A Short Farewell

Dear MSU Democrats,

This year has been a terrific experience for me to serve you as the President. I have gained a lot of perspective on not only the executive leadership style and group interactions, but also the breadth and depth of organization that is necessary to maintain the high standards of the group.

I want to thank those of you who took time out of the busy school schedule to come to our general and executive board meetings. Thanks to those, as well, who attended our debates, our social events, and our fundraisers. This group would not function without the support of the student population.

Other outside entities need to be recognized for their contribution to this organization as well. I extend my personal gratitude to Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, East Lansing City Councilman Nathan Triplett, Candidate for the 8th Congressional District Bob Alexander, Governor Jennifer Granholm, Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer, Michigan Democratic Party Youth Coordinator Derek Dobies, Practical Political Consulting CEO Mark Grebner, Former Governor Jim Blanchard, State Representatives Meadows and Byrum, and State Senator Whitmer.

Thank you as well to those groups who partnered with us to put together meetings and partnerships as we build relationships to extend the political awareness to students on campus. Such groups include the following: Students for Hillary Clinton, Students for Barack Obama, Spartans for Bill Richardson, Spartans for Progressive Divestment, Black Student Alliance, MSUECO, the Biodome Project, and many more.

This year has proven to be a success in many aspects. During our Voter Registration efforts, this group has broken records for the sheer number of democratic voters activated on campus with a total of nearly 3500. This all happened during an off, off year election. We have doubled our operating budget through our fundraising efforts such as the mailing fundraiser this winter, our voter registration efforts, and our Lansing Lugnuts fundraiser. We have had many successful social and informational events that drew large crowds of members and non-members from across campus. We amended the group’s constitution to better reflect the lessons learned from the past year and elected a strong executive board with big intentions for next year.

I am confident that this group will continue to grow under the leadership of next year’s executive board. There will be changes, and many of these changes will be positive. Look forward to a busy and rewarding experience after a candidate is selected for the Presidential race and the MSU Democrats stumps around campus and enhances the existing and new support for the Democratic candidate. There will be many social events and volunteer opportunities for general members to get involved.

Whether or not you have been involved in the group this year, I encourage anyone interested in politics, volunteerism, activism, or simply finding a fun group of people to hang out with to get more involved with the MSU Democrats in the coming year.

Again, thank you to everyone in the group for your support and I look forward to seeing you all in the fall!

Go Green! Go White! Go Democrats!

Scott Hendrickson
Outgoing President
MSU Democrats