THE START: The Dispatch started as the e-mail list for people who were organizing the regional group in the Middlesex and Worcester Senate District. The group officially formed in late 2000. But according to a line in the 2004 Dispatch, the first e-mail was sent to 10 people the last week of May in 2000. To set the stage technologically, it was the first time I was part of a group when all members had e-mail addresses!
From May to September the e-mails I sent were focused primarily on getting the group going. When we had our kick-off, the volunteer who created the sign-in sheets included a spot for e-mail addresses. It was the first time I had seen an e-mail request on a sign-in sheet! How times have changed.
SEA CHANGE: A week or two later, I got a call from Lynda Tocci on Friday evening. She wanted me to get people to come to New Hampshire to campaign for Al Gore. I had no time to make phone calls, but I decided to send an e-mail to ask for volunteers. At the time I mentioned to people that “if you only read e-mail at work you missed it.”
Ten years is a long time ago. It was not at all customary to try to get volunteers with e-mail. Well, I got lots of responses! Most of them said “Have fun!” But one person contacted me and joined me in New Hampshire that Sunday. I was hooked. This e-mail was great stuff!!!
I spent the next year using the e-mail newsletter to publicize Democratic events, focusing primarily on events of interest to people in the MW and then MNW senate districts. It took on a life of it’s own in a way that I had not expected.
THE NEW NAME: In the spring of 2001, it was clear that this was not just the MW Dems newsletter. So I held a contest to rename the newsletter. Based on a suggestion by my good friend Lynn Valcourt, the name “Donaghue’s Democratic Dispatch” was born.
THE EARLY YEARS: During the 2001-2002 cycle there was a plethora of Democratic candidates. I worked to keep the Dispatch accessible to all candidates. At some point I transitioned to the first yahoo group. After we lost the 2002 election I thought, “What can I as an individual do to help grow the Democratic Party?” I decided to redouble my efforts to grow the Dispatch readership and to make it more of a statewide group.
WEEKLY: At some point, I made the decision to make it a “more or less” weekly newspaper. That discipline has been key to the success of the Dispatch. Lynn Valcourt became my first “Dispatch Team” member, backing me up when I was out of town.
GROWING THE READERSHIP: This is the single biggest challenge. When I am spead thin, I don’t always get the e-mail addresses that people hand me on little slips added. But we manage.
YOU HAVE TO LAUGH: As the Dispatch got longer, and people began to get more e-mail, I had to do something to actually get people to read the thing. Beginning on May 7, 2004 I added the weekly joke. The idea was to get people to at least scan the events as they were looking for the joke!
PACE WILLISSON: In the summer of 2004, Pace Willisson and I car pooled to NH together to canvass. Before we got to Labanon, NH he had agreed to help with the Dispatch! I am forever grateful to Pace for the work he put into creating the technology that supports the Dispatch to this day. Pace and I worked together on the Dispatch for a number of years. This started Pace on his work with the Deval Patrick committee and beyond.
THE DISPATCH TEAM GROWS: As Pace moved onto other efforts and technology became more portable the Dispatch had gone back to a one person show. At about 3 AM one day in the midst of the final days of the presidential election in 2008, I sent out an e-mail pleading for help. People responded and I was able to spread the workload. There are a number of team members who have helped over the years including Marcia Hutchinson, Pat Mosca, Dick Duggan, Steve Owens, Karen King and Sandi Foxx.
MATT SHEAR: Matt is my right hand when it comes to putting out the Dispatch. He finds a joke every week and inputs many of the events! Please join me in thanking Matt, Pace, Lynn and all the others who have helped eith the Dispatch over the past ten years.
RELENTLESS: People would be disappointed if I did not use this opportunity to fund raise! If you appreciate the Dispatch and the work we do, please consider making a donation, in honor of the Dispatch’s 10th Anniversary to an appropriate campaign. Right now I’m very active in Tim Dodd’s campaign for state representative. He is a Westborough Selectman taking on Republican leader George Peterson. Help him “Whip the Whip!” Send a check to CTE Timothy A. Dodd, 11 Phylmor Drive, Westborough, MA 01581. Or donate to the Democratic Party .
THOUGHTS: I started the Dispatch as part of a specific group. I grew the Dispatch to help Democrats get involved with campaigns and groups (but it is campaigns that love it). The Dispatch has allowed me to help candidates and campaigns in a way I never expected. Although I recall too many nights at which I was falling asleep at the keyboard, I am very proud of the Dispatch and what Matt and I and the whole Dispatch Team produce every week.
And thank you for all the good information.