Audriana Logan '12
Week 8
Posted on August 6, 2010
I finished my project last week for JM in the DC office. Yah!! Still getting a few calls from Dave’s town hall meeting. We have our Staff meeting Monday. We went over the schedule for the August District work period. Dave is back in the district until mid-September. I have been finishing up little office projects here and there. A lot of constituents have called asking to which political party Dave belongs. No member of the US Congress ; meaning neither the House or Senate can put on any official mailings their political affiliations. People are not happy about that and believe that I’m lying and that’s its dishonest and misleading. I got to staff Dave on Wednesday for a senior event celebrating 75 years of Social Security. It was good press. We also had lunch, and presented a flag that was flown over the capital for some soldiers that are leaving for the war soon. This is my last week. It bitter sweet. The staff are really great people and Dave is a really great guy. I encourage anyone who is registered to vote in Iowa to vote for him. :-)
Week 7
Posted on July 27, 2010
So I been handing a assignment to compile a list of all the fire and police chiefs in Dave’s district by JM in the DC Office. I inherited this project from a previous intern. It’s very time consuming considering that most of these towns are really small and don't have websites and you have to call and get the information and all the addresses and phone numbers. But work is work. The phones have been ringing off the hooks today because of Dave’s town hall call time yesterday night. Everyone wants to know about the cost of living adjustment checks and medicare donut hole checks. Since it’s only me and another staff in today we been pretty busy and cannot get any work done. I’m hoping to finish my project by the end of this week. Well….that is all for now…back to work for me!!
Week 6
Posted on July 13, 2010
Pretty quiet office this week. One of the caseworkers had me to draft a thank you letter for attendees of a event at the Methwick. I drafted a letter and entered the constituents into IQ for DC to print and mail them. I also worked on surveys, of course. Lately we haven’t been getting that many. :-( The phones are starting to ring more, and I’m happy that I can actually help constituents with their problems. This weekend was Heritage Day in Mt. Vernon. I was invited to march in the parade, but of course I won’t be in town. Dave has added me as a friend on facebook. :-) Lots of pressure there. :-) All and all…a very good week.
Week 5
Posted on July 13, 2010
The internship is going great. Last week was pretty slow. I usually start my day with getting the mail and sorting what needs to be sent to DC or caseworkers, and I open the surveys and enter them into the IQ database. I received an assignment from a staff member in the DC office to get information on the counties including police, hospitals, libraries, and any historical sites or tourist shops. I also participated in the July 4th parade in Coralville. The people really support Dave. The whole democratic party marched together. I also met the Governor of Iowa.
My First Month
Posted on June 30, 2010
Since I’m super late with starting my blog about my internship. I decided to do one big one and tell you all about my first couple of weeks.
Week 1: I started June 1, 2010 at 8:30 am -- well a little later as I had a hard time finding parking. :-) The first day I sat down with the office manger AT who is also my internship supervisor and went over the internship manual. The manual talked about our daily task; such as answering phones, putting data into our database called IQ, getting mail, faxing important pieces of mail to DC and send the hardcopies in the mail, opening and entering surveys, and filing and shredding papers.
The first day I spent most of the day answering phones as they rang, which wasn't much at all. I also met Dave and his wife Terry. Terry and I had a pleasant talk about Chicago since she grew up not too far from my home. I went to lunch with AT, and spent most of the day learning how to navigate the databases, and do congressional research.
The rest of the week the office was pretty slow and I spent the entire time finding odd jobs and busy work to pass the time. My biggest project has been mailing. I created a flyer and letter to be sent for nominations to service academies for next year's incoming class to high schools in Loebsack’s district.
Week 2: The week was pretty slow. Not many constituents called. Most of the calls came from the DC office. I spent most of the week updating contacts for one of the case workers, KM. We have started to receive surveys back from Dave’s constituents from the first survey that DC mailed. I sat in on my first staff meeting with the IC and DC office.
Week 3: I spent most of the week opening surveys and entering them into our database IQ. I also spent sometime doing some grant research for constituents and sending out mailings and information. I have an ongoing project of updating and making a list of farmer in Congress district.
Week 4: This week we are getting back the second survey sent out to the constituents. I have been answering phones and referring people to caseworkers. We are also gearing up for July 4th weekend. We are have a lot of parades this weekend. I’m looking forward to working on the campaign.