In this e-mail you will find: 1. Update on Our Work This Past Week 2. Goals for Next Week and Opportunities to Make Your Voice Heard 3. Some links to general Arctic Refuge info and materials on the web. ****************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************** ************************ Greetings, Arctic Activists! Congratulations to everyone for another great week of advancing this critical issue across Iowa and Illinois! As we approach this year's budget process and another energy crisis, it's more important than ever that we keep coming up with great successes like these: * Sheri Colman got a great Letter to the Editor printed in the QC Times! (text below) * 64 new activists joined the coalition! * Temple Emannuel in the Quad Cities joined the Coalition, thanks to Jeanette in Rock Island. * Nearly 300 Moline High School students will be writing letters, thanks to Sam and Becky in Moline. * 16 people came out for two very productive core planning meetings and trainings. * Many of our Iowa and Illinois member groups wrote a sign-on letter to Representatives in Congress, *defeating* several anti-environmental riders attached to a giant appropriation bill. Next Week we will focus on: 1. Outdoor Sports Outreach at the QCCA Expo Center's Outdoor Fair 2. Attendence by Arctic Activists at Iowa 1st District FORUMs hosted by Jim Nussle in person. * * * OUTDOOR FAIR OUTREACH * * * This is by far the biggest thing our new coalition has done yet! The Outdoor Fair next weekend is a fantastic opportunity to reach out to some of our strongest potential supporters, to educate them about what is going on in the Arctic, and to show them how to make a difference on the issue. The Quad City Conservation Association (QCCA) has been kind enough to *donate* a booth to our group for the entirety of this four-day show. We're looking for SIXTY people from our group to sign up and come on out. Not only do we owe it to the QCCA to make sure we fill the booth with volunteers, but we stand to gain a lot ourselves: A tremendous number of new members and, with our great props, maybe even some TV attention! To be clear on what "tabling" involves, consider that you only need to know two things to be great tabler: 1. It is not just worth destroying our last great Arctic Refuge for 6 months of oil 10 years from now and 2. If the person approaching the booth agrees with you on that, they can put their info on the sheet in front of you to make sure that doesn't happen! We'll give them all the info they need once they're on our growing list. (3) And maybe one third thing: The time to act is now! Iowa and Illinois representatives are on the fence on this issue, and we can help them vote the right way as this issue comes up in Congress in just the next few weeks. It's that easy! And it's fun: Tabling is a great way to meet wonderful new supporters and see concrete results in your efforts to spread the word about this imporant issue. --> To get a one to two hour slot at the booth, write me at [log in to unmask] or go straight to our very own coordinator in the Quad Cities, Tawny at [log in to unmask] . Of course, you're welcome to table with friends or family. * * * PUBLIC FORUMS hosted by IOWA REP. to U.S. Congress, JIM NUSSLE * * * Representative Nussle will be hosting forums in four places around his district in the coming week. This is a wonderful way for us to show him how much his consituents care about the Arctic: Enough to come out to his forum, ask questions of him, and express their opinon. It's a great place to say "Thanks!" for keeping drilling out of the budget last time and say "Please! Make sure you do it again." It wouldn't hurt either to let him know about the hundreds of people and groups throughout his district who are working closely with you on this. Forums are scheduled for the following places and times and are open to all members of the public (if you live in Mr. Nussle's district, you probably got an invitation in the mail). Be sure to check out the web info and elected official feedback section below. Thank you all for your hard work and great enthusiasm! I feel very lucky to be surrounded by so many passionate people working from their hearts on issue so important to all Americans. If you have any questions about anything, let me know. Best Regards, Jay Heeter Outreach Organizer Alaska Coalition of Iowa CLINTON Public Forum Clinton County Administration Building 1900 N. 3rd St, Meeting Room B 10:00am to 11:00am Tuesday, February 