the day before. As I rushed out the door to get a start to the airport, I was mindful of the beautiful sunrise that greeted me and journey that I was about to embark on.

There is no way to really know what to expect from your first convention visit, so you push it to the back of your mind. Knowing that you are going to attend not just a Democratic Convention, but a convention that will go down in American history plays through one’s mind as a rational thought, but the concept does not seep into your emotions or your personal understanding at this point.

So, I rode the plane and marveled at the cascade mountains, spent a few hours hanging out in the Portland airport only to meet up for the same flight to Denver with two delegates. All of us excited about the trip and yet realizing that we did not truly know what we were about to experience.

Arriving in Denver, I was so happy to be leaving the airport. Every time I had ever gone through the Denver airport before, I ended up getting stranded, so I had seen my fair share of the Denver airport but nothing of denver. I have to say that nothing in Denver is close. We departed the plane, caught a shuttle to the hotel which felt like ten years from the airport but was only about 20 minutes.

Check out the video of the hotel room.



We had the chance to participate in a fantastic gathering of the Washington, Oregon and Arizona delegations at an opening night party. We heard from sponsors, shared our excitement for the coming days, and kicked off the convention in style!

Check out the video of the party.



Looking forward to sharing more video and pictures soon!

--kristine

And the Countdown Begins!

Well, I am less than 24 hours away from the adventure of a lifetime!

With the primary this week, my mind has been on all of our great local candidates and how well they have done in their primaries and what that means for the general election, until this morning.

I woke up this morning, bright and early for a Saturday and prepared for my trip. First, somewhat upset that I had not gotten my all-important text message from Barack Obama announcing his VP candidate before CNN blasted it all over the air waves. But I am pleased to say that Joe Biden is to Barack Obama what Leo McGarry was to Matt Santos in the West Wing.

I know, such a trivial comparison, but one that my generation who loves politics lives by.

Anyway, from cleaning the house to doing laundry and even dusting, it was sad to say that a trip out of town is what it took in the busy schedule I keep to get my house clean. My grandma always said - don't leave your things out of order, because God forbid something happen to you while you were away and strangers had to come into your home, what would they think of you? - and for some reason it stuck. So, all that said, I started putting items in a suitcase as they came out of the dryer and had choose between the most important.

Of course, the coveted Mark Mays for Congress shirt, along with the signed Gregoire for Governor shirt and my favorite Spokane Democrats shirt had to make it into the suitcase. With the new airline regulations about baggage, packing became somewhat of a sport. What could I take, what could I wear more than once, and who would care? More importantly, would my attire be appropriate for the convention floor. All questions to which I struggled to answer.

I have spent most of the day fiddling with video editing software and my camcorder, trying to figure out how best to tell the story of this trip to Denver in pictures, which reminded me to send out a few last important reminders about campaign events and a Nomination Party being held at Toad Hall on Thursday night.

So, when I was finally done trying to make a video that would do the introduction to this trip justice, I headed for home and uploaded to YouTube. Check it out here. I hope you like it!



See you in Denver in 24 hours.

--kristine

THANK YOU FOR FLYING!

So, anyone who thinks that there are not generous people in the world anymore does not live in Spokane, WA.

Over the past month, there have been numerous invites to host fundraisers and show support for those of us attending the National Convention in Denver next month. Suprisingly, most have been unsolicited and sincere interests on the part of Spokane residents and Democrats to help their fellow "cause bearers".

Well, this generosity has hit close to home for me.

With costs for convention continually rising and suprise costs coming out of nowhere, I was so very fortunate to have the good fortune to have two people offer to help me get to and from Denver.

Tim and Linda McHenry called me up after they found out I got elected and offered to sponsor my airfare to and from Denver. I did not have to ask, they just offered, out of the kindness of their hearts.

This kindness reminds me that there are people in the world who still do things just because it is nice and who do things because they care, not because there is money for them in it, not because it will get them some great political job or connections, but just because they wanted to help out.

I have been blessed to find many people like this who carry a passion for electing Democrats here in Spokane and work hard, for no money and little thanks, to try and make a difference in the political landscape in this conservative area of the state.

Thanks to all of you who work hard to promote the values of the Democratic Party and get Good Democrats elected.

32 days until we FLY!

Spokane Sends 9 to Denver!

SPOKANE, WA - As my good friend Don Hamilton has said, "a better ending could not have been written for this incredible script". Spokane should be proud to know that this August, it will be sending 9 community members, party activists and leaders to Denver to nominate the Party's nominee to become the next President of the United States.

