Qualifications for Secretary

SCC Delegate David Kaplan asked some questions to the Secretary candidates this morning via the SCC ListServe, and I wanted to post my response.

I understand your line of questioning, and I will answer it in this message. When I wrote to the SCC on Monday the 20th, I was laying out my vision and qualifications for the official role as Secretary, as well as some ideas on what I would try to help influence with the Executive Committee, Central Committee and Staff to improve how our party functions, and how effective our party is. I felt that laying out my vision would not only spur other people's thought and ideas, but would also show my passion for the party and its future.

As for your specific questions related to the Role as Secretary:

File Management: I have experience creating and sending out files to appropriate persons in need of the files. As soon as our County Convention was over, and I had all the data entered in the VAN, I created a Contact Spreadsheet to share with our Executive and Central Committees (still on the same day as the convention), so that we could hit the ground running with our new committee population. I also helped prepare and manage the caucus site boxes, making sure that each Caucus site had the appropriate documents, and specific precinct maps. Immediately following caucuses(that night, and the next day), I traveled to collect all the important documents, made sure they were data entered, and they are still filed in my extra room here at my apartment. Through AmeriCorps I maintained a Tutor Log for each student that I worked with, and made sure that it was always secure, and then passed it on to the next AmeriCorps tutor after I finished my service. During my years as an ingredient and inventory batcher at the food powder factory I had to keep track of each run of product, and what was in that product, on paper as well as in a computer database. These paper and electronic files would have to be presented to Quality Control, and then move on through the process to where the product ended up being shipped.

Minute Taking: I have 1 year of experience taking minutes for Church Council, as well as experience writing the minutes for our 2010 Houston County Convention, as well as aiding our County Secretary in preparing our Exec and Central Committee Minutes for presentation.

Listserv Management: I created and maintain (through a specific Houston County DFL e-mail that I created) the Houston County Lists: Central, Executive, and Volunteer/Event Notice (Including Candidates and Elected Officials). Related to ListServe Management I have 2.5 years of VAN/Voterfile experience (Something that Susan Rego suggested would be a need, if the Secretary continues to manage the ListServe, which I would be more than willing to continue to do) and can pull an appropriate list to aid me in maintaining the SCC and SEC Lists.

File Preservation: All the documents that I have created for Houston County DFL are preserved on my computer, backed up on an external hard drive, and physical documents such as our Constitution are filed safely in my apartment, in the same vicinity as the Caucus and Convention Sign-in Lists, as well as the 2010 State Convention Roster and 2010 Executive/Central Committee Roster. I tend to always save, rather than delete/throw out.

Added notes: When it comes to duties like the ones prescribed in the DFL Constitution, I am a very organized person. I like to get all the information together and make sure it's getting to the appropriate person or people, and as a person interested in history, I like to preserve things to look back on. Like I said, I save and hold onto things way more than I delete and throw out.

I hope that these answers will aid you and the SCC in your/their thought process about the Secretary's race.

Please continue to ask questions and I will answer them when I can (given the 2 posts a day rule).

I hope that everyone reading this will have a safe and Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Jacob Grippen
Chair - Houston County DFL
CD1 Male Delegate to State AAC (CD1 Executive Committee)

Reach Me Through:
Website/Blog: http://jacobfordfl.blogspot.com/
Facebook (Personal): http://www.facebook.com/#!/jacobandersongrippen
Facebook (Campaign): http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jacob-Grippen-for-State-DFL-Secretary/185288971488004
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jabezMcB
E-mail: jacobandersongrippen@gmail.com
Cell Phone: 347.834.1771
Google Voice: 507.724.8125