Journal of Shawn Eckles' Campaign 2013 Report #4

My latest week got split in half. Friday morning I started another trip to Alabama to attend and participate at the naming of a street in Tuskegee in honor of Amelia Boynton Robinson, for whom I work as a consultant and to whom I look for political wisdom and inspiration. The ceremony occurred Saturday; hot and humid, a gathering of 50 people, the unveiling of the new street sign, and the presence of dignitaries – overall a success.

You can bet I was glad to hear a speech by a Tuskegee City Councilman Frank Chris Lee, he is even a younger than me, now elected thanks to the nationwide voter movement of Amelia.

That was the second part of the past week. The first three days I spent composing and printing my key handout to Troutman residents, I will personally meet and talk with – providing the keys to my positions and my qualifications for office. Ask me for one, if you see me.

When I returned from Alabama Sunday, I grabbed my camera when I saw protesters lining the sidewalk of Troutman. They were opponents of abortion and, for a minute, were shy about my camera until I took up the invitation of Ms. Robin Blackwilder to stand by her and hold one of their signs while I talked with her. Then I had conversations with others.

Journal of Shawn Eckles' Campaign 2013 Report #3

The highlight of the past week for me was some volunteer work I did this past weekend. Friday I helped to set up and Saturday I worked at the computers for kids giveaway at Statesville Senior High. I enjoyed seeing many Iredell citizens who voted for me last November. However, it was really a joy to get to train several kids on the computers, kids who are the children of my classmates at South Iredell and Troutman Middle and Troutman Elementary. I love teaching, and catching up with old friends and acquaintances.

Yesterday (Monday) I was out filming and chatting at the Town Troutman event involving the 1,000 bicyclers of Cycle N.C. who camped in our fairgrounds and road out this morning, just starting their ride from the mountains to the sea.

Over and over I had to think to myself that this event was more of a failure than necessary and that's why the Town needs me to be an Alderman on the Board. The organizers and cyclers had hoped to see dozens of local people all ages waving flags as they arrived from Morganton here in the afternoon; they left Morganton around 7 a.m. But, folks, there were only two or three flags at a time – at one point I counted eight – in the hands of happy children, and I think we could have done better.

The cyclers didn't complain to me; they said nice things about our town. The organizers told me they figured people were all at work. But my fellow locals told me they wished there had been more than that phone call recording. I told them my marketing and promotion experiences and my many, many event undertakings tell me several ways communication from our Town to us could be better.

At the Fairgrounds, as the balloon took riders up and down, you might have seen me with one of my principal campaign workers up at that stage talking with the headliner Jeff Little; Jeff had taught my friend audio and recording engineering over at GTCC. Jeff very much pleased the crowd with bluegrass music. When I said “you might have seen me,” I have to say it was easy because we were the only two blacks in the audience.

I also, this past week, launched a new campaign web page at Facebook; you can get there by googling me or by typing in my name at Facebook. As of the minute I'm writing this, the site has already 101 “friends.”

This morning I spoke at the Bristol Road Community Center in Statesville, where a number of Troutman residents attend events weekly. “Support Your Young Politicians” was the theme of my speech. Before and after my talk, I shared conversations of meaningful depth with a half dozen individuals. The audience was around 50.

Journal of Shawn Eckles' Campaign 2013 Report #2

Most of my campaign work the past week has been on social media. I took photos of panhandlers at the I-77 Exit 42 who were standing at the bottom of the exit ramp, and I posted them on Facebook with a caption explaining that the Town of Troutman in its future growth will have more such challenges to deal with. Otherwise, I networked with my team.

I had the chance to act in my role as consultant to Amelia Boynton Robinson, Matriarch of Modern Voting Rights, this past week. The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Museum in Memphis at the site of Dr. King's assassination wanted very much to display a photograph of Amelia, Sam Boynton and their children. I had two jobs – representing Amelia to make sure the exhibit rose to her standard and to have all parties authorize the proper release/permission form. We had to obtain the best version of the photograph from “The Selma Journal Times.”

Journal of Shawn Eckles' Campaign 2013 Report #1

Hello, readers. I have not posted since last November when I got over 22,000 votes and carried Statesville but lost my first campaign contest.

Now I am resuming weekly updates because this summer I decided to run for Troutman Alderman because I do not see diversity on the board and I do see an under-utilization of our town's resources.  In November Troutman voters will choose three from among six candidates for the Board of Aldermen. So far, my campaign is going well: I have been, with or without recording them, having conversations with as many Troutman residents as I can.

Some of the other activities I will mention today are also exposing me and my qualifications to the electorate.

In August I sponsored an all-star basketball game to raise money for the Amelia Boynton Robinson museum fund.  I worked with the South Iredell High School Athletic Boosters to bring together past and present accomplished Iredell County athletes.  Everybody had a very pleasant evening, in spite of heavy rain outside. Twenty different local businesses helped me and had their names, one each, on the 20 players' shirts.

In early September I traveled to Atlanta to the Auburn research library with Matriarch Amelia, and we successfully arranged the removal of more than 10 boxes of Amelia's memorabilia from there to Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama, where Amelia lives.  That's how she and I spent the day celebrating 50 years after the March on Washington and the Dream speech.

On September 9 I attended the second meeting for the Million Youth March that will be held in Charlotte in 2014.  I want to be involved in this march because the ongoing violence in Charlotte worries me, and I would like to prevent the violence from spreading deeper or further into Congressional District Nine (9).  In my documentary project STR8 OUTTA CHARLOTTE, I followed two Charlotte gangmenbers for five years, highlighting their transitions from teen to adult. 

Also this month I attended two sessions of Connect Our Future – the citizens' forum for giving our input about every kind of development and change that probably will happen to our Iredell County between now and 2050. I attended one session as a participant; at my group's table (and at five other very large tables) we spent two hours putting “chips” for new roads, new neighborhoods, protected lands, etc., onto a huge map seven feet tall (you know Iredell County is a tall, upright county). Later I went back to attend another session as a “reporter” and collector of the wisdom of other concerned citizens, our government experts, and the consultants organizing the event.