As this journey begins, there is very little that I can tell you about each of these individuals, but I hope that by the end of this journey, I will be able to tell you a great deal. I am honored to have the opportunity to go to Denver with the following Spokane delegates:

• National Obama Delegates/Alternate:
  Ed King
  Hope Busto-Keyes
  Patrick Gunning
  Sharon Smith
  Senator Chris Marr
  Kristine Reeves
  Caitlin Ormsby
• National Clinton Delegates/Alternates:
  Michael Wagner
  Cynthia (Cindy) Schwartz

As our very own delegate, Sharon Smith was quoted as saying, "What a testiment to the leadership and progress that Spokane County has demonstrated to the state, we should be very proud of our team!"

Spokane REPRESENT!!!

Spokane County Hosts the 2008 Washington State Convention!

SPOKANE, WA - This past weekend saw a lot of Democrats swarm Spokane for the 2008 Washington State Democratic National Convention. A four day promotion of the Party in Washington saw Spokane County rock the convention in several ways.

First, Spokane County bid against King County last year to host, what some are calling, the largest convention in the history of the state, with the tagline "Bring the Party to Spokane". With the promise of "Putting the Party back in the Party", Spokane County Democrats, in conjunction with the Toad Hall Democrats, kicked off the convention with a party all their own.

The Toad Hall Democratic Club Convention Kick-off Party, set the tone for the convention by hosting nearly 300 guests in the gardens of the hall with beer and brats for a sunny Thursday event. With special guests, Senate Majority Leader, Lisa Brown and State Party Chairman, Dwight Pelz, the event saw a variety of candidates, party leaders and elected officials among the delegates and alternates to the convention - all enjoying the laid back atmosphere and hospitality of the Hall.

Friday was all smiles as many first time delegates and alternates worked through the lengthy training schedule and schmoozed their way through events with the national delegates who were elected at the congressional caucuses and would ultimately be the deciding electors of the remaining PLEO (Party Leader and Elected Officials) delegates and At-Large Delegates.

Saturday found itself a big day for the Spokane County team, as they worked their way through the opening of convention, with Kristine Reeves representing Spokane and offering the Convention welcome, and into the afternoon with planning and preparation to host the 2008 Salmon Feed in Riverfront Park.

To a crowd of over 1,000 attendees, Spokane County was honored to host US Senator Maria Cantwell and hear her message of hope and party unity moving through this campaign season and on to Denver. Also sharing messages at the mic were Attorney General candidate, John Ladenburg and 5th Congressional District candidate, Mark Mays. Dwight Pelz, in shorts and a t-shirt, addressed the gathered crowd with a fun and laid back message that encouraged the attendees to have a good time.

Sunday closed out the convention with the final election of the remaining delegates and alternates to the national convention in Denver. Spokane County is proud to have added three more members of our community to the Washington State Delegation with the election of Sharon Smith, former Spokane County Chair and nominee of Dwight Pelz to the Add-on delegate slot, 6th District State Senator, Chris Marr as a PLEO delegate and current Spokane County Chair, Kristine Reeves as a PLEO delegate, bringing the Spokane delegation going to Denver to seven members with Hope Busto-Keyes, Ed King, and Patrick Gunning as delegates and Caitlin Ormsby as an alternate.

"This is such a huge testament to Spokane County and a tremendous show of support for and recognition of the Spokane County Democrats," said Sharon Smith.

Kristine Goes to Denver!

Hi all,

My name is Kristine Reeves and I am currently the Chair of the Spokane County Democrats.

I had the very amazing fortune to be elected to serve as a PLEO (Party Leader and Elected Offical) national delegate to the DNC Convention in Denver this coming August.

I am launching this blog as a way to capture the excitement, the planning, the learning curve and the responsibility of serving Washington as one of the 97 national delegates who will cast a vote for the Democratic nominee in Denver.

As most of you know, I am pledged delegate for Senator Barack Obama and darn proud of it, but also appreciate and respect the hard work of Senator Clinton over the course of her campaign and look forward to working to bring the party together in an effort to take out the real enemy, Republican ideals that work against American values.

I will periodically be updating this blog, hopefully once a week at least, until the convention - in an effort to chronical my journey through history.

Thank you so much for this opportunity and for your help and I look forward to sharing the stories and photos along the way.

In Service,
Kristine