Camp Wellstone alum Chad Shue knows how to stay positive when faced with defeat. He drew on the "invaluable" training experience he received at Camp Wellstone to help manage a friend's campaign for city council, Jackie Minchew (currently the Vice-chair of Democracy for Snohomish County). Although the campaign was an unsuccessful, "uphill battle," Chad says he believes his training prepared him to utilize his efforts in the finest ways possible, such as using concise targeting of voters to gain greater visibility. Chad is currently the Chair of Democracy for Snohomish County, Washington.

Strong campaigns consist of hardworking people following the same path and using similar techniques. Chad and Minchew did just that on a run for city council. Minchew went through Camp Wellstone's Candidate training track in 2005 and Chad completed the Working on a Campaign track. Together they created a textbook Wellstone campaign, going door to door, issuing mailings, identifying target demographics, and tapping into media exposure. Camp Wellstone training helped streamline their efforts into a precise plan of attack.

Even though Chad's candidate lost, he still speaks a message of support for his training. His level of appreciation and value for Camp Wellstone is so great that his organization, Democracy for Snohomish County, "sponsors tuition for at least one trainee in any upcoming Camp Wellstone trainings that come to Seattle." Graduates are not guaranteed immediate success, but a Camp Wellstone alumnus relishes the wisdom accrued on a well organized journey.