Call to the Convention

February 26, 2018

Greetings to Convention Delegates and Alternates,

It is my honor to call the SD 44 2018 Convention for Saturday, March 10 2016, at Minnetonka High School Cafeteria, 18301 MN Highway 7, Minnetonka, 55345. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and Convention begins at 9:00 a.m. Congratulations on your election as delegate or alternate to this convention.

Here are some details to help you plan your day.

Directions:

The school address is a bit misleading: it is on a frontage road south of Highway 7. Two ways to get there: At the intersection of 7 and 101, go south on 101 and shortly turn right onto Old Excelsior Blvd. Pass the school and take the left entrance into the far parking lot (we will have signs). Enter at the western “Tonka Center” entrance.

If you miss the 101 and 7 intersection, just continue west on Highway 7 to the next possible left-

Vine Hill Road (there’s a raised median until Vine Hill Road). Then take a quick left off Vine Hill Road onto Delton Avenue, and you’ll be back to the western “Tonka Center” parking area and entrance. Parking is in front of the Tonka Center and to the left and right.

Convention Facility:

Registration begins at 8:00 a.m.; the convention begins at 9:00 a.m. We do not know how long the convention will last. This is an accessible site. Visitors may attend but may not be on the convention floor. There will be a section for visitors and alternates. No childcare is provided.

Delegations:

The cafeteria has adult-sized tables with portable chairs. Precinct delegations will sit together at grouped tables, with 44B and 44A division.

Donations:

We request that you contribute a voluntary donation of $10 or more toward the cost of the convention and toward our efforts during this election year. REMEMBER: the state “PCR” program - Political Contribution Refund - allows you to donate and request a refund of up to $50. We will have donation envelopes and a credit card option available. Please invest in our local DFL!

Food and Beverage:

Because our convention hall is a cafeteria, we have flexibility regarding food and beverages:

You may bring your own food and beverages or you may pre-order a lunch.

If you want to buy a $10.00 Davanni’s box lunch of a turkey or ham or veggie hoagie on white bread with chips and brownie, you must pre-order and pay to complete your order by Saturday, March 3 at 5 p.m.

You may see ingredients of the three choices at https://www.davannis.com/menu/hoagies/

HOW TO ORDER $10.00 BOX LUNCHES:

We are using our already-established, secure SD 44 donation page. Of course, your box lunch purchase is not a contribution and will not count toward a PCR refund. HOWEVER, you could include a donation ABOVE the $10.00 per lunch cost and that amount would apply toward a PCR refund. (For example, order one $10.00 lunch, add $50.00 - total $60.00, of which $50.00 is eligible for a PCR refund if you have not reached that $50.00 maximum in 2018).

1. Go to www.dflsd44.org

2. Click on “Contribute”

3. Complete the section on the left-hand side “Contribute Online”:

Note that the “Address” line should include street address, city, state, zip

4. Complete all lines, including occupation and employer (you may enter “retired,”

“unemployed” “none” - these items are not germane to a box lunch order but are settings required by our donation system.

5. “Donation”: if you are just ordering lunch(es), enter the correct amount ($10.00 for one, $20.00 for two, etc.)

6. IMPORTANT! Under “Comments or Instructions”: Indicate for each box lunch whether

you are ordering HAM, or TURKEY, or VEGGIE. Please add your name and email!

7. Click the oval yellow “Donate” button.

8. You will select Paypal or another credit or debit payment option.

9. Fill out everything completely, including the email, phone, etc. at the bottom of the form.

10. You will receive a receipt email from “service@paypal.com”

11. If you have made an actual donation above the box lunch order, our treasurer will send you a donation receipt and PCR refund form and instructions on how to request a refund.

Again: attendees may bring their own refreshments and lunches to the cafeteria. SD 44 will sell coffee and morning snacks beginning at 8:00 a.m.and will have bottled water and packaged snacks for sale throughout the day (while supplies last). School vending machines for pop and a concession stand for a tournament in the nearby gym will also be on site.

Nominations/Endorsement:

People interested in positions of volunteer leadership---as an SD 44 director, delegate to DFL State Central Committee---or are seeking our endorsement as a House 44 A or 44 B candidate--are encouraged to apply and meet with our Nominations/Endorsement committee before convention. Details are located here https://sites.google.com/view/sd44convention/home. (a page in this website).

If you have questions, contact Co-Chairs Carrie Lewis or Anne Martineau at carrieerin@gmail.com or anne2157@gmail.com.

Convention Agenda and Documents:

Convention documents will be posted at https://sites.google.com/view/sd44convention/home. (this website)

Check back often. They will also be available at the convention in printed form.

Walking Subcaucus:

472 delegates and alternates were elected to the Senate District 44 Convention. At our convention, we will elect 22 delegates and 22 alternates to represent us at BOTH the CD3 and the DFL conventions. It is likely that the election of delegates to the CD3 and DFL conventions will be chosen through the “walking subcaucus” method..

We will offer two short training opportunities on walking subcaucus. The trainings will be at Minnetonka High School cafeteria in the far corner at 7 p.m. on Friday evening and 8 a.m. on Saturday morning. You will see directional signs when you enter the cafeteria.

Further Communications:

For updates, please check our SD 44 website www.df44.org and click on 2018 Convention. You’ll be directed to our convention “micro site” (https://sites.google.com/view/sd44convention/home) which is updated frequently. Also, follow SD 44 on Facebook at SD 44 DFL or join our closed Facebook group DFL SD44. Any future convention info emails to delegates and alternates will have the subject “SD 44 Convention Information.”

There are other exciting events coming up besides convention - the Blue State Ball is the evening of our convention, and our own SD 44 3rd Annual Chili Cookoff is Tues. March 13 - tickets at our website.

Thank you, and we look forward to Convention 2018 on Saturday, March 10!

Best wishes,

Phyllis Richerson, SD 44 Chair

chair@dflsd44.org richerson52@comcast.net 763-439-9966