In May, Joshua was hired as a field organizer for Obama for America and left the group to A.J. Plank who is the current Group Director. In its first 5 months, Southern Nevada for Obama has signed up over 200 members, sponsored over 90 local Obama related events and continues to focus all of its efforts on winning the Democratic nomination in the January Nevada Caucus.

Mission [Back to Top]
Southern Nevada for Obama is committed to harnessing the passion and enthusiasm of local Obama supporters to create a grassroots movement that when joined with the Nevada campaign effort will be an unstoppable force in winning Barack the Democratic nomination and eventually the Presidency. We are convinced that Barack's message speaks for itself and are committed to being his messengers.

The group has a focus on educating its members and other potential voters about the Obama campaign as well as providing a fun, exciting and productive grassroots outlet for local volunteers and Obama supporters. A secondary focus of the group is to educate Nevada citizens about the Nevada Democratic Caucus and the fact that Nevada is now an early state.

Leadership [Back to Top]
Southern Nevada for Obama is run by an Executive Board which is comprised of the Director, Deputy Director and Action Committee Chairs who collaboratively make all major decisions regarding the group. Southern Nevada for Obama is led entirely by volunteer supporters, and though our volunteers are individually encouraged to support the Nevada campaign staff, the group is completely seperate and autonomous from Obama for America.

Our Group Director, A.J. Plank and Deputy Director Simone Simpson have both attended "Camp Obama", an intensive week-long seminiar held at Obama Campaign Headquarters in Chicago which teaches staff and supporters about the campaign in general and gives them a crash course in campaign management and campaign culture as well as an intensive lesson in the fundamentals of Community Organizing taught by the same people that Barack Obama worked with as a community organizer in Chicago over 20 years ago. A.J. and Simone are both deeply committed to using what they learned in Chicago to run an active, effective and rewarding movement in Southern Nevada to win Barack the Nevada Democratic Nomination and eventually the General Election.

Our Action Committee Chairs: Maria Laramore, Yvette Williams, Eileen Ruiz, Robert Schmidt, Andrea Kato, Lisa Beyer, and Ed Watson are a collection of the most hard working, passionate and wonderfully diverse people you will ever meet, and are all deeply committed to the Obama campaign and mission.

Organization [Back to Top]
Southern Nevada for Obama is divided into various Action Committees that each have a specific job, or focus within the grassroots movement. Below is a breakdown of the various Action Committees and their purposes:

Welcoming Action Committee: Led by Simone Simpson, the Welcoming Committee is basically the Training and Human Resources of the Group. The Welcoming Committee is responsible for identifying, cultivating, educating and empowering new members so that they have the tools to be more effective Obama supporters in their individual and Group efforts. Precinct Action Committee: Chaired by Maria Laramore and by far the most important Action Committee in the group, this committee is responsible for organizing individual precinct efforts to raise awareness about both Barack Obama and the new, early Nevada Democratic Caucus, as well as the main goal of eventually getting supporters to commit to caucusing for Obama in January. Another task that this committee focuses on is creating and distributing the literature, tools and information needed to encourage all members to become active and effective in their own precinct. The Precinct Committee Chair works very closely with the campaign to ensure that our grassroots efforts are coordinated with the efforts of the campaign field organizers to be as effective as possible. Media & Blogging Action Committee: This Action Committee is Co-Chaired by Andrea Kato and Lisa Beyer and is focused on utilizing various media outlets to raise awareness about Barack Obama. This includes having members writing letters to the editor and blogging, creating video and literature, etc. Since SNFO has a focus on Southern Nevada, this Committee will focus its efforts locally by using local media outlets as much as possible. This Committee also mans a Rapid Response effort which keeps track of the local press coverage of Barack Obama and makes sure that erroneous information is challenged as quickly and appropriately as possible. Events Action Committee: This Action Committee, led by Eileen Ruiz, is responsible for creating and organizing public events designed to raise awareness about Barack Obama, as well as directing and organizing our participation in larger community events that will give us an opportunity to further campaign for him. Fundraising Action Committee: Led by Yvette Williams, Group Administrator for Nevadans 4 Obama and host of the July 13 Obama House Party, this Action Committee is responsible for organizing grassroots sponsored fundraising events and activities as well as making sure that all campaign fundraising done by the Group strictly follows FEC and Obama for America guidelines. Policy Action Committee: A two-pronged effort led by Robert Schmidt, this Action Committee is responsible for both researching and distributing Obama’s existing campaign policies, as well as identifying local hot-button issues and working to help create policy for the Obama campaign that reflects the desires of Southern Nevada. This will be the conduit by which the Obama campaign will begin to relate to our local issues. Community Leaders Action Committee: Chaired by Ed Watson, this Action Committee focuses on identifying and petitioning local community leaders; politicians, business leaders, clergy, etc. for the purpose of obtaining their public endorsement for Barack Obama. This includes meeting with public figures, writing letters to our elected officials, creating petitions, etc. If you are interested in serving on any of these Action Committees, please send an email to the Group Director at aplank@southernnevadaforobama.org Commitment [Back to Top] Southern Nevada for Obama is a volunteer organization and understands that though we are all passionate and committed to the Obama campaign, we all have different schedules and levels of commitment we are able to offer. The goal of the group is to welcome all Southern Nevada supporters into our family, whether they just want to be on our mailing list, want to help chair an Action Committee, or anything in between. We recognize that time is the most valuable commodity and deeply appreciate any involvement that is given, no matter how big or small. We are committed to developing resources and strategies that help focus our volunteers' efforts to be both fun and productive so that the amount of time, however limited is used effectively, and rewarding to everyone involved.