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July 6, 2015

Maury Co Chapter hosts community issues event

Maury SOCM Takes Action for Clean Government in Mt. Pleasant

Residents of Mt. Pleasant have long pushed for more responsible local government. The problems began several years ago when the city took out an $8 million dollar state loan to pay for a new water treatment facility. Once contractors failed to finish the project, residents were left to pick up the tab with skyrocketing sewage rates. Maury SOCM members and community allies won a hard fought $20 rate decrease in January, but municipal leaders continue to block progress on many other issues. Now the Maury Chapter is launching a petition drive for the transparent, responsible City Commission leadership Mt. Pleasant deserves.

The petition reads:

"The people of Mt. Pleasant have for too long put up with an unresponsive and unaccountable City Commission leadership. Over the past few years, we the residents have picked up the tab for a $6 million debt caused by the city's botched water lagoon project - through a back-door tax on our utility bills. Time and again, the hard working people of Mt. Pleasant have had to pay for the mistakes of a few. And most recently, Mayor Shackelford has personally attacked other city officials. As a result of this behavior, our city has suffered media embarrassment and likely economic damage. We believe that Mt. Pleasant deserves a fresh start to move our city forward. We are therefore calling for new City Commission leadership.

We, the undersigned, call for the resignation of Mayor Bob Shackelford and Vice Mayor George Vestal - and for immediate special elections to fill their seats."

If you live in Mt. Pleasant, click here to sign the online version!

To get involved, join Maury SOCM for our next chapter meeting Monday, July 13th at 6:30pm, St. James Church (306 Bluegrass Ave)!

For more information, contact SOCM's Middle Tennessee Organizer Mike Cannon at mike@socm.org or 615-398-1776

E3 Committee / Green Collar Jobs Committee Face-to-Face Meeting

GCJ Committee members promoting renewable, clean energy sources

SOCM's E3 and Green Collar Jobs Committee will be coming together for a joint face-to-face meeting on July 18th.

We will explore all the work both committees have been involved in, set priorities for the rest of the year and into 2016, plus create strategic plans for accomplishing our shared goals.

All SOCM members are welcome to attend. Even if you haven't been active in either committee, now is a great time to start. We also welcome interested folks who aren't yet members.

The meeting will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Cookeville located at 20 N Dixie Ave. The meeting starts at 10am Central.

If you are interested in attending, please fill out the online registration form, email Community Organizer Adam Hughes at adam@socm.org or call 865-249-7488.

Spring 2015 Friends and Family Membership Recruitment Update

SOCM member Chris Hill, tabling at Bonnaroo

Our Spring 2015 Friends and Family Membership Recruitment Campaign is still going strong. We have recruited 47 members and need to recruit even more to reach our goal.

Don't forget our campaign has been extended through July 27th. Please keep recruiting and winners will be announced on August 3rd.

The rules are simple - join or renew your membership and start recruiting! The members who recruit the most new members will receive a prize (donated by a SOCM member). First place prize is a $100 visa gift card, second place prize is a $50 visa gift card and third place prize is a $25 visa gift card.

Watch for updates on the campaign on our Facebook, Twitter, and website.

Join SOCM, renew membership, and give securely at socm.org or you can mail a check to:

SOCM Friends and Family Campaign

2507 Mineral Springs Ave., Suite D

Knoxville, TN 37917

Membership dues are not tax deductible. If you want to make a tax deductible donation, please make your check out to SOCM Resource Project or go online to socmresourceproject.org to give.

Stay Tuned for Our New Website

If you have been to the socm.org website in the past few weeks you know we have been hard at work building a new and much improved website. We are very excited about the new site will send out an alert when it is launched.

In This Issue

Mt Pleasant Petition / Columbia Campaign

E3 Committee / Green Collar Jobs Committee Face-to-Face Meeting

SOCM Friends & Family Membership Recruitment Campaign Outcome