2010 Women in the Halls Cocktail Party Recap

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Georgia’s 6^th Annual Women in the Halls Kick-off Cocktail Party was a great success!  After a last minute rescheduling of the date due to inclement weather, the annual event was held this year at Engine 11 Firehouse Tavern on North Avenue in Midtown on Wednesday January 27, 2010 with more than 70 supporters and 7 volunteers enjoying good food and lively conversation about the legislative issues we are facing here in Georgia during the current 2010 Legislative Session.

In addition to the attendees, this year’s event had 10 wonderful individual sponsors and 9 organizational co-sponsors, including the ACLU of GA and Feminist Women’s Health Center, our two primary partners for the Women in the Halls Lobby Days at the Capitol each Wednesday; other sponsors including SPARK Reproductive Justice Now, Georgia Equality, Atlanta 9 to 5 and the Young Democrats of Atlanta are each co-sponsoring a specific Wednesday when they will bring out their membership and lobby alongside Planned Parenthood.  Along with the evening’s legislative honorees, State Senator Nan Orrock, State Representative Rashad Taylor and State Representative Shelia Jones also came to show their support for the Women in the Halls program and talk to attendees about their thoughts on the 2010 Session.

The highlight of the evening was honoring two longtime state legislators, Senator Vincent Fort for his continued support of the Women in the Halls program, and Senator Gail Buckner for her champion of women’s rights.  In their acceptance speeches, they both emphasized the need for more citizens to make their voice heard on issues important to them and encouraged those at the party to participate in lobbying efforts.  The evening’s program also included an update on what to anticipate regarding legislation this year from Planned Parenthood’s lobbying consultant, Dawn Randolph, a veteran down at the Gold Dome.  The program concluded with PP Legislative Coordinator Richard McDaniel rallying those in attendance at the party to sign up for a day to come down to the Capitol for a Women in the Halls lobbying day.

Women in the Halls meets every Wednesday at 9 a.m. during the state legislative session to train citizen lobbyists, provide legislative updates, and arm supporters with effective talking points and fact sheets. These citizen lobbyists will help fight for responsible legislation for Georgians and make 2010 a success session for progressives.  We know that those at the party as well as others who join us will help the Women in the Halls program have another notable year.

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