Why We Help

"That's awesome," says Nathan, our campaign manager, talking to another volunteer with an incredulous smile. "You've gone through 600 names on that list already? That's awesome."

There's a small feeling of accomplishment- the kind that's making our work on this campaign more and more meaningful as time goes on. I feel like I'm taking little steps toward our bigger goal of bringing opportunities to working Montanans, from folks I know to folks I don't.

As Nathan and I continue talking in the main room of the Gernant campaign office, we stop for a second to listen to the muffled tones of a conversation that we're overhearing more frequently lately.

"Well, thanks a lot... Your contribution means a lot to us," comes Tyler's dampened voice from the fundraising office upstairs. "Great, I'll look forward to talking to you soon."

Nathan and I glance at each other and exchange the same looks we would if we heard a good weather report on the radio just before a fishing trip:

Grins.

"I'm pretty sure he's going to hit his goal again tonight," Nathan says. "We've been working really hard to get to this point, and it's finally paying off. It's looking really good."

There's some irony here: the better the fundraising goes, the less we see of Tyler. We know he's in a room just upstairs. Every now and then he'll come into the main office for some coffee to drink and spend a few minutes chatting with volunteers-offering them a brief break and a glimpse into the motivation that's driving our campaign. It's already becoming tangible even at this early stage of the race.

He's calm, focused, and optimistic. It spreads around.

He disappears again, back to work. Then we get back to ours.

We're working because a lot of folks we know can't. Many of my friends- buddies who graduated college several weeks ago, and also friends and their families in Columbia Falls, Milltown, Stevi, Billings, and out on the highline- are losing their jobs and don't know where they're going to find new ones. They're not sure if they'll have to leave the state or not. There's a lot of uncertainty there.

So while the little ups and downs of fundraising, volunteer calls, and donor recruitment can add an emotional sway on a day-to-day basis, there's a stronger, more consistent sense of steady growth and confidence that's been inspiring lately.

Part of it is this bigger picture we're working for, and part of it is Tyler.

And then there are the responses we've been getting lately. People really seem to get what we're doing here.

We're working for our friends and their families, for people throughout the state who are eager for new jobs and long-term growth. And those are the folks Tyler is working for, the folks across Montana who need more.