We're often asked what's planned for young people around our Convention in Denver. From the Party's Youth Council meetings at the Colorado Convention Center to the College Democrats of America Convention in Denver the weekend before our opening gavel to opportunities for our Write to Lead youth essay contest winners, we have a lot in store for young people from Denver and across the country.

But in a twist, one enthusiastic 16-year-old spoke for his peers and asked DNCC CEO Leah Daughtry at a recent community forum: "what can we do for you?" Her response: Get in the way. Change, after all, doesn't happen on the sidelines. Watch the video below for the full exchange.

UPDATE: Check out this coverage of yesterday's forum! 

Tours to give locals a peek at Pepsi Center before Dems arrive
The Denver Post
June 11, 2008
By Chuck Plunkett
SOURCE: http://www.denverpost.com/dnc/ci_9545032

DNC organizers outline public participation
KUSA-NBC 9 Denver
June 10, 2008
By Kyle Clark
SOURCE: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=93464&catid=188

At a mid-day forum at the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver’s LoDo District (Lower Downtown), Convention organizers unveiled a series of official events open to Denver-area residents and other attendees around Convention week. Click here to see video announcements on these exciting events open to the public.

A second forum will be held tomorrow evening at Mile High Station.  If you’d like to attend, please RSVP by email to rsvp@demconvention.com  or call (720)-362-2008, as space is limited.

5:00 pm MT, WEDNESDAY, June 11, 2008
Mile High Station
2027 W. Lower Colfax Ave.
Denver, Colo.

The Denver forums conclude the series - "Convention Conversations: A Traveling Forum Sponsored by the DNCC" – which launched in September and has logged more than 3,500 miles and visited eight different cities throughout the Rocky Mountain West in recent months.  The community forums are designed to provide residents throughout the region with opportunities for direct communication with top Convention organizers and a venue to ask questions, share ideas and find out how they can get involved in the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

After visiting eight cities in the Rocky Mountain West during the past ten months as part of our series of “Convention Conversations” community forums , we’re coming back to the place where it all began in September— our host city of Denver -- to close out the series.  These back-to-back community forums on the afternoon of June 10th and the evening of June 11th will be an opportunity for Denver residents and business owners to ask questions directly to our Convention CEO Leah Daughtry and other members of our senior management team just under three months before the opening gavel.

For the first time, we will also provide an overview of several official Convention activities and events open to the Denver community during Convention week in August. Trust us, we’ve got something for everyone, and these forums are a great opportunity to see and learn firsthand how you can be a part of history!

Please join us:

11:30 a.m. MT, TUESDAY, June 10, 2008
Tattered Cover Book Store
1628 16th Street
Denver, Colo.
Click here for directions

5:00 pm MT, WEDNESDAY, June 11, 2008
Mile High Station
2027 W. Lower Colfax Ave.
Denver, Colo.
Click here for directions

For all those interested in attending, please RSVP in advance by emailing rsvp@demconvention.com or by calling (720)-362-2008. Space is limited at both events, so RSVP today!

UPDATE

If you’re in the Grand Junction area and couldn’t make it out to the our “Convention Conversations” community forum on Wednesday, here’s a couple photos from the event and some great local press. 

DNC team discusses GJ involvement
Grand Junction Free Press – May 29, 2008

DNCC Community Forum
KREX-CBS Grand Junction – May 28, 2008

Also, remember that if you’re on the Western Slope or any of the other great destinations throughout Colorado, there are plenty of ways that you can be a part of the Convention experience and attract Convention visitors out to see more of this beautiful state and region. You can find out more here.

We were treated today to a warm welcome in Grand Junction, where we held our eighth in a series of Convention Conversations community forums for residents of Mesa County.

State Rep. Bernie Buescher served as our gracious host at Mesa State College, making a strong case for Convention attendees to make their way "over to the good side of the mountain" during either the weekend before or after the Convention - or both! With some 200 lakes on the top of the Mesa and the red-rock Colorado National Monument, the natural beauty in and around Grand Junction is certainly a compelling draw. Short of that, he said he hoped at least a couple hundred cases of Palisade Peaches make their way to Denver for Convention week.

On the topic of Colorado businesses getting involved in the Convention, our CEO Leah Daughtry suggested that some of the well regarded wineries on the Western Slope explore partnership opportunities with catering companies serving the host of events in and around Denver during Convention week. As one attendee commented after the event, "We don't just sorta do wine here."

