Ohio Women Vote 2012 Summit (Natalie Portman Speaks!)

Union Terminal

The ceiling of Union Terminal.

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending Obama for America's Ohio Women Vote 2012 Summit! It was such a fantastic experience. It was at Union Terminal in Cincinnati. I had never been there, and just fell in love with the architecture! There were about 200 women there--and maybe 10 guys! :) We stood in line for about 30 minutes before we went in to the auditorium and it was so cool to talk with the other women in line. I was next to a woman who drove here all the way from Springfield, Ohio because it was so important to her to be here for this event. She was fantastic! She did her Master's thesis on the abuse of slave women and we got to talking about that for a while...it was really interesting. Another woman I met was a high school senior from Cincinnati who is a super-feminist! She was hilarious and I absolutely loved her knowledge of the feminist movement starting all the way back in the 1700s! She was so passionate and I can't wait to see what she ends up doing with her life. Another woman who was sitting behind me goes to school online and the thing that excites her most about Obama is his commitment to student loans and keeping up Pell grants so she might be able to go to the University of Cincinnati after she gets her Associate's degree. The energy was amazing--everyone was hyped up!

Kate Chapek

Kate Chapek is the Obama Campaign National Women's Vote Director. She was the best MC of this event! She had so much energy and she was fun! My favorite thing she said when talking about what this election means for our country is, "It's not about making history, it's about protecting history." Love it! She also mentioned that statistics show that women trust other women when it comes to deciding who to vote for. When women talk to other women, they don't even realize that the other woman on the other end of the phone is going to be taking in your opinions and will be using that to help shape their own opinion.

The former First Lady of Ohio, Frances Strickland, also spoke. I can honestly say I barely remember what she said. She was kind of monotonous and my mind wandered.

Mary Shelton

This woman, Mary Shelton, is one of the most inspiring women I've ever had the pleasure of hearing speak. She is a campaign volunteer for Obama for America - Ohio and has a developmentally disabled daughter, now 48, who still lives with her. She opened her own small business (this is her website) to help other developmentally disabled people get the care they need, because she realized there are not a lot of people helping that demographic. It's taken off! Her agency is helping people in the Greater Cincinnati Area and they take care of these people who cannot take care of themselves. She said, "The day the Supreme Court deemed the Affordable Care Act constitutional is the day I signed up to volunteer for Obama's campaign." I think the reason she was so amazing to me is that she is a real person with a real story about how Obama has helped her.

Alicia Reece

Alicia Reece (D) is an Ohio representative. She was such a great speaker! Her story is about how her mom and dad started a small business to have their own part of the 'American Dream' and were very successful--until her mom woke up blind in one eye one Christmas morning. They went to the hospital, but the doctors didn't want to diagnose her because her insurance would drop her if she ended up having anything serious. So, she kept trying to live without knowing what was going on with her body. She ended up in a wheelchair and finally got diagnosed with MS. The day she got diagnosed is the day her insurance company said she was no longer covered. Unfortunately, Alicia's mother died in December 2008. Had she still been alive today, the Affordable Care Act would have given her insurance again. Alicia is fighting for Obama because people like her mom can't. We all need to fight for Obama so our loved ones can live to fight another day. Alicia was an absolutely phenomenal speaker and I was so "Fired Up" after her speech! People like her are the reason people like me get up and volunteer!

Natalie Portman

So, of course, the headline speaker of this Summit was Natalie Portman! She was good! I was talking with Lara, a volunteer friend of mine, after the summit and we love the way celebrities use their status and influence to campaign for people. It's amazing, because you know, even if some people don't pay attention to politics but Natalie Portman is their favorite actress, once they get to the polls they might think, "Oh I don't know who to vote for, but I know Natalie is voting for Obama, so I will, too." It was great! She talked about education and about being a woman, and how we've been having some crazy things being said about our bodies by Republicans lately; and how Obama doesn't agree with that at all. I got parts of her speech on video and it was just so great to see one of my favorite actresses ("Black Swan" is one of my favorite movies!) saying things that are so in line with what I believe! It was a very exciting experience. I wish we had gotten some time after her speech to take photos and get autographs with her, but, you know, I still got to hear her speak while I was sitting in the fourth row, and that's pretty cool. :)

These are a couple of sound-bytes of Natalie's speech. Unfortunately, my phone ran out of space at the end of the second video (still had Obama's speech on it!) so I didn't catch the end of her speech, but I thought you all might like these.

I love this photo of her. She is happy about Obama! :) How cool!

So, women: this election is about us. We are the majority in this country; we are going to decide this election. So let's make it about us! Let's put the work in: phone bank, canvass, talk to people, share your opinion! Remember: women trust other women. If you influence three women and then they each influence three women, how far can we go?

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi