Meeting Called to Order
9:30 am: Chair, Charles Lewis
- Opening Prayer: Rev. James Thompson
- Introduction of Special Guests: Sen. Floyd Nicholson
Ryan & Ryan
Senator Nicholson introduced Don and Barron Ryan, the father and son piano duo known as Ryan & Ryan. They entertained a packed house the night before at the Greenwood Community Theater. The Ryans were invited to Greenwood from Oklahoma to be the Inaugural Performance of their 2017-2018 schedule. They performed to a packed audience that was sponsored by Senator Nicholson.
REAL ID Act of 2005
Lauren Phillips, Chief of Strategic Communications and Community Affairs, SC Dept. of Motor Vehicles was invited to our meeting by Charles Lewis to further explain and introduce the updates to the REAL ID Act of 2005 which was passed as a result of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations to standardize government-issued IDs, like driver’s licenses.
On or after October 1, 2020, a REAL ID compliant driver’s license or ID, or another form of federally approved identification such as a valid US Passport or military ID, will be required to:
- Board a commercial flight (even within the US)
- Enter a military base
- Visit a federal building that requires ID to be shown at the door
If you live in a non-compliant state (like South Carolina) your state-issued license or ID will not be accepted to enter certain federal facilities in the future.
Lauren brought with her plenty of the newly-updated REAL ID Brochures (see the SC DMV web site) that answer many of the questions you may have about the law. Please read and if you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Lauren at her office. at the SC Department of Motor Vehicles in Columbia, SC: (803) 896-8198.
If you would like a copy of the current REAL ID brochure, we have plenty on hand. Just contact our Secretary, Cathie Swindell at 223-8552 or e-mail info@gwdcountydems.org.
Social Media Update
Bill Kimler, the Social Media Director, stated that our various media sites are up across the board from last month:
- Facebook: +2%
- Twitter: +6%
- Instagram: +9%
Bill stressed the importance of getting trained to use these sites as an additional form of news and information to newspapers, radio and TV. He said that, of course, not all Facebook Posts or Twitter Tweets are accurate! All of us need to stay informed and educate ourselves and call out any false narratives.
Bill will let us know when he will be having another class. Don’t be shy! Sign up!
Bill was happy to let us know that our Web site, gwdcountydems.org , has a tab that you can click on that makes it easy for our members to make donations to our Greenwood County Democratic Party. These donations will be processed by Act Blue – “The online clearinghouse for Democratic action.”
2017 Christmas Party Committee
Suzy Holloway, Chair of the Christmas Party Committee, gave an update about the plans for this year’s Annual Christmas Party (Drop-In).
When: Saturday, December 2
from 5 pm until 8 pm
Where: Suzy’s Puppet House
502 Reynolds Ave.
Greenwood, SC 29649
(@ the Corner of Reynolds Ave. and Moore St. – Across Moore St. from the two-story purple Victorian House).
Parking: Behind the Puppet House and along Moore St. as long as we don’t Block traffic.
Admission: Non Perishable food donations for the Greenwood Food Bank
(A container will be provided to hold the donations)
Menu: Heavy Hors d’oeuvres, Sides, Christmas Desserts and Beverages
PLEASE RSVP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE !! Suzy will need to place the order for the Hor d’oeuvres soon.
Suzy Holloway: 993-0383 or wosce@aol.com
Cathie Swindell: 223-8552
SUZY HOLLOWAY IS LOOKING FOR A PIANO PLAYER FOR THE CHRISTMAS PARTY. (If you are a Piano Player or know of a Piano Player, please contact Suzy.)
Senator Floyd Nicholson
Charles called on Senator Floyd Nicholson, SC Representative to speak. Sen. Nicholson advised that we stay engaged with our local Greenwood Co. Democratic Party in order to stay informed about events that will be scheduled to keep our members educated and prepared to serve in our upcoming 2018 and 2020 elections.
He stressed that we seek out our young Democrats because THEY ARE OUR FUTURE!! They have the energy and intelligence to lead – all they need to do is get involved to get the experience that they need to be a leader in the Democratic Party. We all need to be more welcoming them!
Rep. Anne Parks
Rep. Anne Parks agreed with Sen. Nicholson and also stressed the importance of looking toward the 2018 and 2020 Elections! We need to get DEMOCRATS OUT TO VOTE in order to elect Democrats to our local and state offices! GET INVOLVED NOW!!
Hosea Cleveland
Hosea Cleveland, also recognized by our Chair, reminded us that he is in contention for the US House seat from SC District 3. He emphasized fighting against Pres. Trump’s immoral tax plan!! He suggested that we should support the battle cry:
“NO TAX RETURN – NO TAX REFORM”!!
Precinct Reorganization/Education Committee
Since Co-Chairs, Elaine Gentry and John Wilde could not be at our Breakfast Meeting, Cathie Swindell, who is a member or the committee, requested time to speak.
The recruitment of Precinct Leaders has been impeded by the lack of a cross-reference of our current contact lists of Democrats – those active and inactive – with our Greenwood County Democratic Party.
With some diligent research, Cathie in possession of lists of people per Precinct. We printed out a Precinct-Per-page that contains a list of names and contact information of Democrats residing in that Precinct. These individual Precinct Lists will be given to those Democrats who volunteer to be a Precinct Leader so they can contact the people on that list to gather them at a Precinct Planning meeting. The first Priority of these meetings, in fact, should be to identify as many of these Democrats as possible and get them active with our Party.
So far, we have 14 Volunteer Precinct Leaders. We have 50 Precincts, so we have our work cut out for us!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO BE A PRECINCT LEADER (FACILITATOR) FOR YOUR VOTING PRECINCT, please contact Cathie, by e-mailing info@gwdcountydems.org or by calling her at 223-8552 and she will get you started with a List of Names and Contact info or Democrats in your Precinct and also a list of all of the Greenwood County Precincts. Those that have already volunteered, have already been sent their lists. Cathie is also working on getting a Precinct Meeting Format to deliver to each Leader.
Closing
THIS IS THE LAST BREAKFAST MEETING OF 2017! SEE YOU AT THE CHRISTMAS PARTY DROP-IN ON DECEMBER 2!
Closing Prayer offered by Rev. James Thompson
Hello Democrats!
In Greenwood, we as a community are faring pretty well but there is always room for improvement. We the people need to get back in the habit of paying attention to what is going on in our local, state, and federal governing agencies. We need more to attend the meetings, subscribe to the local newspaper, tune in to the local news channels, and be engaged in social media. Leaders have obviously taken advantage of our inattentiveness and enriched themselves at the taxpayers’ expense.
