This weekend the Massachusetts Democratic party hosted a 2-day seminar on campaign tactics. There were presentations by some people who train on the national level all across the country and also by local campaign workers and consultants.
I honestly didn't learn a whole lot of new information. Most of what I've picked up on the various campaigns I've volunteered on was reinforced by everyone there. However, the weekend was still a huge success. I was able to meet (or re-introduce myself to) a lot of party officials and activists from all over the state. My new boss and I also spoke with some candidates that we hope to do polling or consulting for during the coming campaign season.
Additionally, I got to participate in some great discussions with people about the state of the Democratic party both in Massachusetts on the local level and also nationally. One of the presenters who I spoke with has worked with Clinton, Gore, and most recently John Kerry on both his campaign and as part of his staff. We had a great debate over better ways to incorporate younger activists into the party's efforts.
Tomorrow I'm meeting with my boss to go over everything from the weekend and plan this week. We're meeting tomorrow evening with a state rep candidate about doing polling and consulting in the near future. What's awesome is that I'm loving the networking part of this job. Just meeting and talking with so many different people has been awesome.