WEEK OF April 29-2.

This week was a lot like last week with the same amount of work. One of the most important aspects about a campaign is the volunteer database you have. I have spent a lot of time with the other interns separating the volunteer database into quadrants of the state. This is never a fun job to do, especially for someone who doesn't like excel. The other important things to understand about volunteers I have found out is some of them react two ways when you try to solicit their hel. They can either be the type that get upset you haven't asked for help before now or they get upset you are asking for help. They sign up to be volunteers but they do not want to actually do any work. This is where learning professional social graces comes in handy.

I also have been doing more with fundraising event planning. I have been making calls to people who RSVP'ed to make sure they were attending. This is another time when people get annoyed with you for asking to come to something they signed up for! I am still amazed however, at the amount of money that individuals are willing to contribute to a political candidate.

I have never been a person who was big into politics. Being on this campaign has taught me a lot about the government, policy and how public relations is tied into these types of people. Seeing how PR works at a state level, I can only imagine how the federal level public relations practitioners operate. It seems to be a very high stress job. The involvement that you have with a candidate makes you susceptible to criticism as well. This is something I have had to keep in mind, even though I am just an intern.

Tuesday/Thursday: 9-6.