1) Greetings from the Chair:

As we celebrate love this month, I can’t tell you enough how much I love being a SOUTH COUNTY DEMOCRAT! Beginning last month, our committees have been working hard with moving the club forward.  We have an irreplaceable group of dedicated and eager volunteers within our club, that are awesome!  It has been amazing to see all the creativity and work getting done!   Make sure you attend this month’s meeting, to hear all the wonderful things they have been working on. 

As a club, we have decided to host a St. Pat’s Party on Friday, March 15th.  The success of this event will really depend on our memberships selling pre-sale tickets.  I’m hoping that everyone can at least sell three tickets to the event.  Tickets will be available at the February meeting.  Come and let’s enjoy a fun filled atmosphere with our fellow democrats!

Powerpoint presentation on fracking: I will begin a discussion at our February meeting with a short Powerpoint presentation about what fraking is and why it is so important to the State of Michigan.  Please attend to learn more.  We are still working on getting guest speakers to our club.  I’m hoping after the state convention, we will have better luck. 

On a different note, because we had such a great turn-out at our last meeting, we will hold February’s meeting in the larger room with the microphone set-up.  Please don’t forget that our social potluck begins at 6:00 PM and the business meeting at 7:00 PM.  See you there!

February’s Raffle Prizes include:

• Two Coupon Books to Burger King
• Plush Heart Blanket
• $25 gift card to Lowes
• Giant Box of Chocolates

Don’t forget if you bring a possible new member for SCDC, you and your friend will each receive a bonus raffle ticket. The more friends you bring, the more raffle tickets you earn.  (PLEASE NOTE: Free bonus raffle tickets given only for someone who’s name we do not have on the SCDC roster.)

Sincerely,
Jeanne

2) February Meeting:

Wednesday - February 13, 2012
Social (Potluck) - 6:00 PM -- General Meeting - 7:00 PM
Bell Building
305 N. Third Street, Niles MI

Children with their parents are always welcomed!

Special Powerpoint Presentation on
Fracting and its impact on Michigan

Beginning January, 2013, our monthly meetings will be held the second Wednesday of each month at the Bell Building in downtown Niles.

Potluck/Social begins at 6:00 PM -- South County Democratic Club is not only a political organization working for the families of Berrien County but also a group of friends and neighbors who enjoy each other's camaraderie and good fellowship. That friendeliness will continue. Since food is no longer available from our host (as it was with the Moose Lodge), we encourage our members to bring a dish to share during the social hour before our business meeting: Good food, good people equals good times. (BYOB)

If you cannot provide a dish to share, please do not let that deter you from attending our meeting and social. Knowing the generosity of SCDC members, there will always be enough food for everyone. Come to our meeting -- we need you!

Business meeting begins at 7:00 PM. All Democrats, progressives and liberals are invited. Never an admission fee -- free to all concerned citizens of southwestern Michigan. Bring a friend! Kids welcome!

Special request/community service: We are working with local food pantries each month. If you bring three canned goods to the meeting, you will receive one free raffle ticket (limit one free ticket). The Salvation Army in Niles will be receiving February's donation. Items that were requested include spaghetti sauce and pasta, canned tuna, condensed soups, peanut butter, and canned fruit.

3) St. Pat's Day Party - Friday, March 15:

4) February is African-American History Month:

The South County Democratic Club pays tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. Below is an excerpt from an essay by Daryl Scott, Howard University, about the hisotry of African American History Month.

As a Harvard-trained historian, Carter G. Woodson, like W. E. B. Du Bois before him, believed that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice. His hopes to raise awareness of African American's contributions to civilization was realized when he and the organization he founded, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), conceived and announced Negro History Week in 1925. The event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The response was overwhelming: Black history clubs sprang up; teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils; and progressive whites, not simply white scholars and philanthropists, stepped forward to endorse the effort.

By the time of Woodson's death in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African American life and substantial progress had been made in bringing more Americans to appreciate the celebration. At mid–century, mayors of cities nationwide issued proclamations noting Negro History Week. The Black Awakening of the 1960s dramatically expanded the consciousness of African Americans about the importance of black history, and the Civil Rights movement focused Americans of all color on the subject of the contributions of African Americans to our history and culture.

The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation's bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” That year, fifty years after the first celebration, the association held the first African American History Month. By this time, the entire nation had come to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story. Since then each American president has issued African American History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year.

About This Year’s Theme

This year's theme "Black Women in American Culture and History" honors African American women and the myriad of roles they played in the shaping of our nation. The theme, chosen by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History urges all Americans to study and reflect on the value of their contribution to the nation.

5) Make a 2013 donation to South County Democratic Club:

Below is a link to our ACTBLUE account. Please consider making a holiday gift to our club. A $10, $20, or $50 gift will help us in the 2014 election as we gear up to DEFEAT SYNDER and the cold-hearted Republicans who voted against the working families of Berrien County with their right-to-work-for-less vote. Give!