Barbara Kreykenbohm: “On a sunny afternoon in April…”
The following interview is with Barbara Kreykenbohm, one of the hardest working and most valuable volunteers in Jim Webb’s 2006 “rag-tag army” of volunteers. Thanks to Barbara for everything she does to keep the “netroots rising!”
Personal Overview
On a sunny afternoon in April at the northern Virginia kick-off rally for James Webb
I timidly reported to the volunteer coordinator telling him that I was willing to help in any way. As it happened, [then-volunteer coordinator] Jim Franklin urgently needed me and other warm bodies to serve as human backdrops for the candidate who would be arriving very soon. A change of locations had left the rally organizers with a bare plaza behind the lectern at the rally site, Court House Plaza. My instructions were to climb to the top of the dry fountain and either wave a flag or a Webb for Senate sign. I grabbed a flag, easier to carry while climbing up to the top of the fountain. Just before the candidate arrived I realized that every other person in the human backdrop was holding both a flag and a sign. Feeling embarrassed, but determined to make the best of it, I forced my best stage smile and waved my little flag while the others enthusiastically flashed their sign and flag combinations.
At my perch behind the candidate I surveyed the modest, but responsive, crowd and tried to catch the candidate’s message although the audio was heavily distorted at our location in the back. I only remember the part about promising his son to wear his combat boots. After the rally I helped [another] volunteer, Betty Parrott, aggressively distribute bumper stickers, insisting that attendees really should take at least one and offering multiples to anyone who would take them. Little did I know that a few months later Webb supporters would be coming to me for bumper stickers and that I would be forced to ration distribution of the campaign’s limited supply.
Seven hectic months later I again headed to Court House Plaza for a rally. About an hour after Senator George Allen conceded, Senator-Elect Jim Webb’s victory rally was scheduled there. Harriet Hirsch and I were late in arriving because we had stayed at the roadside giddily waving to passing drivers with huge Webb signs. Upon arriving and surveying the huge crowd in the plaza, we thought that no close-in sitting or standing spaces were available. Then I remembered the dry fountain. I led the way as we crawled up the fountain to a great view high behind the lectern; we were soon joined by lots of other volunteers. It was an unbelievably exhilarating experience. Looking down on the huge cheering crowd, we could see many friends and co-workers which whom we had shared the agony and ecstasy of the Webb for Senate volunteer campaign. The candidate arrived and waved his recently removed combat boots as we cheered wildly. All of us, including me, waved our Webb for Senate signs.
The Washington Post captured the moment and a friend humorously annotated a copy for me (see photo).
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Born Fighting
I first heard the name Jim Webb on a neighborhood electronic group. Following up on the internet, I learned of his books and purchased copies of a few including the non-fiction Born Fighting. That book made me a believer! It opened the possibility that I could have a Senator who understood history, could analyze and apply what he learned, and furthermore could express it articulately. Additionally, the book touched me because it illuminated my Scot-Irish roots far better than any other information, written or oral, that I had previously encountered.
When I met Jim Webb in person I told him, in my normal Tennessee drawl, had much I admired the book and I added “That is my heritage, too.” He smiled and replied “Yes, I can tell.” I ordered two hard copies of the book to have autographed for my adult children. Jim Franklin took them to Webb while he was in the hospital recovering from hand surgery. He composed a beautiful dedication “With appreciation for our shared heritage…” Later, I quickly ducked into his office one day to say “Thank you”. He replied with a real southern gentleman’s phrase “It was my pleasure”.
Candidate Webb’s first bumper stickers and signs bore the “Born Fighting” phrase which is the Scottish national slogan as well as the title of his non-fiction book. I proudly placed the sign in front of our house and when the azaleas bloomed behind it I photographed the scene (see photo). Later in the campaign, the slogan was considered too militant and the phrase was dropped. I thought it was just right and really reflected the attitudes of all of fighting to depose Senator George Allen.
What I did during the campaign.
I worked in an informal partnership with Mary Detweiler, under the general direction of Volunteer Manger – Josh Chernila, to recruit, schedule, and organize the work of other volunteers. I worked with Josh to try to effect a management structure for the volunteer effort. From the primary forward this became virtually a full time job. I was either in the office or working on the phone or email at home almost every day.
Activities for Mary and me included (some of these were daily and others were intermittent):
· Serving as sort of executive assistant to Volunteer Manager, Josh Chernila
· Interviewing new volunteers, assigning them to teams and tasks, and recommending leaders to Josh Chernila.
· Organizing “Office Assistants” team and generally coordinating their work
· Attempting to organize the volunteer office and work area – everything from storing supplies to attempting to get everyone to sign in daily and wear name badges.
· Providing supplies, such as bumper stickers, to supporters who stopped by
· Accepting donations from visitors and taking to the campaign finance office
· Making coffee and cleaning the pot when finished
· Labeling waste baskets for re-cycling paper and bottles and cleaning them out when people ignored the signs (which was most of the time).
· Answering the phone if no one else did it and taking messages to campaign staff
· Planning and executing volunteer parties
· Buying, at our own expense, refreshments and supplies for phone bank and other volunteers. Note that other volunteers and supporters donated generously also. The volunteer office ran almost completely on donations.
· Running the phone bank on temporary basis if the regular director was not there
· Arranging transportation to alternate phone bank when volunteers overflowed the Headquarters phone bank
· Overseeing the water supply and requesting volunteers to bring more
· Overseeing the refreshment
· Overseeing and arranging for stuffing of mailing materials
Biggest campaign-grassroots success
The petition signing campaign and persuading Jim Webb to run in the first place.
My biggest peeve
People who say that we got lucky – that we won not because of the candidate but because of Senator Allen’s “macaca” boo-boo. Jim Webb was an extremely well-qualified candidate. Voters who looked at his resume and listened to his issues analyses knew that. His speaking style was not dynamic but the content of his speeches was terrific.
What drew most volunteers to the campaign?
The need to win.
Lessons learned
Volunteer offices need to be organized in a workable, although not rigid, management structure. The campaign should recognize that management structure and fully utilize it.
Is the Webb experience unique?
No. The enthusiasm of the Webb campaign will be replicated all over the country.
Tags: Barbara Kreykenbohm