First Steps, Great Strides

Saturday was the grand debut of Operation: Turn DuPage Blue as several members marched in the Elmhurst St. Patrick's Day Parade. And as first steps go, it couldn't have been much better. We had a great turnout -- enough to use all the t-shirts Bob printed -- and elicited enough response from crowd members to give away more than 300 information cards and 100 buttons. In fact, we ran out of everything with 3+ blocks left on the parade route -- despite being only allowed to distribute material to people who asked -- and had to begin chanting "TurnDuPageBlue.com" so interested attendees could know how to find us. Sure, there were a few crowd members who tossed negative comments our way, but there were many, many more people who were demonstrably positive and encouraging than the opposite. Of course, we have a long way to go, but it was an impressive and gratifying way to begin our march. Forward!