Political Action
By the time you read this, the 2008 election will have been relegated to the history books. However, as I write this, it has not yet occurred, so I cannot comment on the winners and losers, as they are unknown to me. I do congratulate all of the winning candidates who received our endorsement during this election cycle.

I hope everyone did their civic duty and voted. There are always those who are indifferent to voting and state, “my vote doesn’t count.” It is this philosophy of thinking that allows a minority number of voters deciding all of our futures. Fortunately, the members of this association tend to take their voting rights seriously. As a rule, they stay up to date on the candidates and issues, and generally get involved politically. Hopefully, you also supported the DSA endorsed candidates. You can see the results online at the DSA website.

We did something a little different this year. In past years, we have had a hospitality suite at one of the hotels near Golden Hall, which is election central for our area. It has always been a nice event, but it has also been a logistical problem as well. For one thing, the hospitality room has to manned. This has meant at least one person, usually a director, would have to stay in the room at all times. If you have ever been to Golden Hall on election night, you know how busy it is, and how much there is to do. There are also the endorsed candidates we have to visit at their own hospitality rooms, as well as get-togethers hosted by other groups that directors should attend. Trying to keep someone at our room all night, while simultaneously walking the election hall floor and visiting everyone becomes quite daunting.

This year, we went a different route than usual on election night. We hosted the coffee cart that sits in the quad in front of Golden Hall. This allows us to get the association name and logo seen by the most amount of people, while allowing directors the chance to meet with candidates as they stop by for a cup of coffee. I hope those of you that were at Golden Hall came by for a cup of coffee and a chat. Please let us know what you thought of it.

Legal Defense
There is training for legal defense reps coming up in December. PORAC’s Internal Affairs class will be held in San Diego Dec. 4 and 5. Those of you who have responded to my pleas over the past year and have shown an interest in becoming a rep should make every effort to attend. Also, those of you who are already reps­ should try to attend for a refresher try to attend for a refresher. Please contact the DSA office so they can reserve a space for you.

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving. Even if you are working that evening, as many of you will be, take a few moments to think about some of the people and things you have to be thankful for in your life.