by Lois Albrecht, Fellow Group XIII, Owner of Cornerstone Coaching & Consulting, LLC, Bayfield County

July 29 – August 1, 2008

“It’s a big responsibility to make democracy work,” commented Senator Bob Jauch, and the question you should be asking is, “How do we encourage citizens to become more engaged?”  Group XIII experienced a full three days in Madison learning about ways to become engaged in the political process.  Several of the presenters echoed this theme from different perspectives.  Mark Bugher, former head of the Department of Administration, cited citizen apathy at the polls with 52% voting in the last general election.  “We complain a lot about government, but people don’t get involved,” he noted. 

While there was plenty of information shared about challenges the State of Wisconsin faces, there were also messages of hope.  Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton inspired me with her work on health care, climate change and the results of a five-year focus on improving the status of women.  “Keep weaving your local work with state, national, and global efforts,” she told us, “and you can have a big impact with small actions.”

We came away from this first session with a list of new connections, and a bag of resources.  Perhaps more importantly, we took another step toward understanding what each of us has to offer – to each other, and to our communities.

Seminar Chairs:

Mike Koles (Seminar Chair), Community Resource Development Educator – Waupaca County UWEX; Associate Professor – UWEX Department of Community Resource Development

Kate Lawton, (Seminar Chair), Local Government Specialist, UW Cooperative Extension Local Government Center

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