It has been a busy summer for the members of the Young Leaders Society. Since the organization's last newsletter, there have been a number of events, starting with a Turbo Networking event at Ruli's International Kitchen in Downtown El Paso on July 16.
 
The event, presented by the group's Networking Committee, was designed to bring young leaders in the community together in a fun and relaxed environment. Participants were able to meet others through a series of several five-minute rounds. More than 80 people attended the event, many of which have since returned to other YLS-sponsored activities.
 
As a result of the successful turnout, the members of the Networking Committee have decided to make Turbo Networking a signature event at least once a year.
 
On Aug. 9, nearly 20 YLS members gave up their Saturday morning to update and paint the family room at the Salvation Army in South Central El Paso. In addition to applying a fresh coat of paint to the walls in the room, members also painted a mural, to be enjoyed by the families who spend time at the center. Many of the children at the Salvation Army joined the YLS members that morning, offering to strip paint off the walls or to add their own touches to the mural. YLS members who volunteered at the Salvation Army all agreed they wanted to return for future projects at the site. The event was organized by the YLS Volunteering Committee.
 
On Sept. 10, the Leadership Committee of YLS invited members to join them in a "Visit with Valenti," a conversation with Jim Valenti, chief executive officer and president of Thomason Hospital. In addition to hearing about Valenti's vision for the hospital, participants were also given a behind-the-scenes tour of the Thomason. The evening was yet another example of the Leadership Committee's commitment to providing members unique opportunites to meet with local leaders.
 
Also in September, the Young Leaders Society was nominated for an NpACT Award through the Nonprofit Enterprise Center. The organization was nominated in the Innovation Category for offering something new to El Paso's young professional community. Unfortunately, YLS was not chosen as the winning organization, but the nomination did help YLS get some recognition among some of the city's top nonprofit organizations.
 
On Oct. 4, YLS members were invited to attend the Young Leaders Society Chalet at the 2008 Amigo Airsho. The one-day event offered an Oktoberfest theme and guests enjoyed chicken, bratwurst and, of course, beer. In keeping with the Networking Committee's mission, the chalet was an opportunity for YLS members to get together in a relaxed atmosphere and make important connections. Networking, after all, is important to a successful business or project.

The United Way of El Paso County's Young Leaders Society is still a very young organization, having formally launched in February 2008. But already, the charter members who make up the organization's advisory board spent one day in late September discussing the future of YLS as well as determining the bylaws for YLS.
 
As part of the retreat, advisory board members nominated and voted on those who now make up the YLS Executive Committee. They are: Roberto Montoya, president; Paige Mandell, vice president; Jorge Lopez, treasurer; and Maribel Villalva, secretary.
 
Additionally, each of the three sub-committees now has a new chair. They are: Shannon Osborne, Networking Committee; Martin Munoz, Volunteering Committee; and Rene Leon, Leadership Committee.
 
The bylaws adopted by the advisory board will allow the organization to operate as a professional board. As a part of the bylaws, the advisory board determined term limits and specific duties for each of the members.
 
Also discussed was the definition of "membership." With the new year approaching, the YLS advisory board determined that would be an appropriate time to end the introductory membership period and begin collecting membership dues. For the cost of membership, which is yet to be determined, members will receive several benefits, including a YLS T-shirt and discounts to all YLS-sponsored events. Members also will be asked to attend a minimum number of YLS events each year. Most importantly, members will be asked to vote for all future executive board members at an annual members-only event.
 
Those who choose to not become official YLS members will still be welcomed at all YLS events. YLS exists as a community engagement agency and not a fundraising organization, so non-members are actively sought in order to promote the organization's main tenets of volunteerism, leadership and community.
 
YLS will hold an official membership drive within the next few months. Those who do choose to become members will be encouraged to be proactive in recruiting quality, motivated individuals that will enable YLS to grow in size and influence.

 

Watching Paul de la Pena work the Starbucks on Mesa just prior to this interview was nothing short of inspiring. De La Pena is the Executive Director of Vota/Vote El Paso, a local voter mobilization campaign. It was inspiring because Paul approached everyone at the store at the time with confidence, enthusiasm, and best of all with no agenda other than wanting the citizens of this city to exercise their right to vote in a free democratic election.
 
Luis: Please tell me about your organization Vota/Vote El Paso.
 
Paul: Vota/Vote El Paso is a non-partisan, non-profit voter mobilization organization that has been active in the local political scene since the 2006 congressional elections. We started as Vote EPCC at the El Paso Community College, later becoming Vote (Texas) Tech, then Vote UTEP, and now Vota/Vote El Paso.  
 
