Despite a weekend of March Madness - which had the University of Memphis battling UCLA for a slot in the NCAA's Final Four - dozens of grassroots activists, Democratic Party officials, campaign managers, and candidates turned out for Democracy for America's nationally-acclaimed training program, DFA TRAINING ACADEMY, in Memphis on March 25 & 26.

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DFA's Chairman Jim Dean (above) kicked off the weekend with his positive words of encourgagement and empowerment for the grassroots. "It's up to the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party to take our country back this year," Dean said. Jim offered both his thanks and gratitude to the half-dozen candidates in attendance that were running for office for the first time. "You are the future of a progressive movement - thank you for running for office".

After Jim's rousing rhetoric, it was time to get down to business. Arshad Hasan, the Academy's training coordinator, sprung into action with an overview of the day's events.

Then, Academy students learned how to write and implement a campaign field plan from trainer Jennifer Coken. Jennifer, a longtime political strategist and Executive Director of Main Street Colorado, covered the intricacies of a field plan, including developing a field strategy, setting vote goals, and how to target specific groups of voters to support your candidate or campaign.

John Rowley, a media consultant and veteran of over 200 campaigns and is president of the political consulting firm Fletcher, Rowley, Chao, and Riddle based in Nashville, led the "Developing the Message" workshop that focused on paid and earned media.

Arshad came back to do what he does best, help activists learn how to "Build the Activist Base" of their campaigns. Arshad's instruction was invaluable to candidates who seek to build their campaign's grassroots network and to activists working on issue campaigns and to DFA groups.

After a quick review, it was time for lunch, where Democracy for Memphis' David Holt made a major announcement... DFM's endorsement of Reginald Fentress for Shelby County Commission, District 2!

Fentress (above) is a member of DFM and is running on a progressive platform that includes a Living Wage, neighborhood revitalization, tax reform, and crime prevention. Fentress is also advocating a local ordinance to oppose the Patriot Act!

"I believe in my heart that it's time for a change for Shelby County", said Fentress. "It's time for the government to be given back to the people and it's time for us to take our government back". Organizers then passed around a signup sheet for Memphis-area volunteers to help on Fentress' campaign. Several Academy students donated money to help out with Fentress' grassroots campaign.

DFT Chairman Mark Naccarato (left) and DFA Chairman Jim Dean (right) with Reginald Fentress (center), candidate for Shelby County Commission.

After the lunchtime caucus, it was back to school as the breakout sessions began. Arshad, Jennifer, John, and trainer Helen Strain, a veteran of dozens of campaigns, taught workshops on campaign planning, working with the media, fundraising, and voter contact.

It was a full day of training that ended with a social event sponsored by Democracy for Tennessee - a screening of the documentary film, "Take It Back: the Movement for Democracy and Howard Dean" by Heidi Draper. "Take It Back" is the March/April selection of the new DFA Film Club and was well-received by the audience.

Change for Tipton County's Chair Melissa Mann (left) and Democracy for Memphis organizer Brad Watkins (center), hang out with Training Coordinator Arshad Hasan (right).

On Sunday, after turning in our "homework assignments" that involved looking at voter targets for a local candidate's race, it was time to kick off Day 2 of the Memphis Training Academy. Arshad Hasan (above right), got things rolling with a great workshop on Online Organizing that focused on how to best use email lists for campaign organization and community-building. He also talked about how to integrate blogs and websites into a campaign and how the Howard Dean presidential campaign has changed modern politics through online organizing.

To round out the day, Jennifer Coken gave great tips on how to get people to early vote as well as Election Day GOTV (get out the vote) strategies. Arshad talked about Precinct Organization in a session that is sorely needed in the South, and in the afternoon elective sessions, Academy students got further instruction on fundraising, leadership development, and youth outreach. Freda Player, political outreach director for the Tennessee Democratic Party (and veteran of countless "Root Camp" trainings put on by DFT), ran a session on how to work with county and state Democratic Parties and basics on the TNDP's new Voter Activation Network (V.A.N.) system.

And after a final wrap from Arshad and the other trainers, thus ended the March Madness that was the Memphis DFA Training Academy. My thanks to Jim Dean, Arshad and the rest of the training staff, to Steve Haley and Southwest Tennessee Community College's Macon Campus for the use of their excellent facilities, and to the Midsouth Democrats for providing several scholarships for students in need. I hope everyone enjoyed the Academy - I know I did!!