While Ohio volunteer teams were already hard at work for President Obama going into last week's rally, Andrew, a Wayne County field organizer, says the event definitely provided some motivation for the coming months:

"I know two of the volunteers actually got to shake hands with the President, so everyone's pretty hyped up about it. It was a great way to transition to our office opening—now, we're going to have this fun event and get down to business, and people are definitely fired up after that. I know I am.

"We were making calls all the time leading up to the rally, and then I headed to Columbus while the teams stayed back and kept up the phone banks. They were able to run on their own for a couple days, which was a great sign.

"Now we're focused on this Wednesday's office opening in Wooster. We're getting in touch with local organizations who might want to come out and support the campaign. We're just trying to reach out to as many people as we can to make sure everyone knows it's happening and has the opportunity to be there—which often comes down to making a lot of phone calls."

When asked why it's so important to open offices in cities across Ohio, Andrew explains:

"There are people out here who want to fight for the President just like we do in the big cities, and it's great to have a place where we can meet and get to know each other and have some fun. It's just about people getting together—whether you're in a rural area or an urban area.

"In Wooster and all over the state, we'll be working as hard as we can over the next six months to get the President re-elected. We always want to keep building and bringing people on board, letting them know that if you support President Obama, there's always an opportunity to get involved."

Join folks in Ohio and across the country this Saturday and Sunday for the Voter Registration Weekend of Action.

Find an event near you

A version of this was posted May 14 on the national blog.

Edwina and her husband James, who lead Team Lansing together, sat down to talk about what drives their team to be out registering voters week after week—and why they’ll be out for the next weekend of action.

James: When [our team] first started, I said, ‘For each member on the team, we want to have five one-on-one meetings to recruit other supporters.’ Let me tell you—they looked at me like I was crazy. But we ended up being champions for the number of one-on-ones in our area. And we did the same thing with phonebanking, and we even exceeded our goals so we helped out other teams with their goals. Now our team is pumped up, and we’ve got that teamwork mentality, and we’re going to get out there and do voter registration.

Edwina: By being out there [registering voters], whether we’re at the church or at the barbershop or wherever, the community knows us and trusts us. We’d say, ‘Don’t just bring yourself; you go and get the rest of your family, and we’ll teach them about their voting rights.’ Then, they would bring their cousins and their friends.

James: It’s a real personal thing; just a really gratifying thing. It’s about building those relationships.

Edwina: In this area, high school graduates celebrate by having open houses, where they invite all their friends and the whole neighborhood. So what we’re going to do this May and June is talk to the parents and give them a clipboard with a laminated sample of the voter registration form. If you take one of the packets to an open house, and get someone there who’s familiar with those kids, you’ll register all of those kids. It makes it easy for them. They get what registering to vote is and why it matters—it’s just a matter of showing them how to do it.

While the South Lansing team is out in their community, they’re not only registering voters—they’re also encouraging other supporters to get involved.

Edwina: We went over to the University of Michigan to talk to some of the student groups affiliated with the black alumni organization. And my husband talked to [the students] about getting involved—and they just didn’t know they could get involved like that! They all said, “We can do this? We want to do voter reg!” You know, with a lot of these kids, there’s so much frustration in their lives, it’s tough. But by giving them this information, you’re showing them that they’re valuable: that they can do something in their community.

If you’re ready to register voters in your community, sign up now for a weekend of action event coming up this Saturday and Sunday.

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Name: Kouri C. Marshall Campaign role: DC Director Hometown: Peoria, IL Organizing in: Washington, D.C.

Q1. What do you do for the campaign? I direct the campaign efforts in the District of Columbia, which includes managing over 35 Organizing Fellows, 16 Neighborhood Teams, 5 College Campus Teams and working closely with the D.C. Democratic Party. D.C. is what is called a border state, so every phone call that we make, each one-on-one meeting had and every event completed is focused on building stronger teams in the District, so that we are in a position to help the President win Virginia’s 13 electoral college votes.

Q2. How did you first come to the campaign? I met Jeremy Bird, National Field Director, while working as a legislative aide at an organization that is committed to expanding economic opportunity in underserved communities through economic education and empowerment. After hearing about an opportunity with OFA in D.C., I contacted Jeremy to see if the opportunity was still open, because I wanted to encourage a few of my friends to apply. The position was still open, and he ironically told me where to forward my resume. After praying, I did so, and couldn’t be happier that I did.

Q3. What’s your favorite part of your role? The folks that I work with every day—they are incredible. We have a volunteer who, like my late grandmother, is on dialysis. He is an extraordinary volunteer, with an incredible story. Because of his medical condition, he racked up over $82,000 in medical bills that he could not afford, and because of the President’s health care plan his debt was alleviated. It makes being in the office and out in the field around the clock all the more worth it when I hear and see how the work that we are doing impacts lives.

Q4. What’s the most unexpected part of your role? I signed up to work very hard on behalf of a leader that I admire because he displays character and consistency. What I did not expect was to share the stage with First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Biden at campaign events in the District. This campaign has given me an incredible number of positive experiences—I’m thankful.

Q5. Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I was a Delegate at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and was one of the youngest members of the Illinois delegation.