Lloyd Tony Cope:
CLASS OF 1974
Burlington City High SchoolClass of 1974
Burlington, NJ
Wilbur Watts Middle SchoolClass of 1970
Burlington, NJ
Robert Stacy Middle SchoolClass of 1966
Burlington, NJ
Lloyd Tony 's Story
01/19/2009
My bags are packed and I'm on my way to Washington, DC.
As one who worked tirelessly for the Barack Obama campaign, I can't tell you how excited I am at getting the opportunity to attend his inauguration ceremony and witness Barack Obama being sworn in as next President of the United States of America.
I started working at Barack Obama's Philadelphia campaign headquarters putting together registration packages for the foot soldiers who went out on the streets and registered people to vote in the primaries. I knew something special was happening when box loads of completed registration forms were coming back almost as fast as I could put them together.
One of my favorite jobs was working as the person who greeted those coming into headquarters wanting campaign literature or wanting to be a volunteer. Many people coming through the door asked "Do you really think Barack Obama can pull this off?" My answer was always the same. I told them "once people get to know Barack Obama they will like what they see". I guaranteed that.
My favorite volunteer was the elderly woman from Bronx, New York, with the Jamaican accent, who came to headquarters tired and hungry after traveling by bus and train all morning. We fed her, made housing arrangements for her and withing an hour, she was on the phone making cold calls with so much vigor and enthusiam.
Anyway, I'll be arriving in Washington DC tomorrow afternoon. I'll be staying withing walking distance from the Capital. I can actually see the Capital from the second floor of the place I'll be staying in.
I'll be attending a few functions celebrating Martin Luther Kings January 19th birthday and Barack Obama's inauguration on January 20th.
From all I've heard, there will be over 2 million people coming to Washington DC over the next 4 days. Do I think that there will be chaos and uncomfortable moments? Yes. Would I miss this historic event for anything in the world? No.
Hopefully I will have internet access over the next few days and will be able to give you a real feel of what's going on. Watching it on TV is one thing. Actually being there will be priceless.
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01/08/2008
I have to say that this has been an interesting year for me. I worked for the Barack Obama presidential campaign out of their Philadelphia headquarters on Samson Street.
My first job was getting people to register to vote. I put together voter re...Expand for more
gistration packages along with other campaign literature for the foot soldiers. I couldn't put them together fast enough. I'd fill one box and someone would take them and hit the streets. In a couple of hours they would come back with them filled out. We registered thousands of new voters.
My next job was to organize neighborhood meetings for those wanting to volunteer. I acutally made cold calls to people who had recenly registered The positive responce was overwhelming.
After that I was in charge of greeting people as they visited our Philadelphia headquarters. Most people came to get campaign literature, lawn signs and buttons. Before directing them to where they could get this material, I asked them if they would like to be a volunteer. Over 75% of the people walking through the door signed up to volunteer, with many going out in teams of 2 to 4 withing hours.
People came from all over the United States to volunteer for the Barack Obama campaign. I worked side by side with people from Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, California, Washington D.C. , Florida and elsewhere.
One of my favorite volunteers was a senior citizen with a Jamaican accent from the Bronx, New York. She told me that the had been on buses and trains all day making her way to our Philadelphia office to volunteer. She said she was tired, hungry, her feet were hurting and she needed a place to stay for the night.
I put her in touch with our housing team, we feed her and within 1 hour she was on the phone making cold calls.
It was amazing seeing so many people committed to the camapaign. We spent our money wisely. All our cold calling was done on cell phones donated by our staff. Our food was cooked and donated by volunteers. Every other hour you would see food, drinks, fresh fruit, soft pretzels, salads and more coming through the doors. We even had volunteers cleaning the building and taking out the trash.
There was always excitement in the air. There were TV crews in the building everyday. I actually saw myself on Fox News. There were also TV crews from India, South Korea and other countries that visited our Philadelphia headquarters.'
Overall my experience was very rewarding. I've received a call from Barack's New Jersey campaign headquarters wanting me to work for them. I'm seriously considering the offer if I can find the time.
I hope I've given you an idea of what I've been doing lately.
Lloyd Cope
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