JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Are you currently serving in a branch of the U.S. armed forces or a veteran and looking toward your future with dreams of continuing to serve your nation, state, city or town in some capacity?
The Veteran's Campaign workshop, being held at George Washington University Feb. 11 and 12, 2011, is the only program of this nature specifically designed for military veterans. In addition to teaching campaign basics, instructors focus on issues that specifically apply to veteran candidates, such as presenting military backgrounds, interfacing with the veterans within the community, legal issues that uniquely pertain to veterans, and bulletproofing service records.
"Veterans Campaign is an educational organization that offers non-partisan, non-ideological training to veterans who are interested in running for office," said Seth M. Lynn, executive director and founder of Veterans Campaign and also a Marine Corps Reserve captain. "We believe veterans are a valuable yet untapped source of elected leaders who possess many qualities we need in our public officials: outstanding leadership experience in the face of adversity, the ability to relate to a broad cross-section of Americans, and a willingness to put America before oneself. Today more than ever, we need more veterans in public office."
The two-day workshop is the third from Veteran's Campaign and is slated to thoroughly review all aspects of running for office.
"While veterans make terrific elected leaders, they are generally unfamiliar with the campaign process," Mr. Lynn said. "Veterans Campaign's mission is to demystify the campaign process and encourage veterans to continue their legacy of service as elected leaders."
The first day of the workshop will feature Congressmen Chris Gibson (NY), Ann Marie Buerkle (NY), Tom Rooney (FL) and Tim Walz (MN) on a panel in the morning followed with speeches by Senator Mike Enzi (WY) and Delaware Attorney General, Beau Biden. Day one will also include panel discussions about the obstacles faced by veteran candidates, legal issues that apply to veteran candidates, bulletproofing a candidate's service record and communicating with the veteran community.
The second day of the workshop will provide information on how to run a campaign for elected office and examine topics such as messaging, campaign finances, field operations and new media.
"The workshop is designed for veterans, but GWU students and the general public are invited to participate because some people may be interested in working on a campaign and not necessarily in running for office so we want to include anyone interested in campaigns," said Mr. Lynn.
The cost is $30 for veterans and current servicemembers, free for GWU students, and $200 for the general public.
"Veterans are a valuable resource whom the U.S. has already invested in for many years with training and education in the military," Mr. Lynn said. "It only makes sense to want veterans to continue in public service after they leave the military."
For more information on the upcoming workshop, or how to become involved with Veteran's Campaign, check out their website
www.veteranscampaign.org/ or their Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/vetcampaign.