A selection of stickers was available for attendees. (Heather Mann for The Tribune)
CULLMAN – The June meeting for the Cullman County Democrats saw heavy discussion on the group's participation in county-wide events such as the Sweet Tater Festival, the Cullman County Fair (and fair parade) and even next year's Strawberry Festival. Chairwoman Karen Johnson opened the meeting by announcing that a committee will be appointed soon to find new officers, with elections to take place during the November meeting.
With no old business to discuss, Johnson moved straight into discussion about the Democrats' booth for the fair. Treasurer Cindy Angle asked for members who wanted to work the booth and stated that it would need to be manned all 10 days of the fair, and the members running it would have plenty of items and signs to hand out to visitors. While on the topic of the handouts, member Roger Duke said that the group should start thinking about what items to hand out and getting the items ordered before it's too late. Ideas ranged from pins and toy footballs to spray bottles, hand sanitizers, and nail files to go with the usual stickers and signs. The handouts would also have just the Cullman County Democrats' information rather than any campaign information to help get the word out about the group as a whole. Johnson also suggested creating a presentation with a short feature from all the Democratic candidates around the state.
After a brief discussion about possible fundraisers, the group moved on to the other event it plans to attend: the Sweet Tater Festival. This discussion was shorter than the one for the fair booth since they only need volunteers for two days, but a general report about last year's booth stated that it was fun for the volunteers and it greatly benefited the Democrats, except for one memorable heckler. When that topic had been settled, talk moved back to the county fair, except this time it was for the fair parade.
While the Democrats have not participated in the parade for the last few years, Johnson felt it would be important to join again because of the election. Several aspects about participation raised concerns with meeting attendees, such as the need for a vehicle and driver, as well as general audience reactions. Duke stated that, due to previous experiences, CCD participants could unfortunately expect heavy profanity from the parade audience and should prepare for it. Other concerns were met with more positivity: one member volunteered herself and her truck for the driver/vehicle job, leaving just the need for decorations and volunteers to ride.
After the event participation discussions were settled, Duke (who is also the president of the North Central Alabama Young Democrats) brought up a recent achievement by a CCD member. On June 10, Josh Coleman was appointed as the first LGBTQ Liaison for the City of Birmingham, where he will work with Mayor Randall Woodfin to "build upon the relationship between the LGBTQ community and the City of Birmingham by focusing on the public safety of the LGBTQ communities, and by helping to prevent LGBTQ discrimination in the city wherever it may exist." Many members at the meeting took pride in the news, and briefly talked about finding some way to congratulate him.
Another announcement was that the CCD will soon be doing a lot of work for Lee Auman's campaign for U.S House of Representatives in Alabama's 4th Congressional District. Duke stated that Auman had learned and developed a lot since the start of his campaign, going to as many counties and talking to as many people as he could, and that he (Duke) believed that Auman stood a very good chance of upsetting incumbent Rep. Robert Aderholt. "He might not win," Duke said, "but we're not gonna let Aderholt just have the election handed to him this year."
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