18, 2003 DEWITT Public Forum Frances Banta Waggoner Community Library 505 10th Street 2:00pm to 3:00pm Tuesday, February 18, 2003 ELDRIDGE Public Forum Rodeway Inn 1000 E. Iowa Street 10:30am to 11:30am Wednesday, February 19, 2003 BETTENDORF Public Forum Bettendorf Public Library 2950 Learning Curve Drive 3:00pm to 4:30pm Wednesday, February 19, 2003 ANAMOSA Public Forum Lawrence Community Center 600 E. Main Street 10:00am to 11:00am Thursday, February 20, 2003 * * * Web Links and Materials * * * --> In this section are: 1. Request for Feedback 2. Web Links to Arctic Info 3. Materials I can e-mail you if you can use them 4. A great Letter to the Editor, printed in the Quad City Times 1. Request for Feedback --> Several people have contacted me to tell me what Representative Nussle's office told them in reply to an email, call or visit. This is really valuable information! If you receive a response from Representative Nussle or Senator Fitzgerald, please write or call to let me know what they say. I will pass their reply on to people working with us in DC so we can monitor our effectiveness and directly address any new issues raised. 2. Web Links to Arctic Info --> The following links may be useful for your own interest, to explain the issue to friends or co-workers, or as background information for reporters. I use it for all three. You can find the paid 30-second advertisements run during the State of the Union in the Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids and Washington DC at http://www.macropartners.com/arctic . That we paid for these ads gives an idea of how important this area is in deciding the fate of the Refuge: The Alaska Coalition of Iowa and Iowa Wildlife Federation to not have much money for this kind of thing. You can also find more info on the Refuge itself at: The Alaska Coalition http://www.alaskacoalition.org The Alaska Wilderness League (national): http://www.alaskawild.org/arcticrefuge_intro.html OR The National Wildlife Federation (The Iowa Wildlife Federation, affiliated, is co-sponsoring the ads): http://www.nwf.org/arcticrefuge/programHomepage.cfm?cpId=60&CFID=51842& CFTOKEN=48734305 3. Materials I Can Send You --> If anyone would like any of the following materials, I can e-mail you all of them as a package or any combination: Write to Right -- 2-pager on how to write an elected official and some Arctic writing points. Great for emailing to interested friends or hosting letter-writing/video events. Nussle Addresses -- for letter writing events or emails Fitzgerald Addresses -- for letter writing events or emails Transportation Fact Sheet -- Alternative energy, etc. Tabling Training Sheet -- Highly recommended to have at the table for first time tablers to read when they sit down. Sign-up Sheet -- for tabling or other volunteer recruitment opportunities Coalition Endorsement Form -- for groups from high school clubs to religious groups and businesses Coalition Endorsement Form Intro Letter -- Explaining the Coalition, handy for mailings. Senate 1-pager -- on the Senate Battle, facts. 10 Arctic Tactics -- Ideas, for yourself or your volunteers How to Host an Effective Video Party -- I can send you a video if you would like to host one Hot to Set up a District Meeting -- most effective way to exert grassroots pressure 4. A punchy and to-the-point Letter to the Editor by Sheri from the Quad Cities: This is a great example of how to make an LTE quick, to the point, current, and local. There's no need for a great LTE to take more than 20 minutes to write.. but it does help to call to make sure they received it. They received this one... and printed it! Check it out: Quad City times, February 11, 2003 ARCTIC REFUGE NEEDS VIGILANCE I definitely am opposed to driling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. However, I feel there is a larger issue at stake that threatens our political system. The problem is that any proposal that has been defeated by both the Senate and the House as a bill can be slipped through the back door under the cover of the federal budget as a line-item and be passed before the American public is aware of it. It is sneaky and underhanded and not what we are paying our elected officials to do. Wake up, America. It's time we get our heads out of the sand and make our voices heard! A former ostrich, Sheri ===== Jay Heeter Alaska Coalition of Iowa 2010 E. 38th Street, Suite 204 Davenport, IA 52807-1133 (919) 641-6903 cell - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]