Unfortunately our staff was just here for a brief mid-day swing, so we'll have to take his word for it. Until next time.

Marking its eighth stop overall and first on Colorado’s Western Slope, the DNCC’s traveling community forum series will visit Grand Junction next Wednesday, May 28th at 11:30 am MT at Mesa State College. DNCC CEO Leah D. Daughtry and Colorado State Representative Bernie Buescher will provide local residents with the opportunity to ask questions, share ideas and find out how they can become involved in the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

The series - "Convention Conversations: A Traveling Forum Sponsored by the DNCC" - launched in September and has visited cities throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West in recent months, with stops in Denver, Boulder, Pueblo, Lakewood and Colorado Springs, Colo.; as well as Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.

WHEN:
11:30 am, WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2008

WHERE:
Mesa State College
Campbell College Center – Liff Auditorium
1151 Elm Ave.
Grand Junction, Colo.

NOTE: Members of the public interested in attending the forum are asked to RSVP to rsvp@demconvention.com or (801) 328-1212, ext. 205, as space is limited.

UPDATE: Check out this video from our forum in Colorado Springs

At a community forum last night in Colorado Springs, local residents and business people turned out to hear from Convention organizers about the historic regional opportunities presented by Denver’s hosting of the Convention. 

“Given the level of interest in this Convention, we’re expecting a larger turnout than previously anticipated. That means cities and towns beyond Denver have even more opportunities to benefit,” said DNCC CEO Leah Daughtry. “And since Labor Day weekend immediately follows the Convention, many Convention-goers will be looking to places like Colorado Springs to get some R&R.”

The event was the seventh in a series of ten community forums – “Convention Conversations: A Traveling Forum Sponsored by the DNCC” – which launched in Denver in September and has traveled to Pueblo, Boulder and Lakewood, Colorado; Las Vegas and Salt Lake City in recent months.

VIDEO: See coverage of the event from KOAA, the NBC affiliate in Colorado Springs.

After hitting the road and heading to Salt Lake City, Utah earlier this month, the DNCC’s traveling community forum series is back in Colorado. On Tuesday, April 29th at 5:30 pm MT at the Antlers Hilton in Colorado Springs, DNCC CEO Leah D. Daughtry and Colorado State Senator John Morse (invited) will provide local residents and business people with the opportunity to ask questions, share ideas and find out how they can take advantage of the historic regional opportunities presented by Denver’s hosting of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Last week, our Convention team headed west from Denver – to the “Crossroads of the West” otherwise known as Utah – for the sixth in our series of Convention Conversations forums in Salt Lake City. This week, we bring you the highlights in video. Enjoy!

It was just the greeting we had come to hear: "Welcome to the Rocky Mountains - the new frontier for the Democratic Party," said Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker this morning from the stage at Memorial House, site of our sixth "Convention Conversations" forum. After DNCC CEO Leah Daughtry opened with an invitation for Salt Lake residents to participate in this historic Convention - through any number of avenues - Mayor Becker talked about the leadership that Democratic officials are offering at the federal, state and local levels across the region. He said he looked forward to the arrival of Democrats to Salt Lake's "sister city" of Denver and talked about the West's unique sense of place -- not felt in other parts of the country. After a series of thoughtful questions covering topics from the role of youth in the Convention to how we'll showcase leaders of the West and bring in others through technology to the best way to defeat "Senator 100 Years in Iraq," Mayor Becker presented Leah with a book on Salt Lake City and closed with some friendly words of city rivalry. "Be sure to remind your friends in Denver that once they're done there, they can come see a REAL mountain city." We'll do that, Mayor -- although no chance we're taking sides in this one. And thanks again for hosting us today!

UPDATE: Check out these articles about our visit to Salt Lake City!

As the enthusiasm continues to grow in the lead-up to the Convention in August, the DNCC’s traveling community forum series is hitting the road once again. On Friday, April 4th at 11:00 am MT, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon will join DNCC CEO Leah D. Daughtry at the Memorial House in Salt Lake City to provide Utahns with the opportunity to ask questions, share ideas and find out how they can take advantage of the historic regional opportunities presented to local residents as the eyes of the world turn toward the Rocky Mountain West.