I am writing today, reflecting on the massive year that Uncompahgre Valley Alliance has had, with a smile on my face and warmth in my heart. It is truly incredible what we have been able to accomplish, and it’s time to celebrate through this last quarterly update to you all before we enter a new year!

Power to win

If you were one of the attendees at our community organizing training on November 11, I want to take a moment to just say “WOW!” We had a great time learning the bones of community organizing (such as: How do we differentiate between problems and issues?) and we began a campaign-planning process that will help our Alliance in 2024. We cannot wait to provide more trainings like this in the future! Investing in our members is my favorite thing to do.

Meeting one-on-one

I wanted to highlight a part of our Alliance’s organizing work that isn’t often discussed but is the underlying current of our work. One-on-ones are the relational moments shared between the organizer and community members. In these meetings, I get to learn about what is important to you, what drives you, and I get to share about me and how I roll as an organizer. I was able to meet with 12 folks during my shortened and fast-paced fourth quarter. I am always looking for people to talk with! If we have not chatted yet, please get in touch with me and we can set something up in the new year. I am looking forward to it!

December 7

All we accomplished this quarter was defined by one event, our Community Conversation that took place on Thursday, December 7. Hours went into planning and preparation to bring this group of people together. If you weren’t there, I’ll quickly summarize: It was spectacular! This was the largest in-person gathering our Alliance has had in the past four years. We gathered to reconnect with old and new friends, to hear about the organizing process our Alliance’s leadership has carried out, and to be in conversation with our neighbors who also want a healthy, just, and self-reliant Montrose. Fifty-three people showed up and made this our dream event. If you were there, you should have received a personal thank you message, but please accept yet another expression of appreciation. You have re-energized our affiliate and we could not be more excited for what is to come!

Research in action!

In the background of this busy quarter, our Alliance’s organizing committee has been out on the town researching two problem areas: lack of affordable housing and inadequate public transportation. Our Organizing Committee members, Kendra, Lisa, Amy, Svetlin, Becky, and Laura have all investigated these problems by attending community meetings, talking with experts, and researching legislation. Through this work, they have been able to localize these problems even more and provided the groundwork for a decision to be made. I am happy to report that with this research and the robust conversations we had at our Community Conversations event, these leaders have done just that. Uncompahgre Valley Alliance has a campaign for 2024!

Stay tuned…

You may think that there was an editing error because after that exciting announcement, I should have named the problem our Alliance will attempt to address. But alas, I am using a suspense tactic. You will have to hold on a bit longer! The end of the year is a time to rest, recharge, and review.

The official launch for UVA’s 2024 campaign will be coming in early 2024!

I will be in touch with all of you as we sort out the final details of this new journey. Until then, have an amazing holiday season filled with love, warmth, and happiness! Be well!