At headquarters, we try to update our chalkboard at the front window to reflect what's going on with our team, or in the week in politics—when President Obama endorsed gay marriage, this new image was a welcome change of chalk!

As soon as I put it up, a passerby stopped, scanned the rainbow and nodded in approval! —Chattanooga Team Leader, Jasmine T.

As the deadline approaches for application into the Summer Fellows program, we asked some of our Spring Fellows to share their stories of what they experienced going through the program.

When we spoke with Colleen J., she reeled off an impressive list of new skills she had acquired through the program. “These are skills I can use in my professional and personal life—how to connect with people on a personal basis, how to organize and grow a team, and using social media to tell a story.”

Colleen became a Fellow because she was passionate about seeing the President succeed in gaining a second term. Hard work, applying yourself, and being open to learning new skills were some of the attributes she said helped her to succeed, but she stressed that she had help and coaching at every step along the way.

“I learned that you never know where working hard will take you. I was fortunate to receive an invitation to attend the First Lady's luncheon in Nashville and was nominated to attend the Democratic National Convention. If you work hard, good things happen. Now let's get to work and get our President reelected!"

Lora M. became a Spring Fellow with the intention of leading a team based in her North Nashville community. Problem was, no team existed in North Nashville at the time she applied.

When I became a Spring Fellow I joined a team outside of my neighborhood because there wasn’t one in my area, but I knew that I wanted to find a way to reach out to the volunteers in my own neighborhood and get people in my part of town involved in the campaign.

Lora was mentored by Nolensville Road Team Lead Suzanne S. on the finer points of leading and running a team.

When the time came to start my own team, I felt comfortable taking on the role of team leader. [Thanks to Suzanne], I gained valuable skills such as how to create events, enter and understand data, share our message, [and] tell my story of self.

Through her work with the Nolensville Road Team, Lora became increasingly comfortable with her organizing skills and decide it was time to step up and host an event of her own in North Nashville. She kicked things off with a phone bank.

Because it was my first event, I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. I only had a few volunteers scheduled for the event and I wasn’t sure who would come.

Not only did the folks Lora had scheduled show up, many attendees brought friends and family members to help out. The team conducted over 200 phone calls, and the new volunteers asked how they could do more to help get the President re-elected.

The event exceeded my expectations. The energy that the North Nashville team has right now is so exciting. They are fired up and ready to go! Every interaction so far has reminded me why it was so important to me to tap into the volunteer base in my own neighborhood.

Follow us on Twitter at @OFA_TN to stay up to date with the latest and learn how you can get involved with the campaign.

When my phone rang this last week I was thinking it would be one of our volunteers asking about one of our upcoming activities. Instead, it was Pat S., a friend of one of our most valued volunteers. After some small talk, Pat asked me, "What are you doing next Tuesday?"  "Oh, I’m hosting a phone bank in the evening," I replied.  "Well, I'm calling to invite you to the First Lady's luncheon."

Pat went on to tell me that she was attending as a guest of a close friend and she was able to bring a guest. She wanted to reward someone that had been working hard for the campaign and she was given my name by a friend. I was shocked, honored, and quickly accepted the invitation!

Pat is a very young 74-year old widower who owns and lives on her 360-acre farm about 10 minutes from my house. She is a member of the local group, the Obama Mamas. The Obama Mamas meet once a month to discuss the campaign, issues, and share a little lunch.

The First Lady's luncheon was a top-notch event. A delicious salad lunch with grilled chicken and asparagus was served and we were treated to a performance by Grammy-award winning artist, Emmylou Harris.

After speeches from Nashville’s Mayor and our Tennessee State Director, Justin Wilkins, we got to hear from the First Lady. I was moved and inspired by her talk.  She spoke from her heart about why this election is so critical, and what's at stake for us and our country. She talked about the Affordable Care Act, the Buffet Rule, and outlined all of the President's accomplishments. She acknowledged there is still so much work to do.  Everyone laughed  when she said, "You know Barack, he always stays calm, he is a calm man. There can be chatter and distractions all around him, but he does not and will not get distracted, he continues to move forward.  His eye is always out there on the goal, he will not be swayed..."

I believe her—he is a great President and given four more years, I am hopeful not only for our own future, but the future of our children's children.

I was so honored to attend this special event and will remember the day forever. I was already certain, but am now more certain than ever that there is nothing more important I can do in 2012 than help ensure our President is re-elected for the four more years he deserves. As our First Lady said, there is just too much at stake.

With the Latinos for Obama just around the corner, Team Nolensville, the Murfreesboro Team and some KnoxTriCities volunteers took to the streets to pass out flyers and invite people to their Latinos for Obama launch house parties.

We really want to empower others and have Latinos partner with us to educate other members of the community about the vast differences between President Obama and Mitt Romney. –Suzanne S. Davidson County Regional Field Organizer

KnoxTriCities regional lead Trish H. spent time with volunteers from her region at Green Acres flea market in Knoxville inviting people to attend their event. Overall, their efforts paid off—they collected 14 I’m In cards and signed up many new volunteers to join them on April 18 for their launch party, which will be hosted by first-timer, 16-year-old Sergio U.

Colleen J., Murfreesboro Team Leader, passed out dozens of flyers, hoping to generate some excitement among Murfreesboro Latinos. The selling point for her and other teams across the state was definitely the fact that comedian George Lopez and the campaign’s National Political Director, Katherine Archuleta, will be jumping on the phone to talk to Latino launch attendees all across the nation.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to get involved with Latinos for Obama and learn how we can and will make a difference in helping re-elect President Obama. You can RSVP to a house party near you.