Election Night 2010. The last with our team under one roof at #700EastPleasant.
Jake Ketzner asked if I’d be in the room with Governor Branstad. They needed three people to man three computers to check election results. Basically, they needed a third body to hit “refresh” over and over again until Governor Branstad was announced the winner.
At first, I declined.The last time I’d been in the room with a candidate had been in 2006 with Bill Dix. Before that, 1996 with Mike Mahaffey. Frankly, my record of being next to a candidate while they watched election returns was bad.
Jeffrey Robert Boeyink told me if I was asked, I needed to be there.
So on Election Night 2010, I sat in a room and hit refresh over and over and over again alongside Jake and Lynn McRoberts. And lo and behold, Terry Branstad was our Governor again.
After being told I was a terrible fundraiser, after working hard and coming up short for Jim Nussle in 2006, I was finally been the Finance Director for a winning gubernatorial campaign.
Shortly after, we were brought on to help with the fundraising and ticketing for the Inaugural celebration. And while working for Governor Branstad’s campaign was a great experience, the Inauguration was not.
Our call center was growing. Our national clients that year included Tea Party Patriots and Americans United for Life.
It was time to leave Iowa fundraising behind.
We moved our call center into the new building at 109 West Front St in July 2011. The rest of us moved into the basement we now call home in October 2013.
The last Iowa fundraising event I attended was Governor Branstad’s birthday in November 2014.
And as you read this, I am no longer the owner of #700EastPleasant.