Luis: How many volunteers do you have in your organization?
 
Paul: Throughout the life of the project there have been approximately 150 volunteers, we currently have 75 active volunteers. Our current number seems low, but this is because a lot of our people are now involved with the individual campaigns. A lot of people don't understand the non-partisan thought and the benefits.
 
Luis: Did participation in individual campaigns come out of Vota/Vote El Paso?
 
Paul: Yes it did. We try to get people hooked up with the individual campaigns that they are interested in, and we give them that information. We are a conduit of information to help connect them to a campaign or the county elections department.
 
Luis: Compare volunteer and voter enthusiasm to the 2006 election cycle.
 
Paul: In general there is greater interest and enthusiasm in the presidential elections. Through the El Paso County Voter Consortium we have ignited a movement that uses email blasts to get the word out exponentially through the business, education, and chamber of commerce communities.
 
Luis: You had previously mentioned that you took time off your career in order to dedicate yourself to this project. Please elaborate on that decision.
 
Paul: It's important to teach people about civic engagement. A voting society is a well informed society. Having that kind of community helps to attract business, and it will certainly help state and federal leaders in Austin and Washington D.C.  pay attention to our community's level of political participation. I believe that having a high voter turn-out will help our community to better compete for grants, and will generally help leaders to view the El Paso community in a positive light.
There are now 12 million potential Hispanic voters in the U.S., making it one of the biggest voting blocks in the country. I expect that 10 million of the 12 million potential voters to make it the polls by Election Day. El Paso is 84 percent Hispanic and so we have a responsibility to register, educate, and mobilize. We are working to make sure that voters get to the polls informed and educated.
 
Luis: Please specify what you mean by informed and educated.
 
By informed, I mean we have put together informal town hall meetings, mock elections on the voter machines in conjunction with county elections, and have registered thousands of voters in the 18-40 voting bloc. Our goal is to have a net of 50,000 net new voters in the district. By our records we will be at 40,000, half of those new voters being registered in 2008. I have had some complaints however, by people who don't want that, because they say that it will skew the final numbers. I feel that if there is a person who is eligible to vote, they should have that right, and exercise that right. We recently passed out 50,000 pieces of literature that have to do with people knowing their rights, and we are also extending that effort through email blasts throughout the city.
 
I also wanted to mention some of the other voting options such as early voting, sample ballot voting, and mail in-ballot voting and mobile voting. Mobile voting is where there are booths set is one day at GECU for example, then the next two days at UTEP, etc. Early voting refers to voting takes place the entire period between Oct 20th 31st.
 
Luis: You mentioned that your organization has to have a relationship with the United Way and YLS. Please elaborate on the relationship with YLS.
 
Paul: It is incumbent on you Young Leaders to transform the community. This is the beginning of the renaissance that is happening in El Paso; there are over 200,000 residents in the 18-40 voting block. It is very necessary to show leadership, run people for office and hold them accountable once elected. In this way you will have a true voice in the community and we are starting to see some of the fruit.
 
The next challenge will be the mayoral and city council elections. YLS has a real opportunity to shape the policy in this community for the next 100 years. Be on your toes, because this will continue on the process of political participation.
 
Luis: El Paso seems to get largely ignored by presidential candidates in the midst of campaigning. Do you see any kind of solution to this problem?
 
Paul: The challenge that comes from having one party that is dominant over another in an area is not good. I always advise people not to vote for parties, instead to vote for people. Our El Paso County Voter Consortium can address some of those needs. Some people do the straight ticket voting because they have to get back to work. Unfortunately, in that situation the person voting is not able to take the time to each individual candidate, so they do straight ticket.
 
Also, I would encourage all El Paso citizens, especially YLS members, to take the day off to volunteer in poll protection. We need to make sure that each and every person who wants to vote can vote, and that no one is turned away. I think that it is especially important to make sure that people with disabilities can vote using a provisional ballot. We will need up to 500 volunteers. You can also take people to the polls, friends, and neighbors. We are really hoping to can reach 200,000 overall voters, 100,000 in the 18-40 age voting block, which we've never had before.
 
(Post script: During our conversation, de la Pena received a call from a colleague informing him that there was real strong turn-out on all sides of town at the early voting. At the date of submission, October 24th, there had been over 40,000 people turn out for early voting; there were a total of 170,000 votes submitted in 2004.)